MACHU PICCHU & LAKE TITICACA|WTC

Itinerary:

DAY 1 - Arrive in Lima

On arrival at Lima’s Jorge Chavez International Airport, we meet our guide and transfer to our hotel. The rest of the day will be at leisure. Peru's capital with over eight million residents, Lima perches on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and has an uninterrupted history of more than 2000 years. A capital founded by Spanish conquistadors that subsequently exploded with influxes from Asia and then from Peru's own Andean highlands, Lima is perhaps the most fascinating city in the continent.

DAY 2 - Lima City Tour

Our full day tour begins at a "Peruvian Market" (Suquillo Market), where we will be able to appreciate a wide variety of Peruvian products, enjoy and taste exotic fruits and be amazed by a huge variety of fish and seafood

Next we visit Larco Museum, which collects more than 45,000 pieces, mostly ceramics. From there, we proceed to the Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, a small but well organized museum, offering one of the best perspectives of art and archaeology of thousand-year-old Peru. This afternoon, we discover the faded grandeur of Lima’s beautiful Spanish colonial past and visit the Plaza Mayor with the government palace, City Hall, the Archbishop palace and the Cathedral. We also se the San Francisco cloister and its 17th century church, a world cultural heritage site. Tonight, we tour the Reserve Park – formally known as the Magic Water Circuit, with its 13 impressive fountains that combine movement, lights and sounds in one spectacular show.

DAY 3 - Sacred Valley

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel. At the scheduled time, transfer to the airport to board your flight. When you arrive in Cusco, you’ll be met by a local guide and transfer to the Sacred Valley.

Along the way, visit you’ll visit Chinchero, Pisac market & Pisac ruins with lunch at a local restaurant. The day’s outing begins with a visit to Chinchero, a quaint little town that houses an important Incan outpost, built at the end of the 1400’s, as well as a lovely and very traditional church. The townsfolk are famous for having preserved traditional Andean spinning and weaving techniques, and they set up a market in the town square to sell handmade crafts made around the region to visitors. Then, you will visit the town of Pisac, 31 km from Cuzco, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The old city, an Incan archaeological site, is located at the top of a mountain, and there you will witness firsthand the stonemasonry skill of our ancient ancestors. Afterwards, you will descend to the town and walk through its colorful market.

DAY 4 - Maras

After breakfast at the hotel, head out for your full day tour of Maras salt flats, the terraces of Moray and Misminay community.

Visit the town of Maras, where one of the world’s finest salts is extracted: Maras’s salt. These mines form terraces and lagoons, which are a mandatory spot for snapping amazing pictures. Plus, visit the Misminay community, where you will experience the Andean lifestyle. You will explore local gastronomy through a wonderful cooking class, beginning your experience with the planting and harvesting of some products, according to the season. Then, next to your hosts, you will prepare a delicious traditional dish using only local products, which you will enjoy for lunch. Then, you will visit the Moray agricultural terraces, which were used as a botanic laboratory by the Incas and from where you’ll have a privileged view of the Sacred Valley

DAY 5 - Machu Picchu

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel. Take a small overnight bag with you to the train (remaining luggage is sent ahead to the hotel in Cusco).

A visit to one of the most important tourist destinations in the world: Machu Picchu. The excursion starts with a train trip to the town of Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo. The natural beauty of the surroundings makes the train the best way to start your visit. When you arrive, you will start the ascent to the ruins, which will without a doubt be one of your most unforgettable experiences. At Machu Picchu you can see one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World and take some impressive photos. Lunch is included. Then it is back down to Aguas Calientes for rest.

DAY 6 - Cuzco

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and a morning at leisure.

This afternoon, you board the VISTADOME train for the return journey and transfer to your hotel.

DAY 7 - Cuzco

After breakfast join your guide for a full day tour. Get to know the city of Cusco, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site and possessor of a style all its own. The tour begins at the Koricancha Temple, an old Incan palace and main center for the worship of the sun god, Inti. Once the Spanish conquered Peru, the Dominican order built a church over this temple’s foundations: the Temple of Santo Domingo. Your next destination is the Main Square, then the adventure continues at the Sacsayhuaman Fortress built of enormous stone blocks expertly shaped by the Incas. The tour continues with visits to three archaeological sites: Kenko and Tambomachay, important religious and administrative centers for the Incas. Continue the visit to the San Blas neighborhood, famous for its artisans. Continue to see the famous Twelve Angles stone, part of the largest Inca wall of Cusco, which used to be the Hatunrumiyoc (Big Stone) palace, built by Inca Sinchi Roca.

Your excursion continues to Tipon, an Inca archeological complex in which water flows through large stone canals. Here you will appreciate the amazing hydraulic engineering knowledge of the Incas, as well as a wonderful system of terraces in which the land delivers privileged fruits until today. Continue with the tour towards Andahuaylillas, a place that holds a beautiful 16th century church, which has an impressive organ, decorated with angels and cherubs.

DAY 8 - Andean Explorer to Puno

This morning, we will be transferred to the train station to board the train to Puno

This spectacular train trip starts in the historical city of Cusco and goes South, to Puno, by the side of Lake Titicaca. The glass windows on the Andean Explorer train will let you perfectly observe the beautiful landscape: the train slowly ascends to very high and cold places, around the magnificent Andes mountain range, over the deep Huatanay River valleys. Then, the train goes through the Andean plains, where you can see vicunas and alpacas grazing among the small villages along the road. The trip includes a stop at La Raya, the highest spot of the route, to observe the spectacular landscape at 4,300 meters above sea level. The trip includes a three course lunch on board. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel which is located at the lake side.

DAY 9 - AMANTANI & UROS ISLANDS

Today, you will have your excursion to Amantani Island, located at an elevation of 4150 meters and famous for its terraced hillsides where its people used to farm. Pre-Incan peoples claimed that this island was a sacred pl ace, and that is why, if you allow it, you can feel its mystical energies flow around you. Upon arrival, the locals will welcome you, leading you to your home stay accommodations, where they will show you their day to day activities, like weaving, farming, mystical ceremonies, and others. Next on the itinerary is a stopover at the handicraft center and the main square. Then, it’s time for a delicious lunch. In the afternoon, before returning to Puno, you will visit the famous floating Uros Islands made out of reeds, whose inhabitants still live according to the customs of their ancestors.

DAY 10 - Puno

Enjoy breakfast and then depart for a half day visit to Sillustani Graves. You will be taken to the ruins at Sillustani, a famous cemetery on the Andean plateau near Puno, next to the beautiful Lake Umayo. The site contains huge funerary towers called chullpas, which date from 600 to 800 A.D., some of which reach 12 meters high and are 7.50 meters in diameter. On the way you will also see the Waru-Waru or interconnected canals used in agriculture. You will surely be impressed by the beautiful scenery in this zone.

Next, a half day visit to the city of Lampa in Puno, known as the "Pink City" from the color of the local clay. The tour includes a visit to the beautiful colonial-era church of Santiago, built entirely of stone by the Jesuits between 1675 and 1685. You will also see the catacombs, in which those who died during the construction of the church were interred. Lampa has a number of town houses dating from the colonial and republican eras. One of the best is the Casona de los Frisancho, 300 years old, in Lampa's Main Square, in the heart of the city. Also included is a visit to the brotherhood of the Vicuñas de la Inmaculada, where there is an enormous silver bier built to resemble that which carries the Virgin of Macarena in Spain. The excursion ends with our return to Juliaca Airport directly.

Rates:

Double Occupancy - $4289 CAD(sharing a room)

Single Occupancy - $5219 CAD per person (your own room)