Inca Dream 9 days / 8 nights get inspired by Cusco, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas - marvel in front of the majesty of the Andes Mountains - relax in the silence and colors of Lake Titicaca - enjoy delicious food of the Peruvian world renowned cuisine Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Arrival in Lima Lima - flight to Cusco - Aguas Calientes Visit of the Lost City of Machu Picchu Chinchero - Maras - Moray - Cusco Cusco - Sacsayhuaman - Pisac - Cusco Cusco: city tour & time to relax Cusco to Puno with stops on route Titicaca Lake: Uros and Taquile Islands Puno - flight to Lima and back home AT A GLANCE Journey Colonial Archeo Folklore Nature Services Transport Roads Navigation Flights Hotels classic Peru / cultural 15% 50% 20% 15% 80% private - 20% shared car / minivan, train, boat all paved Lake Titicaca 2 domestics 3* to 5* options 1
Day 1 LIMA IN Arrival in Lima, meeting with our assistant and transfer to the hotel. Dinner and overnight in the hotel. Day 2 LIMA CUSCO Aguas calientes Breakfast in the hotel and morning transfer to the airport to catch the flight to Cusco. Arrival, meeting with our assistant and continuation, through fabulous changing landscapes, to Ollantaytambo (1 hour approximately), the last of the villages in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Visit of this picturesque town, a living example of Inca settlement, where you can find many buildings dating back to the past. The landscape is dominated by a huge fortress never completed due to the traumatic arrival of the Spaniards and the consequent destruction of the Inca world. At the end of the visit, we ll catch the train to Aguas Calientes. We ll travel alongside the impressive valley of the Urubamba River with its deep gorges and tropical vegetation. Arrival and hotel accomodation. Dinner and overnight in the hotel. 2
Day 3 AGUAS CALIENTES - MACHU PICCHU SACRED VALLEY Breakfast in the hotel and early morning transfer by bus to the majestic ruins of Machu Picchu before the arrival of most tourists. The impressive Inca citadel is placed on the side of a mountain. Its Quechua name means Old Mountain, but it is also known as the Lost City of the Incas since it remained hidden from the West until discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911. It was built in the fifteenth century, and is attributed to the Inca Pachacutec. The archeological complex is divided into two zones that are contained within approximately twenty hectares. On the sides of the mountain, you can see up to four meters high agricultural terraces. Several plazas and buildings, the most important being the Temple of the Sun, the Intihuatana or solar clock and calendar, the Temple of the Three Windows, the Main Temple and the Condor Sector, make up the urban sector. There is also an impressive monolith of carved stone, three meters high and seven meters wide at the base, named the Sacred Stone. In order to build Machu Picchu, the Incas had to use blocks of stone brought from long distances. The finish of the walls features different quality levels and techniques. One of the highest quality walls is the central one of the Main Temple where the stones fit together perfectly. Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary in not only a priceless archeological site, it is also associated with rich animal and plant life. In 1983, UNESCO placed it on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Lists. Back to Aguas Calientes for luch time, afternoon return train to Ollantaytambo and transfer to the hotel in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Dinner and overnight in the hotel. 3
Day 4 SACRED VALLEY - CHINCHERO - MARAS - MORAY CUSCO Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning excursion to the village of Chinchero, a pretty Andean village with a magical atmosphere, located on the plateau straddling the valley of Cusco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Visit to the ruins of an Inca temple dedicated to Sun God and to the colonial church recently restored and completely covered with frescoes. Continuation to the amazing salinas on the plateau of Maras. These saltmines have been used since the Tahuantinsuyo. The people channel the salt water that bubbles to the surface from a spring called Qoripujio towards men-made wells. From the exposure to the sun, the water evaporates and the salt remains on the surface to be transported later to the market to be sold. The view of this complex of nearly 3000 wells is spectacular. A short ride will take us to Moray, a site that contains unusual Inca ruins consisting of several enormous terraced circular depressions, the largest of which is about 30 m deep. The purpose of these depressions is uncertain, but their depth and orientation with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 15 C between the top and bottom. This large temperature difference was probably used by the Inca to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops. At the end of the visit we ll continue to Cusco. Box lunch, dinner in a restaurant and overnight in the hotel. Note: a nice market takes place in Chinchero on Sundays. Day 5 CUSCO - SACSAYHUAMAN PISAC - CUSCO Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning we ll begin with the nearby fortress of Sacsayhuaman, a huge building on three levels from which we ll have a spectacular view over the city of Cusco. Continuation to the village of Pisac, a quiet colonial town nestled in the Urubamba Valley and dominated by impressive archaeological remains which lie atop a hill at the entrance to the valley. The ruins include magnificent terraces that follow the curves of the harmonious mountain slopes, connected by a trail system protected by stone walls, along which were built several warehouses used to store agricultural products. The main remains are separated along the ridge into four groups: Pisaqa, Intihuatana, Q allaqasa, and Kinchiracay. Intihuatana (the Temple of the Sun) includes a number of baths and temples that are considered among the finest buildings throughout the Inca architecture. Return to Cusco in the afternoon. Dinner in a restaurant and overnight in the hotel. 4
Day 6 CUSCO: city tour Breakfast in the hotel. This morning we ll visit the city on foot: the ancient capital of the Inca Empire has been declared World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1983 and is without a doubt one of the most important destinations in Peru. There are Inca buildings among its cobble-stoned streets, like the Koricancha and the palace of Inca Roca as well as Andean baroque structures from the Colonial Period like the Cathedral and the Church of the Company of Christ. In the picturesque neighborhood of San Blas the best artisans have set up their workshops. Free afternoon dedicated to walking around this incredible city. There is so much to see and do or just relax over a cappuccino on a terrace overlooking the Plaza de Armas. Dinner in a restaurant and overnight in the hotel. Day 7 CUSCO ANDAHUAYLILLAS - RAQCHI - LA RAYA - PUCARA - PUNO Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning, departure towards the city of Puno (450 km: 8 hours approximately) stoping at Andahuaylillas, a small colonial town with a superb church know as the Sixtine Chapel of the Andes dating back to 1580 and with a rich baroque interior, expressed in the golden altars, murals paintings and polychrome ceilings. Continuation and visit of the complex of Raqchi, considered one of the most daring: the temple of Viracocha, 100 m long and 20 m wide, is made of mud and brick walls as high as 5 meters built on foundations of volcanic rock. The complex also includes an area of housing for the Inca nobility and dozens of circular reservoirs for the storage of food. After the visit we ll board again the bus to reach La Raya, the highest point of the trip at 4.319 m above sea level. Buffet lunch in the town of Sicuani and continuation to Pucara, known for its ceramics. The museum displays a collection of monolithic stone sculptures, steles and zoomorphic artifacts, pottery and other objects. Arrival in Puno in the late afternoon and transfer to the hotel. Lunch in a restaurant of Sicuani, dinner and overnight in the hotel. 5
Day 8 PUNO AND TITICACA LAKE: UROS AND TAQUILE ISLAND Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning we will cruise through the cobalt blue waters of the lake until we reach the Uros, the floating islands inhabited by an Aymara ethnia whose origin has been lost in time. The Uros live in huts made of layers of totora reeds and earn their life by selling articrafts. While their islands have became somewhat over-commercialised, they are still worth a visit because of their peculiar way of life. We continue the navigation towards the island of Taquile, one of the biggest of the lake, where a community of farmers still maintains customs and traditional clothing. They distinguish themselves by their detailed, fine, and colorful textiles with symmetrical decorations and symbols that reflect their way of life, and Andean beliefs. In the afternoon we ll navigate back to Puno crossing the lake and enjoying a beautiful sunset. Lunch in a restautant of Taquile. Overnight in the hotel. Day 9 PUNO LIMA - OUT Breakfast in the hotel and morning transfer to the airport of Juliaca (1 hour approximately) to catch the flight to Lima. Arrival, meeting with our assistant and transfer for lunch in Café del Museo, which is located inside the Larco Herrera Museum. The museum, founded in 1926, showcases remarkable chronological galleries providing an excellent overview on 3000 years of Peruvian pre-columbian history. Located in a unique vice-royal mansion of the 18th century, built over a 7th century pre-columbian pyramid, it is surrounded by beautiful gardens. It exhibits the finest gold and silver collection from Ancient Peru and a famous erotic archaeological collection. In tha afternoon visit of the city: Plaza San Martin, Plaza de Armas, the austere Cathedral with the tomb of conquistador Francisco Pizarro, the Church of San Francisco and the attached monastery with its beautiful cloister, El Olivar Park with its ancient olive trees, the residential districts of San Isidro and Miraflores with the elegant malecon, the boardwalk in Lima from where you ll have a wonderful view over the Pacific Ocean. Transfer to the airport in the late afternoon to catch the return international flight. Lunch in a restaurant. 6