Classic Peru
Programme Overview
Duration: 8 days
Discover Peru with this FIT itinerary that visits the country's major highlights.
Highlights: Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu.
Arrive Lima
Evening arrival at Lima International Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
The city of Lima was founded by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 5, 1535, the eve of the Epiphany of the Magi – from which it derived its evocative original name of La Ciudad de los Reyes or “The City of Kings”. It is a city of rare fascination and unexpected pleasures. Lima has decaying colonial splendour and the teeming vitality of an oriental bazaar; melancholy cloudy winters and warm breezy summers; impoverished urban sprawl and quiet elegant corners among ancient buildings where the night air is scented with jasmine.
Overnight: Miraflores Park Hotel
Lima
The morning is at leisure. Enjoy lunch at the Rosa Nautica Restaurant, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
This afternoon you are taken on a tour of the “City of the Kings”. Visit the historical centre of Lima. See the Plaza Mayor, the location of the Government Palace, the City Hall, the Cathedral and the Archbishop’s Palace. The rich, religious history of the Spanish colonies is displayed in these buildings. You will also have time to see the San Francisco Monastery. Continue sightseeing with a drive through the fashionable residential districts of San Isidro and Miraflores and finally Monterrico, where you visit the dazzling collection of the Gold Museum. The Museo de Oro del Peru has numerous artifacts of gold, silver and precious stones.
Overnight: Miraflores Park Hotel
Meal Plan: B,L
Lima - Cusco
This morning you are transferred to the airport for your flight to Cusco, an Andean community and former ancient capital of the Inca Empire.
Upon arrival in Cusco, you are met and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the morning is left free to relax and acclimatise, as you are now at 3400 metres altitude. We recommend minimal activity and the local remedy of coca tea, (which is in plentiful supply), for those who are susceptible.
After a light lunch at your hotel, enjoy a city tour which includes the Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas. The Santo Domingo Temple is a Dominican Church and convent built on the foundations of the Koricancha or "place of gold", the Incas principal religious building, dedicated to the worhsip of the sun.
Just outside of Cusco your visit this afternoon takes you to the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, a testimonial to Incan architectural skills. Compiled of massive stones (one weighs 125 tons) you are challenged to try to slip a piece of paper between the cracks of these blocks, cut and fitted together with incredible precision without a single drop of mortar to hold them in place. This ancient fortress where the greatest battle between the Spanish and Incas took place, overlooks the red-tiled roofs of Cusco and the spectacular lush countryside. Also visit Qenqo (“The Labyrinth”), an Incan shrine dedicated to the Earth Mother and the small fortress of Puka Pukara.
Your tour will end with a cocktail at the Quinta Colcampata, a beautiful historic house overlooking the city of Cusco.
Overnight: Monasterio Cusco Hotel
Meal Plan: B
Cusco - Machu Picchu
This morning you board the new deluxe Orient Express train to Machu Picchu, where a late morning arrival gives you time to begin your explorations of this breathtaking Incan citadel. Light lunch will be served on board. Upon arrival at Aguas Calientes train station, a bus ride will bring you to the ruins of Machu Picchu.
Accompanied by your guide, explore the city's ruins, and feel its pulse as you visualise the lives of the priests, craftsmen and servants who inhabited this seemingly uninhabitable citadel. Excavations at the site have revealed skeletons, artifacts and woolen clothing, but no gold. The same precision of assembled stones exists here as in other Incan sites. Overlooking the raging Urubamba River and discovered in a hidden tangle of vines and trees atop the mountain, the city of Machu Picchu will forever hold its secret of its destruction - the Incas left no written record.
While in Machu Picchu you will be accommodated at the Machu Picchu Santuary Lodge which enjoys a unique position at the entrance of the Inca citadel ruins, at 8,200 feet above sea level.
Overnight: Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge
Meal Plan: B,L,D
Machu Picchu - Cusco
The morning you may rise early and enjoy a walk through Machu Picchu at sunrise, something which many consider to be the highlight of a visit to Machu Picchu.
This morning, you will have the opportunity to take one of two hikes with your guide. The first hike is to Inti Punku, or famous Sun Gate, which is the entry point to Machu Picchu on the Inca Trail and offers excellent views of the ruins, (approx 2 hours). The second is the chance to hike up the Huayna Picchu – the highest mountain which is actually part of the ruins, from where you are afforded excellent views of the surrounding area, as well as a unique view of the famous "lost city", (approx 2.5 hours). Or if you prefer you can just relax and continue exploring this magnificent citadel on your own.
Lunch will be at your hotel.
Late afternoon enjoy tea-time at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge.
Early evening board your Hiram Bingham train back to Cusco. Gourmet dinner will be served on board. Upon arrival in Cusco a representative will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel.
Overnight: Monasterio Cusco Hotel
Meal Plan: B,L,D
Cusco - Urubamba - Cusco
This morning depart for the Urubamba Valley to the local village of Pisac, known for its colourful market. This bustling market attracts tourist from all over the world to try their hand at bartering for local sweaters, ponchos, wall hangings, jewelry and goods.
You will have time to shop before enjoying lunch at the Huayoccari Hacienda. The Lambarri-Orihuelas, a family of great collectors, will be your hosts. You will be able to appreciate a valuable collection of Colonial and folk art. Located on the summit of a hill sheltered amidst Andean peaks, you will find here one of the finest views of the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
After lunch, continue on to the massive fortress of Ollantaytambo. A formidable stone structure that climbs massive terraces to the top of a peak, this was the valley’s main defense against the Antis and was the site of the Incas’ greatest victory against the Spanish during the wars of conquest. Constructed of rose-coloured granite, this huge installation was once a thriving complex of baths, temples and military barracks. Below the fortress lies a complete Incan town, also called Ollantaytambo, still inhabited and with its original architecture and layout preserved.
Dinner today will be at the restaurant in the Pre-Columbian Art Museum. This house was an Inca ceremonial court around 1450. In 1580 it became the mansion of the conqueror Alonso Díaz and in 2003 it was restored to become the Pre-Columbian Art Museum. This extraordinary Cusco historic monument holds the only museum in Peru dedicated the arts of ancient Peruvian cultures. After dinner you will have the opportunity to visit the museum.
Overnight: Monasterio Cusco Hotel
Meal Plan: B,L,D
Cusco - Lima
This morning you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Lima. Upon arrival in Lima you will be met and escorted to your hotel.
Rest of the afternoon will be at your leisure.
Overnight: Miraflores Park Hotel
Meal Plan: B
Depart Lima
Morning transfer to the airport for your international departure flight.
Meal Plan: B