GT-201C – CLASSIC PERU
Discover all the magic and history hidden beneath the Inca walls
Lima, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Cusco
Seven Days / Six Nights
Minimum two persons
2013 DEPARTURE DATES FROM USA: August 9, August 23, September 13, September 27, October 11, October 25, November 8 & December 6
ITINERARY
DAY 1: Arrival Lima
Upon arrival into Lima International Airport, you will be met by our representative and private driver and will be transferred the selected hotel. Our representative will assist you with check-in procedures.
Overnight accommodations Hotel El Pardo Double Tree (Standard room)
DAY 2: Lima
Breakfast. Morning private half day Colonial & Modern Lima & Larco Herrera Museum. Enjoy a half day 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; Santo 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 Centre of the Lima Culture built in the II Century A.C. that the Incas considered as “Ñaupallaqta” or Sacred Town. Also visit El Olivar Park with olive trees brought from Spain in the XVth Century, the Central Park of Miraflores and El Parque del Amor, or Peruvian Love Park.
Your visit continues with a stop at Larco Herrera Museum, for an excellent overview of Peru’s ancient past as it holds the best private collection of pre-Columbian art in the country.
The museum chronologically exhibits hundreds of ceramic, textile, metal and precious stone pieces and also inside you will find the vault which safeguards precious pieces of gold and silver with semiprecious stones.
Overnight accommodations Hotel El Pardo Double Tree (Standard room)
DAY 3: Lima / Cusco / Sacred Valley
Breakfast. Transfer hotel / airport (private). At the proper time, transfer to the Lima airport to board your flight to the city of Cusco. Upon your arrival to Cusco airport you will be met by our representative who will assist you with your luggage and drive you to your hotel in the Sacred Valley. Enjoy a private half day excursion to Awanacancha & Pisac Market .
En route towards the Urubamba Valley, visit Awanacancha, an Andean textile center whose principal objective is to maintain the wealth of Incan textile art alive. Here you we will learn about the dyeing techniques and instruments used for hundreds of years in the weaving of these famous textiles. Continue on to the Pisac Markets where you will have the chance to interact with the local folk and even barter with the merchants.
Lunch will be served at a local ranch including a Peruvian Paso Horse demonstration; with their elegance and noble spirit, the Peruvian Paso Horse symbolizes a centuries-old tradition of cultural fusion and folklore that defines and enriches Peru. In this presentation, Paso horses from the ranch stables demonstrate their flowing gait and graceful motion to the rhythm of ‘la marinera,’ the national dance of Peru, accompanied by an award-winning dancer and live musicians. After lunch you will be escorted to your hotel.
Overnight accommodations: Hotel Aranwa Sacred Valley (Deluxe room) (B/L)
DAY 4 – Sacred Valley
Breakfast. Private full day Maras Saltpans, Moray Terraces & Ollantaytambo Fortress
Today continue in through the Sacred Valley of the Incas, visiting the salt fields of Maras and its seemingly never-ending terraces, where salt that is extracted from springs is stored. These waters have been used for centuries, even before the time of the Incas. It is impressive to see the variety of colors created by the reflection of the suns rays in this field of salt deposits, and to learn about the Incas striking ability to generate resources. Following this we will continue on to Moray, where we will discover the four large geological depressions in the earth that were utilized by the Incas in the construction of circular terraces, which functioned as botanical laboratories in the development and improvement of crops. Lunch will be served at a local countryside restaurant.
After lunch at a local restaurant, end the day with a visit to the Incan fortress and citadel of Ollantaytambo. This fortress was constructed in order to guard the entrance to this part of the valley and protect it from possible invasions of tribes from the jungle lowlands, and was later the scene of Incan resistance in 1537, when Manco Inca’s forces faced Hernando Pizarro’s troops. After the tour you will continue with additional hotel inspections, time permitting, then you will be driven back to your hotel.
Overnight accommodations: Hotel Aranwa Sacred Valley (Deluxe room) (B/L)
DAY 5: Sacred Valley / Machu Picchu
Breakfast. Full day excursion to Machu Picchu via roundtrip Vistadome train (private)
Morning transfer to the train station for an amazing train journey to the famous Inca Citadel of Machu Picchu, the great mountain-top city abandoned by the Inca Empire, reclaimed by the jungle and lost to humanity until its rediscovery in 1911. The legendary ‘Lost City’ is without a doubt one of the world’s most impressive archaeological sites. Built by the Incas on the summit of “Machu Picchu” (old peak), overlooking the deep canyon of the Urubamba river in a semi-tropical area 120 Kms. (75 miles) from the city of Cusco at 11,155 f.a.s.l.
It sits on a mountain site of extraordinary beauty, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest; Machu Picchu was probably the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height, with its giant walls, terraces and ramps, which appear as though they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments. Machu Picchu is also one of the Inca’s best kept secrets, since they did not leave written records and Spanish chronicles make no mention of the citadel, it remains a mystery. Along the way you will enjoy the changing landscape as you travel from Andean highlands to the beginnings of the jungle (“eyebrow of the jungle”), before finally arriving at the town of Aguas Calientes.
From here we will board the bus that will take you on a 20 minute ride up to the citadel of Machu Picchu, or Lost City of the Incas, which sits upon the summit bearing the same name, and is one of the most representative and recognized examples of Incan architecture. A guided tour of the Citadel includes the Main Plaza, the Circular Tower, the Sacred Sun Dial, the Royal Quarters, the Temple of the Three Windows and various burial grounds. Buffet lunch at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge is included. In the afternoon return to Aguas Calientes town. Overnight accommodations Hotel Sumaq Machu Picchu (Superior Deluxe room) (B/L/D)
DAY 6: Machu Picchu / Cusco
Breakfast. Morning at leisure. Excellent opportunity to wake up early and enjoy a beautiful sunrise as well as stroll around the Town of Aguas Calientes and visit its Hot Springs Thermal waters. Then, you will have time to perform some of the following activities (not included in the overall price): visit the Citadel of Machu Picchu for a second time, or for more active and adventurous people, we suggest to climb up the Huayna Picchu from where you can appreciate the immensity of Machu Picchu, even more amazing being so high and distant (no guide services included this day). In the afternoon, return to Cusco by train and upon arrival at the train station you will be met by our representative and private driver for your transfer to the hotel. Dinner will be served at your hotel.
Overnight accommodations El Mercado Boutique Hotel in Cusco (Superior room) (B)
DAY 7: Cusco / Lima / Departure
Breakfast. Morning walking City tour Cusco, San Blas & MAP Museum (private)
Today you will go on a walking city tour of the Imperial City of Cusco, including a visit to the district of San Blas, with its winding streets, the whitewashed houses, the blue balconies hung with geranium-filled flowerpots, the uneven line of the tiled rooftops and the endless stairways. In the neighborhood live the folk artists of Cusco, who for centuries have used their hands to tell the tale of their longings and frustrations working in stone and woodcarving, sculpture, doll-making, silverware, weaving and textile arts, gold-leaf, mask-making, and an array of ceramics in utilitarian, architectural, sculptural, monumental, grotesque and many other styles for example Edilberto Merida, renowned sculptor. He looked to religion for his primary inspiration, but he moved away from traditional religious images, by making grotesque images with exaggerated features. It is a form of sculpture that has come to be known as “mud of protest.”
Then visit the Pre-Columbian Art Museum, the only museum in Peru dedicated to rebound the arts of ancient Peruvian cultures; the collection of 450 master pieces date from 1250 B.C to.1532 A.D. Continue on to the Santo Domingo Church built upon the foundations of the Inca temple Koricancha, which was dedicated to Sun worship. You will also visit the Main Plaza, which has been the scene of great historical events in Cusco; and the Cathedral, constructed of great slabs of red granite in the renaissance style, and thus contrasting with the baroque style silverwork which decorates the interior. After the tour you will be driven back to your hotel.
Afternoon transfer Hotel / Airport (private). At the appropriate time, transfer to Cusco Airport to board your flight back to Lima. Upon arrival in Lima assistance with all departure formalities for your international homebound flight.
RATE PE PERSON BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY: From: $2,430.00
Includes round trip air Lima/Cusco/Lima
Add international air via LAN Miami/Lima/Miami for only $514.00 including fuel surcharges and taxes.
INCLUDES:
Round trip air Lima/Cusco/Lima. Fuel surcharges and taxes subject to change. All airport transfers listed in the itinerary. Hotel accommodations and hotel service charges and taxes. Baggage handling at airports and at hotels. All tours and excursions indicated in the itinerary. All entrance fees and transfers needed to operate tours and excursions. All train tickets, bus tickets and boat services needed to operate tours and excursions. Excursion to Machu Picchu is aboard the Vistadome train. Service of an English speaking licensed tour guide for all tours and excursions. All meals indicated in the itinerary. (B= Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner)
NOT INCLUDED:
International air to be quoted separately on request. Expenses such us beverages on meals, tips, laundry, phone calls and other personal expenses are not included. International and local Airport departure taxes – approximate cost is US $31.00 for international flights, and US $7.40 for each domestic flight.
