Essential South: 9 days Lima, Cuzco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival to Lima

Pass By: Centro Historico de Lima, Lima Peru
Arrive at Lima Airport. A transportation service and a guide will pick you up from the airport at the scheduled time to transfer you to your hotel in Lima. The Peruvian capital is a modern metropolis full of history, currently undergoing an exciting process of cultural and economic changes.

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Overnight in Lima

Day 2: Lima: City tour & Larco museum

Stop At: Centro Historico de Lima, Lima Peru
Breakfast at the hotel. Explore Lima´s old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site packed with fascinating historic buildings. Start with the Larco Museum, located in the traditional Pueblo Libre district, which is housed in a beautifully restored vice regal mansion built on a pre-Columbian pyramid from the VII century. The museum boasts the most complete pre-Hispanic collection of gold and silver objects, as well as pieces of erotic art. Then visit Casa Aliaga, a colonial mansion granted in 1535 by chief conquistador Francisco Pizarro to Jerónimo de Aliaga, one of his captains. This is the only house from that time that is still owned by the same family through the centuries. Continue to a scenic tour in the colonial downtown, which originates and spreads out from the Main Square, where you can appreciate the grandiose architecture of the Spanish Empire. Be amazed by Lima´s Cathedral, built during the 16th century and took over 80 years to complete.

Finally, you are transferred back to the hotel.
Duration: 4 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast: At the hotel.
Accommodation included: Overnight in Lima

Day 3: Lima Cuzco: City Tour & nearby archeological site

Stop At: Centro Historico De Cusco, Cusco 08002 Peru
After a tasty breakfast, enjoy a comfortable transfer from your hotel to Lima Airport to catch a flight to Cuzco. A representative will meet and greet you, and then transfer you to the selected hotel in Cuzco. In the afternoon, enjoy a guided tour of this charming city, which was the capital of the Inca Empire. The tour starts with a visit to Santo Domingo Convent, a large Renaissance-baroque complex, which was built over the Inca Coricancha temple. It was one of the most important temples dedicated to worshipping of the sun and its foundations are still prominent at the base of the convent. Ancient chronicles say the temple was covered in gold leaves and filled with golden representations of nature. Then, visit the Cathedral, the most imposing monument of the Main Square. Head to the hills above Cuzco to visit the remains of the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, whose imposing ramparts offer a stunning panoramic view of Cuzco, and the ruins of the temple and amphitheatre of Qenqo, where it is believed the Incas practised agricultural rituals. Admire Qenqo and then finally visit Puka Pukara (‘Red fortress’ in Quechua) an Inca military complex located on a prominent hill. Its dwellings squares, bathrooms, aqueducts, walls, and towers can still be appreciated. Afterwards, return to your hotel.
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast: At the hotel.
Accommodation included: Overnight in Cuzco.

Day 4: Cuzco - Sacred Valley: Chinchero - Ollantaytambo - Living Museum of Yucay

Stop At: Sacred Valley of the Incas, 0051 Peru
Breakfast at the hotel. During the morning, you are picked up from your hotel in Cuzco to visit the town of Chinchero, a traditional Cuzco urban centre located at an elevated point with a beautiful view of the valley. The inhabitants of this area preserve the artisan traditions and the inherited knowledge of the Incas and display them in their clothes and customs. In Chinchero there are also archaeological remains and a beautiful seventeenth-century church, one of the first Catholic buildings in Peru. Then, you are transferred to the Living Museum of Yucay, a centre Andean traditions interpretations, where demonstrations of the elaboration of textile work, adobe, pottery and silverware are carried out in the same way in which they used to in antiquity; an original recreation of Inca traditions. Also, residents of the museum include llamas, sheep and alpacas, and they can be fed!. Later, have lunch in Ollantaytambo and live a superior Andean gastronomy experience in a restaurant, where the true spirit of the Sacred Valley is transmitted in a cosy atmosphere. Upon arriving in Ollantaytambo visit its town, inhabited uninterruptedly since Inca times, and climb the iconic fortress, built next to a mountain.

At the end of this activity, you are transferred back to your hotel. *On Sundays, also visit the local market.*

After your visit, return to your hotel in Sacred Valley.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast: At the hotel.
• Lunch: In Ollantaytambo.
Accommodation included: Overnight in Sacred Valley.

Day 5: Sacred Valley - Machu Picchu

Stop At: Santuario Historico de Machu Picchu, Machu Picchu Peru
Wake up and have breakfast at the hotel. A transportation service will pick you up and transfer you to the Ollanta Station. Your trip to Machu Picchu starts with a train ride to the town of Aguas Calientes. Aguas Calientes has a handicrafts market, restaurants, and accommodation of different categories for those who prefer to spend the night next to the mountain and then visit it early next morning. After a short trip, arrive at Machu Picchu, a masterpiece of engineering and architecture that served as a sanctuary and resting place for Inca Pachacuti. Machu Picchu means ‘Old Mountain’, and was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. At the end of the tour, return by bus to Aguas Calientes, where you will enjoy a delicious lunch and have the afternoon at leisure.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast: At the hotel.
• Lunch: In Aguas Calientes
Accommodation included: Overnight in Aguas Calientes.

Day 6: Aguas Calientes - Ollanta Station - Cuzco

Stop At: Hot Springs (Aguas Calientes), Signposted from main square, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu Peru
Enjoy a tasty breakfast at the hotel. By your own, you can optionally return to Machu Picchu and visit any of the attractions that the citadel keeps. Visit the Intipunku (‘Puerta del Sol’) a former control gate, climb the Huayna Picchu (subject to space availability), seeing the ‘Temple of the Moon’, an underground complex of constructions, along the way, and admire the Inca Bridge, an amazing stone construction that served as an entrance or exit to the citadel. In the afternoon, transfer to the Aguas Calientes train station and head back to the Ollanta station, from where you are transferred to your hotel in Cuzco.

The second entrance to Machu Picchu is not included.
Duration: 4 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast: At the hotel.
Accommodation included: Overnight in Cuzco.

Day 7: Cuzco - Puno

Stop At: Catedral de Puno, Puno Peru
Indulge in a delicious breakfast at the hotel, before transferring to the bus station to begin our trip to Puno. First, we stop in Andahuaylillas, a town located 40 kilometres from Cusco that has as its main attraction the Church of Andahuaylillas, nicknamed the ‘Sistine Chapel of America’, due to the impressive works of art found in it. We continue our route to Racchi, where the Wiracocha Temple is located, a surprising 30-meters wide by 20-meters high construction of rectangular shape. Have a tasty lunch in Sicuani, followed by a brief stop in La Raya, the highest point between Puno and Cuzco, over 4,313 metres above sea level. Then, we arrive at the town of Pucara, where the Pucara Lithic Museum is located. Developed between the years 100 and 300 AC, this town was the first proper urban settlement of the lacustrine highlands. Finally, we undertake the last trip to the city of Puno, arriving at the selected hotel where a representative will assist you with the check-in.
Duration: 9 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast: At the hotel
• Lunch: In Sicuani
Accommodation included: Overnight in Puno

Day 8: Puno: Lake Titicaca - Uros and Taquile Islands

Stop At: Lake Titicaca, Puno 21000 Peru
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the port of Puno, where a boat takes you to the floating islands of Uros. The Uros are an ancient society that populates a series of artificial islands built using totora reeds, which grow in the lake. The islands are constructed by weaving thick canes, forming a natural layer. The locals build their houses, also made of reed, and cook outdoors to avoid possible fires. After an hour and a half of travel, continue your trip to Taquile. This island is Quechua-speaking, unlike the other islands on the lake where Aymara is spoken. The island was once part of the Inca Empire, and you can still see vestiges of that culture in its structures. Once there, receive a brief explanation and witness a cultural demonstration. After lunch, start the return to Puno.
Duration: 9 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast: At the hotel.
• Lunch: In Taquile.
Accommodation included: Overnight in Puno.

Day 9: Departure Puno

Pass By: Catedral de Puno, Puno Peru
Enjoy a delightful breakfast at the hotel. A transportation service will take you from the selected hotel to Puno airport, and a representative will assist you along the way.

Meals included:
• Breakfast: At the hotel.
No accommodation included on this day.