ITINERARY DETAILS
Day 1: Arrive in Lima
You will be greeted at the Lima Airport and transferred to your hotel in Miraflores by private car. Enjoy the nearby shopping and restaurants in Miraflores.
Day 2: Lima City TourAfter breakfast, our guide will pick you up at your hotel to start the “City of the Kings” – Lima City Tour. You will begin by visiting the Plaza de Armas, a World Heritage UNESCO site, with its bronze fountain built-in 1560. Next, you will visit the Cathedral Museum of Gold and the Catacombs of San Francisco where you will see a fine collection of pre-Columbian gold, silver and bronze, weavings, ceramic works, mummies, catacombs and a splendid collection of arms from the Spanish colonial era. End your tour in the upscale neighborhoods of Miraflores and San Isidro after visiting Huaca Pucllana, an important ceremonial and administrative culture center in Lima, built in the 4th century AD. You will be returned to your hotel in the early evening after the tour.
Day 3: Lima – Cusco – Cusco City Tour
After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your one-hour flight east into the Andes to Cusco where you will be greeted at the airport and taken to your hotel to checkin. Rest and acclimate to Cusco’s 3,300-meter elevation. In the afternoon you will be met at your hotel for the unforgettable Cusco City Tour by tourist bus. Visit the Plaza de Armas, the temple of the sun (Koricancha), and La Catedral in the center of Cusco.
Afterward, you will go north to visit the ancient ceremonial sites of the Incas just outside of Cusco: the megalithic walls of Sacsayhuaman, Q’enqo Pucapucara. Then visit the baths, canals, aqueducts, and waterfalls of Tambomachay. After completion of the tour, you will be brought back to your hotel around sundown.
Day 4: Sacred Valley, CuscoOne of the most important tours recommended by ILE Tours is the full-day Sacred Valley Tour. Here you will learn of the Inca’s important and impressive legacy left to us by their knowledge of building and great respect for the sun and nature. After breakfast, you will be greeted in your hotel and driven NE out of Cusco to Pisaq. Stop periodically at scenic overlooks for pictures of the dramatic landscape before continuing on to Pisaq. Known for its indigenous craft market (on Sunday, Thursday and Tuesday) Pisaq was also the easternmost fortress of the Sacred Valley. The fortress can still see high above the town square to the north. Next, we will continue west through the Sacred Valley to the picturesque town of Urubamba where we will stop to enjoy an excellent Andean buffet lunch in one of the best restaurants. You will next visit the archaeological city of Ollantaytambo, the Inca’s northern fortress city that guarded the Sacred Valley in the north. Here you will appreciate the complexity of the magnificent Inca construction built in accordance with the landscape. Ollantaytambo which still retains its original Inca style and layout. Finishing our visit we will go to another impressive pueblo, Chinchero. A traditional town that still retains its typical form of dress and life. Some of the findest crafts you will see in Cusco are made in Chinchero. After a full day of traveling, you will be brought back to your hotel in the early evening.
Day 5: Machu Picchu TourVery early in the morning our staff will greet you at your hotel and take you to the Poroy train station for the train to Aguas Calientes. You will be greeted in Aguas Calientes by your guide and taken by bus up to Machu Picchu, one of the most remarkable and enigmatic archaeological sites in the world. Few works made by man are as harmonious with nature as the citadel of Machu Picchu. The “Lost City” is located at the top of a flattened mountain. Enjoy the wonders of Machu Picchu with your guide: the Sacred District, the Popular District to the south, and the District of Royalty in the urban sector. Visit the Temple of the Sun, the Room of the Three Windows and Temple of the Condor. Besides, the outstanding archaeological remains see the spectacular panoramic views of the Jungle Mountains and the Urubamba River 400 meters below. After the tour return to Aguas Calientes by bus and board your train back to Cusco. You will be greeted at the train station and taken back to your hotel.
Day 6: Cusco – PunoAfter breakfast, you will check–out of your hotel and be met and taken to the First Class bus for your 8 hours guided tour to Puno. Stopping along the way you will visit the Sistine Chapel of the Andes, Andahuaylillas. This is a very pretty cathedral with frescoes on almost every wall. Sorry, no pictures allowed. The temple ruins at Raqchi are magnificent at the second stop. There are remains of cottages, warehouses, and terraces and it is a beautifully excavated clean site. The remains of the largest Incan church are there and the tight stonework left standing is incredible. Next at the small town of Sicuani, you stop for a sit-down relaxing outdoor buffet lunch. The next stop is La Raya, the highest point on the route at 4,300 meters elevation. The final stop is the museum in Pukara to see the ancient pre-Incans artifacts. When you arrive in Puno you will be met and taken to the Sonesta Posadas del Inca Hotel by private car. Option – Rather than taking the tour bus to Puno you can substitute the exquisite Andean Explorer Luxury train from Cusco to Puno. The 10-hour train ride to Puno affords one to see Peru’s magnificent changing landscape from the open observation bar car. Enjoy a 3-course lunch during the ride. Be prepared to go to the colder Titicaca lake area from the less cold Cusco. You will be greeted at the Puno train station and taken to your hotel.
Day 7: Titicaca lake, Uros, Taquile motor yacht group tour (Full Day)After breakfast, you will be taken to Titicaca lake for a visit to the floating man-made Islands of Uros on a group motor yacht tour. Here you will meet, up-close the citizens who have preserved their old traditions and still live on the water. “The Aquatic Tribe” will show you how they have kept their customs, make their islands and display their crafts made of reeds. For an additional very small tip (5 soles per person) they will take you for a short optional ride on one of their reed boats if you wish. The motor yacht tour then continues to the Greece-like steep island of Taquile, inhabited by native Quechuas. On Uros and Taquille you can appreciate and purchase some of the finest handmade crafts and basket weavings in Perú to support the very friendly and welcoming island people. At night return to Puno by boat where your van will be waiting to return you to your hotel.
Day 8: Puno – Sillustani (Chullpas) – JuliacaAfter breakfast, you will checkout of your hotel in Puno and be driven to the Pre-Inca Chullpa tombs at Sillustani on Lake Umayo. There your guide will explain the circular monument tombs that represent the circle of life. Afterward, you will continue on to the nearby Juliaca Airport for the short flight to Arequipa where you will be greeted ad taken to your hotel.
Day 9: Arequipa City TourAfter breakfast you will tour Arequipa, “The White City” so named for being constructed predominantly of the stone Sillar. Arequipa, with its pleasant climate, is the second-largest and one of the most beautiful cities in Peru. We’ll begin our city tour with a visit to the Cathedral Santa Catalina Convent and the museum.
There we’ll be able to observe the Juanita Mummy, one of the oldest preserved mummies of South America. Also, be sure to observe the majestic presence of “El Misti”, the snow-covered inactive volcano Arequipa sits at the base of. After the city tour, you will be returned to your hotel.
Day 10: Arequipa, Colca CanyonAfter breakfast and hotel checkout you will be met and taken to the Colca Lodge in Colca Canyon(3 or 4-hour drive in small van). During the ride, you will visit the National Reserve of Cañahuas Pampas to observe groups of Alpacas and Vicunas. The drive through Vizcachani, a typical landscape of the Andes, offers a panoramic view of the White Mountain range. We will stop at the town of Chivay, one of the most important places in the valley. Later you will arrive at the Colca Lodge where you can enjoy a relaxing bath in the hot springs.
Day 11: Colca Canyon – ArequipaAfter breakfast and checkout you will be taken to the viewpoint of “the Cross of the Condor”, a few kilometers from Condor Cabana where the Colca Canyon starts. Here we hope to witness the wonderful spectacle of the flight of the Condors. Later, on the way to Arequipa, you will see the hanging Pre-Incas tombs and visit the small cities of Pinchillo, Maca, and the town of Shames Anvil (visiting its church with cusqueñan paintings). After returning to Arequipa you will be brought to our hotel.
Day 12: Arequipa – LimaIn the morning after breakfast and hotel checkout you will be greeted in your hotel lobby and taken to the airport for your flight to Lima and international connection home. | 
