Andean Treasures 13 Days / 12 Nights

Day 01: Arrival in Lima

Welcome to Lima, international gateway to Peru. These next few days are packed with adventure, but tonight, we’ll meet you upon arrival at the Lima airport and take you to your hotel for a good night’s rest after your flight.

Day 02: Arrival to Arequipa & City Tour

Pearly white stone architecture, fantastic year-round weather, and delicious culinary specialties make Arequipa a favorite destination for local and international travelers alike. Fly in to Arequipa and check-in to your hotel.

Meet your guide for a closer look at Arequipa’s mestizo baroque architecture. Visit San Ignacio Chapel, the imposing Basilica Cathedral, and Santa Catalina Monastery. The tour ends with a drive to one of the city’s lookout points for views of the city framed by Misti Volcano.

Day 03: Colca Canyon Tour

Your bus journey to the Colca Canyon begins early in the morning. About 2 hours from Arequipa, you’ll stop in Lagunillas to observe birds nesting in the picturesque lagoons. The next stop is at Pampa Cañahuas, where traditional “mate de coca” tea is served to alleviate the effects of high altitude. The final stop at the Patapampa Volcano overlook gives you time to snap photos of the majestic landscape.

The winding road into the canyon provides even more majestic vistas of an ancient landscape inhabited for thousands of years before the Inca Empire rose to power. The bus arrives in the Plaza de Armas of Chivay. Transportation back to your hotel and enjoy the rest of the evening at your leisure.

Day 04: Colca Canyon Tour & Arrival to Puno

Andean condors are the illustrious residents of the Colca Canyon. Wake up early this morning for a drive to Cruz del Condor, one of the best viewpoints over the canyon. The sight of the soaring birds with wings spanning their fullest length against the backdrop of the Colca’s deepest depths will leave you breathless.

Return to Chivay for lunch, and then begin the drive to Puno. On arrival, settle into your comfortable hotel and enjoy the vast twinkling sky over Lake Titicaca.

Day 05: Lake Titicaca Tour

Sailing on the waters of Lake Titicaca is an experience like no other. Depart from Puno port to begin your waterborne exploration of Lake Titicaca. Step onto the spongy surface of the Uros Floating Islands and learn how islanders use the totora reeds in all aspects of their daily lives. Continue to Taquile Island to see how indigenous people maintain their traditions on a rocky island on the world’s highest navigable lake.

And to top it off, you will  get opportunity to spend the night in the island!

Day 06: Titicaca lake to Puno

Today in the morning we are going to continue the tour, after Breakfast we will board a motor boat, that will make a few stops on the islands around Titicaca Lake.

In the afternoon, we will arrive in Puno.

Tonight, we are going to spend the night in the city.

Day 07: Puno to Cusco

Sit back, aboard your comfortable first class bus, and give free rein to your imagination as you cross the mountain highlands on the way to Puno. You might not guess it by looking at the sparse landscape, but this region has been a pathway for cultural and economic exchanges as well as imperial conquests for thousands of years. The bus will make a few stops along the way for guided visits to important pre-Columbian and colonial sites, including Raqchi and Andahuaylillas.

Day 08: Free day in Cusco

Today, after breakfast, you have the opportunity to visit the city center, the artisan market, the typical San Pedro market, and museums that are included in the tourist ticket we give you.

You also have the opportunity to take one of our day tours. To learn more, visit our day tours and you can choose one of the options!

Day 09: City Tour Cusco

Your tour today will introduce you to the remarkable history of Cusco as visible in its monumental architecture, richly ornamented churches, and present-day Andean cultural practices.

Begin in the UNESCO-recognized historic center. Visit the majestic Cusco Cathedral and the Qoricancha or Temple of the Sun. Then drive into the countryside to see the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Tambomachay, and Pukapukara.

Day 10: Cusco to Rainbow Mountain

Today the guide will pick you up at 3 am from your hotel, as we will drive for almost 3 hours where we will then walk almost 5 hours until Rainbow Mountain. Along the way you are going to see the local people, surrounding mountains, as well as the Ausangate mountain.

In the nighttime, you will  board the same transportation and go back to Cusco.

Day 11: Sacred Valley Tour

The Sacred Valley was the spiritual center of the Inca Empire, where all-powerful emperors built private estates, temples, fortifications, and thousands of agricultural terraces.

Join your guide for a jaunt through the Sacred Valley’s remarkable places. Explore the Pisac ruins and shop at the famous artisan market in the village plaza. Scale the heights of Ollantaytambo fortress and be sure to explore the stone-lined streets of the village where water still flows through Inca-built channels.

Day 12: Machu Picchu Tour

For 400 years, the “lost city of the Incas” remained hidden atop a mountain ridge until it was revealed to the world, on the pages of National Geographic in 1911.

Your day begins with an early morning bus transfer up to the ruins. Your tour guide will lead you on an unforgettable walk through Machu Picchu’s stone-lined paths, along the terrace edges, to the base of structures that testify to the extraordinary skill of its builders.

After snapping some final photos, aboard the shuttle bus back to town and transfer to the train station for your return to Cusco.

Optional: Hike Huayna Picchu to get a bird’s eye view of the ruins or take the Machu Picchu Mountain hike to appreciate.

Day 13: Flight from Cusco to Lima

After a final breakfast at the hotel, board a car for the journey back to Lima.

Flight to your next destination!