Tours begin the day after arrival. This tour includes your hotel on the day you arrive in Arequipa.
Arequipa, Peru's second largest city, enjoys a privileged location at 2,380 meters/7,800 feet above sea level, and the city is set against the backdrop of the El Misti Volcano – a snow-capped cone 5,822 meters/19,000 feet high. Founded by the Spanish in 1540 on the site of an existing pre-Inca settlement, this attractive city is graced with many handsome colonial buildings constructed from light-col¬ored volcanic stone called sillar (pronounced "seal-yar")
We'll meet you at your hotel and our first stop will be the Pampas Cañahuas where you can observe Vicunas, Llamas and Alpacas. We'll make a drive to Patapampa which is the highest point on our way 4,820 meters/15,710 feet above sea level. From here, we'll continue our tour until we reach the town of Chivay where we'll stay over night.
Late in the afternoon we'll have the chance to visit the La Calera hot springs and spend some time relaxing in the natural water.
Early in the morning we depart for Colca Canyon and visit different traditional towns along the way, including Maca, Yanque, Pinchollo and Achoma, where we'll meet local people and see how they really live. Then we visit the Antahuilque and the Choquetico lookouts from where you can see the three mysterious lagoons and the hanging tombs; we'll also make our way to the area's most famous lookout called "Cruz del Condor" from where we'll witness the awesome flight of the condors.
Early in the morning on Day-3 we'll take our short 25-minute flight to Cusco. When we arrive in Cusco, we'll have the morning to get settled into our hotel, and then we begin our tour of the ancient city of Cusco.
NOTE: Travelers may opt for a 10-hour overnight bus ride from Arequipa to Cusco instead of the scheduled flight. This will reduce the tour cost by approximately USD$50.00 – USD$75.00.
This excursion includes the best highlights of Cusco – "the navel of the world" and the center of the ancient Inca Empire. We will visit Q'oricancha, the Inca Temple of the Sun and then tour Cusco's Cathedral, a 16th century church filled with original artwork and an amazing main altar made of silver. After that we'll tour the four primary ruins surrounding Cusco, including Sacsaywaman, Q'enko, Tambomachay and Puka Pukara. As part of the tour you will receive the "Tourist Ticket" which can be used in your free time to visit a number of museums and other attractions in and around Cusco.
We'll take the 6:00am train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes – at the foot of Machupicchu. We'll check into our hotel and have the whole day in Aguas Calientes to enjoy shopping, eating, and relaxing in the natural hot springs that give the village its name. At night, we'll have dinner at one of the town's many restaurants.
Early on the morning of Day-6, we'll enjoy breakfast at the hotel and take the 20-minute bus ride up to the sanctuary-city of Macupicchu. We'll begin our tour at the Inca Guard House to watch the sunrise over Machupicchu. We'll then enjoy a 2-hour guided visit of the ancient ruins. At the end of the tour, there'll be time for adventure seekers who want to climb to the top of Huayna Picchu – the pointy mountain overlooking Machupicchu; or you can hike to Inti Punktu ('Sun Gate') which is the last point on the Inca Trail; there's also a hike to the Temple of the Moon; or you can go back down to Aguas Calientes to do some shopping and relax in the hot springs.
We'll take the train back to Cusco around 3:30pm and arrive in Cusco at 7:30pm.
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