Susan Houck, USA
, March 2020
"Most excellent guides"
"Most excellent guides, connections, follow through. All guides personable, ..." Read more ... »
Welcome to Peru! Once you arrive at the international Lima’s airport, look for your Machu Travel Peru representative, who will be waiting for you. We know that you may feel a bit tired after a long flight, so we will transfer you directly to your hotel located in Miraflores touristic district. Then, we will help you to check-in and to settle down at your hotel.
Spend a peaceful time exploring the surrounding areas at your own peace! We highly recommend you to walk around the “Miraflores Boardwalk” to get the most beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean or just to stretch out your legs!.
In the evening, we recommend you to enjoy a delicious diner at one of the world-renowned restaurants in Lima “The Capital of the Peruvian Gastronomy”.
Finally, spend a peaceful night rest at your hotel. Tomorrow will be a big day!
Overnight in Lima.
Meals: None.
This morning delight yourself with a delicious breakfast at your hotel.
This afternoon, your private guide will pick you up from the lobby of your hotel to transfer you to the heart of the “City of the Kings”, where you will enjoy exploring the Plaza San Martin and Jiron de la Union which is a fascinating boulevard that leads to Plaza de Armas, the main square. Following this, we will visit the Monastery of San Francisco, where you can see the enigmatic catacombs! A World Heritage listed site. This monastery is renowned for its Spanish baroque architecture. The first cemetery of Lima, the catacombs, is hidden underneath this monastery’s floors.
Then, we will go to a gorgeous seaside restaurant where we will taste the best of Peruvian cuisine. After finishing lunch, our driver will take you to your hotel where you will have the rest of the day to spend at your leisure.
Spend a beautiful afternoon at your own peace enjoying of your hotel or exploring around the Miraflores Touristic district. This evening for dining we recommend you consider the restaurants Central or Maido, both of them are considered as the best one in the country and currently holding positions #6 and #7 respectively in the world’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2018. Please remember that it is necessary to secure reservations in advance!.
Overnight in Lima
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
To begin the day, our staff in Lima will pick you up from your hotel in order to take you to the airport to catch your flight to Cusco. Upon your arrival, our personnel will meet you at the arrival gate.
Just an hour’s drive from Cusco, the Sacred Valley of the Incas and Urubamba Valley will be waiting for us. Here, we will find a setting of picturesque communities, impressive terraces and several important archaeological sites.
Our first stop, Awanakancha, is a weaving center with the goal of keeping traditional textile arts alive.
Here, we will see four members of the camelid family, llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos. Alpacas have thick wool, the most commonly used in the center’s textile weaving, while vicunas’ delicate fur is considered the finest.
We will then travel to Pisaq which has been a major storehouse for agricultural products for the city of Cusco since Incan times.
In Pisaq Market, we will have some free time to explore and buy handicrafts. If you feel like tasting something traditional, you can stop by the wood ovens for a delicious empanada or a piece of bread.
We will also get to see the production of maize crops with the largest kernels in the world. These can be witnessed in the traditional communities of Pisaq, Calca and Urubamba.
Then, we will have a delightful lunch in a local restaurant surrounded by the mountains.
After, we will continue through the valley until arriving to an area of stunning natural beauty where your hotel for the night is located.
Overnight in the Sacred Valley.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
Our morning tour will be a visit to Ollantaytambo, a small town full of local colour and inhabited since Incan times. We will visit the town’s main temple, used as a fortress during the Incan resistance. The temple has breathtaking views and is perfect for taking amazing pictures.
Then, we will visit picturesque towns, enjoy amazing views and learn about local culture in the rural area outside the city of Cusco.
We will visit the agricultural terraces of Moray, an Incan archeological site. These impressive ruins display concentric terraces carved into a bowl shape that created distinctive microclimates. The Incas used the terraces as a kind of laboratory to study the adaptation of plants to new ecosystems.
Finally, we will visit the Maras Salt Mines which are made up of around 3,000 small wells formed by a natural, underground salt stream.
Overnight in the Sacred Valley.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
You will board the morning train, which follows the Vilcanota River, to Aguas Calientes.
After four hours on this train, you will arrive to the beautifully preserved ruins of Machu Picchu, an enormous stone city, hidden by a spectacular mountain plateau that overlooks the deep canyon of the Urubamba River. Machu Picchu, a mystic place of worship, is also a popular spot for “star-gazing” and was the private estate of the Inca “Pachacutec”.
The Incas built this citadel at the end of the fourteenth century. As the centuries passed, the site became totally overgrown by vegetation and virtually disappeared from existence. Hiram Bingham, director of the Yale Peruvian Expedition, rediscovered Machu Picchu in 1911. Recent research compiled by Yale University has revealed that the Machu Picchu Citadel was not, as Hiram Bingham believed, the traditional birthplace of the Inca people, nor was it the final stronghold of the Incas in their losing struggle against the Spanish.
After exploring Machu Picchu, we will have a delicious lunch in the celebrated Sanctuary Lodge Hotel.
Overnight in Aguas Calientes.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Today, you will have the chance to visit and explore Machu Picchu again on your own. You will also be able to take one of the many short trekking options such as the Sun Gate Hike which will give you an impressive view of Machu Picchu citadel, or you can visit the Incan Bridge, a secret entrance to Machu Picchu for the Incan Army.
In addition, there are alternative trekking options around the town of Aguas Calientes such as the easy hike to the Mandor Waterfalls or the more challenging Putucusi Mountain Hike to get an impressive view of Machu Picchu Citadel from a different angle.
In the afternoon, you will have lunch in a restaurant near the train station. After lunch, you will board the train back to Ollantaytambo where our staff will be waiting to escort you to your hotel in the city of Cusco.
Overnight in Cusco.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
Today, will explore and discover the most ancient city in America.
The city of Cusco, navel of the world, was the capital of the Incan Empire. The city is known as the archaeological center of the Americas. UNESCO declared Cusco a World Heritage Site in 1983 and its legacy dates back to the 15th century. The city is attributed to the Inca Pachacutec, who built the city’s most remarkable constructions.
The architectural legacy of Cusco dates back to the 15th century. It includes many fine stone carvings, perfect interlocking between massive stone blocks the trapezoidal design of doorways.
Examples of buildings with this fine architectural work include Sacsayhuaman, in the upper part of the city, and the Qorikancha (“Temple of the Sun”) over which the Spanish built the Santo Domingo convent.
Overnight in Cusco.
Meals: Breakfast.
In the morning, our guide will pick you up to escort you to Puno by private transportation.
Along the way, we will stop at certain points to admire the natural and historic attractions that this route offers.
We will visit the town of Andahuaylillas and its beautiful chapel and then Racchi (“the Temple of Wiracocha”), a temple dedicated to an Incan deity.
Then, we will enjoy our lunch before witnessing the amazing scenery of La Raya, the highest point between the borders of Cusco and Puno.
Before reaching our final destination, we will visit the Pucara Museum where you will have the chance to get a local, traditional ceramic bull.
Once we arrive in Puno, our private transportation will drop you to your previously selected hotel.
Overnight in Puno.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
Early in the morning, our guide and a private, typical tricycle taxi will be waiting at your hotel to take us to the port of Lake Titicaca.
We will spend the morning navigating Lake Titicaca on a fast boat and visit the unique Uros Floating Islands which were built solely with totora reeds, a water plant that grows in Lake Titicaca.
You will be amazed at how locals use totora reeds to build their houses, canoes, beds and many other objects necessary for their daily lives.
As part of our visit to Uros, we will get to travel on a totora reed canoe in which we will experience a smooth and pleasant trip around the islands.
From here, we will continue to Taquile Island on a private motor boat for 2 hours. You can take this time to relax and enjoy the stunning scenery of Lake Titicaca.
Upon arrival, our staff will be waiting for us on Taquile Beach. Here, we will enjoy a locally prepared lunch of delicious and exceptionally fresh trout from Lake Titicaca.
After lunch, you will have an opportunity to take a short hike around the island before heading back to Puno across the lake on a fast boat.
Overnight in Puno.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
In the morning, our tour guide and private transportation will meet us at the hotel in order to drive us to the town of Chivay.
Along this six hour journey, we will enjoy magnificent sights including lakes, lagoons, trout farms and Andean flamingos. We will also reach the soaring altitude of 4,850m (12,000ft) during this trip which will give you a glimpse of life in the highlands.
After this amazing journey, we will arrive to Chivay where you will have lunch and the rest of the day at your leisure.
Overnight in the Colca Valley.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
Very early in the morning, our tour guide and private transportation will meet us at the hotel to take us to the Colca Canyon. Along the way, we will stop in some small Andean villages where time seems to have stood still and where colonial architecture is still well preserved.
We will then continue until we reach “Mirador Cruz del Condor” which is the most popular viewing point for looking into the depths of the Colca Canyon.
From this viewing point, we will see condors in flight along with some truly breathtaking scenery.
Then, we will have lunch in a local restaurant located the area.
After our visit to the Colca Canyon, our private transportation will drive us to the city of Arequipa. This journey takes approximately 4 hours and is a route filled with spectacular scenery such as lakes, glaciers and volcanoes.
Once we arrive in Arequipa, you will be taken to your previously selected hotel.
Overnight in Arequipa.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch.
In the morning, our tour guide and private transportation will meet us at the hotel in order for us to explore the city of Arequipa, “The White City”. We will visit stunning attractions such as the Monastery of Santa Catalina. The Monastery of Santa Catalina will capture your imagination through its beautiful colonial architecture and the spirituality enclosed in it.
After visiting the monastery, the tour will continue to the colonial suburbs of Cayma and Yanahuara where we will enjoy nice views of the city and of its three magnificent volcanoes. These viewpoints have been built with the city’s traditional Sillar volcanic white stone.
Finally, you will be escorted back to your hotel so you can spend the rest of the day at your leisure.
Overnight in Arequipa.
Meals: Breakfast .
Depending on the time your flight departs Arequipa, our staff will pick you up and escort you to the airport by private transportation. Once you arrive to the airport, our program will conclude.
This program will allow you to visit: Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Moray & Salineras, Machu Picchu, Puno, Lake Titicaca, the Colca Canyon and Arequipa. Additionally, you can add more exciting day tours in Cusco or another destination in Peru. Please see our package list for more options.
The price is fully customizable and can be tailored and flexible to your personal preferences and style, the price is basically based on final accommodation, travel dates and other custom preferences during the tour.
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The list below shows our recommended hotels that our travel experts have selected for each destination to make your vacation the best experience featuring superior service, good location, and all facilities necessary for a comfortable stay.
We can book any Peru hotel for you, even if it is not on our list. Please just contact to our travel experts for more information.
The list below shows our recommended hotels that our travel experts have selected for each destination to make your vacation the best experience featuring superior service, good location, and all facilities necessary for a comfortable stay.
We can book any Peru hotel for you, even if it is not on our list. Please just contact to our travel experts for more information.
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