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Travel
Essential Peru
Discover the treasures of the ancient Peruvian civilizations in the great museums of Lima, before flying south to beautiful Arequipa. With the magnificent Misti Volcano forming a backdrop, this region offers great opportunities for outdoor activities. Here you discover the colonial centre of Cusco and venture into the surrounding hills to explore old Inca sites. Out in the Sacred Valley you follow the Urubamba River from the small market town of Pisac down to the fortress ruins of Ollantaytambo and then finally arriving at amazing Machu Picchu. You also explore the rarely-seen Pumamarca Inca ruins.
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Package Inclusions
- Domestic Flights Included
- Peregrine tour leader
- Arrival transfer
- Transport
- Sightseeing and entrance fees as per itinerary
- Accommodation
- 12 breakfasts
- Colonial Lima
- Arequipa
- Colca Canyon
- Cusco
- Sacsayhuaman
- The Sacred Valley
- Ollantaytambo
- Aguas Calientes
- Machu Picchu
Trek Holidays
Trek Holidays has become Canada's largest wholesale adventure travel company and their staff have been to over 100 countries around the world. Trek works in conjunction with travel agents across Canada to prepare you for your arrival in a new destination based on their own personal experiences, videos, pre-departure booklets as well as reading lists.
- Day 1-2: Lima On arrival at Lima Airport you are transferred to our hotel in the heart of the city's well-known coastal district of Miraflores. In the evening you meet your tour leader and the other members of your group for a pre-tour briefing. Please check the notice board at the hotel reception for confirmation of the exact time and place of the meeting. This meeting is generally followed by an optional group dinner at a nearby restaurant. On the morning of Day 2 we start our exploration of the Peruvian capital. Founded in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador, Francisco Pizarro, it was from Lima that all Spanish territories in South America were governed. Few cities at that time could rival Lima's power, wealth and opulence. However its glory days ended in 1746, when the city was virtually destroyed by an earthquake. Many of the colonial buildings were rebuilt and we get a first-hand look at several of them on our city tour. The Plaza de Armas, flanked by some of the most important buildings in town such as the cathedral, the huge Government Palace and the Archbishop's Palace, constitutes the heart of the city. We visit the cathedral and the Government Palace, as well as the nearby San Francisco Monastery with its catacombs containing some 70,000 human remains. We also visit the impressive Archaeological Museum.
- Day 3-4: Arequipa We fly to Arequipa, which is known as La Ciudad Blanca (White City) because the buildings have been built almost exclusively from a white volcanic material called 'sillar'. The city lies in a beautiful valley at the foot of the 5822 metres high El Misti volcano, a snow-capped, perfectly shaped cone. A walking tour of this charming city takes us down cobbled streets to the Santa Catalina Convent, the Church of San Francisco and the Plaza de Armas. Along the way we pass by many of the historic colonial houses that have helped win this city a UNESCO World Heritage listing. We have an additional day of free time to do our own exploration or arrange an optional tour. The neighbouring suburbs are also of interest, with their own attractive colonial churches and historic ambience. Arequipa is without doubt one of the most beautiful cities in Peru.
- Day 5-6: Colca Canyon - Arequipa We leave in the morning for our overnight trip down into Colca Canyon. The canyon is reportedly the deepest in the world - twice as deep as Grand Canyon in USA. Unlike most of Grand Canyon, there are areas of Colca Canyon that are inhabited, with pre-Colombian terraced fields still supporting agriculture and human life. Amidst the stunning scenery of the canyon, we have the opportunity to spot one of the world's largest flying birds. The Andean condor is threatened with extinction; however, the chances are good that we may witness some gliding effortlessly on the thermals in the valleys below. After an overnight hotel stay in the canyon, we return to our hotel in Arequipa.
- Day 7-8: Cusco Today we fly to the ancient Inca capital of Cusco, where we take a walking tour to explore this fascinating city in the afternoon. This place is a favourite destination of many visitors to Peru. Cusco's main sites radiate outwards from the main Plaza de Armas, which is dominated by the 17th century Baroque cathedral. It was in this very plaza that the Spanish conquistadors put to death the last Inca king, Tupac Amaru. As we wander the streets and side alleys of the city we witness the perfect tapering Inca stonework that provided the foundations for many of Cusco's colonial and modern buildings. Our comprehensive sightseeing tour of the city's main sights includes the Cathedral of Cusco and Koricancha Temple. In our free time, it is also possible to visit the Religious Art Museum, Church of San Blas and Santa Catalina Museum. We then take to the surrounding hills and visit the impressive ceremonial ruins of Sacsayhuaman, where massive stone blocks that form the walls of this site give us an awesome picture of the highly developed and skilled Inca civilization.
- Day 9: Cusco - The Sacred Valley We head into the Urubamba Valley, which is better known as the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The Sacred Valley, located between the towns of Pisac and Ollantaytambo, was greatly treasured because of its climate, fertile land and the presence of the Urubamba (Sacred) River. Today we still see evidence of the Inca's engineering skills in the ruins of ancient aqueducts, irrigation canals, dams on the Urubamba River, imposing sets of terraces and centres of worship dedicated to Pachamama (Mother Earth). On our full day tour of the Sacred Valley we visit the ruins of Qenko, Puka Pukara, Tambo Machay and Ollantytambo, as well as the colourful market in Pisac village.
- Day 10: Peru's Challenge Community Project - Pumamarca Ruins - Cusco Just 8km from the centre of Cusco lies the rural community of Pumamarca, which means the Place of the Sacred Puma. Today we enjoy a morning visit to Peru's Challenge Community Project, located in that tiny village. This is a fantastic opportunity to witness rural life first-hand as we wander through the fields and watch the locals tend their crops, as well as observe this amazing project that Peregrine is a proud sponsor of. In the village we visit the local school and also see the women working on their handicrafts. If you would like to donate anything to the people of the community, you may like to consider the following items - stationery including pens, rulers, exercise books and puzzles (for the school), any sporting equipment, English/Spanish dictionaries, toothbrushes, bandages, children's toys and any old clothing, including footwear. Afterwards, a short stroll through the fields takes us to the rarely-visited Pumamarca ruins. More than 500 years ago King Pachacutec ruled the Incas from the centre of his massive empire in Cusco. Here, surrounded by beautiful Inca terraces and fields where the locals grow their produce, we find the Pumamarca Hacienda, which at that time was a palace built for his royal wife. Wandering through the ruins we can find great examples of classic Inca architecture best exemplified by careful stonework of exact proportions, providing evidence that the Incas were expert engineers. The gardens contain water channels and fountains with aqueducts and communication tunnels, which connects the palace to the town of Cusco. Peruvian archaeologists believe that this is the oldest Inca palaces in existence, hence one of the reasons why the Institute of National Culture has plans to slowly reconstruct the structure as well as restore the gardens to their original glory. We then return to Cusco, where the rest of the day is free time to make our own discoveries.
- Day 11-12: Machu Picchu - Aguas Calientes - Cusco We board an early morning train to the town of Aguas Calientes and take a bus up the steep, zigzagging road to the impressive Lost City of the Incas - Machu Picchu. We explore the ruins with our guide and then have time to wander around by ourselves, before returning to Aguas Calientes where we spend a night. There are some great shops and restaurants in the town and you can also choose to while away some time relaxing in the hot thermal baths on the edge of the village. We take the train back to Cusco on the afternoon of Day 12.
- Day 13: Lima After breakfast we are transferred to the airport, where we fly back to Lima. Our tour ends on arrival at Lima Airport. If you wish to extend your stay in Lima tonight and on any other subsequent nights, as well as arrange an airport to hotel transfer, it is possible to book these additional services at the same time you book your main tour. If you are planning to depart Lima today, we advise that you do not book to depart until at least after 5pm (17:00 hrs).
For reservations or additional information, call 1-866-286-9323 to speak with an experienced travel consultant.
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