Signature Peru with Machu Picchu

The adventure begins tonight. Feel free to explore before your welcome meeting, but make sure you’re back in time to meet the group. After introductions, your tour host will review the details of your tour. After our meeting, we will enjoy a wonderful welcome dinner with our fellow travelers.
Accommodations: Iberostar Selection Miraflores – 2 nights (Dinner)

We will have the opportunity to enter one of the most iconic ecclesiastical spaces in Lima, the Convent of Santo Domingo, also declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity and where the relics of three Peruvian saints are found: Santa Rosa de Lima, San Martín de Porres and San Juan Macías. Another essential place to visit is undoubtedly the Casa de Aliaga, which concentrates all the architectural wealth of the viceregal and republican era. The house has been inhabited by 16 generations of the Aliaga family over 480 years. The tour would not be complete without a visit to the Rafael Larco Herrera Museum, one of the most important in the country for exhibiting a valuable collection of almost 45,000 pieces of pre-Hispanic cultures, especially the Mochicas. This museum stands out for being one of the first in the world to have visitable storerooms and providing virtual access to its entire collection. We will marvel at the quality of its pieces of jewelry, textiles and its enigmatic erotic room, dedicated to ceramics alluding to fertility.

Accommodations: Iberostar Selection Miraflores (Breakfast)

We will reach the top of the Apu Inti Huatana hill where we will find the archaeological complex of Pisac, which houses dazzling stone platforms and offers a privileged view of the traditional town that bears the same name. Walking through its buildings, we will see why it is one of the most relevant in the valley, both for its urban planning (very advanced for its time) and for the variety of environments or “neighborhoods” dedicated to religious ceremonies, rooms, and temples. We will also visit Pisac town, characterized by its quiet streets and its market where it proudly lives its millenary heritage represented in its textile art, ceramics, jewelry pieces and other handicrafts. We will enjoy a delicious typical lunch in a local restaurant before continuing to the hotel.

Accommodation: Sonesta Posada Yucay – 2 nights (Breakfast and Lunch)

Then, we will have a majestic view of the ancient Maras salt mines, where the coveted Maras salt – one of the finest in the world – is collected. We will see almost 3,000 pools that in Inca times were an important center for the imperial economy. Today, it continues to be a valuable source of income for hundreds of families. With stunning panoramic views of the mosaic of terraces and ponds, Maras offers the perfect setting for photography enthusiasts. We will also arrive at the Moray archaeological site, which resembles a natural amphitheater. During the Tahuantinsuyo, it functioned as a laboratory and agricultural research center, according to some studies. Its enormous concentric terraces and the variety of microclimates they created allowed the growth of a variety of crops. Then, we will visit the traditional community of Misminay, where we will enjoy a valuable cultural exchange and get to know the traditional Andean lifestyle up close. Its inhabitants will welcome us with their characteristic warmth between music and typical dances, and then invite us to take part in their different daily activities related with planting, harvesting, and textile work.

Accommodation: Sonesta Posada Yucay (Breakfast and Lunch)

The natural beauty of the surroundings makes the train the best way to start your visit. When you arrive, you will start the ascent to the ruins, which will without a doubt be one of your most unforgettable experiences. At Machu Picchu you can see one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World and take some impressive photos. Lunch is included. Then it is back down to Aguas Calientes for rest.

Accommodations: Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) 2 nights

We will start with a tour of the San Pedro market, the oldest in the city, located in the heart of Cusco. Designed in 1925 by the French architect Gustave Eiffel, today it brings together hundreds of merchants selling fruits, vegetables, traditional breads from the area, as well as businesses that offer breakfasts and other meals. There we can learn about Cusco’s flagship products, such as quinoa, yellow chili and an incredible variety of native potatoes. Then, we will have a cooking class with the best view of the city from a terrace. An experienced chef will teach how to prepare an appetizer, a main dish, and a cocktail with the ingredients that we saw in the market – a full menu with a gourmet touch that we will taste at the end.

Accommodation: Belmond Monasterio (Breakfast and Lunch)

Continue with a charming tour of Cusco that offers us history, living culture and art. We will be able to appreciate how Andean and Spanish culture coexist in the Imperial City. From the San Cristóbal viewpoint we will have a panoramic view of the city declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. We will arrive at the center to walk the halls of the San Pedro market, the oldest in the city. Designed in 1925 by Gustave Eiffel, today it brings together hundreds of merchants selling local products. We will also visit Koricancha, which during the Inca Empire was a center of worship of the Sun and on which the Santo Domingo convent was later built as part of the evangelization process. Its baroque style façade built on solid Inca walls perfectly summarizes the syncretism of cultures in the city of Cusco. The route will take us uphill through beautiful narrow streets to San Blas, the city’s bohemian neighborhood par excellence, known for being home to local artists’ craft workshops. It’s the perfect place to shop and take something special of this magical city with us! We couldn’t take a tour of the city without visiting the Cathedral, its most important temple, built over Inca Huiracocha’s palace. Its interior houses a wonderful collection of colonial art composed of goldsmith pieces and representative canvases of the Cusco School.

Accommodation: Belmond Monasterio (Breakfast and Lunch)

Once aboard, you can enjoy the two dining cars decorated in the style of the Pullman cars of the 1920s. The large windows of the Titicaca Train will be perfect for observing every detail of the beautiful landscape in this route. Aboard this train, you will ascend until you reach some very high and cold places, part of the impressive Andes Mountain Range. Then, you will cross beautiful Andean plains, where you can observe vicuñas and alpacas in their natural habitat, grazing on the side of the road. Then you will stop at La Raya, the highest point of the route, to observe the impressive landscape at 4300 meters.

Also, during the trip, you will have the finest in gourmet food and indulgent afternoon tea. You can bring your carry-on bag aboard the train, and the rest of your luggage will be stored safely on the luggage car, where it will be carefully received and stored.

Upon arrival in Puno, you will be met by a representative and transferred to your confirmed hotel where you can rest to be ready for the adventure on the following day.

Accommodation: Jose Antonio Puno Hotel – 2 nights (Breakfast and Lunch)

Upon arrival, the locals will welcome you, leading you to your homestay accommodations,

where they will show you their day-to-day activities, like weaving, farming, mystical ceremonies, and others. Next on the itinerary is a stopover at the handicraft center and the main square. Then, it’s time for a delicious lunch. In the afternoon, before returning to Puno, you will visit the famous floating Uros Islands made out of reeds, whose inhabitants still live according to the customs of their ancestors.

OPTIONAL IN AMANTANI: You can make the ascent to the ceremonial centers, (medium high level of walking) of approximately one hour here it is necessary to take into account that the highest part is at 4100 meters above sea level. From where you can appreciate the immensity of Lake Titicaca, and feel all the energy of this mystical center, the descent takes approximately 35 minutes. If the walk is made, the start of the excursion or departure from Puno must be no later than 06:30 am, the visit in Uros must be a maximum of 40 minutes, to return to Puno around 17:30. The operation of this activity would also depend on the weather.

Accommodations: Jose Antonio Puno Hotel (Breakfast and Lunch)

Also included is a visit to the brotherhood of the Vicuñas de la Inmaculada, where there is an enormous silver bier built to resemble that which carries the Virgin of Macarena in Spain.

After leaving Lampa, visit the ruins at Sillustani, a famous cemetery on the Andean plateau near Puno, next to the beautiful Lake Umayo. The site contains huge funerary towers called chullpas, which date from 600 to 800 A.D., some of which reach 12 meters high and are 7.50 meters in diameter. On the way, you will also see the Waru-Waru or interconnected canals used in agriculture. You will surely be impressed by the beautiful scenery in this zone.

End the days touring at the airport for the flight to Lima. Transfer to the hotel for overnight.

Accommodation: Arawi Miraflores Prime Hotel – 1 night (Breakfast)