Fly from your hometown to Lima, Peru. After going through customs, you will be met in the Arrivals Hall and transferred to the Pullman Miraflores Hotel. You may arrive today or Sunday morning, September 14, depending on your flight in from your hometown. Please note that check-in is not until 3 pm on September 13. As many flights coming from the U.S. or Canada arrive in Lima either very late in the evening or very early in the morning, we have secured your room on Saturday, September 13 so that you may arrive late on September 13 or in the early hours on September 14 and rest.

Today will be a day to rest and enjoy Lima independently. This evening, you will go by coach to the city center for dinner at Casa de Aliaga, the oldest colonial mansion in Lima. The house has been owned and lived in by the Aliaga family and their descendants since Francisco Pizarro granted the land to Jeronimo de Aliaga in 1535. Some say the house is as old as Lima itself! You’ll be met with a welcome cocktail and hors d’oeuvres to enjoy as you get a tour of the house before sitting for a three-course dinner.
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After breakfast at the hotel, you will transfer to the Lima airport for your flight to Cusco. When you arrive in Cusco, your local guides will assist you with your luggage, tour, and transfer to the Tambo del Inka Luxury Collection Hotel in Urubamba.

Once you arrive in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, you will have a chance to visit Chinchero. Known to the Incas as the birthplace of the rainbow, this typical Andean village combines Inca ruins with a colonial church, some wonderful mountain views, and the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales, a non-profit organization that was founded by Nilda Callañaupa. Here, you will learn all about the superb wool fiber of llamas, alpacas and vicunas as well as ancient weaving techniques that are still used. This is a great shopping opportunity for weavings that directly benefit the people who make the products (cash is preferred but they do accept Visa and MC).

After enjoying the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales, you will go to the Hacienda Sarapapma, for a three-course lunch. Located in the Sacred Valley, Hacienda Sarapampa is a vivid example of the historic culture of corn farming from ancient Peru to present day.

You will then be taken to the Tambo del Inka Resort & Spa for check-in and, later, dinner at the hotel.
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After breakfast you will drive to Moray, an archaeological site that sits almost 2,000 feet above the Sacred Valley, just outside of the town of Maras. Researchers speculate that these ruins may have had religious or ceremonial significance for the Incas, possibly serving as a center for agricultural rituals or as a place for agricultural training and education. The mysterious concentric terraces that remain serve as an agricultural research center for modern scholars.

Your next stop will be the beautiful Iskay Maras Home which is surrounded by an impressive landscape of high mountains and green fields. Here, you will enjoy a farm to table buffet lunch, which varies according to the season. The ingredients come from a field of cultivation and an organic bio-garden located on the same property as the house to guarantee a unique culinary experience.

After lunch, you will drive into the town of Maras, where you will visit the Salinas de Maras, the Salt Pans of Maras. Said to have been created by the Incas, these 3,000 pools provide the locals with salt and visitors with stunning views. These evaporation pools are fed by a small local stream and are still harvested by a community of local farmers who bag up the salt and sell it in the local markets.

You will then return to the hotel for dinner.
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After breakfast, you will start the day with a visit to the Citadel of Ollantaytambo. During the Inca Empire, Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti, who conquered the region, and built the town and a ceremonial center. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Peru, it served as a stronghold for Manco Inca Yupanqui, leader of the Inca resistance. Ollantaytambo was later the scene of Incan resistance in 1536, when Manco Inca’s forces defeated a Spanish expedition, blocking their advance from a set of high terraces and flooding the plain.

Next you will walk from the Citadel of Ollantaytambo to the Ollanta station to board the Orient Express luxury train “Hiram Bingham.” The journey will take about two and a half hours. You will be able to enjoy the spectacular scenery of the changing landscape as you travel from the Andean highlands to the beginnings of the jungle. A delicious brunch will be served on board the train on the way to Aguas Calientes.

You will arrive to Aguas Calientes at approximately 12:30 pm. You will board a bus that will take you to the Citadel of Machu Picchu, or lost city of the Incas. You will have a guided tour of the Citadel and walk through the different areas of the city; the agriculture and urban zone, featuring temples and dwellings; and the Intihuatana, or sun dial, finely carved out of stone. Many of those who place their hands a few inches above the sun dial stone claim to feel a palpable energy course through their bodies.

After exploring, you’ll enjoy an afternoon tea at the Sanctuary Hotel before returning to town.

Check into your hotel room at the Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel and enjoy a delicious dinner before retiring for the evening.
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This morning after breakfast, your guide will meet and go with you up to the Citadel to climb Huayna Picchu Mountain. Huayna Picchu, also known as young or new mountain in the indigenous Quechua language, rises over Machu Picchu offering different views of the Citadel.

According to local guides, the top of the mountain was the residence for the high priest and the local virgins as well as a sacred spiritual place where the Incas celebrated special ceremonies and rituals. Every morning before sunrise, the high priest with a small group would walk to Machu Picchu to signal the coming of the new day.

Please note that while participation is not obligatory, the entrance fees to climb Huayna Picchu are included in your package and the time will be assigned closer to the program start date. Alternatively, you may decide to rest at the hotel or stroll around the town of Aguas Calientes and shop, visit its Hot Springs Thermal waters or get a hot stone massage.

Lunch is served at the Sanctuary Lodge, just outside the Citadel gates.

After lunch, you will take the bus back down to Aguas Calientes to freshen up before walking to the train station to board the Hiram Bingham train for Cusco. You will have a short time for shopping with local vendors before boarding the train. On board, you will be served a cocktail and be entertained by local musicians. You will then join the main dining car, where you will enjoy a four- course gourmet dinner.

Greeting you at the Poroy train station in Cusco will be your tour guides, who will assist you to the Belmond Monasterio Hotel
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After breakfast at the hotel, you will travel to Sacsayhuaman, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the emblematic buildings of the Inca Empire built by the Inca Pachacutec in the 15th century. It is a vast fortress built from huge stones; how they were transported and assembled is still a mystery. It has been calculated by experts that what can be seen today is only twenty percent of the original structure, because when the Spanish arrived, they used its stones for new buildings such as the Cathedral.

Next you will travel back into the heart of Cusco, Plaza de Armas, to the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin, also known as Cusco Cathedral, the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cusco. Construction started in 1560 and was completed in 1654.

Your last stop in Cusco, before lunch, will be the Coricancha, also known as the “Temple of the Sun” (QuriKancha “golden temple”), built on the command of Inca Pachacútec (1438-1572). When the Spanish arrived, it was used as the base for the convent of Santo Domingo. During the Inca Empire the temple was dedicated to worshipping the sun (“Inti”) and was at times filled with gold.

You will then enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before having the rest of the afternoon and evening free to explore Cusco on your own.
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In the late morning you will be transferred to the Cusco Airport for your flight to Lima. You will be assisted in Lima from the domestic terminal to our hotel for the evening, the Wyndham Costa del Sol, located right at the airport.

You are free to leave either today after 9 pm or anytime on September 21.
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For those that opt to fly out today, checkout is at 12 pm. The hotel is located directly across the street from the Lima International Airport.
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