9 Days / 8 Nights

Day 1: Depart North America / Arrive Lima
Depart North America today and arrive in Lima,
Peru. You are welcomed and transferred to the hotel.
Day 2 : Lima – City Tour & Larco Herrera Museum
After a leisurely morning, embark on your tour
of Lima. Your local expert focuses on the city’s
colonial heritage during a walking tour. Start at
the Plaza de Armas to see the Government Palace and
visit the Cathedral, where the skeleton of Francisco
Pizarro is sealed in a wooden coffin. From there,
stroll to the venerable San Francisco Monastery,
with its splendid 17th-century cloister murals.
Next, stop at Lima’s famous Herrera Museum. This
evening, enjoy a welcome dinner at a La Rosa Nautica
Restaurant. (BD)
Day 3 : Lima / Cuzco / Sacsayhuaman
Fly to the oldest inhabited city in the Western
Hemisphere: Cuzco. Today, visit several ruins,
including Kenko and Tambomachay. Journey to the
“Valley of the Incas” to the Sacsayhuaman Fortress.
Later, see the hillside fort and Puca Pucara, which
most likely served as a lookout post and stopping
point between Cuzco and the Sacred Valley. (BL)
Day 4 : Sacred Valley / Machu Picchu
Travel aboard the Vistadome train from Cuzco to
the archeological wonder of Machu Picchu, built in
the late 14th century. Machu Picchu was obviously a
well-planned and carefully built city, made up of
two clearly different sectors, one agricultural and
the other urban. With mountains to one side and a
river roaring far below, this solemn fortress is a
fascinating remnant of a once-bustling city that was
mysteriously abandoned after the middle of the 16th
century. Secreted amidst dense jungle vegetation and
steep hills, Machu Picchu remained undiscovered by
the modern world until 1911. Learn about the many
legends and strange truths of these ancient ruins
from your local guide. (BLD)
Day 5 : Machu Picchu / Cuzco
As the sun rises over the mountains, watch the
morning mist disappear once again to reveal the
awe-inspiring city of Machu Picchu, probably the
most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire.
Return to Cuzco aboard the “Inca Train.” Sip a cup
of tea and enjoy panoramic views as the beautiful
greenery of the Urubamba Valley rolls by. (BL)
Day 6 : Cuzco – Pisac
Travel to Pisac to see the ruins of an ancient
citadel that once controlled a route that connected
the Inca Empire with the Paucartambo River. The
panoramas from Pisac are magnificent, offering views
of the impressive patchwork effect in the
countryside below, which was accomplished by
patterned fields and rimmed by vast terracing cut
out of solid rock. In the upper section lies the
main Sun Temple and above the temple are still more
unexcavated ruins and hidden burial sites. Later,
visit the market for a taste of colorful local life
before you return to Cuzco. (BL)
Day 7 : Cuzco / Julliaca / Puno
Depart Cuzco by flight for Julliaca. Upon
arrival, drive to Puno. The rest of the day is at
leisure.
Perched at a breathtaking 3,800 meters (12,400 ft.)
above sea level, Puno and the surrounding
countryside are the cradle of the Aymara
civilization and the legendary birthplace of the
founders of the Inca empire. Puno lies on the shore
of Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable
lake, from whose waters the Inca believed Manco
Capac, their cultural founder, emerged. Many ethnic
groups like the Uros still depend on the resources
of the lake for their living. The Uros themselves
dwell on the floating islands they build with the
lake’s reed vegetation. Near Puno, overlooking Lake
Umayo, are chullpas, or burial towers, that once
served as the tombs of high-ranking Aymara Lords.
Overnight in puno
Day 8 : Full days Uros island tours- Lake
Tititaka
After breakfast Visit to the Uros Indian and
Taquile Island at Lake Titikaka - This full day
excursion will take you to the highest navigable
lake in the world, to visit the floating islands of
the Uros Indians, considered themselves Lords of the
Lake, and they were convinced they had black blood
because they did not feel the cold of the lake and
the winter. Continuing to Taquile where a native
community of about 400 families still lives with the
traditions of the XIV century that respect the
principals of an Incan way life. Taquile is a very
important site on Lake Titikaka for
Day 9: Depart Puno-Juliaca-Lima-Home
After breakfast Sillustrani Burial towers excursion
Visit burial towers known as chulpas, ancient and
impressive tombs from the pre-Inca period. They were
built from a mixture of stone and adobe and served
as burial places for chiefs and other high-ranking
members of Inca society. From their transfers to
airport to catch your international flight home.