Welcome to Lima, Peru’s capital! A city steeped in history and UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site, it was once known as the ‘Ciudad de los Reyes.’ Now, Lima is a modern metropolis undergoing an exciting cultural and economic shift. 

Upon arrival at Jorge Chavez International Airport, you’ll be met and transferred to your accommodation by one of our representatives. Spend the rest of the day at leisure in Lima. 

OVERNIGHT IN LIMA

Enjoy a hearty hotel breakfast before venturing out on a tour of Lima, beginning at the Larco Museum of pre-Columbian art. Here, in this former mansion, you can find a vast collection of gold and silver artefacts, pottery and erotic art.

Proceed to Casa de Aliaga, Lima’s oldest colonial mansion. The Aliaga family has lived there since conquistador Francisco Pizarro gave the land to his trusted ally, Jeronimo de Aliaga in 1535. 

Then, enjoy a tour of the colonial center of the city. Highlights include the impressive Plaza de Armas (the main square), the Government Palace (occupying the north side of the square) and the Cathedral of Lima, located to the east.

Afterwards, return to your hotel to rest.

OVERNIGHT IN LIMA

Kick-off with a hotel breakfast and then head to the bus station. Spend the journey gazing out at all the colorful Peruvian scenery.

Finally, you’ll reach the Ballestas Islands, a collection of rocky islets off the western coast of Peru. Cruise around the islands’ dramatic cliffs and keep your eyes peeled for various species of birds and other wildlife – including seals, boobies, pelicans, sea lions and Humboldt penguins to name a few. If you’re lucky, you might even see dolphins from the boat. 

Although you won’t step foot onto the islands themselves, you’ll get up very close to an impressive array of wildlife. Pass by the Paracas Candelabra, a huge geoglyph dating back to 200BC and at the end of the boat tour, take a private transfer to the city of Ica to visit its Regional Museum, home to pre-Hispanic ceramics, textiles, and art and palaeontology samples.

Next, catch the bus to Nazca, home to ancient geoglyphs etched into desert sands, for an overnight stay.

Following on from breakfast, you’ll transfer to the airport and catch a flight over the mysterious Nazca lines. Flying over the desert, you’ll see that the lines form geometric designs, swirls and zigzags, creating the shapes of a spider, condor and monkey. 

Weather and airspace permitting, you’ll also fly over the recently discovered drawings in Palpa. Next, get a transfer to the bus station for your journey to the city of Arequipa for an overnight stay (this is a 9 hour bus journey and you will arrive late in the evening, a light dinner is served on the bus).

After breakfast, spend the day getting to know the wonderful town of Arequipa – starting with the main square, the Plaza de Armas. Here, you’ll find the Neo-Renaissance Basilica Cathedral and the sensational Santa Catalina Monastery. Founded in the 16th century, the monastery is a walled community hidden from the influence of the outside world. The nuns’ families paid large sums of money for their daughters to join the convent, in turn making the monastery more and more wealthy and prestigious. 

Next, proceed to the Church of the Company, an example of Baroque architecture at its finest. Feast your eyes upon the intricately-carved façade, the sacristy and the main cloister. To cap off the day, visit the neighborhoods of Yanahuara and Carmen Alto and gaze up at the Misti volcano lurking in the distance.

Following breakfast, make your way to the Colca Valley. En route, discover the Yura district, an area boasting deep ravines, high mountains, gushing waterfalls and lush vegetation. Continue to the Pampa Canahuas, an extensive Andean plateau home to an indigenous Andean camelid (a close relation of the alpaca, guanaco and llama). 

Cross the pampas of Viscachani and Toccra and walk around the crater of the now extinct Chucura Volcano to reach the Mirador de los Andes at Patapampa – 4,910 metres above sea level and a great place to marvel at all the numerous volcanoes surrounding the area. Next, have a lovely lunch in the picture-perfect town of Chivay and then transfer to your hotel in the Colca Valley for an afternoon at leisure.

Enjoy your hotel breakfast and then head off to the Cruz del Condor viewpoint of the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest valleys in the world – double the depth of the Grand Canyon. Breathe in the area’s sheer immensity and witness majestic condors gliding around. 

Explore some of the traditional towns on the Colca River by descending into the valley, home to towns such as Chivay, Pinchollo, Maca, Achoma and Yanque, which are full to the brim with beautiful colonial churches.

Stop off at the Antahuilque and Choquetico viewpoints. Later, continue to Puno, making a brief pit stop in Patahuasi – full of amazing thick forests, sky-blue lagoons populated by cranes. Arrive in Puno for an overnight stay.

Have breakfast and then make your way to the port of Puno to board a boat to the Uros Islands. These are manmade islands, created entirely from the buoyant totora reeds that grow in the shallows of the lake. The indigenous people of these islands use reeds to construct their homes.

After wandering around this wonderful island, set sail to Taquile, an area which once belonged to the Inca Empire. The local community will provide an insight into their customs and traditions with a cultural demonstration. Take some time out for lunch on the island and then return to Puno.

After breakfast, you’ll be taken to the bus station to board a bus to Cusco, stopping off first in Pukara – Lake Titicaca’s first urban settlement dating back to between 100 and 300 A.D. Feast your eyes upon some of the monoliths from the town’s pre-Inca site at the Pukara Lithic Museum. Then, proceed to Raqchi, home to the Wiracocha Temple, built to honour a powerful Andean God. 

Next, head to the town of Andahuaylillas, some 40 kilometers away from Cusco and home to what’s dubbed the ‘Sistine Chapel of America’. Once in the Imperial City, you’ll get a pick up from the bus station and drop-off at your hotel. You will get a boxed lunch for your journey.

Kick-start today with breakfast at the hotel and spend the rest of the morning exploring Cusco’s cobble stoned streets. In the afternoon, take a guided tour of the Inca Empire’s former capital, beginning with the Santo Domingo Convent – constructed on the site of Qoricancha. Then, visit the cathedral in Plaza de Armas and the Cusco Hills – home to the fortress of Sacsayhuaman which you’ll have a chance to explore. 

Proceed to Qenko, an archaeological site where the Incas carried out religious rituals to improve harvests. The tour will end at Puka Pukara, the ‘red fortress’ in Quechua and an ancient military site, and you’ll then be taken back to your hotel.

After breakfast, head to the town of Chinchero – a small town boasting superlative views of the valley. You’ll visit archaeological remains and a beautiful 17th-century church. On Sundays, there’s a local market too. 

Then, transfer to the Yucay Museum of Living Culture, home to textiles, pottery and silverware crafted using techniques dating all the way back to Incan times. 

Gain an insight into local Andean traditions, feed llamas, sheep and alpacas and then visit the city of Ollantaytambo. Wander its streets, climb the iconic fortress built into the mountainside and then sample local cuisine in one of the city’s cozy restaurants. Then, return to your hotel for an overnight stay.

Today you’ll visit the wonderful Machu Picchu! After breakfast, start your trip at Ollanta station and catch an hour and a half train to Aguas Calientes. Upon arrival, take a 25-minute bus to Machu Picchu, the ‘Lost City of the Incas’ believed to built around 1450 by the Inca Pachacutec who intended for it to serve as a holiday residence. 

A century later, the city got abandoned and the jungle started to eat away at its stone constructions. Take a guided tour and learn about the origins of this impressive citadel, visiting its most wonderful monuments including the main square, the royal rooms, the Temple of Three Windows, the circular towers, the sacred clock and the cemeteries. 

At the end, return to Aguas Calientes for lunch at Café Inkaterra – a thatched-roof restaurant nestled between the railway and mountainside. Afterwards, take the train back to Ollanta Station and then proceed to your hotel in Cusco.

Enjoy your last hotel breakfast and then check-out and transfer to the airport to catch a flight to home (one of our representatives will be there to assist if there's a need). We hope you enjoyed your stay and that you’ll come away with some extraordinary memories of your time in Peru!

End of the tour!