12-Day Iquitos Amazon, Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu

Arrive Lima evening. After immigration, luggage and customs, you will enter the terminal and look for your agent. The agent will welcome you and transfer you to your hotel in Lima. Overnight Lima.

Meals included: n/a
Mid-Range Accommodations: Casa Andina Centro Miraflores or similar

Start your Peru adventure, with a day tour and visit to the Palomino Islands (group boat). Pick up at your hotel and transfer to the Callao boat dock. A 3-hour boat ride through the Palomino Islands will include historical and nature information of various island groups. We'll view sea birds (cormorants, penguins, pelicans) and have an opportunity to swim with the sea lions, who thrive in these rocky islands. Return to your hotel mid-afternoon. Overnight in Lima.

Meals included: Breakfast
Mid-Range Accommodations: Casa Andina Centro Miraflores or similar

In the morning, we will have a group city tour of Lima (colonial and modern). Lunch on your own and in the afternoon, transfer to the airport to take your flight to Iquitos. Arrive and transfer to your Iquitos hotel for the evening. Overnight Iquitos.

Meals included: Breakfast
Mid-Range Accommodations: Casa Morey Boutique Hotel Iquitos

Pick up at your hotel and transfer to the boat dock. We will transfer in a fast boat for 3 hours, 140 kms., upriver from Iquitos on the Amazon River. Upon arrival, you will be assigned your bungalow and have an orientation. A list of animals that have been previously seen in the area will be distributed. After lunch our group takes a boat trip to Lake Sapote, watching different birds, like parrots, jacanas, kingfishers, herons, panguanas, partridges, pigeons, cormorants, horned screamers, horneros. We then move to the other end of the Moena lagoon to see sloths and monkeys, as the night monkeys, squirrel and dusky titi monkeys, etc. After watching a sunset over the forest of mirrors, we go back to Muyuna for dinner. In the evening, boat ride to see caimans, nocturnal birds and mammals. Overnight at the lodge.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Mid-Range Accommodations: Muyuna Lodge

We have breakfast very early, and take off for an excursion by boat on the Amazon River, to swim where the pink and gray dolphins live. At this time, we also observe the Victoria Regia, the largest aquatic plant in the world. We'll look for iguanas as well.

After lunch, we'll go fishing for piranhas (catch and release) in the Corriente and Purura Lagoons. There will be time to observe the hoatzin or shanshe, the prehistoric bird. monkeys. If you're lucky, you'll see the howler monkey, whose deafening roar can be heard many miles away. Back to the lodge for dinner and later, we take a night walk in search of huge frogs, anaconda's favorite food. In addition, we will see tarantulas; it is worth clarifying that despite the bad reputation, they are not dangerous to humans. Overnight at the lodge.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Mid-Range Accommodations: Muyuna Lodge

We have breakfast on a small boat that will take us to the Sapota Lagoon, to see a variety of birds. We pass by the Moena Lagoon, where we can see sloths and monkeys.

We have lunch and with our guide, we will be able to count all the animals seen in our Animal Check List. Our experience of the jungle comes to an end and we take the boat three hours back to Iquitos and to the hotel or airport. Transfer to the hotel. Overnight Iquitos.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Mid-Range Accommodations: Casa Morey Boutique Hotel

After breakfast, transfer to Iquitos airport and fly to Lima. Continue with your flight to Cusco. When you arrive, your agent will meet you and transfer you to your hotel. The rest of the day is relaxing and acclimatizing to the altitude (3,400 meters /11,400 feet). Cusco is the ancient capital of the Inca Empire and is set high in the Andes Mountains. Here Spanish churches and mansions sit alongside Inca remains. Nearly 600 years ago, the Inca nation appeared in Southern Peru, and in a relatively short time, consolidated its power in Cuzco, before expanding north to what are now Ecuador and south to present-day Chile. Overnight in Cusco.

Meals included: Breakfast
Mid-Range Accommodations: Casa Andina Cusco Plaza or similar

You will have a free morning to explore on your own. In the afternoon, your guide will pick you up for the Cusco city and nearby ruins tour (in a group). In the city, you will visit the Santo Domingo Monastery, the legendary Qorikancha (Temple of Gold), the most important Inca temple devoted to worshiping the Sun, whose walls used to be plated with sheets of gold. You continue to the Cathedral at the Plaza de Armas. Then you are driven to Q'enko, the temple dedicated to Mother Earth, as well as Pukapukara and Tambomachay You will visit Sacsayhuaman, a hilltop fortress that overlooks the city of Cusco. The largest stones used in its construction are nearly 8.5 m (28 ft) high and weigh 360 tons, fitting so perfectly together that a single piece of paper would not fit between two stones. Overnight Cusco. (Note that the sites may be visited in a different order, to avoid the crowds!)

Meals included: Breakfast
Mid-Range Accommodations: Casa Andina Cusco Plaza or similar

Your full day tour of the Sacred Valley (in a group): Pick up at your hotel and this morning you continue towards Pisac, for an immersion into the heart of the Andean culture, famous for its Andean market with its interesting food and artisan stalls. Enjoy a buffet lunch in a local restaurant. In the afternoon, you visit Ollantaytambo, a still-thriving Inca village set below an ancient Inca fortress and temple with stunning views over the valley that makes you feel as if you have stepped back into the 15th century. Admire the magnificence of this important Inca site, as you have a guided tour of the ruins. There will be time to stroll through the quaint streets of the present town. Drop off at your hotel and overnight in Ollantaytambo.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Mid-Range Accommodations: Hotel Pakaritampu or similar

Walk to the Ollantaytambo train station for the morning Vistadome Train to Machu Picchu. Arrive and you will have assistance to check in to your hotel. You have a free afternoon to wander in the village and visit its outdoor market, hot springs baths, local museum and gardens. Overnight in Aguas Calientes.

Meals included: Breakfast
Mid-Range Accommodations: El MaPi Hotel or similar

You will meet your guide for the early shuttle, entrance and guided tour of Machu Picchu (in a group). There is an option to climb Huayna Picchu (ticket is not included; you must order this at least 90 days in advance!). Return to Aguas Calientes for the afternoon Vistadome train return to Cusco, where you are met and transferred to your Cusco hotel. Overnight Cusco.

Meals included: Breakfast
Mid-Range Accommodations: Casa Andina Cusco Plaza or similar

Free morning in Cusco, for last minute shopping, photography, or visiting museums. Transfer to the airport for your afternoon flight back to Lima. Departure.

Meals included: Breakfast