Peru Panorama: Lima, Nazca & Machu Picchu

Arrive in Lima
On arrival at the airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel.

Now the capital of Peru and its largest city, Lima was once called the “City of Kings” by Spanish conquistadors. If you look beyond the urban sprawl, you'll be rewarded with the National Museum's pre-Columbian treasures and Plaza Mayor's colonial splendour.

Exclusive Lima City Tour
Depart this morning on a 5 hour sightseeing tour exploring the most impressive sights of Lima along with some of our handpicked favourites. We will start in Miraflores market, a vibrant place visited by local chefs for its wonderful variety of fresh produce from the coast, the Andes and the Amazon. Take the chance to learn more about Peru’s diversity reflected in the colourful assortment of vegetables, fruits, fish and condiments.

On the way to Lima’s downtown we pass by ‘Huaca Pucllana’ an ancient adobe pyramid structure which served as one of the region’s most important ceremonial temples between the years of 200 AD and 700 AD. We continue to the San Isidro district and visit the impressive ‘El Olivar’ Park before stopping at the Pisco Museum where you have the chance to taste Peru’s national drink, the ‘Pisco Sour’ (optional, not included). Later we visit Lima’s downtown with its historic and traditional buildings: the Presidential Palace, the Cathedral, the Archbishop’s palace and the Metropolitan City Hall surround the Main Square. Continue to San Francisco church and monastery, a 17th century jewel, recognised as a cultural heritage site by UNESCO.

This tour finishes with a guided visit of the Larco Herrera Museum. This is a fabulous private museum with an exquisite collection of gold and silver treasures from ancient Peru. Many pieces in this museum are now world famous after having been exhibited in the best museums around the world.

The remainder of the day is at your leisure to explore the city on your own.

Breakfast included.

Paracas and Nazca Flight
Our representative will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the bus station where you will take the first class bus to Paracas.

Upon arrival you will be taken to Pisco Airport where you will wait for your overflight of the Nazca Lines. During the 1 1/2 hour flight aboard a modern Cessna Gran Caravan plane with capacity for 12 passengers you can photograph the most famous figures of Nazca: the condor, the hummingbird, and many more. Best viewed from the air, these huge geometric patterns and hundreds of perfectly straight lines were etched on the desert sands by Nazca people centuries ago. Additionally you will fly over the Palpa Lines, the recently discovered drawings near Ocucaje left by the Paracas culture and the archaeological complex built by the Nazca Culture in Cahuachi. After your flight, you will be transferred to your hotel.

Breakfast included.

Ballestas Islands
This morning we take a boat to the Ballestas Islands, an aquatic nature reserve that contains one of the highest concentrations of marine birds in the world. There are sea lions, penguins, numerous species of birds and the Paracas Candelabra, a curious pre-Inca design on the hillside, only recognisable from the sea. The boat trip lasts around two hours, and once we're back on dry land we depart to Nazca, approximately 3 hours' drive South.

Afterwards you will continue your journey to Nasca and stop at the museum of Maria Reiche. This small museum is housed in the former and modest home of Dr. Maria Reiche (1903-1998). Without her intervention the drawings in Nasca would have remained undiscovered until today, possibly even destroyed. The German mathematician and archaeologist dedicated more than 50 years of her life to study, protect and measure the Nasca Lines. Maria's greatest legacy is the awareness she fostered to preserve the heritage of the Nasca culture - in her words ‘excellent observers of the earth and the firmament’.

If time allows, we may have the opportunity to visit the Lagoon of Huacachina, which became famous due to the medicinal properties of its filtered waters.

Bus to Lima
Regular tourist bus from Paracas to Lima

Breakfast included.

Depart Lima
Our representative will pick you up from your hotel in Lima and transfer you to the airport for your departure flight.

Arrive in Cusco
On arrival at the airport you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel.

We suggest that you take it easy today to give yourself the best opportunity to acclimatise to Cusco's altitude. This city is bursting with Andean culture and is one of the great culinary destinations of South America. It also just happens to be the gateway to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, the best-known archaeological site on this vast continent.

City & Ruins Tour
Your first morning in Cusco can be spent at your leisure, enjoying breakfast before exploring Cusco or relaxing at your hotel.

In the afternoon you will be met for your guided tour of Cusco and its archaeological sites. Your Cusco tour will include highlights such as Plaza de Armas, the cathedral and Koricancha Temple. We also visit the UNESCO World Heritage listed ruins of Sacsayhuaman just outside of Cusco which were once the former capital of the Incan Empire.

Breakfast included.

Sacred Valley and Aguas Calientes
This morning you will be picked up from your hotel to discover the Sacred Valley of the Incas on this full day excursion. This fertile river valley was home to many important sites for the Incas, both strategic and religious. Your first stop will be the lookout Mirador de Taray, a scenic lookout point offering impressive panoramic views of the Sacred Valley.

Continue on to Pisaq where you will first visit the archaeological complex, the ruins of the fortress of Pisaq which are set high above a valley by patterned fields and rimmed by vast terracing. The stonework and panoramas at Pisac's Inca citadel are magnificent. You will visit the lower part of the complex where the agricultural area and the pre-Hispanic cemetery are located. Afterwards, visit the colourful local market and have free time to search for a souvenir or two before enjoying a typical Andean lunch at a local restaurant.

We then continue our journey along the River Urubamba to Ollantaytambo, where you will visit Ollantaytambo Ruins and one of its best preserved areas, Hanan Hucaypata.

You will be transferred to the local train station where you will catch the scenic afternoon train to Aguas Calientes. On arrival you will be escorted to your hotel by the hotel's staff. Enjoy a free evening and prepare for your early morning visit to Machu Picchu the next day.

*Option to add a night in the Sacred Valley and continue to Machu Picchu early tomorrow, giving you the opportunity to enjoy 2 visits to Machu Picchu.

Breakfast and Lunch included.

Machu Picchu Tour
Today you will visit Wayna Picchu mountain. Upon entering the citadel, you will follow a short, predetermined route through a section of Machu Picchu until you reach the entrance of Wayna Picchu’s trail. Enjoy the exhilarating climb of Wayna Picchu, situated at approximately 3,000 meters above sea level. Make sure to take some impressive panoramic photos of Machu Picchu from above. Upon descending the mountain, you follow the short, predetermined route to the exit of the citadel.

Later, you will meet your guide in Aguas Calientes. Upon arrival a small coach takes you up the steep roads to the entrance of the citadel. For centuries Machu Picchu remained undiscovered by the Spaniards and has only been found in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham. During a guided tour you will experience the uniqueness of the location and the genius that went into its construction, making this Inca site one of the seven new wonders of the world.

At the proper time, walk on your own to the local train station (close to artisanal market) and take the train back to Ollantaytambo where our local representative is waiting to transfer you to Cusco. In case you have left any luggage in the hotel in the Sacred Valley, it will be picked up on route.

Breakfast included.

Depart
Our representative will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the airport for your departure flight.