Ancient Peru

Day By Day

Itinerary Complete

• 1
  Day 1: Arrival in Lima

  Reception, transfer and free time.

  

  

  
• 2
  Day 2: Paracas – Ica – Huacachina

  Pickup is scheduled approximately between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. before beginning a journey of approximately three hours. On the way, we will make a stop at an artisan bakery, where there will be free time to enjoy breakfast with freshly baked, warm bread.
  
  We then arrive in Paracas, where the tour to the Ballestas Islands begins. We depart from “El Chaco” pier aboard a speedboat that will take us to the islands for a little over an hour. During the trip, we can see the Paracas Candelabra, as well as sea lions, Humboldt penguins, and numerous species of guano birds.
  
  The journey continues to Ica, arriving at a tourist winery-restaurant, where there will be free time to optionally taste typical dishes from Ica cuisine. Afterwards, we head to the tasting room to try more than five varieties of wines, piscos, and liqueur creams, followed by time set aside for shopping.
  
  Finally, we arrive at the Huacachina Oasis. There we enjoy an adventure aboard buggies (sand cars), speeding across the dunes of Ica and going up and down as if on a roller coaster made of sand. Upon reaching the top of the dunes, we practice sandboarding, sliding downhill on a special board. Afterwards, the return to the city of Lima begins.

  

  

  
• 3
  Day 3: Lima – Cusco

  Travel to Cusco and acclimatization.

  

  

  
• 4
  Day 4: Cusco City Tour

  Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire known as the navel of the world, or Qosqo, is best explored in the afternoon, when golden light illuminates its polished stone walls. Starting at 13:30, the route begins at Qoricancha Temple, the most important temple in the empire, once entirely covered in gold. The Spanish built Santo Domingo Convent on its foundations, creating an architectural encounter between two civilisations.
  
  The circuit continues to Plaza de Armas before climbing to the archaeological sites on the outskirts: Sacsayhuamán, with its enormous blocks weighing up to 200 tonnes and fitted without mortar; Q’enqo, a sanctuary carved into living rock; Puka Pukara; and Tambomachay, the Inca water temple. The tour ends around 18:30, just as the sun sets over the imperial city.

  

  

  
• 5
  Day 5: Sacred Valley

  A comprehensive option for those who want to make the most of every corner of the Sacred Valley in one day. Starting at 07:00, the route combines the Maras Salt Pans and Moray’s circular terraces before continuing to Pisac’s handicraft market and its fortress high above the valley.
  
  The day’s visits culminate in Ollantaytambo, with time to explore its archaeological centre and original Inca street layout at a relaxed pace, considered one of the finest examples of pre-Columbian urban planning in the Americas. Ideal for travellers with limited time who do not want to miss any of the valley’s treasures, the tour returns to Cusco around 19:00.

  

  

  
• 6
  Day 6: Machu Picchu

  The tour begins with pickup from your hotel in the city of Cusco to transfer to the Ollantaytambo or Poroy train station, depending on the service confirmed at the time of booking. From there we will begin a rail trip considered one of the most scenic in Peru, following the course of the Vilcanota River while the landscape gradually changes from the Andean valleys to the montane forest that surrounds Machu Picchu.
  
  Upon arriving at Machu Picchu Pueblo (Aguas Calientes), our staff will provide the necessary assistance to board the tourist bus that ascends to the entrance of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. The trip lasts approximately 25 minutes and runs along a mountain road with panoramic views of the valley.
  
  Once at the citadel, we will begin a guided tour of the circuit assigned to you on your entrance ticket. During the tour we will learn about the history of the archaeological site, its urban planning, the main Inca constructions and the importance that Machu Picchu had within Tahuantinsuyo. The guide will also explain various aspects related to the architecture, engineering and conservation of this extraordinary cultural heritage.
  
  Once the guided tour is over, you will have time to take photographs and enjoy the surroundings before descending back to Aguas Calientes. At the indicated time we will board the return train to the corresponding station, where our tourist transportation will be waiting to take you back to the city of Cusco, thus concluding this experience.

  

  

  
• 7
  Day 7: Humantay Lake

  Turquoise, crystal-clear and framed by the imposing snow-capped Salkantay, Humantay Lake has become one of modern Cusco’s most widely shared images. The journey begins in Cusco at 04:00, travelling by road to the community of Soraypampa, the starting point for the ascent.
  
  The hike is moderately difficult because of the altitude, with the lake at 4,200 metres above sea level. It rewards the effort with views of intensely turquoise glacial water, fed directly by the melting snow of Salkantay, considered one of the Cusco region’s most important sacred mountains. The return to the city is completed around 17:00, leaving travellers with one of Peru’s most striking natural images.

  

  

  
• 8
  Day 8: Q’eswachaka Inca Bridge

  Above the Apurímac River canyon hangs the world’s last Inca suspension bridge still in use. Woven entirely by hand from plant fibre, q’oya, a type of Andean grass, it is renewed every year by four Quechua communities in an ancestral ritual recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Departing Cusco at 04:30, the route crosses the high-Andean landscapes of Canas province to reach the 28-metre-long bridge. Here you can walk across this masterpiece of Inca textile engineering, preserved through more than 500 years of uninterrupted tradition.
  
  The tour returns to Cusco around 19:00.

  

  

  
• 9
  Day 9: Rainbow Mountain

  Few mountains in the world inspire as much fascination as Vinicunca. The adventure begins before dawn, around 03:30, to reach the start of the trek with the first light of day.
  
  The hike, moderately difficult because of the altitude, climbs to 5,036 metres above sea level through high-Andean grasslands, herds of alpacas and views of distant snow-capped peaks. It eventually reveals the mountain that gives the tour its name: bands of red, turquoise, lavender, gold and white, formed by the oxidation of different sedimentary minerals over millions of years and introduced to international tourism only from 2015. The view from the lookout, with the imposing snow-capped Ausangate in the background, makes the physical effort worthwhile. We finish the experience with the journey back to Cusco.

  

  

  
• 10
  Day 10: Route of the Sun – Puno

  This journey connects two of southern Peru’s most iconic destinations along an overland route full of surprises. Departing Cusco at 07:00, the panoramic bus makes strategic stops at places such as Andahuaylillas, known as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas for its colonial paintings; Raqchi, with the imposing Temple of Wiracocha and its Inca storehouses; and La Raya, the highest point on the route at 4,335 metres above sea level, where the majestic Vilcanota River begins.
  
  The journey ends in Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, around 18:00. In a single day on a scenic road, travellers have crossed centuries of history, from the Inca Empire to the Aymara high plateau.

  

  

  
• 11
  Day 11: Uros – Sillustani

  On the shores of Lake Umayo, in a landscape that seems frozen in time, stand the chullpas of Sillustani: funerary towers built by the Colla culture and later refined by the Incas to honour their nobility. Leaving Puno at 14:00, you reach this pre-Inca necropolis, where some towers rise more than 12 metres, with stone blocks so precisely fitted that they continue to puzzle archaeologists today.
  
  You walk among these cylindrical structures as your guide explains Andean funerary rituals and these ancestral cultures’ beliefs about life after death, with the golden colours of the Puno high plateau in the background. The route ends around 18:00, coinciding with one of the region’s most photographed sunsets.

  

  

  
• 12
  Day 12: Farewell

  Free time and airport transfer.