Peru’s Inca Heritage

Day 1 Fri: Miami / Lima

Depart Miami on your flight to Lima, Peru. Meet & greet services and transfer to you hotel for overnight.

Day 2 Sat: Lima / Cuzco

Transfer to airport for the flight to Cuzco. Meeting services and transfer to the hotel. This afternoon we tour Cuzco, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the western hemisphere. Nowadays Cuzco is a delightful combination of Inca and colonial architecture dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. During the tour we will visit Cuzco’s most important landmarks such as the Cathedral, Santo Domingo Church and the Plaza de Armas. Also included is the famous San Blas artisan’s quarter. Next we drive out of Cuzco to visit the nearby ruins of Kenko, Puca-pucara, and the royal baths of Tampumachay, continuing to the impressive fortress of Sacsayhuaman, whose gigantic 3-tiered walls are built from 18-foot boulders and weigh over 300 tons. This visit will end with a candlelight presentation by our guide about the mystery and history of these ruins and the Inca civilization. Overnight at the hotel. (B)

Day 3 Sun: Cuzco (Sacred Valley of Urubamba)

Morning visit to the fabled “Sacred Valley of the Incas,” an astonishingly fertile Andean valley, where the fortunate visitor is soon impressed by soaring mountains, lush landscapes, ancient villages, Inca ruins, and deep-rooted traditions. First we visit beautiful Chinchero, a traditional Quechua community in the highlands of Peru. Sunday is market day when Indians from different villages meet to trade their wares and produces among themselves just as they did a century ago. We will visit with the local village women weaving in the market plaza in front of an Inca temple wall marked by a fine row of person-sized Inca niches. Beautiful hand-woven textiles, old and new, are available for purchase at very reasonable prices. Next we visit to the village of Ollantaytambo, an ancient fortress of temples and terrace that tower over the valley. After lunch we drive to the Spanish Colonial village of Pisac and the Pisac Indian Market. Here you will have the opportunity to bargain with the local artisans for a variety of Peruvian handicrafts, jewelry and excellent bargains on Alpaca sweaters. Return to Cuzco for overnight. (B,L)

Day 4 Mon: Cuzco (Maras & Moray)

Morning excursion to the Inca agricultural experimental center of Moray, famous for its sunken amphitheater, made up of four circular terraces, which appear to disappear into the earth like an artificial crater. The site was apparently an Inca agricultural research station designed for experimenting with crops at various altitudes (some of which run down to depths of 100 meters). Next we continue to the impressive Salt Pools of Maras emerging from a salt spring underneath the Urubamba Valley that is fed into terraced evaporative pools as a way of harvesting salt. Here we learn about ancestral techniques still used in current day agricultural, irrigation and salt-recollection tasks, as well as in Andean festivals and rites. Return to Cuzco for overnight. (B,L)

Day 5 Tue: Cuzco / Machu Picchu

Early morning transfer to the train station to board the Vistadome Train traveling through the Urubama Valley to Machu Picchu considered the "Lost City" of the Incas. Perched 8,200 feet above the valley, this significant archaeological find is situated along remote mountains, amid a semi-tropical jungle and therefore was hidden for 400 years until discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham of Yale University. From the train station, our tour bus will make the ascent to this ancient citadel to explore the temples, altars and more than 200 buildings. After lunch more exploration on your own before descending down to town and your hotel. (B,L)

Day 6 Wed: Machu Picchu / Cuzco

Morning free to revisit the ruins on your own. This afternoon return by train back to Cuzco and your hotel for overnight. (B)

Day 7 Thur: Cuzco / Juliaca - Puno (Lake Titicaca)

Transfer to the airport for the flight to Juliaca. Meeting services upon arrival in Juliaca and transfer to Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest and largest navigable lake in the world. En-route to Puno we stop at the pre-Inca complex of Sillustani situated on a hilltop overlooking Lake Umayo. Sillustani is a unique pre-Inca complex where we view cylindrical and square shaped hand carved granite (believed to be) funeral towers also referred to as “chulpas”. We continue to the Esteves Libertador Hotel. Lake Titicaca is located at 12,529 ft above sea level so it is a good idea to relax and get acclimated to the high altitude so for the remainder of evening. Overnight at hotel in Puno. (B)

Day 8 Fri: Puno (Lake Titicaca)

This morning we visit the floating islands of the Uros, an ancient lake Indian tribe, still maintaining traditions and way of life as they have for centuries. The Uros Indians live on these floating islands made by hand from totora reeds that grow in abundance in the shallow waters of the lake. This unique practice dates back to the time of the Incas, and today there are some 45 floating islands in the Bay of Puno. Box lunch and continue by boat to the island of Taquile, the Quechua speaking Indians boasting the world's finest hand weaving techniques which they perfected over the generations. Return to our hotel in Puno for overnight. (B,L)

Day 9 Sat: Puno / Lima

Transfer to the airport for the flight to Lima. Meeting services and transfer to your hotel. Founded in 1535 by the Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro, this colonial city became the political and military capital of the New World until it was declared the capital of Peru in 1821. We begin our tour of Colonial and Modern Lima, “City of Kings." Colonial sites include the lovely Plaza Mayor with its cathedral and palace, and the exquisite Torre Tagle Palace modern day seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Continue with a visit to the Gold Museum followed by the Larco Herrera Archaeological Museum which exhibits the world's largest private collection of pre-Columbian art boasting an astonishing array of gold, silver, semi-precious stones and textiles. Evening free to take in a dinner and show or simply relax at your hotel. (B)

Day 10 Sun: Lima (Pachacamac & Depart) / Miami

This morning we drive along the Pan-American Highway with its views across the beautiful pacific beaches making your way to the pre-Inca ruins of Pachacamac and its Temple of the Sun and the Palace of the Virgins. Dating back to 200 AD., it was originally devoted to the worship of the earth god Pachacamac and over the centuries, temples for other gods of the coastal cultures were erected throughout this immense ceremonial center. Here you will view the weathered adobe temples of Peru's ancient cultures, dominated by the Inca's temple of the Sun and the Moon, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. You’ll visit the site museum, which features ceramics, textiles and a wooden idol found in the original temple of Pachacamac. Return to Lima in time to pack and transfer to the airport for departure flight to Miami. (B)

Remarks

Not included:
Gratuities of any kind; airport departure taxes; meals unless included in the itinerary.

Please inquire about our special airfares on AMERICAN AIRLINES and LAN for this program.