Lima, Nazca, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Puno, Colca, Arequipa

After you arrive in Lima, pass through immigration, retrieve your luggage and clear customs proceed straight into the terminal where you will be greeted by your driver with our Blue and Gold ILE Tours sign, Private transfer to Miraflores Hotel (45 min). Arrange with the front desk your breakfast to go the following morning. Overnight Miraflores

3AM hotel greeting and private transfer to the Cruz del Sur bus terminal for the 4 hour tourist bus drive south to Paracas. Cruz del Sur Paracas terminal greeting and private transfer to the Pisco airport for your 2 hr flight over the Nazca Lines. The Nazca Lines are giant figures etched into the sand that can only be appreciated fully by air. See the Monkey, the spider,hummingbird, spaceman, geometric birds and others. These mysterious huge "drawings" are possibly an astrological calendar but their construction and true intent are a mystery still. After the tour you will return to the Pisco airport and transfer to your hotel to rest. Overnight Paracas. (B)

7am hotel greeting and transfer to the piers for your 2 hr delightful tour of the Ballestas Island, also known as the “small Galapagos“. Although the islands are off limits to people so as not to disturb the wildlife, your tour boat will get close enough for you to observe its amazing wildlife inhabitants such as pelicans, penguins, cormorants, Peruvian boobies, Inca terns and walruses. Keep your eyes open also for sea lions, turtles, dolphins, and whales. You will also be treated to a site from the sea of the Paracas Candelabra. This is an ancient etching in the sand that may have been a beacon to sailors from long ago. Afternoon bus back to Lima from Paracas and private transfer to your hotel. Overnight Lima. (B)

Hotel greeting and private transfer to the LIM airport 3 hrs before your flight to Cusco (1hr) departs. Cusco airport greeting and private transfer to your downtown hotel (15 min). Rest, breath, eat lightly, do not exert yourselves and drink the complimentary coca tea provided by your hotel your first day in Cusco to acclimate to the elevation (11,000 ft).

Afternoon Cusco City Tour to visit these wonderful sites: Sacsayhuaman 15 minutes outside of Cusco with its huge walls comprised of monolithic stones, Q’enqo - a small cave like structure used in Inca ceremonies, Pucapucara- the small fortress and Tambomachay with its fountains and small canals. After completion of the tour you will be returned to your hotel. Overnight Cusco. (B)

At 9AM, after breakfast you will be greeted in your hotel and driven NE out of Cusco to Pisaq. Stop periodically at scenic overlooks for pictures of the dramatic landscape before continuing on to Pisaq. Known for its indigenous craft market, Pisaq was also the easternmost fortress of the Sacred Valley. You can see Pisaq from the winding road that approaches the market town and the ruins high above the town square.

Next continue west through the picturesque Sacred Valley to enjoy an excellent Andean buffet lunch in one of the best restaurants. You will next visit the archaeological city of Ollantaytambo, the Inca’s northern fortress walled city where they guarded the Sacred Valley to the north. Here you can appreciate the complexity of this magnificent Inca construction built in accordance with the landscape. Spectacular views of the Sacred Valley from atop the wall where there are more magnificent cut stones. Ollantaytambo still retains its original Inca style, layout, walls, houses and small mountain fed canals that brings water to the houses.

Afternoon Ollanta-Machu Picchu train (90 min). You will be met in the Aguas Calientes train station and escorted (walk) to your hotel. Overnight Aguas Calientes. (B,L)

After breakfast check out and store your overnight bags with your hotel. You will be met by your guide to walk to the buses for the 20 min ride up to Machu Picchu. Buses run continuously and only stop at the top and bottom. Enjoy 2 hrs with your guide then have plenty of time to hike and explore the park on you own. Machu Picchu was probably an estate of the Inca Pachacutec, who also designed Cusco. It was a town with individual homes for nobility made in the classical Inca style with polished dry-stone walls. Its 3 three primary structures are the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. The magnificence of this site is fully appreciated at sunrise. As the mist rises just after sunrise the site itself is revealed to you. When finished take one of the continuous running buses 20 min back down to Aguas Calientes, retrieve your overnight or carry on bags from the hotel and be at the Aguas Calientes train station at least 30 minutes before your departing train to Cusco and van back to your hotel (3.5 hrs). Overnight Cusco. (B)

Early morning hotel greeting and transfer to Vinincunca passing through different traditional villages. The Rainbow mountain of colors in the Ausangate region are visible due to the lands mineralogical composition which makes it a magical site to see with the different tonalities of the mountain. This is an alternative tour to the popular Rainbow Mountain 3 hike. This is a longer drive but shorter hike. Once arrived at the destination we can see the beautiful mountain that offers its colors, a unique experience. Local Lunch. A challenging hike to get your adrenaline flowing. Return to Cusco around sundown Overnight Cusco. (B,L)

At 06:30, after breakfast and check out, be sure to leave nothing behind in Puno. You will be greeted and driven 10 minutes to the bus terminal for your bus to Cusco (10 hrs). Stops along the way include a visit to the museum of Pukaraou to see ancient pre-Incan artifacts, La Raya, the highest point on the route at over 4,300 meters, Andean buffet lunch, the temple ruins at Raqchi and Andahuaylillas Cathedral. You will be met in Cusco and taken by private van 10 minutes to check in to your hotel near the main square in Cusco. Overnight Cusco. (B,L)

After breakfast you will be taken to the Titicaca piers for a tour of the floating man-made Islands of Uros by group motor yacht tour. Here you will meet, up-close the citizens who have preserved their old traditions and still live on the water. “The Aquatic Tribe” will show you how they have kept their customs, make their islands and display their crafts made of reeds.

For an additional very small tip the inhabitants of Uros will take you for a short optional ride on one of their reed boats if you wish. The motor yacht tour then continues to the steep island of Taquile, inhabited by native Quechuas. On Uros and Taquille you can appreciate and purchase some of the finest handmade crafts and basket weavings in Perú to support the very friendly and welcoming island people. At night return to Puno by boat where your van will be waiting to return you to your hotel.

The motor yachts have bus style seating and you can climb to the cabin roof to get fresh air and great photos. Be sure to bring brimmed hats and jackets as it will be sunny, windy and colder in the afternoons. Return to your hotel before sundown. (B,L)

After breakfast and check out, be sure to leave nothing behind in your Puno hotel. Hotel greeting for tourist bus service to Chivay (4 hrs) and one of the deepest canyons in the world; Colca Canyon. Beautiful ride today north to higher elevations across vast panoramic views with alpacas, llamas and vicuñas grazing. Arrive at your hotel in the afternoon. Overnight Colca Canyon. (B)

After breakfast and check out, be sure to leave nothing behind in your Colca Canyon hotel. Early in the morning you will go to the famous Cross of the Condor lookout to hopefully see the majestic condor flying overhead. This is a wonderful spot high above the Colca Canyon. Continue further north through unique landscapes for about 6 hrs to higher elevations to the port city of Puno on Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. Hotel check in and well reserved time to relax. Overnight Puno. (B)

Morning walking Arequipa City Tour. You will be met by your guide in your hotel and taken to enjoy a tour of Arequipa on foot. The "White City of Arequipa" is Peru's second largest and one of its most beautiful cities. Warm and pleasant, Arequipa has more of a desert climate with many cactus and palm trees. You will visit the beautiful cathedral, Santa Catalina Convent and the museum to observe the mummy Juanita, one of oldest and preserved mummies of South America. You will be able to observe the majestic presence of the Misti Volcano. At the end of the tour of Arequipa you will be taken back to your hotel. Overnight Arequipa. (B)

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