Peru: Andes, Incas, and Amazon

On this page: Overview | Itinerary | Pricing

Overview

From Lima we travel to the upper Amazon basin, a pristine rainforest in Southeastern Peru, spending two nights at one of the lodges in the area - a unique opportunity for an Amazon rainforest experience. Then, our short flight from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco will let us enjoy the Inca Capital, visit some remote Andean villages and off-the-beaten-track Inca sites. We end with a visit to the Machu Picchu Sanctuary, by way of a one day hike on the famed Inca Trail and entering through the Sun Gate.

Itinerary: Day 1 Lima/Cusco, Day 2 Lima/Puerto Maldonado, Day 3 Puerto Maldonado, Day 4 Cusco, Day 5 Cusco/Urcos/Andahuaylillas/Pikillacta/Tipon, Day 6 Urubamba/Huilloc/Ollantaytambo, Day 7 Ollantaytambo/Wiñay Wayna/Machu Picchu, Day 8 Machu Picchu/Cusco, Day 9 Cusco/Lima

Duration: 9 days / 8 nights
Season: All year
Departures: On Request (Note that it is best to have Day 5 on a Sunday, when the market is in full swing!)
Price: Starting at $1530/person for 2 people SS: $260/person
Minimum: 2 Passengers

Itinerary

Day 1 Lima (Wednesday)

Arrive Lima and transfer to your hotel. Upon early arrival, there are optional tours available to visit modern and colonial Lima. There are also many museums and private collections to tour. Lunch and dinner on your own. Overnight at hotel in Lima.

Day 2 Lima / Puerto Maldonado (Thursday)

Transfer to airport to board your flight to Puerto Maldonado in the rainforest of South eastern Peru. You will be met at the airport and taken by canoe transport to your lodge. The lodge offers a varety of activities: orientation talks on arrival, walks through trails in the forest led by naturalist guides, night time excursions in dug-out canoes, float rides to watch fauna on the shore line and in the canopy layers. All meals are included as well as transportation in vehicles and canoes. Overnight at rainforest lodge.

Day 3 Puerto Maldonado (Friday)

Rainforest Lodge activities continue. Overnight at rainforest lodge.

Day 4 Cusco (Saturday)

Transfer to the airport to catch a short flight to Cusco. Transfer to your hotel and have the rest of the morning free to acclimatize; lunch on your own. Afternoon tour of the Cusco and the nearby ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Puca Pucara, Tambomachay and visit the main sites in the city--Inca temples and colonial churches. Dinner on your own and overnight at hotel in Cusco.

Day 5 Cusco / Urcos / Andahuaylillas / Pikillacta / Tipon (Sunday)

With your guide and driver, you will have an early departure for the one-hour drive south to Urcos where a colorful Andean market takes place on Sundays. Continuing on, you visit the colonial church of Andahuaylillas with its renowned frescoes and the pre-inca Wari site at Pikillacta. After lunch, visit the Inca ruins at Tipon below Mt. Pachatusan--a series of water fountains on the terraced hillside characterize this important site. In the late afternoon, return to Cusco. Dinner on your own and overnight at hotel in Cusco.

Day 6 Urubamba / Huilloc / Ollantaytambo / Urubamba (Monday)

Today your drive (with guide and driver) is to the living Inca village of Ollantaytambo, from where a narrow dirt road takes you to the village of Huilloc. Here you will visit family homes and see the Quechua way of life. You will be able to admire their weavings and observe their methods of agricultural production as you continue on a hike along a ridge overlooking the valley (elevation is approximately 12,500 ft/3,810 m). You then head into some remote areas where you may see isolated herds of llamas and alpacas roaming amid a patchwork of cultivated fields. A picnic lunch is served en route. In the afternoon, you will return to the ruins of Ollantaytambo, one of the few places where the Spanish were defeated in battle during their conquest. Here you can see Inca canchas, enclosures of multi-family living quarters that share just one exit to the street, ingenious stonework, cobbled streets, and an extensive communal water system that survives to this day. Check in at the hotel for dinner and overnight, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Day 7 Ollantaytambo / Wiñay Wayna / Machu Picchu (Tuesday)

With your guide, you will connect with the train to Machu Picchu. An ever narrowing gorge brings your group to km 104, where you begin your guided hike on the famed Inca Trail. Hiking past Chachabamba, a three hour ascent through highland grasses and small gulleys, brings you to Wiñay Wayna. Lunch is usually in this vicinity. From here, a winding trail takes you through a cloud forest, cutting across a ridge, and bringing you finally to the gate of the sun, Intipunku, with a spectacular view of the citadel of Machu Picchu below. Arriving at Machu Picchu later in the afternoon, you will take a shuttle bus to Machu Picchu Pueblo (Aguas Calientes). Dinner is on your own and overnight is at a hotel in Machu Picchu Pueblo. (The hike on the Inca Trail is optional; a direct train and shuttle bus ride to the citadel is available on request).

Day 8 Machu Picchu / Cusco (Wednesday)

Your guide will give your group a full-day guided visit of the Machu Picchu citadel, starting early in the morning. If you wish, you may climb Wayna Picchu (free, but a ticket is required). You then return to Cusco on the late afternoon train, arriving in the evening. Transfer from the train station to your hotel and dinner on your own. Overnight in Cusco.

Day 9 Cusco / Lima / Out (Thursday)

After breakfast, transfer to the airport and fly to Lima. Transfer to hotel. Evening transfer to the airport and depart on homeward-bound flight.

Pricing

# Group:	2	3	4-6	7-9	Join Group
Price per person:	$1530	$1360	$1270	$1225	n/a

NOTE: Customize this trip by adding extra nights in Cusco, Machu Picchu, or Lima. Optional side trips to Lake Titicaca, Arequipa and Nazca are available.

SERVICES INCLUDED: Transportation by car/van, canoes, shuttle buses and train, bilingual guides, breakfast each morning, lunches during full day excursions (hikes or tours), all meals during stay at the rainforest lodge, lodging on double basis in comfortable country inns, hotels or lodges, entrance fees to museums or archaeological sites, Inca Trail permits (if hiking the Inca Trail). Note that Inca Trail permits are limited and may not be available on short notice in the high season (June/July/August).

SERVICES NOT INCLUDED: Tips for your guide, driver and hotel staff, taxes, alcoholic beverages, laundry service, internet, additional tours, insurance, international and domestic airline tickets and personal gear.

Airline tickets can be booked for about $160/person per one way flight, based on actual cost at the time of booking. For this itinerary, the 3 legs of flight would be approximately $480/person.

DESTINATIONS

Tours

Preparation