The Route of the Sun - Sightseeing Tour, Peru

Upon arrival into Lima International Airport, you will be met by our representative and private driver and will be transferred to your hotel. Our representative will assis t you with check-in procedures and provide you with a detailed itinerary, vouchers covering all the services included in your tour and additional information on the organization of your Peru trip. You will also receive a contact information sheet with all the hotel details as well as our offices contact information for each city and a 24-hour emergency number.

Meals Included: None

Get ready for a busy morning, starting with a guided sightseeing tour to the most attractive and important sites in Lima, the “City of Kings”. The tour includes Lima’s Historical Center, passing by Plaza San Martin, Plaza Mayor, the Government Palace, the City Hall, the Cathedral and its Religious Art Museum (closed on Sunday and Saturday pm, Sant o Domingo Convent is provided instead on these days) as well as San Francisco Monastery and its famous underground crypts known as the Catacombs. Finally, visit the residential Districts of San Isidro and Miraflores, passing by the Huaca Pucllana, a Ceremonial and Administrative Center of the Lima Culture built in the II Century A.C. that the Incas considered as “Ñaupallaqta” or Sacred Town. Also visit El Olive Grove Park with olive trees brought from Spain in the XV Century, the Central Park of Miraflores and El Parque del Amor, or Peruvian Love Park. The Love Park, located on the cliffs of Miraflores overlooking the Pacific Ocean, is a beautiful natural lookout, where you can see the waves of the Pacific rolling in towards the coast below and the Morro Solar in Chorrillos at a distance, with the coast extending further along the bay until the port of Callao. This is also the perfect spot for a romantic view of the setting sun in the late afternoon, right in front of you.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Start your day with breakfast it’s a big day ahead. The Museo Larco is housed in an exquisite 18th century vice-royal mansion, built over a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid and surrounded by beautiful gardens. The museum’s galleries exhibit the finest and most magnificent gold and jewelry treasures from Ancient Peru and the renowned erotic collection, one of Peru’s most celebrated attractions. Founded in 1926 and located in Lima, the Museo Larco holds the largest and most important archaeological collection of Ancient Peru in the world. Peru is known worldwide thanks to the legendary Inca Empire on the Andes Mountains; however, few are aware that this society existed only for the last 100 years before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. The Museo Larco portrays to the visitor an engaging narrative, recounting 5000 years in the development of Peru’s pre-Columbian history; thus becoming the ideal means to understand and enjoy Ancient Peru. On the Museum’s terraces overlooking its vibrant and stunning gardens, find Museo Larco ́s Cafe restaurant, where one can savor the best of Peruvian and International cuisine. All in all, it’s accurate to say that to become fascinated by Peruvian history, the journey begins at Museo Larco!

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Your local tour guide will meet you at the hotel lobby at a pre-determined time and transfer you to the Lima Airport to board your flight to Cusco. Our representative will assist you with check -in procedures and all departure formalities. Flight Lima – Cusco: Many tout this flight path as one of the most spectacular scenic flights to be experienced anywhere in the world. During the course of the flight the major glaciated peaks of the Cordillera Vilcabamba and Vilcanota ranges can be seen, surrounded by an agricultural patchwork quilt of tranquil Andean fields and small hamlets (some of which we will explore in the coming days). The approach to Cusco Airport is unique in that it requires the pilot to make a sweeping 180-degree turn to enter the valley, providing a staggering panorama of the Inca city center.

Half Day Arqueological Cusco City Tour This afternoon you’ll enjoy a guided sightseeing tour of Cusco, with your guide to the first ruin site (Tambomachay). As you walk to and visit each archaeological site, your guide will explain the history, architecture, and local traditions. The four sites are Tambomachay, Puca Pucara, Q’enko, and Sacsayhuaman. After exploring the last ruin site you will walk down to the Plaza de Armas in Cusco City. With examples of Inca history and architecture. Visit the city’s most important historical monuments that reveal the influence of different cultures: The Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral dating from Spanish vice-royalty times, built with great slabs of red granite renaissance style in contrast with the baroque style silver work of its interior and, the Santo Domingo church built upon the foundations of the Inca temple Qorikancha, dedicated to worship the Sun God.

Meals Included: Breakfast

An English speaking guide to start your exploration on the way to the Sacred Valley. The Sacred Valley of the Urubamba is located one hour from Cusco and is significantly lower in elevation, which aids the acclimatization process by allowing our bodies to adjust to the altitude more gradually. Today you will have the opportunity to visit Awanacancha, an Andean textile center whose key objective is to maintain the wealth of Incan textile art and keep their traditions alive. Awanacancha means “the palace of weaving” and as its name announces, it is all about textile production. Here we will learn about the dyeing techniques and instruments used for hundreds of years in the weaving of these famous textiles. You will walk along a thatched roof path and will watch and learn about the four different kinds of South American camelids: Huanaco, Llama, Alpaca and Vicuña. At the end of the path you will find weavers from over 12 communities from southern Peru who alternate exhibitions of threading, dying and weaving traditional Andean textiles, thus avoiding their identity loss.

Then head to the town of Pisac, famous for its ruins which lie atop a hill at the entrance the valley and separated along the ridge into four groups: Pisac, Inti Watana, Q’allaqasa, and Kinchiraqay. Visit the Inti Watana group which includes the Temple of the Sun, baths, altars, water fountains, a ceremonial platform, and an inti Watana – a volcanic ritual stone used as an astronomic clock or Inca calendar to define the change seasons. The Incas constructed agricultural terraces on the steep hillside by hauling richer topsoil by hand from the lower lands, enabling the production of surplus food, more than would normally be possible at altitudes as high as 11,000 feet. The narrow rows of terraces beneath the citadel are thought to represent the wing of a partridge (Pisac), from which the village and ruins get their name.

Continue to the Pisac Markets, which was the place of reunion for all artisans of the region to get together and exchange or buy and sell their products. Originally held only on Sundays, but due to the increase of tourism in the area during the XX century it became increasingly popular to the point that now it is held daily. It is a favorite destination for visitors from all over the world who don’t want to miss the opportunity of enjoying the colorful ambiance in this marketplace. This is an excellent chance to share the peasants’ customs closely with plenty of time to explore and even barter all the goods and crafts typical of the areas around Cusco. Leisurely roam through the textiles and souvenir sections of the market.

A buffet lunch will be served in a country restaurant.

After lunch we head to the Ollantaytambo Fortress to continue enjoying this spectacular building that in the time of the Incas. The end of the tour you can enjoy the town of Ollantaytambo while waiting to board your train that will take you to hot springs.

At the indicated time one of our attendants will take you to the station to help you with your Check in.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

You will leave your hotel after breakfast and board a bus that will take you to the entrance gate of the citadel of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is one of the most-visited sites worldwide. Machu Picchu dazzles all who visit it with its beauty and mystery. Yo u will follow in the footsteps of the ancient Incas as you explore this magical citadel along with your local and experimented tour guide.

After the tour, you will stop at a local restaurant for a buffet lunch.

Afterwards you will have a little time to explore the town of Aguas Calientes before boarding your train back to Cusco.

Upon arrival at the station an assistant will be waiting for you to bring you back to your hotel in Cusco.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Today you will set off in the direction of the Sacred Valley to the town of Chinchero, an authentic Andean village with lots of character, where we will find the colonial church that houses a large collection of painting from the Cusqueñan School of Art. Chinchero is well known for its continuing tradition as a commercial town and on Sundays the towns folk gather in the main square to trade their products in a bartering system. Next, continue your journey through the Sacred Valley of the Incas, to the salt fields of Maras and its seemingly never-ending terraces, where salt extracted from springs is stored. Although these waters have been used for centuries, even before the time o f the Incas, Maras was founded by the Spanish in 1556. It supplied salt to the southern highlands during the viceroy, so it was an important town. The use of Maras Salt dates back thousands of years and is inherited from generation to generation and manage d communally. It is produced naturally in about 5,000 pools of approximately 5 square meters each forming different levels of terraces, nourished by salty water from a creek that permeates the pools and then evaporated by the intense sun, forming thick cry stals. They are extracted once a month, as soon as they have reached a height of 10 cm. It is impressive to see the variety of colors created by the reflection of the sun’s rays in this field of salt deposits, and to learn about the Incas striking ability to generate resources. Continue your excursion to admire the Moray terraces, believed to be a former gigantic agricultural laboratory, an astronomical observatory or a place of worship, or maybe all three. It is thought that Moray was used for plant adaptation to new climatic environments thanks to its circular terraces in immense cone-shaped depressions of 47 to 84 m that resemble giant fingerprints or contour lines. These create a series of micro climates at the different heights of the terraces, which enabled the Incas to experimentally improve a great variety of crops. Today, it is an evidence of the high level of agricultural knowledge they reached. After the tour you will be transferred back to your hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Breakfast will start your day at the hotel, and then we will depart for the City of Puno. Our journey will take you by the lovely Wacarpay Lake, offering spectacular views of the mountains reflected in its calm waters. Then onward to the beautiful Town of Andahuaylillas, where we will visit the Church of San Pedro de Andahuaylillas, (better known as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas, due to its (decorated polychrome ceiling). Next, we will stop in the Town of Raqchi, where we will see a spectacular Incan Sanctuary. Built by the Incan Emperor Pachacutec, and dedicated to the Inca God of Wiracocha. It has a unique central wall with a stone base of fine Incan architecture. Other walls are made of giant adobe bricks.

The structure also has two circular lateral columns. Around the Temple are several buildings once used for housing and storage. About 34 miles further, we will pass through the Town of La Raya. In this town, we will see herds of vicuñas and llamas while passing through. Then our next stop, the Town of Ayaviri, an important livestock and textile center. Then we will visit the remarkable Temple of Kalasaya, ruins from the ancient Pucara civilization. Afterward, we will enjoy a buffet lunch in a countryside restaurant, where we can enjoy the delightful culinary art of the region. Upon arrival in the City of Puno, you will be welcomed by one of our representatives, who will give you a brief introduction to the city and our services while on the way to your hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast will start your day at the hotel, then you will enjoy unforgettable motorboat excursion on the waters of Lake Titicaca to the unique “Floating Islands” of the Uros. These ancient inhabitants of the Lake, known as “The Water Tribe”, have built their own “Islands” by periodically adding new layers of a type of reed called “totora” (Scirpus totora), vegetable fiber of the Papyrus family. Their homes and boats are also made from the same material.

Continuing our trip to the island of Taquile, known for having the best weavers of ancient Peru. This place has preserved many rituals and the lifestyle of the ancient Incas. We will walk for about 30 minutes to the center of the island, stay there for 3 amazing hours and have lunch. Then we will descend down a long stairwell of 500 steps! Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast will start your day at the hotel, we w1ill head out to Juliaca's Airport, with a short stop at the Chullpas of Sillustani and stay there for approximately 30 minutes.

The archaeological site of Sillustani is located 22.3 miles away from the city of Puno and at an altitude of 12,858 feet (3,840mts.) above sea level.

This vantage point allows you to enjoy stunning highland landscapes and imposing pre - Inca architecture. The site is strategically positioned on the top of a peninsula surrounded by a beautiful lagoon called Umayo lagoon. The archaeological site of Sillustani was a cemetery built in the XIII century by a civilization that inhabited the area before the Inca domination. The creators of the imposing burial towers are known as the Kolla people. The most imposing burial towers were built for the chiefs and priests. For the ancient cultures, the cemeteries were important resting places for the deceased people. Th erefore, our ancestors would strategically choose exceptionally beautiful spots for burial ground. After this, we will continue our way to Juliaca’s Airport. Once there, you will board your flight back to Lima, later on, your connecting flight home.

Meals Included: Breakfast