This was an adventure trip. There was long bus journeys but you see the country as it is. We... Alexandra Tindall, 2018 See more reviews
Fantastic trip, which was extremely well orgainised. A lot of travelling involved with some long... Ian Taylor, 2018 See more reviews
Guiliano was absolutely amazing. I couldn't have asked for anything more from the trip!... Leah Gaynor, 2018 See more reviews
A trip well worth taking. The amazing places we visited took our breath away at times. Even on... Rachael Hardbattle, 2018 See more reviews
An unforgettable trip. Saw so many amazing things. The scenery is spectacular and I just sat... Catherine Lander, 2018 See more reviews
This was a fantastic holiday. We had long bus journeys but the scenery was so amazing that they... Helen Seymour, 2018 See more reviews
This trip does everything it says it will do, BUT, do be aware that where the trip notes mention... Graham Johnson, 2018 See more reviews
Good starter trip for Peru as saw most of the main attractions. Hard going sometimes with long... angela hill, 2018 See more reviews
Itinerary Include flights Expand all London to London Day 1 Fly to Lima. The travelling on the group flights and those who have booked a transfer through Exodus will be met at the airport and transferred to our hotel in the Miraflores district of Lima. Your leader may give a short welcome briefing upon arrival to the hotel, or they may decide to wait until the following day when everyone is feeling rested after a good night’s sleep.Hotel El Tambo 1 (or similar) Day 2 Drive south along the coast and sail to the Ballestas Islands, home to the highest concentration of marine birds in the world; overnight in Ica. We set off very early this morning (around 5.30am) and drive south from Lima until we reach the port of Paracas (4-5 hours' drive). The Ballestas Islands lie a short distance off the coast here and are home to one of the highest concentrations of seabirds in the world - we visit them by boat. On the outward journey we pass the curious pre-Inca Candelabra geoglyph, a huge (over 150m high) three-pronged trident shape etched into the sandy hillside, the origin and purpose of which remains unknown (although there are many theories). Upon reaching the islands we explore the caves and rock archways by boat, and observe the Sealion and Fur seal colonies as well as Humboldt penguins and an array of birds such as cormorants, pelicans, tendrils, and Peruvian Blue-footed booby birds. The boats are open-top motorised boats and are shared with other non-Exodus clients (occasionally the sea is too rough and the boats can't operate). Take heed of seabirds above - it is advisable to wear a hat! The boat trip lasts around two hours. Once back on dry land we drive for an hour or so to Ica, in the heart of Peru's wine-growing region. At the Huacachina oasis just outside Ica there are high sand dunes where we may have time to try 'sand-surfing' and ride in dune buggies (optional). Hotel Vila Jazmin (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 3 On to Nazca; see the Nazca lines; optional scenic flight. We drive towards Nazca, stopping to visit the viewing platforms overlooking the Nazca Lines. These are one of the world's great archaeological mysteries, consisting of enormous drawings and patterns etched in the desert sand. In the afternoon, for those who wish there is usually time to take a scenic flight over the Nazca Lines (additional cost), weather permitting. Due to the small planes used, this is not suitable for those with a fear of flying or who suffer from travel sickness. Alternatively, your leader can help arrange optional visits to the nearby burial grounds, Antonini Museum, or the Planetarium. Casa Andina Hotel / Alegria (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 4 Turn inland from coastal desert, climbing high into the Andes. We turn inland from the coastal desert today, climbing high into the Andes on today's long (9-10 hrs) but spectacular drive. Vicuñas (a smaller wild relative of the llama) can be seen along this road, as this area is Peru's largest vicuña reserve. This region has only recently become easily accessible to tourists due to an upgrade of the Abancay/Chalhuanca road. The altitude here can make physical exertion difficult (the highest point we reach today is Negro Mayu, a high pass at approx. 4600m). It is recommended to rest in the evening. We overnight a couple of hours before Abancay on the road to Cuzco. Tampumayu Hotel (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 5 Drive to Cuzco (3400m) visiting Inca sites on the way. We set off towards Cuzco this morning, stopping to visit the unique Inca Saywiti stone and Tarawasi ruins. The glaciated summits of the Vilcabamba Mountain range and the descent into the Apurimac River valley demonstrate the dramatic contrasts of the Andes Mountains, and we should expect stunning scenery throughout today's 7-8 hour drive. It is recommended to take it easy upon arrival into Cuzco and to drink plenty of water to allow your body time to acclimatise to the altitude (3,400m).Inkarri Hotel (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 6 Free day to explore Cuzco. Today has been left free for exploring Cuzco, one of South America's most beautiful cities. The Plaza de Armas is a fantastic spot for people watching, and the Koricancha Sun Temple located in the Santo Domingo Church and monastery is worth a visit. The Mercado San Pedro is the place to try some local produce and there are many handicraft markets to shop for souvenirs such as alpaca jumpers and scarves. Outside the town are more Inca ruins, notably the fortress of Sacsayhuaman where the Inca armies made their last stand against the Conquistadores. A combined entrance fee (Tourist Ticket) for these sites and many others is recommended - please see the Optional Excursions section below for prices. Sightseeing excursions to places outside Cuzco, including the Sacred Valley of the Incas, are also available. Please ask your tour leader. Hotel Casa Andina Koricancha (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 7 Attend Inti Raymi Festival in Cuzco. The 'Festival of the Sun' is held in Cuzco on 24th June each year. During this time Cuzco is filled with colourful processions and other festivities include traditional dances and even animal sacrifice. In the morning we will walk to Qoricancha Temple (The Sun Temple) to see the beginning of the most important Andean religious festival in the country. Afterwards, we continue on to the Plaza de Armas (main square) to witness the first offerings to the sun while people from the four traditional Inca regions (Suyos) perform ceremonial dances. Around mid-morning we make the short journey by bus to Sacsayhuaman archaeological site, located on a hillside above Cuzco. The atmosphere is particularly evocative here, amidst the Inca ruins, as we see the most traditional Andean worship rituals in honour of Mother Earth. The ceremony finishes in the mid-afternoon, after which we will return to our hotel. There can be quite a bit of waiting around for the festivities to kick off today and you may want to buy a packed lunch to take with you - your leader can help arrange this if you request it the night before. Hotel Casa Andina Koricancha (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 8 Train to Aguas Calientes; tour of Machu Picchu. For most people, the highlight of the trip is the visit by train to the greatest ruin in the world, the lost city of Machu Picchu. This is one of the architectural and engineering marvels of the ancient world, in a mountain setting of staggering immensity. The Spaniards never found it; the Incas left no records of it, so Machu Picchu remains a great enigma, a city lost for centuries in the jungle until it was rediscovered in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. We transfer to Ollantaytambo train station and catch a train to Aguas Calientes (the town below Machu Picchu). The railway line follows a beautiful route through the Urubamba River Valley. In the afternoon we take a short bus ride up the winding road to Machu Picchu for a guided tour of the ruins. Having been trialled in 2017, new regulations for visiting Machu Picchu will be fully enforced for 2018; you will be limited to a maximum of four hours within the site and must be accompanied by a guide. There will also be three set routes to follow around Machu Picchu; Exodus selects the most comprehensive route. Please note that exploring the ruins involves a reasonable amount of walking, including up and down steep and uneven stone steps. Visiting in the afternoon tends to be quieter than the mornings and the mist which shrouds the ruins at dawn has usually dispersed. Inti Punku El Tambo (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 9 Free morning or optional second visit to Machu Picchu; afternoon return to Cuzco by train and by road. A free morning to enjoy the buzz of this little town in the jungle below the ruins. There are some hot springs nearby, however, they tend to suffer from overcrowding and therefore poor water quality, so are not recommended. Should you wish to visit Machu Picchu again this morning, your leader will help you to purchase a second entrance ticket (subject to availability) which will allow you a further four hours to explore the 'Lost City' - for the second visit it is not mandatory to have a guide. At the time of writing a morning ticket costs PEN152 (approx. £35/US$47). In the afternoon we board the train back to Ollantaytambo and then continue by minibus to Cuzco, arriving in the late evening. Hotel Casa Andina Koricancha (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 10 Free day for optional excursions. A final chance to enjoy the sights and shopping of this beautiful city. If you fancy something more active then there is an array of optional activities available from Cuzco that your leader can organise. These include paddle-boarding on a lake, mountain biking, or a combination of via ferrata and zip-lining in the Sacred Valley. Hotel Casa Andina Koricancha (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 11 Drive to Lake Titicaca (3800m), with stops en route; boat to Amantani Island for homestay. Today we travel for 8-10 hours along the Vilcanota River and onto the altiplano, the high plains separating the Andes from the jungle. Although it is quite a long drive, it is interesting and often spectacular. There are scheduled stops at interesting sites to help break up the day and we will get to appreciate the immensity of the Andean landscapes. This afternoon we arrive at the shores of Lake Titicaca (3800m) and board a boat for our trip to Amantani Island. Hiking around the island offers great views across the lake, whilst the night spent with a local family offers fantastic cultural insight into lives very different to our own. (A packed lunch is included today). Amantani Island homestay (Basic) Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Day 12 Explore the island; afternoon boat to Puno visiting the floating reed islands. We explore the island in the morning before boarding our boat for the three-hour journey to Puno on the lakeshore. On the way, we visit the Titinos Indians, who live on islands of floating reeds and, save for a few modest concessions to the modern world, still live as their ancestors would have done centuries ago. Most tours visit the Uros islands closer to the shore but we visit the more isolated Titinos Islands for a more authentic experience. Casona Plaza Hotel (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 13 Drive across the altiplano to Colca Canyon. Today we head off across the altiplano again. This time we cross to the south-west, heading back towards the coast to the high Colca Canyon (5-6 hours' drive). En route we have opportunities to see vicuñas and possibly flamingos before descending into what is considered to be the second deepest canyon in the Americas (the deepest, the Cotahuasi Canyon, is also in Peru). There is time in the evening for a visit to the hot springs near the main town of Chivay (3635m) - a warming pleasure after the chill of Lake Titicaca. Hotel Pozo del Cielo (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 14 Morning condor viewing; afternoon drive past huge volcanoes to the 'White City' of Arequipa (2350m). An early start to view condors soaring on the morning drafts rising out of the canyon. Extensive terraces, stunning colonial churches, and burial tombs are viewed before we ascend out of the canyon and cross Patapampa Pass (4910m) on our way to Arequipa, known as the 'White City' due to the pale volcanic stone used to construct many of its colonial buildings. The picturesque city enjoys a year-round pleasant climate and is surrounded by 6000m volcanoes, including the near-perfect cone of El Misti. Ensueño Hotel or Su Majestad Hotel (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 15 Morning visit Santa Catalina Convent; afternoon fly to Lima. In the morning we visit the huge and serene convent of Santa Catalina. Built in 1580 and only opened to the outside world in the 1970s, it offers a rare insight into the lives led by the nuns and has changed little through the centuries. There are still around 20 nuns living in the northern corner of the complex. In the afternoon or evening we fly to Lima where will transfer to our hotel in Miraflores. Hotel El Tambo 1 (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 16 Depart Lima. There is time today for optional tours of Lima including visits to the Gold Museum and tours of the historic downtown before we are transferred to the airport in the afternoon for the overnight flight to London. Meals included: Breakfast Day 17 Arrive London. The group flights arrive back into London this afternoon.
Amazon Rainforest extension (from Lima) Code: XPL Easily accessible via a short flight to Puerto Maldonado from Lima, the Amazon is the world's largest rainforest and home to an astonishing array of wildlife, as well as countless plant species. Spending three nights at a lodge in the incredibly rich Tambopata Reserve, we use motorised canoes to explore its lakes and rivers, and follow jungle trails to discover its dense forests. The detailed itinerary can be found here. Please ask your sales consultant for more details.
Peru Visas are not required by UK citizens, Western European nationals, Americans, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans and most other nationalities. If you are in any doubt please contact the nearest Peruvian Embassy.
Peru There are no mandatory vaccination requirements. Recommended vaccinations are: Polio, Tetanus, Typhoid, Hepatitis A. Zika fever is a mosquito‐borne viral disease and a known risk in places visited on this trip. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available, we therefore strongly recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites. If you are travelling to the Tambopata reserve in the Amazon rainforest, the risk of malaria is slight, but you may wish to consult your GP or travel health clinic for further advice. We also strongly recommend that you obtain a Yellow Fever vaccination. Dengue fever and/or Chikungunya are known risks in the Amazon region. Both are tropical viral diseases spread by daytime biting mosquitoes. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available for either, and therefore the best form of prevention is to avoid being bitten. We recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites: always apply insect repellent and wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers while in the rainforest to avoid being bitten. The above information can change at short notice; as we are not qualified to answer all your questions about travel health we strongly recommend you contact your Medical Professional or a Travel Health Clinic at least 8 weeks prior to departure for up‐to‐date information.
Hotels & Homestay This trip spends 15 nights in hotels, all of which have en-suite facilities. The hotels normally used are indicated within the itinerary, however, accommodation may differ from those stated depending on your departure date. Throughout this tour we stay in carefully selected 3-star hotels with en suite bathroom facilities throughout, with the exception of one night on Amantani Island. Most hotels have a safety deposit box in the room but if not, there will be one at reception. In Lima we stay at Hotel El Tambo 1, located in the upmarket Miraflores District - Larco Mar shopping mall is within walking distance as is the trendy Barranco District, where you'll find a wide variety of restaurants and nightlife. We usually stay in Villa Jazmin in Ica, which offers large rooms and an outdoor swimming pool. Near to Abancay we stay at Tampumayu, which is a hacienda style property - a little rustic but full of character and there's a pretty little church within its grounds. In Cuzco, we stay at one of the well-known Casa Andina properties, Casa Andina Koricancha, which is ideally located within walking distance of the main square and the Koricancha 'Sun Temple'. For our Machu Picchu visit we spend a night at Inti Punku El Tambo in Aguas Calientes; a simple yet contemporary hotel. The most basic accommodation is in Chivay and Arequipa but it serves its purpose for a night. Casona Plaza Hotel in Puno has a local 4-star local rating, is centrally located, and has a lovely restaurant area. Please note that central heating is very rare in Peru, even in good standard hotels. Most hotels provide plug-in heaters and spare blankets. Additionally whilst all of the hotels have a hot water supply, it can be temperamental when there is high demand. A railway line runs straight through the centre of Aguas Calientes and whilst we try to allocate rooms away from it whenever possible, the trains might be heard from some rooms. On Amantani Island on Lake Titicaca, the group will split up overnight to stay with local families. There will generally be a few of us in each house and we may have to share rooms en masse - single supplements do not apply for this night. The rooms are basic but clean and your beds will have sheets and plenty of blankets. There are outside toilets and washbasins. The lack of electricity or road noise (there are no roads!) and the starlit sky on clear nights makes for a truly peaceful and serene experience. Single rooms can be booked for single supplement, subject to availability, at the time of booking. This supplement covers single rooms throughout the trip, with the exception of the homestay on Amantani Island. We recommend the early booking of single supplements and of pre/post tour accommodation.
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Reviewed July 2018 Ian Taylor Trip: Essential Peru - Inti Raymi Festival Essential Peru - Inti Raymi Fantastic trip, which was extremely well orgainised. A lot of travelling involved with some long journeys but in very comfortable coach with a toilet. The journeys were broken by interesting stops along the way, Our guide Guiliano was outstanding and looked after us extremely well. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Seeing Machu Picchu with my own eyes & hiking up to the Sun Gate. Overnight Homestay with such a welcoming family on Amantani Island on Lake Titicaca was an honour & privilege. Seeing the Condors soar at Colchester Canyon. What did you think of your group leader? Guiliano was absolutely amazing, he really couldn’t do enough for us and was always enquiringly about our health every day to ensure that people knew how to cope with the altitude etc. He had the patience of a saint - even when dealing with perhaps the more challenging individuals in the group !! In the evenings he gave us the option of having a group meal for those that wished to do that and took us to a wide variety of local restaurants. This was totally unexpected and as a solo traveller I really appreciated that extra effort. He showed such passion and knowledge for his Country & was very good at explaining the history and ways of the Peruvian culture to us. His command of English was very impressive. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? Take heed of the trip notes - it can get chilly so be prepared for that. Many of the hotels we stayed in did have electric heaters in the room but not all of them work efficiently even if there is one. Restaurants can also be cold - which I didn’t think about. Our internal flightback to Lima had a baggage allowance of 23kg not 20kg but worth double checking. Money exchange was very easy to find for both US dollars, UK Sterling and Euros, in most major towns and cities. Many shops took US Dollars in payment. Is there anything else you would like to add? Time at Machu Picchu was a bit on the tight side as the obligatory guide seemed to waste a lot of time giving us the two hour tour ( he wasn’t very good to be honest & it’s a pity Guiliano wasn’t permitted to take us around). The afternoon visit is a good idea however as the site is much less crowded. I had to choose whether to go for the Sun Gate in my free time - which I did (1hr up, 20 mins at top, 45 mins to get down (but I’m used to hiking) but then couldn’t also do the guardhouse as it was roped off by the time I got back to it. All tickets for the optional sunrise visit the following morning were sold out by the time we got to Aguas Callientes. Not sure if it could have been bought online in advance but might be something Exodus needs to look at. On your second day walk along the riverside to the local Museum its well worth the time as they have a fantastic exhibit telling both the history and discovery and clearance of the Machu Picchu site ( beside the Botanic Gardens - which aren’t up to much - but included in the entrance fee). Take ID with you as they asked for a passport or equivalent.
Reviewed July 2018 Leah Gaynor Trip: Essential Peru - Inti Raymi Festival Beyond my expectations Guiliano was absolutely amazing. I couldn't have asked for anything more from the trip! There is some long drives as stated but the views and the stops you make are unreal! What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Machu Picchu is a pinch yourself can't beleive I'm here moment. My highlight of the trip! What did you think of your group leader? Guiliano was fantastic. He couldn't do enough to help us all out. He was knowledgeable of his home country and had so many facts I've bought home with me. I honestly can't say enough about him. I hope any other trip I do I have a guide half what he was!
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