Highlights of Peru with Peruvian Amazon

Land Tour

12 days

Highlights of Peru with Peruvian Amazon
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$AUD 601 per day

Departure: Lima, Peru

Arrival: Lima, Peru

Step into adventure on this Peru and Amazon tour, uncovering what life is like in Peru's million-year-old Amazon rainforest and gain an insider’s perspective into ancient Inca treasures and legends. Marvel at living history at Machu Picchu, a local market in Lima and Quechua textile art, topped off with a classic pisco sour.
Sightseeing highlights
  • Explore Lima, Machu Picchu and Larco Museum
  • Visit ruins at Ollantaytambo, Cusco and the 15th-century fortress of Machu Picchu, historic Sacsayhuaman
  • Scenic Drive through the Sacred Valley and in Peru's Andean highlands
  • Scenic Train Ride to Machu Picchu aboard the Vistadome train
  • Cusco: Enjoy the flavours of chicha, a Peruvian corn beer. Hear about how chicha is brewed by the local indigenous women and its history dating back to the time of the Incas as a favourite drink of the Andes. Learn about the two types of chicha, alcoholic sour chicha de jora made from fermented jora corn and the non-alcoholic, sweet chicha morada.
Iconic Experience
  • Lima: Take in the highlights of Lima, the 'City of the Kings,' including a panoramic view of the ancient districts. Join a local specialist for a visit to the UNESCO-listed Historic Center. Learn how before it was destroyed by earthquakes in the mid-18th century, observing how the historic buildings display a collaboration between local craftspeople and others from the Old World. Then drive along the coastline as you learn more about the fascinating history of Peru's capital city.
  • Cusco: Visit the mystical Incan stronghold of Ollantaytambo. These famous ruins are a massive Inca fortress made of large stone terraces stretching out across a hillside. Walk among the stone platforms, the sun temple of six monoliths and the Princess Baths fountain ― the Baño de la Nusta at the base of the ruins flowing from carved stone into a pool. Over your exploration, learn how the old town is an Inca-era grid of cobblestoned streets and adobe buildings.
  • Machu Picchu: Soak in every moment of your Machu Picchu tour in style as you descend to the Lost City in the clouds aboard the Vistadome train. Travelling the Inca Trail, you’ll traverse dramatic landscapes with a panoramic view of the soaring peaks, river, and ruins. Sit back and relax as you enjoy this multi-sensory journey complete with background music, an informative audio commentary highlighting interesting sites, and an included light snack.
  • Machu Picchu: Take a shuttle to the top of the mountain where you’ll meet your local specialist for a guided hike of Machu Picchu. You’ll learn about Machu Picchu’s history and the use of each section of including ceremonial, storage, agriculture, temples, astronomical, and observatory as well as the possible reasons why the Incas left Machu Picchu.
  • Machu Picchu: The ruins of Machu Picchu beckon yet again and we enjoy one final opportunity to reconnect with its story. Journey to take in the ruins at sunrise spending some time on your own to explore the hill-top fortress. Soak in every moment at this iconic site, making stops at points of interest while your guide shares their insights on the archaeological sites.
  • Cusco: Join your Local Specialist for a guided walk through Cusco's colonial centre, including the nearby 13th century Incan settlement of Koricancha. Here in Cusco’s Golden Temple of the Sun dedicated to the Sun God Inti, view the trapezoidal and irregular shapes and rounded edges. Note how the stones fit together and were built simply by placing them on top of each other without using any mortar. This staggered placement also enables them to withstand earthquakes.
  • Cusco: Begin your day at the ruins of the UNESCO-listed Sacsayhuamán fortress overlooking Cusco. With zig zagging walls and ruins of giant stones, see how the shape and harmony of the landscape is similar to Machu Picchu. Stroll through this Incan architecture of sacred buildings such as residential buildings, towers, shrines, warehouses, roads and aqueducts. And while you may not be able to take in the grand scale, the complex design is based on the shape of the head of a puma, a sacred animal in Inca spirituality.
  • Lima: Join a local specialist for a tour of the Rafael Larco Herrera Museum which houses the largest private collection of pre-Columbian Peruvian art in the world. You'll also explore the extensive collection of Peruvian gold and silver from ancient times. Learn the history of the museum founded by Rafael Larco on July 28th, 1926 in Trujillo followed by in 1958 when Larco moved his collection to Lima to a unique colonial residence built on top of a VIII century pyramid.
  • Lima: Join a local specialist for a gentle hike to explore jungle trails that snake between the roots of towering trees for an immersive introduction to the rich ecosystems of the rainforest. Here in the Amazon, you’ll find a staggering 540 bird species, 362 ant species (a world record you have to see to believe) and over 100 mammal species that have been registered within Inkaterra’s ecological reserve.
  • Lima: Under the cloak of night, cruise the Madre de Dios River at night in search of wildlife that roams the riverbanks under darkness. Keep on the lookout for the likes of nightjars, owls, capybaras and caimans as you learn about the curious behavior and characteristics of this nocturnal world.
  • Puerto Maldonado: Take a short boat ride to an uninhabited river island, where you can see the striking contrast of vegetation within the transition rainforest. Walk through jungle trails on this floodplain which provides the island with an ecosystem rich in birdlife, including the Amazonian umbrellabird, one of the most sought-after species by birdwatchers.
  • Cusco: Climb the exhilarating Inkaterra Canopy Walkway for an unforgettable opportunity to observe the rainforest from its rooftop. Follow a sophisticated network of seven suspension bridges originally designed for scientific research strung between eight treetop observation platforms over 30 meters (100 feet) above the forest floor. This half-day, medium difficulty exploration is an immersive and colorful way to experience the jungle stretching out beneath you.
  • Sandoval Lake: Embark on a half-day hike on a boardwalk jungle trail to Lake Sandoval, a glassy ox-bow lake tucked inside the protected Tambopata National Reserve. Board a dug-out can to paddle through eerie mangroves and glide out onto the palm-flanked lake, home to thousands of bird species as well as anacondas, black caimans, yellow spotted side-neck turtles, red howler monkeys and two endangered (and elusive) families of giant river otters.
  • Sacred Valley: Discover the Amazon’s otherworldly realm of aguajales rainforest swampland on a gentle hike along a –200 meter (656 feet) walkway through this diverse ecosystem. Learn how vegetation has adapted to this atmospheric natural habitat and the exotic species of amphibians, reptiles, snakes, birds and mammals that are drawn here.
  • Sacred Valley: Boldly venture out at night to discover some of the strange species that come alive under deep darkness in the Amazon. Wildlife activity greatly differs between day and night, as some creatures curl up and sleep while others employ ingenious adaption mechanisms to emerge. Enjoy a gentle, quiet stroll as your senses heighten to the mysterious nocturnal sounds of birds, mammals, insects, and amphibians wandering close by.
Dive Into Culture
  • Lima: You’re treated to a lesson on how to pour the perfect Pisco sour, Peru’s native drink. In the good hands of professional chef Ignacio, the results are sure to be delicious. Ignacio will explain the history of Pisco – a type pf wine, the typical Pisco Sour, and an internationally less known but locally more popular drink called “Chilcano”. This cocktail of pisco, lime juice, Ginger ale and bitters is a refreshing twist on the pisco sour that will have you eager to share the recipe with your friends.
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