To book it call:  303.699.7671

I assumed that Peru could not live up to my dreams. Oh, how wrong I was!! The country was clean and people were compassionate as well as intelligent... [our guide was] so intelligent and patient -- telling us much more than we could ever hope to learn  and taking us everywhere. We realize we got a first-class experience and we feel we gained a lifetime friend.

Margie, Denver

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Book now to join this Inca Intensive 11-Day Tour to Peru— May 23 – June 2, 2015

 

You’ll be guided through Lima, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and other unique and ancient Inca sites by our bilingual, expert Peruvian guides.  You can relax and experience the sights, sounds, tastes, and culture of ancient and  modern Peru in a small group of 15 people.  We take care of everything – you just need to bring your curiosity!  And we promise you a wonderful tour you will never forget.

 

We call this tour "Inca Intensive" as this 11-day  tour highlights more than a dozen of Peru's most famous and fascinating ancient sites.  In addition to many of the must-see places in our 7-day tour, Inca Intensive takes you deep into the Sacred Valley of the Incas. You'll visit the ruins at Tambo Machay with ancient aqueducts and the 15th Century Pisaq ruins.  This trip adds visits to several important museums,  two local markets, a cooking demonstration, and our signature Cultural Immersion Evening complete with presentations on Peruvian textiles and a dinner of exquisite contemporary Peruvian cuisine.

 

This tour is designed to not only show you the mystery and magic of ancient Peru, but also to give you a taste of how ancient culture is influencing contemporary arts and cuisine.

 

This memorable trip invites you to see, taste, feel, and experience the marvels of Peru.

 

 

Highlights

 

Day 1 Lima, Transfer to your hotel

Day 2 Lima city tour, Museums

Day 3 Fly to Cusco, walking city tour of Cusco and Cultural Immersion Evening

Day 4 Mercardo Central Market, Sacsayhuamanm, Kenko and shaman ceremony

Day 5 Tambo Machay, Pisaq ruins and market

Day 6 Ollantaytambo to Chinchero Market, textile demonstration

Day 7 Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu, cooking demo, horse show

Day 8 Machu Picchu

Day 9 Machu Picchu, Cusco

Day 10 Cuzco to Lima

Day 11 Lima to home or other expedition

 

Detailed Itinerary:

Day 1: Lima

 Arrive in Lima from your home city.  We'll welcome you at the Jorge Chávez Airport and drive you to your hotel in a private vehicle for check in.

 

Day 2: Lima, city tour, museums

The capital of Peru, Lima overlooks the Pacific Ocean, and ranges to over 5,000 ft.  A beautiful city, Lima has a wonderful mixture of Colonial and elegant modern architecture with numerous flower gardens, fabulous museums, elegant homes, delicious cuisine, fine hotels and restaurants, and an active nightlife. We will take you on a guided city tour to show you the highlights of this beautiful city and stop for lunch at before our afternoon excursion.

 

We'll visit the National Museum of Archaeology Anthropology and History which has the largest collections of Pre-Hispanic art and relics and well preserved mummies plus a superb collection of archaeological and historical artifacts from the Moche "Lord of Sipán" site in northern Peru and a scale model of the Machu Picchu complex. Then we'll view the exceptional collection of Pre-Columbian ceramics, Andean gold and silver, erotic pottery and Paracas textiles at the Larco Herrera Museum. The museum, located in an 18th Century building, was built over a 7th-Century pyramid  so even the site holds historic mystery.

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Day 3: Lima-Cusco/Cusco City Tour

We'll leave early for a one-hour flight to Cusco, the center of the Inca Empire and a "World Heritage City." Ancient Cuzco was known to the Incas as "the belly button of the world," the source of life. Our trip to Cusco begins the heart and soul of the trip.

 

Your guide will meet you at the Cusco airport and take you to your hotel. You will have time to rest to acclimatize to the altitude. Cusco is over 11,000 ft.

 

A trip briefing will be given followed by  a tour of the astonishing cobbled-stoned, red-roofed city rich in Incan and Colonial history. We'll visit the Coricancha, the partially restored Sun Temple, whose interior walls, once covered in gold and studded with emeralds and turquoise were stripped by the Conquistadors. In the patio stood a life-sized garden made of solid silver and gold. We'll also visit Plaza de Armas and see the 17th century Baroque Cathedral, built on the site of the palace of Viracocha. We'll also visit the Archbishop's precious private collection of Colonial and Indian art and the charming artisan's quarter and stop at the 12-angled stone on Hatunrumiyoc Street. Later, we return to our hotel and have a Cultural Expeditions Signature Cultural Immersion Evening with dinner

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Day 4: Mercardo Central, Sacsayhuaman, Kenko and shaman ceremony

After breakfast, we'll pick you up at the hotel and visit the Mercado Central (Central Market). This large open-air market has everything from Band-Aids to live poultry to a vast array of colorful vegetables, flowers and fruits. The colors, the sounds, and the smells immerse you in the culture of Peru. Near the Market, we'll be treated to a cooking demonstration to show how many of the local vegetables and foods are combined into native Peruvian cuisine.

 

We'll visit the Inca Museum which shows a history of the Inca Empire.  This will provide useful insights to prepare for our Inca-immersion portion of the tour. We'll enjoy lunch at the  highly-regarded Pachapapa Restaurant where the adventurous can even try Alpaca kabobs. This charming restaurant has an outdoor patio also.

 

After lunch we'll drive into the surrounding hills to the great walled complex of Sacsayhuaman, which means "Decorated head of the Puma” a sacred  Inca site. This fortress/temple complex was the ruling palace of the Inca where the living god directed his people. Its large grounds were used for celebrations, pageants, and sporting events. The Europeans called it a fortress because of the immense stones that were used in its construction. Cusco's oral tradition claims that around 70,000 people worked 50 years to build the palace. The double zigzag wall is said to symbolize a puma's teeth, and the stones used to erect this massive fortification weigh up to 125 tons each. How ancient peoples could construct the walls with such huge stones is still a mystery today.  The size and intricacy of the formations are magical.  Even today, starting on June 24th, Sacsayhuaman is the site of the Incan Festival of the Sun, a week-long Indian celebration with folk dancing and pageantry. We will stop and see Kenko a small site whose name in Quechua means "zig-zag" consists of a huge carved boulder with tunnels with an altar dug below it. Before heading back to Cusco we'll be treated to a special ceremony conducted by a shaman.

Dinner at the famous Limo restaurant.

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Day 5: Tambo Machay, Pisaq ruins and market

 

We'll drive along the Southern Valley of Cusco. At one time, the valley was a large lake and now the small lagoon of Huacarpay is what remains. Our first stop will be the beautiful Chapel of Andahuaylillas  along the Southern Valley of Cusco, geologically the Valley was a large lake, the small lagoon of Huacarpay is a remaining of it.  The Chapel of Andahuaylillas shows the original wall painting decorations of the 16th and 17th centuries, which were then followed by works in oil on canvas.  These later Indian paintings were then enhanced by magnificent baroque-style wooden gilded frames of the 18th century.  The historical continuum and quality of the works here have made this church one of the best examples of Cusco Colonial art. Then we drive to San Salvador, a quaint town in the Andes  where a group of weavers of the Chawaytire community will demonstrate their art using traditional back-strap looms. After a delicious picnic lunch, we'll continue to Pisac to view the ancient Incan ruins and enjoy the quaint town. We will also visit Tambo Machay which is believed that the Incas used this complex for religious ceremonies either directly dedicated to the water's worshipping or for other rituals that included the use of flowing water. Then we will drive to our Sol y Luna hotel in the beautiful Urubamba valley where you can enjoy their gardens, and spa. Overnight in Urubamba. Picnic Lunch included.

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Day 6: Ollantaytambo to Chinchero Market

We begin our day with a visit to the spectacular temple-fortress and village of Ollantaytambo, a site that is little changed from the days of the Incas. We explore the main plaza and some of the side streets of this unique town, which still retains the original plan and architectural foundation built and designed by the Incas. Before we leave we tour the impressive terraced remains of a Temple and see the running waters of an Incan Bath.

 

We then drive to the Andean town of Chinchero (12,335 feet) in the northwest highlands that gives us a panoramic view of the snowcapped Urubamba range with the mountains of Veronica and Pitusiray. These mountain peaks climb to over 18,000 feet and provide a breathtaking view. Chinchero is a charming community that combines Inca and Colonial architecture. We visit the ruins of Inca Yupanqui's palace with its massive Inca wall and its ten trapezoidal niches that overlooks the village's main square. We visit the town's Colonial church and enjoy a local weaving process which has remained virtually unchanged for centuries. We watch as wool is carded and spun, then dyed, and finally learn about the different techniques used to create ponchos, fajas (belts), and mantas (shawls). We then drive down into the lower end of the fertile valley, passing burial tombs and farming terraces that still are used to grow barley, wheat, corn and quinoa.

 

We will then watch another weaving demonstration orchestrated by Nilda Challañaupa, the founder, and director of The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cuzco. This organization is dedicated to preserving ancient textile designs and weaving techniques from all over the Andes. Some designs are more than 2,000 years old and were thought to have been lost. Textiles created at the Center may be available for purchase. Lunch is at Wayra restaurant.

 

We return to Sol y Luna and possibly a Peruvian Paso horse show. Late in the afternoon, you will have a cooking demonstration by the inn's chef, where you will learn about and sample the local cuisine.

B L D is cooking demonstration

 

 

Day 7: Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu

We'll depart from the  hotel early for the Ollantaytambo train station to board the train to Machu Picchu. This rail journey is one of the most spectacular in the world. The rail line follows the Urubamba river through the spectacular Canyon of Vilcanota to the Lost City of the Incas. We will tour Machu Picchu in all its splendor and  mystery, then we'll drive to the Sacred Center. Our expert guide, fully knowledgeable about the history and meanings of each aspect of Machu Picchu, will share the most current information and insights into this world-renown marvel. We check into the hotel and have an early lunch on your own before we take a special tour of the archaeological site. Machu Picchu is a remarkable work of art and a jewel of Inca architecture. It's a city in harmony with its environment perched atop a narrow crest high above the meandering Urubamba River and surrounded by the rugged, green slopes of the forested Andean mountains. Our visit to the Lost City of the Incas (discovered in 1911 by the American historian, Hiram Bingham and never reached by the Spanish Conquistadors) will include the Temples and Tombs, the ceremonial water fountains and baths, and the Sacred Plazas. We will take a 30-minute walk that leads to the Inca Drawbridge before returning to the hotel for dinner.

Overnight in Machu Picchu.

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Day 8: Machu Picchu

You can rise at dawn with the sun's first light and experience the mystical magic of this sacred city and its sublime beauty. After breakfast there are several optional activities available. Huayna Picchu or Young Peak, (8,860 feet) which looms over the citadel in the background and is a one-hour climb (one way) along a steep trail of stairs that ends at the terraces and ruins on top, providing an excellent "bird's eye" view of Machu Picchu citadel. It is a challenging hike, but the reward is one of the greatest views in the world! The descent is relatively quick and easy, but steep, and leads straight to lunch! Or, take an hour and a half hike downhill through the forest which ends at the partially excavated temple site. We have another optional hike to the peak of Machu Picchu Mountain—a 5-6 hour round trip scenic workout! We'll bring your picnic lunch. These hikes vary in length and difficulty and your guide can help you decide which option it right for you.  Those who prefer may simply stay back and explore the hotel's orchid gardens or meditate on the archaeological wonders.

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Day 9: Machu Picchu, Cusco

During this second day at Machu Picchu the tour also allows time for individual exploration of this dramatic site and contemplation of its man made wonders. You may hike up to the Sun Gate overlooking Machu Picchu, explore the Inca Bridge, or take photos of Machu Picchu until you meet the rest of the group for lunch at the Indio Feliz restaurant.

After lunch we take a bus to our train ride to Cuzco. Dinner is on your own.

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Day 10: Cuzco to Lima

We have time to do last-minute shopping and lunch before your flight to Lima. In Lima, you may rest, shop, and explore on your own. Your guide will help you select from Lima's many fine restaurants for dinner.

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Day 11: Lima to home or other expedition

We take you to the airport for your departure home unless you are remaining for more expeditions.

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Join our Scheduled Tour- May 23-June 2, 2015

 

11-day tour for 15 people.* USD 3,528 per person

 

This tour features carefully chosen 3-star hotel accommodations.

 

 

Private Tours

 

Private luxury tours can be enjoyed with two different levels of accommodations, 5-star hotels or 3-star hotels. Click here.

 

This in-depth, comprehensive archaeological and cultural arts tour includes:

 

- All hotel accommodations

- expert private tour guides accompanying you throughout the trip

- all ground transportation (private cars, vans, trains and buses)

- all meals noted in the itinerary

- our unique signature Cultural Immersion Evening

- all entry fees

- all luggage handling

- a complete pre-departure information guide

 

 

 

Tour prices do not include:

- any airfares to and from and within Peru, airport taxes and fees

- travel insurance (for travel interruption, baggage delay or theft, etc.)

- meals that are not described

- alcoholic beverages

- tips (at your discretion)

- excess baggage charges

- medical or hospitalization expenses

 

 

* USD per person, double occupancy. Single occupancy supplement.  Prices subject to change