Peru First Impressions

DAY 1: LIMA
Arrival in Lima and reception by the local representative and transfer to the hotel for accommodation for 2 nights, with breakfast.

Peru's largest city, Lima is vibrant and full of attractions to visit.


DAY 2: LIMA
After breakfast at the hotel, private tour with a bilingual guide (Spanish/English) during the program; through the city's main attractions. Visit the Larco Museum, in the Pueblo Libre neighborhood, a colonial mansion built on the pre-colonial pyramid of the 7th century. The museum has the most complete pre-Hispanic collection of gold and silver pieces.

Then, visit Casa Aliaga, considered a jewel of colonial and republican architecture. Its environments show us the styles that were in fashion in the 17th and 19th centuries in Lima.

At the end of the tour, stop by the Plaza de Armas, where it will be possible to appreciate the great architecture of the Spanish Empire and the examples of architecture from the colonial era.


DAY 3: LIMA/CUSCO
After breakfast and check-out at the hotel. Transfer to Lima airport and boarding to Cusco (flight not included).

Arrival in Cusco. Reception and private transfer to the hotel for accommodation for 1 night, with breakfast.

In the afternoon, guided tour of the main tourist attractions of Cusco, a city where Inca architecture blends harmoniously with colonial traits. Visit to the Santo Domingo Convent, a large Renaissance baroque complex built on the Inca temple of Coricancha, one of the essential sites dedicated to the cult of the sun.

Then, visit the Cusco Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral Basilica of the Virgin of the Assumption, and the ruins of the temple and the amphitheater of Qenqo. It is believed to be the place where the Incas practiced rituals related to agriculture.

Continue to the archaeological sites: to the fortress of Sacsayhuamán, a colossal building of enormous stones carved and joined with precision, Qenko, Puca-Pucara known as the “red fortress” in Quechua, an ancient Inca military complex.


DAY 4: CUSCO - MORAY - MARAS - SACRED VALLEY
After breakfast and check-out at the hotel, drive to the Sacred Valley.

Along the way, visit the archaeological center of Moray. Used as an agricultural laboratory, its system of circular terraces that descend 150 meters is a testament to the wisdom of the Incas, who built masterpieces in harmony with nature.

Continue to Maras, where the salt lagoons create a stunning setting. Explored since the time of the Incas, these salt mines surprise with their white steps.

Arrival in the Sacred Valley and accommodation for 2 nights, with breakfast.


DAY 5: SACRED VALLEY
After breakfast at the hotel, a 45-minute ride to the city of Chinchero. This traditional urban center of Cusco is special not only for its privileged view of the Sacred Valley landscape, but also because its inhabitants preserve the traditions and knowledge inherited from the Incas and that are reflected in their clothes and crafts. In addition to its cultural legacy, it is possible to visit the agricultural terraces and its beautiful 17th century church, built on an old Inca palace and considered one of the first Catholic buildings in Peru.

Continue to Ollantaytambo, one of the last villages of the Inca culture, which was carefully protected by a colossal fortress. Visit the Living Museum of Yucay, a center for the interpretation of Andean traditions, with demonstrations of textile work, adobe crafts, ceramics and silverware using the same ancient Inca techniques.

Stop for lunch at a local restaurant and return to the hotel.


DAY 6: SACRED VALLEY - MACHU PICCHU - CUSCO
After breakfast transfer to the train station followed by a bus transfer to begin the full-day tour to the lost city of the Incas, Machu Picchu. Hidden for 400 years between mountains and tropical jungle, it was discovered in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham. It includes lunch at a local restaurant.

In the afternoon, at the indicated time, return train and transfer to the hotel in Cusco for accommodation for 1 night, with breakfast.


DAY 7: CUSCO
After breakfast and check-out at the hotel, private transfer to Cusco airport.