Itinerary Include flights Expand all Day 1 Depart London. The group flights depart London this evening. Day 2 Arrive Lima. The group flights arrive into Lima this morning. Our hotel is based in the residential Miraflores District, within walking distance of the coast. There are no excursions planned for today in order to give time recuperate after your flight. Your leader will be on hand to help you get your bearings and can help make arrangements should you want to visit somewhere in particular. There will be a group briefing at the hotel this afternoon/evening. Hotel Antigua Miraflores (or similar) Day 3 Tour of Lima's historic centre, visiting the Larco Museum, Basilica Cathedral and catacombs. Today we have a tour of colonial and modern Lima. We visit the modern residential district and then explore the historical downtown area. We will discover the Plaza de Armas, Basilica Cathedral and Presidential Palace on a short walk around the colonial centre, and we visit the incredible church of San Francisco, which houses one of the oldest libraries in the Americas and sits on top of a labyrinthine network of catacombs. These still house the bones of Lima's wealthy 18th and 19th century residents. Hotel Antigua Miraflores (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 4 Fly to Puerto Maldonado; travel by boat into rainforest; afternoon jungle walk and twilight river excursion. We leave Lima early today as we take a flight to Puerto Maldonado, a small town in the rainforest. On arrival, we transfer to the dock for a boat trip to our lodge in the Tambopata Reserve – this journey takes around 30 minutes. On the way, we may see caimans, river turtles and waterfowl. After some time to settle in and lunch, we will take a short walk along the forest trails near the lodge followed by a twilight river excursion to look for nocturnal animals. Hacienda Concepción (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Day 5 Jungle exploration by boat and on foot. Activities today generally include a mixture of walks along the forest trails, time spent in canoes to explore rainforest lakes, and the opportunity to go high into the canopy for a completely different view of the forest. In the evening we will take a short walk through the Amazon rainforest to look for nocturnal animals. The resident guides are normally around in the evening to answer questions. Hacienda Concepción (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Day 6 Fly to Cuzco; orientation walk and visit to Koricancha, the 'Sun Temple'. We return to Puerto Maldonado after breakfast today and board our flight to Cuzco. Upon landing we transfer to our centrally located hotel. Set amidst hills in the altiplano, the imperial city of the Incas, Cuzco was the geographic, cultural and political centre of a vast empire which, at its peak, stretched from present day Quito in Ecuador to Santiago in Chile. After the Spanish Conquistadores invaded the city they started building on top of the Incan structures, resulting in unique architecture, a fusion of the Incan and Spanish colonial styles. It is among the most attractive cities in South America.We will have a short walking tour around the compact city centre to get our bearings, and will visit Koricancha – the Sun Temple, located in the Santo Domingo Church and Monastery. 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). Hotel San Agustin Plaza (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 7 Cuzco city tour, including San Pedro Market, the San Blas District and the Inca ruins of Sacsayhuaman. We have a full-day tour combining the highlights in and around the city. Outside the town are Inca ruins, notably the fortress of Sacsayhuaman where the Inca armies made their last stand against the Conquistadores. In the centre we visit the Plaza de Armas, and see many examples of the famous Inca stonework. One of Cuzco’s most picturesque areas is the San Blas District, where many artisan workshops are found. It’s a bit of a climb up the cobbled streets but a fascinating neighbourhood to visit and affords some great views over the city. We will also go to San Pedro Market, which is the place to try some local produce, and we will visit the Cusco Cathedral. Hotel San Agustin Plaza (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 8 Explore the Sacred Valley and have lunch with a family in the Chichubamba Community; train to Ollantaytambo. We visit the magnificent Sacred Valley, which runs along the Urubamba River near Cuzco, and is the true heartland of Incan culture and tradition. The high-Andean scenery is dotted with old towns and villages dating back to pre-Columbian times. We first head out of Cuzco to the colourful handicraft market at Pisac, at the entrance to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. After some free time to browse the stalls, we take a walking tour of the huge Inca ruins above the village. We then head to Chichubamba community, where you can see local activities such as pottery and chocolate making, as well as enjoy a hearty traditional lunch. After lunch, we drive down the valley to Ollantaytambo and visit the immense Inca fortress. This was the royal estate of Inca Emperor Pachacuti as well as being of religious and defensive significance. We will also explore the village, whose streets still follow the pre-conquest grid plan. Pakaritampu Hotel (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Day 9 Day walk along Inca Trail via Winay Wayna ruins. Today we have a day walk along a section of the Inca Trail. The trail passes the ruins of Wiñay Wayna and ascends a stone staircase to the Sun Gate for the iconic view of Machu Picchu and its magnificent backdrop. A packed lunch is included today. Hotel Casa Andina - Aguas Calientes (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Day 10 Guided tour of Machu Picchu; return to Cuzco by train and by road. In order to beat the day-trippers coming from Cuzco, we wake early this morning and catch the bus (approx. thirty minutes) up the winding road to the greatest ruin in the world - 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. The well-preserved Inca architecture, combined with its spectacular location on a mountain spur high above the Urubamba River, makes Machu Picchu one of the world's most impressive ruins. Your leader will give you a two/three hour guided tour of the ruins and afterwards there will be free time to explore at your leisure. There are some spectacular walks around the site that you may wish to do, including following the path to the Inca Drawbridge. Once you’ve had your fill, return to Aguas Calientes in time to catch an afternoon train back to Ollantaytambo, and continue by road to Cuzco (approx. two hours drive). Hotel San Agustin Plaza (or similar) Meals included: Breakfast Day 11 Depart Cuzco. The group flights depart Cuzco this afternoon. Meals included: Breakfast Day 12 Arrive London. The group flights arrive into London this afternoon.
Lake Titicaca extension Code: XPT Journey across the spectacular high altiplano to Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable freshwater lake (3,800m). Explore its waters by boat and visit the descendants of the Uros Indians who live on floating reed islands, and are also known for producing fine textiles. Back on the mainland, we visit the pre‐ Incan site of Sillustani, comprised of burial towers with fantastic views over the region. The Titicaca Extension is only available after your main tour as we do not recommend arriving straight into Puno due to the altitude. The detailed itinerary can be found here. Please ask your sales consultant for more details. Price from: £209 (compulsory supplement of £48 for single travellers)
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 & Lodge This trip spends 7 nights hotels and 2 nights premium jungle lodge, all with en suite facilities. The hotels normally used are indicated within the itinerary however accommodation may differ from those stated depending on your departure date. All accommodation is centrally located and within waking distance of the main sites and have en suite bathrooms. Most hotels have a safety deposit box in the room but if not, there will be one at reception. In the rainforest we stay in the beautiful Inkaterra Hacienda Concepcion, located between the Tambopata National Reserve and the shores of the Madre de Dios River. The lodge is located about 30 mins by boat from Puerto Maldonado, and has a main building surrounded by private cabanas sitting on stilts. Each cabana is usually for two people sharing, and all have a private bathroom with a shower, as well as individual mosquito nets over the beds. There is limited electricity in the cabanas, and each room has both reading lights and a ceiling ventilator The main building has a dining room and bar, as well as a small library of books relating to the rainforest and its flora and fauna. 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, you might hear the trains from some rooms. We recommend the early booking of single supplements and of pre/post-tour accommodation. Single rooms can be booked for an optional single supplement.
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