Peru, Three Regions

Welcome to Lima, the ‘City of Kings’. Upon arrival you will be met at the airport and privately escorted to your hotel.

 Overnight at the selected hotel in Lima.

CITY TOUR (HD)

We will first show you a panoramic view of “La Huaca Pucllana” and then you will visit the impressive Historical Downtown of Lima: its palaces, mansions, churches and squares, ending with a visit to the residential and financial district of San Isidro and an unforgettable view of the Pacific Ocean from the district of Miraflores. This tour includes the admission to the BCR Museum and the Complejo Monumental San Francisco and its Catacombs. *The BCR Museum is closed to the public on Saturdays and Sundays afternoons. Closed all day on Mondays.

Transfer to the airport and flight towards Arequipa

Arrival and transfer to your hotel.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Arequipa.     

Included: Breakfast 

Alojamiento en el hotel seleccionado en Arequipa.

Incluye: Desayuno

CITY TOUR & SANTA CATALINA (HD)

You will have around 3 hours tour on Arequipa’s city, also known as the White City, during this tour we will show you all its charms of the main streets and colonial buildings, where you will visit the Main Square, the Cathedral (outside), La Compañia a Jesuit’s church and religious cloisters, Santa Catalina convent – which is a city within the city – built on the XVI century and closed to the public for almost 400 years until 1970, and it’s still home of a few nuns. The tour continues to the Church and Square of San Francisco and Yanahuara area which has a famous lookout where you will have a complete view of the city and enjoy a spectacular view of the Misti Volcano.

Afternoon at leisure

Overnight at the selected hotel in Arequipa

Included: Breakfast 

Departure to Colca Valley located over 3,500 meters above the sea. On the way you will cross the Aguada Blanca and Salinas National Reserve, with the highest presence of Andean flora and fauna. The trip continues to Tojra wetlands. Later you will cross Patapampa which is a land located over 4,800 meters above the sea where you will find the “Mirador de los Andes”, a strategic point to see the cordillera Chila with great volcanoes: Mismi, Chucura, Huaracante, and far away the Ubinas, Misti, Chachani, Ampato, Sabancaya and Hualca Hualca. To continue you will arrive at Chivay town and you will be transferred to the selected accommodation. 

Overnight at the selected hotel in Colca

Included: Breakfast, Lunch 

After breakfast, you will start the journey through the main towns of the valley until the first stop at Yanque, where you will appreciate the typical dances exposed in the main square. You can also choose for a short walk (45 min.) along a path at the edge of the canyon.

Then you will departure to “La Cruz del Condor”, the best spot to observe the deepness of the canyon (3,400 meters deep, 124 miles length) and also see the majestic fly of the condor. There is not an exactly time to see them, it can be at any time; sometimes it depends of your good luck and patience. On the way back you will visit some interesting places such as: Pre -Inca’s hanging tombs, lookout of terraces, Pinchollo and Maca towns where you will have a short stop to take pictures of the landscapes. Then you will continue to the towns: Achoma and Yanque . You will arrive at 12:30 to Chivay for lunch; at appropriate time (approximately 13:30) you will be transferred to Puno.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Puno

Included: Breakfast & Lunch

UROS & TAQUILE (FD)

After breakfast, you will take a two-hour excursion across the Titicaca Lake until the unique floating island of Uros. The ancient habitants of this lake, known as the “Water Tribe”, have built their own “island” by adding periodically new layers of “Totora” a type of a marram-grass very typical from this place. Their houses and boats are made of this material too. After you can experience some of the ancient traditions of the local people, you will continue your boat trip to Taquile Island. You will arrive by the after side of the island to start a hike where you will appreciate the wonderful natural sightseeing; then, ascend through a regular pendant slope to arrive to the town. There you will visit the Handicraft Center where you can buy a great variety of handmade tissues with very colorful and delicate designs. At proper time you will be transferred to Puno. At your arrival transfers to the selected hotel.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Puno       

Included: Breakfast and lunch

Travel by bus from Puno to Cusco. During the way the bus will make some stops at important points like: Pukara, an archeological complex formed by a pyramidal structure. This is the first sign of civilized culture in the Peruvian Altiplano. La Raya, the highest pass on the route (4312 meters/14000 feets). Raqchi, to visit the “Wiracocha temple” that according to the old chroniclers was built by the Inca Wiracocha in honour to the Supreme God of the Incas: “Apu Kon Titi Wiracocha” and Andahuaylillas, a church considered as the “Sistine Chapel of the Americas” because of the quality of the artworks found inside it. Upon your arrival to Cusco, you will be met and be transferred to your hotel. 

Overnight at the selected hotel in Cusco       

Included: Breakfast & lunch

Morning at leisure

CITY TOUR AND NEARBY (HD) 

In the afternoon you will have the chance to visit the historical city of Cuzco. Your visit will begin with the center of the city, touring around two beautiful colonial landmarks: the Cathedral and the Main Square. Then you will visit the ancient Koricancha (Temple of the Sun in Quechua), an ancient Inca worship center to the Sun God and a marvelous mixture of Inca and colonial architecture. Later on you will leave the city and head towards the outskirts where several archaeological sites from Inca times can be found, and what better example of this that the Sacsayhuaman Inca Fortress, entirely built in stone, each piece carefully carved to fit perfectly to the other. This Inca fortress is also the chosen site for the Inti Raymi (Festival of the Sun) that is celebrated every year on June 24th. Even more archaeological marvels are ahead: Kenko (labyrinth or maze in Quechua), a ceremonial site; Puca Pucara, a site where you will find the tambos (watch towers) from Inca Time; and finish your visit with Tambomachay, where a never-ending spring can be found. This place is locally known as the Inca Baths, a site that it is believed to be an Inca tribute to Unu (water in Quechua).

Overnight at the selected hotel in Cusco       

Included: Breakfast 

PISAC MARKET & OLLANTAYTAMBO FORTRESS (FD)

This morning you will drive to the Pisaq market in the Sacred Valley. Originally a place where people from remote communities used to barter their products, Pisaq has evolved to one of South America’s most famous souvenir markets. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. Afternoon visit to Ollantaytambo Fortress where the Temple of the Sun (formed of six gigantic monoliths, whose total weight exceeds 50 tons) and the Terrace of the Ten Niches stand out. 

Overnight at the selected hotel in Cusco.

Included: Breakfast  & Lunch

Early in the morning you will take the train to Aguas Calientes. On arrival a small coach takes you up the steep roads to the entrance of the citadel. Your guide will take about 2 hours through the vast ruins. Machu Picchu is the best known of the Inca ruins, is believed to have been built around the mid-15th century and was “rediscovered” by the American historian Hiram Bingham in 1911. The guided tour of this fascinating place is an awesome experience. Visit the Main Square, the Royal Quarters, and the Temple of the Three Windows, the Circular Towers, the Sacred Sun Dial and burial. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant.

At the appointed time, you will return to the station to take your train ride to train.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Cusco.

Included: Breakfast  & Lunch

Transfer to the airport towards Puerto Maldonado.

Transfer Airport to Puerto Maldonado Headquarters Upon arrival from Cusco, we will welcome you at the airport and drive you ten minutes to our Puerto Maldonado headquarters. While enjoying your first taste of the forest in our gardens we will ask you to pack only the necessary gear for your next few days, and leave the rest at our safe deposit. This helps us keep the boats and cargo light.

Transfer Boat – Tambopata River Port to Refugio Amazonas The two and a half hour boat ride from the Tambopata Port to Refugio Amazonas will take us past the Community of Infierno and the Tambopata National Reserve´s checkpoint and into the buffer zone of this 1.3 million hectare conservation unit.

Box lunch

Orientation Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips.

Dinner

Caiman Search We will be out at the river’s edge at night, scanning the shores with headlamps and flashlights to catch the red gleams of reflection from caiman eyes.

Overnight at Refugio Amazonas

Included: Breakfast, Box lunch & Dinner

Canopy Tower, a thirty minute walk from Refugio Amazonas leads to the 25 meter scaffolding canopy tower. A bannistered staircase running through the middle provides safe access to the platforms above. The tower has been built upon high ground, therefore increasing your horizon of the continuous primary forest extending out towards the Tambopata National Reserve. From here views of mixed species canopy flocks as well as toucans, macaws and raptors are likely.

Transfer Boat – Refugio Amazonas to TRC. Four and half hours by boat from Refugio Amazonas, in the pristine heart of the reserve, lies the Tambopata Research Center. One and half hours into our boat journey, as we cross the confluence with the Malinowski River, we will leave the final traces of human habitation behind. Within the 700,000 hectare uninhabited nucleus of the reserve, sightings of capybara, caiman, geese, macaws and other large species will become more frequent.

Chuncho Clay Lick Three hours from Refugio Amazonas, deep in the Tambopata National Reserve we will stop at the Chuncho claylick. After a brief walk we will have the chance to see dozens of large macaws feeding on the special sodium rich clays of the riverbank. The Chuncho claylick probably attracts more large macaws than any other claylick in the world and the sight of dozens of macaws taking flight is truly unforgettable. The details of our stopover will depend on the weather and the amount of macaw activity, as the birds don’t visit the clay lick when it is raining.

Box Lunch

Orientation Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation tips.

Overlook Trail. A three to five kilometer hike will lead us to overlooks commanding magnificent views of the Tambopata winding its way into the lowlands. The forest on this trail, regenerating on old bamboo forest, is good for Howler Monkey and Dusky Titi Monkey.

Dinner

Macaw Project Lectures After dinner scientists will provide an in depth look at the biology of macaws, their feeding habits, the theories for clay lick use, their breeding and feeding ecology, population fluctuations and the threats to their conservation.

Overnight at Tambopata Research Center

Included: Breakfast, Box lunch & Dinner

Macaw Clay Lick On most clear mornings of the year dozens of large macaws and hundreds of parrots congregate on this large river bank in a raucous and colorful spectacle which inspired a National Geographic cover story. Discretely located fifty meters from the cliff, we will observe Green-winged, Scarlet and Blue-and-gold Macaws and several species of smaller parrots descend to ingest clay. Outings are at dawn when the lick is most active.

 Breakfast

Floodplain Trail This five kilometer trail covers the prototypical rain forest with immense trees  criss-crossed by creeks and ponds. Amongst the figs, ceibas and shihuahuacos we will look for  Squirrel, Brown Capuchin, and Spider Monkeys as well as peccaries. TRC is located within this  habitat.

Lunch

Pond Platform Ten minutes upriver from the lodge is a tiny pond with a platform in the middle. It is a great place to spot waterfowl such as Muscovy duck, sunbittern and hoatzin along with the woodpeckers, oropendolas, flycatchers and parakeets that call this pond their home.

Dinner

Night walk You will have the option of hiking out at night, when most of the mammals are active but rarely seen. Much easier to find are frogs with shapes and sounds as bizarre as their natural histories.

Overnight at Tambopata Research Center

Included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Transfer boat – TRC to Tambopata River Port.

Transfer Tambopata River Port to Pto Maldonado Headquarters.

Transfer Puerto Maldonado Headquarters to Airport.

 We retrace our river and road journey back to Puerto Maldonado, our office and the airport.   Depending on airline schedules, this may require dawn departures.

Arrival and transfer to the hotel.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Lima.     

Included: Breakfast 

At the scheduled time, you will be taken to the airport to take your international flight.

Included: Breakfast