14 Days: Machupicchu,Lima,multiples cities

1 DAY : FLIGHT FROM U.S. TO LIMA, PERU. Usually you will arrive in Lima around midnight. Your guide Washi will transfer you to the Hotel for overnight in Lima. Dinner on your own (usually you will have eaten on the plane.) Welcome to Peru.

2 DAY : LIMA TO AREQUIPA.  Pick up from hotel after breakfast and transfer to the airport for your flight from Lima to Arequipa (specific time depending on flight schedules.) Exchange currency and learn about the activities. You will be welcomed with a good lunch and then take a nice City Tour of the colonial white city by bus for the rest of the day. You will see the mummies Juanita http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/ice-mummies-inca.html at the Museum. Arequipa is famous for its good food. Dinner on your own.  (B, L)  Arequipa is at approx. 7,660 ft.  and is a UNESCO World Heritage site http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1016

3 DAY:AREQUIPA – COLCA CANYON.  After late breakfast, drive to the Colca Canyon – the Sacred Canyon to Pre–Incas and Incas, around 12:00 p.m. to a colorful town name Chivay, which is surrounded by amazing terraces and the high peaks of the Andes. Take the rest of the afternoon to relax, acclimate to the altitude, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings from your hotel (Hot springs are available 24 hours).  Dinner on your own. (B, L)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colca_Canyon

4 DAY: COLCA CANYON.  Breakfast beginning at 5: 00 a.m. Pick up at 6:00 a.m. to drive to the Condors Cross, where you can see these majestic birds from the Andes flying few feet from us. Here the floor of the Canyon is about 4000 ft from the rim.  Express your gratitude to those sacred birds by doing a ceremony in the middle of the Andes. Take photos of the second deepest canyon in the world. You will visit native communities to bring gifts for the children. (Pencils, note books etc.) Picnic Lunch along the canyon, you will hike the rest of the afternoon via ancient trails. Back to the Hotel and you will spend the evening relaxing at Hot Springs.  Bring your swim apparel.  Dinner on your own. (B,L)  Hike will be 2 miles down hill from the cross at 12,467 ft to 11,900 ft.

5 DAY: COLCA CANYON TO LAKE TITICACA.  Breakfast starting at 6:00 a.m. Pick up at 9:00 a.m. for travel to Puno City on Lake Titicaca, approx. 6 hours driving.  You will pass by lakes with many beautiful birds of the Andes and natural rocks formations and other beautiful places to take good photos. Here is where you are going try a good chicken on the oven. Arrive at hotel on the shore of Lake Titicaca in the afternoon.  Discussion of your next day’s activities.  Dinner on your own. (B, L)

6 DAY:LAKE TITICACA.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Titicaca After breakfast, 8:00 a.m. pick up at the hotel for a boat ride to the floating islands. There are 70 islands where the locals still wear the beautiful costumes of their ancestors’ heritage. You will ride on a reed boat like the ancient people used, seeing a diversity of colorful birds.  Your boat will take you to the amazing Island Takile. This is a great location to see the Bolivian side of the lake and their part of the Andean snowcapped mountains.  Surface elevation of the lake is 12,507 ft.  Climb to an ancient temple (2 miles round trip, 650 ft elevation change); have a lunch of local trout on the island of Takile, which is famous for its food and weavings. Back by boat to Puno for overnight. (B,L)

7 DAY: PUNO – CUSCO.  Breakfast at the hotel starting at 6:00 a.m. Pickup at the hotel in Puno at approximately 7:30 a.m. Visit the Puma Temple of Pukara, which is very beautiful for its stone carvings. Stop at various attractions on the way to the city of Cusco to take amazing photos, snow capped mountains and other beautiful scenery on the way to Cusco, Capital of the Inca Empire. Visit the site of Racchi, also known as the Temple of Wiracocha, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raqchi the spiritual God of the Incas. Magical ruins built with adobes and stone at the same time. Lunch at the site. Get to Cusco around 6:00 p.m.; check in to your beautiful Hotel. Dinner on your own. (B,L)  Altitude  in Cusco about 11,00 ft.

8 DAY: CUSCO – CITY AND SURROUNDS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cusco  Today you will spend learning about the region’s rich cultural history. The day starts with a guided walking tour through Cusco’s craft markets. You will visit the colonial cathedral and Koricancha http://www.sacred-destinations.com/peru/cusco-koricancha, the Inca’s Temple of the Sun, before enjoying a delectable lunch of regional cuisine. The afternoon will be spent visiting by private transportation the other significant Inca ruins in the vicinity of Cusco including: the mammoth fortress of Saqsayhuaman above the city, noted for its megalithic stone terraces http://www.world-mysteries.com/mpl_9.htm; Kenko with its distinctive zig zag – patterned carved stone and subterranean altarshttps://www.google.com/search?q=kenko+peru&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=t_MSUruuMcLOyAGEvYEg&sqi=2&ved=0CDIQsAQ&biw=1038&bih=636 ; the hillside outpost of Puka Pukara, a small fortress that formerly protected the royal capital; and the Tambo Machay water temple that served as royal baths. You will be returned to you hotel for another evening in colonial Cusco, dinner on your own.  (B, L)

9 DAY: HIKE – CUSCO – AMARU – PISAQ – OLLANTAYTAMBO.  After yesterday’s climb, you will enjoy a mostly downhill route today with some option for hiking a little or a lot. From your hotel in Cusco, you will travel by private van to the village of Amaru were you will get acquainted with the citizenry before hiking to the once-pivotal Inca citadel of Pisaq http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%ADsac that includes a Sun Temple,  extensive terracing and water ducts. The path to the ruins passes through fields of potatoes, quinoa, wheat and other crops. As you explore the area, we will explain the significance and history of the magnificent complex. After a late lunch, anyone interested may hike through the town of Pisaq. Continue by van through the Incas Sacred Valley. You will have the opportunity to visit the wonderful Pisaq Market where native people sell their wares. It is very inexpensive and there are many different products available. Local weavers sell their weavings including beautiful Alpaca garments. Transportation back to your hotel in Ollantaytambo to spend the night.  Dinner on your own. (B, L)

Hike details: approx. – 6.5 miles / 4-5 Hours Altitude: from 12,370 ft. to 9,350 ft. (downhill).

 

10 DAY: OLLANTAYTAMBO. Breakfast starting at 6:00 am. Pickup at your hotel at 9:00.a.m. and walk to Ollantaytambo archeological site. http://www.ollantaytambo.org/en/   You will spend about 3 hrs at this site. There are several temples of pink granite and the famous Princess’ Bath. Lunch in Ollantaytambo at the “Restaurant of the Universal Heart” supported by Path of the Heart. If you would like, you can help serve lunch to the school children who eat here free of charge. Spend the afternoon visiting the local market and take a walk through the town, which has been continuously inhabited and is mostly unchanged since Inca times. See how guinea pigs (cuy) are raised for food, special celebrations, and medicinal uses. If you have extra time you will hike the Pinkulluna Mountain which overlooks the town of Ollantaytambo. About a 2 mile hike and 500 ft. elevation gain. Dinner on your own.  (B, L)

11 DAY: CACHABAMBA TO MACHU PICCHU. After breakfast, transfer to the train station and ride the train for 1 hour to the starting point of KM 104, considered as the beginning the Sacred Trail to Machu Picchu. This trail starts at Chachabamba Archeological Site.  This is the “short version” of the Inca Trail. The 3 first hours are strenuous (3 miles, altitude gain from 7,217 to 9,186 ft), seeing the waterfalls and passing by the magnificent site of Winay Huayna makes it worth the effort. Box lunch provided to eat along the way. After good scenery for photos, we will walk for 2 hours (4.5 miles and mostly level) more to reach the gate of the sun and view Machu Picchu http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/274 from this unique perspective only 40 minutes from Machu Picchu. After good photo opportunity, take the bus to Machu Picchu Town.  Dinner on your own.

(B ,L)

12 DAY: MACHU PICCHU – OLLANTAYTAMBO – CUSCO.  Bus to Machu Picchu leaving by foot in time to avoid the crowds and see the sun illuminating the walls of this sacred and magical place. (Distance 1.5 miles) Explore the ruins for about 4 hours. We can do some meditation with music at this magical place if you wish. Buffet lunch with a view of the Sacred Mountains. Late afternoon train back to Ollantaytambo.  Meet your private van at the train station to travel to the collective Chincheros textile market, featuring an explanation of the traditional weaving methods of the Sacred Valley and some of the best textiles available in Peru. This is the ideal place for last minute shopping before returning to your Cusco hotel for the evening. (B, L) Late dinner on your own.

13 DAY: CUSCO – LIMA.  Breakfast at any time until 9:00a.m. Leave hotel at 10:00 am.  Flight to Lima at 11:10 am.  Approx. After our flight from Cusco to Lima, we join our private driver around 9:30AM at Lima Airport, to drive to the Hotel el Patio.  This is a chance for you to rest briefly before we go to lunch at the Mira Flores colonial plaza around noon.  After lunch, we will visit the most important administrative and ceremonial center on this part of Peruvian coast: the Pachacamac Archaeological site, another UNESCO World Heritage site http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/512/.  Returning from the temple, we will visit the Historic Center in the afternoon, ending with the magic water circuits, Lima’s most visited park of fountains, for about 1 hour, then return to the hotel to rest and pack.  Dinner on your own.  (B,L)

14 DAY :LIMA CULINARY TOUR Your Peru culinary tour gets underway at 10 AM when you’re picked up at your hotel by a specialized local guide and  Washi. You will be taken to the market of Lima’s heroic district, Miraflores. Teeming with local produce and seafood, here you’ll learn about the ingredients of Peruvian cuisine from your knowledgeable local guide. Your private cooking lesson, featuring ceviche and pisco sours, will take place at one of the restaurants in Lima under the guidance of an expert chef. Ceviche is originally a Peruvian dish dating back to colonial times. After devouring the creation, you’ll also learn how to prepare the national aperitif, the Pisco Sour, a sublime blend of Peruvian brandy and lime juice topped with a froth of whipped egg whites. Afterwards, your guide will have lunch with you and explain all the dishes from the menu so you can try different Peruvian plates. Finally, you will visit the Culinary Museum before heading back to the hotel.  Afternoon and dinner on your own. (B)

15 DAY :LIMA – HOME  Breakfast at the hotel at 7:30 am.  Tour of the most important museums in South America: the Larco Museum http://www.museolarco.org/about-larco-museum-lima-peru_p.shtml and Gold Museum http://www.museoroperu.com.pe/museum.html where you will discover the most extraordinary treasures from ancient Peru.

In Mira Flores you can finish up your shopping at the Indian Market or enjoy one last taste of Lima’s famous seafood dishes. Our final meal together will be at the amazing ocean front restaurant La Rosa Nautica www.larosanautica.com, the price of which is included in your trip. After dinner, we take you to the Lima Airport for your flight to the US. (B, L, D)

End of the service by Magical Tours Peru.

Key: (B)reakfast (L)unch (D)inner

*Please note that exact pick up times and tour start times will be reconfirmed daily with your local guides.

HOTELES: Are listed in each day, you can get more information by entering to their Web page; all of them have Wi-Fi in room.

TOUR PRICE INCLUDES:

  1. Internal flights (Lima – Arequipa, Cusco – Lima) and airport taxes.
  2. Private ground transportation the entire trip
  3. Beautiful Hotels.
  4. Private boat and entrance fees to Lake Titicaca
  5. Entrance fees to Inca Trail, Machu Picchu (2), Sacred Valley, Cusco, Colca Canyon, Lima Museum and Parks.
  6. All breakfasts and lunches and 1 Farewell dinner in Lima. (Vegetarian option available)
  7. Shaman-trained Guide the entire trip.
  8. Train fares ( Vista Dome )
  9. Bus to Machu Picchu round trip (2).
  10. Bottled water and energy bars daily.
  11. All listed activities.
  12. Service for children (Solar Lights)

Not Included:

  • International airfares.
  • Most Dinners.
  • Extra beverages.
  • Tips. (bellmen, waiters, guides, cooks,  drivers)

What to bring:

  • Comfortable walking shoes and shoes you can hike in.
  • Waterproof Jacket and pants
  • Wind proof jacket, mostly clothes for mild weather 60-70 degrees F. Warm jacket, hat and gloves for high altitude evenings.
  • Good camera and extra battery and memory card
  • Good flash light
  • 220/ 110V ( plug) adaptor
  • Insect repellent (you can buy it there if needed)
  • Sun block, sunglasses, hat
  • Some school supplies to share with the children while visiting communities. (Pencils, Pens, notebooks etc.)

PRICE: is according to number of participants and accommodations to be used.

Washington Gibaja Tapia and Pammela Suyo Vilcas

Operations

Magical Tours Peru

Cusco – Peru

984-505156

#984-505627

#984-897731

084-274417 office

yanapani@yahoo.com

www.magicaltourperu.com