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 – Ica / Islas Ballestas + Paracas National Reserve.

Very early in the morning (03:00 am) pick up from your hotel and transfer to the bus station to board your bus to the city of Paracas. Upon arrival one of our representatives will be waiting for you to start the tour to the Ballestas Islands. Ballestas Islands is an important sanctuary for marine life and made possible by the Humboldt Current. Here you’ll see and hear raucous sea lions, fur seals, Humboldt Penguins, guano birds, and possibly even Green Sea Turtles and dolphins. On the way to the islands, you’ll also see the Candelabro, a nearly 595-foot (181-meter) long, candlestick-shaped symbol etched into the side of a hill that can be seen from the sea. Some experts believe it may have served as a navigational guide for ancient sailors and was based on the constellation of the Southern Cross. Others believe that it was somehow related to the Nazca Lines. Still others believe it to have been inspired by a local cactus with hallucinogenic properties! During the tour, you can get up close and personal with marine birds and sea lions. Some of the unique bird species you might see include the Humboldt Penguin and the Peruvian Booby which only live along the Humboldt Current, as well as the Guanay Cormorant and the Red-legged Cormorant. Depending on the season, you’ll see sea lions playing with their young or simply frolicking on the rocks. At approximately 10:00 am we will return to the Pisco pier where we will have a short rest and then continue with the excursion to the Paracas National Reserve. During this land excursion to the Paracas Reserve, we will appreciate large groups of flamingos feeding on the seashore. In order to have a better view of these beautiful birds, it will be necessary to make a small walk to a small viewpoint, from which we can see them much better. According to some historians, the colors of this beautiful bird, inspired General San Martín (the man who fought for our independence and managed to defeat the Spanish crown in Peru) to create our red and white flag, when he landed in the bay of Paracas for the first time. Later we will visit the Interpretation Center of Paracas, an interesting place where we can learn about the flora and fauna that exists in the reserve. Here lie the skeletons of some animals, such as whales, wolves, penguins, among others. Later we will continue with our visit through the desert, following an unpaved road until we reach the beautiful beach of Lagunillas, where we can enjoy a good lunch and drinks in front of the sea (not included). After lunch, you will have some free time and then we will start the return to Paracas where you will board your return bus to the city of Lima. Upon arrival at the Lima bus terminal, one of our representatives will be waiting to transport you to the selected hotel.

Day 04: 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 05: 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 06: 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 07: 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 08: 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 09: Cusco – Lima.

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