Day 01: Arrive in Lima.

Upon arrival at the Lima airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the morning will be at your leisure.

Day 02: City tour & Pachacamac.

In the morning you will be picked up from your hotel to start a full day tour. You will start the tour taking you through Lima in its 3 historical periods: Pre-hispanic, Colonial and Modern. We will first show you a panoramic view of “La Huaca Pucllana”, and then you will visit the impressive historical downtown of Lima: Its palaces, mansions, churches and squares, ending with a visit to the residential district of San Isidro and an unforgettable view of the Pacific Ocean from the district of Miraflores. This tour includes the admission to the BCR* Museum and the Complejo Monumental San Francisco and its Catacombs. After lunch, you will visit the Sanctuary of God Pachacamac. An archaeological site located 31 kilometers from Lima it is made up of pyramids and temples which date back to 200 - 300 BC. Wander through the grounds and marvel at the Sun God shrine and the Palace of the Chosen Women. *BCR - Museum of the Central Reserve Bank, closed to the public Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Monday closed all day.

Day 03: Lima - Cusco / PM City tour.

In the morning you will be collected from your hotel and transferred to the airport for your flight to Cusco. Upon arrival at the Cusco airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the morning will be at your leisure. In the afternoon enjoy a half day tour of Cusco, visiting the Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas and the legendary Qoricancha, the most important religious center in the Inca time, a temple devoted to worshiping the Sun deity. Your tour includes also the visit to some nearby archaeological sites such as the impressive fortress of Sacsayhuaman; the religious site of Q’enqo; the ancient site of Puca Pucara and finally the water temple of Tambomachay.  

Day 04: Sacred Valley of the Incas – Aguas Calientes.

Today you will enjoy a full day tour to explore the Sacred Valley of the Incas. This fertile river valley was home to many important sites for the Incas, both strategic and religious. The first stop is the village of Pisaq, with its famous market. In the market comes alive with locals from nearby hillside villages in traditional dress selling local fruit and vegetables as well as handicrafts. There is free time to wander the colorful market stalls before to visit the spectacular Pisaq Ruins – a hilltop Inca citadel and fortress with impressive agricultural terracing. Afterwards, you will enjoy a delicious buffet lunch in a local restaurant in Urubamba. Following, you will visit Ollantaytambo, an Incan military, religious, administrative and agricultural center located at the top of a mountain. Unlike other small towns, this one has maintained its original Incan design, featuring stone buildings and narrow streets. In the late afternoon, you will board the train to Aguas Calientes. Upon arrival in the train station, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

Day 05: Machupicchu – Cusco.

This day early in the morning you will ride up a 30-minute bus to the secluded citadel, which is surrounded by a cloud forest inhabited by orchids and hummingbirds. In Machupicchu you will enjoy a guided visit to the greatest ruin in the world, the lost city of Machu Picchu. This is one of the architectural and engineering marvels of the ancient world, in a mountain setting of staggering immensity. The Spaniards never found it; the Incas left no records about it, so Machu Picchu remains a great enigma, a city lost for centuries in the cloud forest. Afterwards the guided tour, you will have free time for the many spectacular walks including following the path to the Inca bridge, the Sun Gate or even climb to Huaynapicchu mountain. In the late afternoon, you will board the train to return to Cusco. Upon arrival in the train station, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Important: The train considered in the program is tourist class: Expedition (Peru Rail) or Voyager (Inca Rail). If you prefer a first class train (vistadome), please make an inquiry for the additional cost.

Day 06: Maras – Moray.

In the morning (08:00am) you will be picked up from your hotel to start a half day tour, you will head out on the road that crosses the Sacred Valley of the Incas to reach the important Moray archeological site (3176m/10419ft), where enormous circular and Pre-Incan semi-circular agricultural terraces were constructed to be used as a botanical laboratory for experimenting on plant domestication and foreign crop acclimatization. The area is so large that at least 3000 plant varieties, including potatoes and corn, could have been grown. Next, Maras is located about 4 km from Moray, and is the site of pre-Inca Salineras (salt ponds). Each terraced pond is polygonal in shape; salty water emerges from an underground spring, flows into the ponds, and evaporates with the sun. The Maras’ salt mines are still active today and maintained cooperatively by the Maras community. The white salt ponds contrast with the green hills and mountains that surround the mines and the views of the Sacred Valley from here are amazing. The tour will end in the early afternoon at your Cusco’s down town.

Day 07: Rainbow Mountain.

Very early in the morning (approx. 4:15 am) we will pass by your hotel in our private transport, then we will leave the city of Cusco towards the south valley, after traveling approximately 2 hours we will arrive at the Cusipata sector (Paucarpata), where we will enjoy a delicious breakfast (scrambled eggs, cheese, ham, fruit salad, hot drinks etc). After breakfast we will continue for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes more until we reach the checkpoint, it is there that we will begin our walk. Previously, our guide will give us the instructions and recommendations of the route to finally begin. The walk will take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes until you reach Vinincunca or The Rainbow Mountain (5,020 m / 16,466 ft.). On the way we will observe a large number of llamas and alpacas that are in the care of shepherds dressed in beautiful colorful costumes. Similarly along the way we can see snowy peaks that are part of the slope of the Andes Mountains, among which the Apu Ausangate (sacred mountain) stands out one of the highest mountains in southern Peru; almost upon reaching the top we will observe the change of landscape, at which point we can appreciate the mountain range of Vinincunca or Rainbow Mountain, reaching this point between 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Here our guide will explain us in detail aspects about the orography, ecosystem and color of the mountain, we will also have time for the most beautiful photos of the mountain of 7 colors, after a little free time we will take the way back to Llaqto, where our vehicle will be waiting. We will continue the return to the Cusipata sector where we will have our delicious buffet lunch. Finally, we will take the return route to the City of Cusco arriving at approximately 05:00 pm.

Day 08: Bus Cusco – Puno.

Early in the morning you will be collected from your hotel and transferred to the bus station to enjoy a trip to Puno. The service is provided in buses equipped purely for a touristic trip, looking for the best way to travel from Cusco to Puno, so you can enjoy different locations that hold magical charm and an ancestral history, such as, the Andahuaylillas Church, building during the 17th century and it is also known as “The Sistine Chapel of America” because of the beauty and profusion of its murals, the ornaments in gold leaf and paintings from the “Escuela Cusqueña de Arte”, you will continue to the Archaeological site of Raqchi, also known as the Temple of WIRACOCHA, named after Wiracocha, a supreme deity in the Inca civilization. In this location we will find the biggest number of barns (Colcas) and we will see magnificent constructions in stone and sun-dried bricks. Afterwards, you will enjoy a delicious buffet lunch in a local restaurant in Sicuani. Following, you will visit La Raya Pass; it is the border between the departments of Cusco and Puno, at a height of over 4.335 meters above the sea level. From that place you will be able to see the famous Chimboya Glacier where the Amazon River is born. There, you will be able to take pictures of the landscape. Finally, you will visit the Lithic Museum of Pukara. The Pukara culture was developed between the years 1600 B.C. and 400 A.D., on a high plateau located 106 kilometers north-east of the city of Puno. In this museum we can find pottery and sculptures representing zoomorphic figures, amongst which we can see the famous sculpture of the HATUNÑAQAC, meaning in our language “The Supreme Executioner”. Upon arrival in Puno bus station, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

Day 09: Uros & Taquile Island (Lake Titicaca) / PM Bus Puno – Cusco.

Travelling by semi-speed vessel, today’s tour begins in the morning by visiting the floating reed islands of Uros, where the locals continue to practice their traditional way of life, living by fishing. Situated four kilometers from Puno, the original inhabitants of these floating islands are said to descend from one of the most ancient peoples of the Americas. The Uros islands, as well as the houses on them and the boats used by their inhabitants, are all made from the Totora reeds that grow in Lake Titicaca. After spending an hour at the Island of Uros, you will proceed to the Island of Taquile, a place where time appears to have stood still. Around 350 Quechua-speaking families live here, operating a collective agricultural system dating from the 14th century and renowned for their textiles - beautifully woven chumpis (belts), chullos (caps) and ojotas (sandals). After typical lunch, the boat will take you back to Puno. At night (21:00h), transfer to the bus station to board your bus to return to Cusco.

Day 10: Return to Cusco / Free Day.

Upon arrival at the Cusco (04:30am) you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the morning will be at your leisure. Important: Check-in at hotels is usually at 11:00 am, if the room is available at the passenger`s arrival time, you will be able to access to the room, otherwise you will have to wait at the reception until the time of entry.

Day 11: Humantay Lake.

Very early in the morning (approx. 4:15 am) we will pass by your hotel in our private transport then we will leave the city of Cusco towards the towns of Izcuchaca and Limatambo, to finally access to the route to Salkantay and reach the town of Mollepata, in this place we will stop to enjoy a delicious breakfast and fill ourselves with the energy needed for the walk. After breakfast we will continue for approximately 1 more hour until we reach the Soraypampa sector, where we will start the trek. Previously, our guide will give us the instructions and recommendations of the route to finally begin. The walk will take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes until reaching Humantay Lake (4,200 m / 13,780 ft.). During the ascent we can see snowy peaks that are part of the slope of the Andes Mountains, among which the Apu Salkantay (sacred mountain) stands out, one of the highest mountains in southern Peru. Upon reaching the lake we can see the variation of colors, depending on the perspective that gives us the point where we are, in addition to the glacier in front that feeds the lake. After the explanation with the guide, take pictures and rest from the walk, we will go back to Soraypampa and continue in the vehicle to Mollepata where we will have our buffet lunch. Finally, we will take the return route to the City of Cusco arriving at approximately 06:00 pm.

Day 12: Cusco – Lima.

You will be collected from your hotel and transferred to the airport for your flight to Lima or your next destination.