Millenary Peru

DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN LIMA
Upon your arrival at Lima's airport, we will transfer you to your accommodation located in the heart of the city. The remainder of the day is yours to explore at leisure. Overnight stay at the hotel.

DAY 2: LIMA CITY TOUR AND LARCO MUSEUM
In the morning, we will commence our Lima city tour at the splendid Larco Museum, situated in the traditional district of Pueblo Libre. Established by Peruvian archaeologist Rafael Larco Hoyle in 1926, the museum resides in an 18th-century mansion surrounded by lush gardens.

The Larco Museum is a true wonder. It features an extensive collection of over 5,000 pre-Hispanic ceramic pieces, alongside gold and silver artifacts, and pre-Columbian erotic pottery. We will stroll through its awe-inspiring galleries in chronological order, delving into the captivating civilizations of ancient Peru.

Next, we will proceed to Lima's historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. The area is adorned with beautiful squares, colonial mansions, and a rich history. We will visit the Aliaga House, a colonial mansion built in 1536, celebrated for its exquisite interiors filled with invaluable art and history. Remarkably, descendants of Jerónimo de Aliaga, a Spanish conquistador and ally of Francisco Pizarro, still reside in this architectural masterpiece.

We will continue to the Plaza de Armas, the birthplace of Lima in 1535 and the site where Peru’s independence was proclaimed in 1821. During the viceroyalty, it served as a marketplace and the location for public executions.

From the Plaza de Armas, we shall admire historical buildings such as the Government Palace, the Archbishop's Palace, the Municipal Palace, and other significant colonial structures. We will visit Lima's Cathedral, a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site, erected during the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.

After the tour, you will be transported back to your hotel. Overnight stay.

DAY 3: LIMA / AREQUIPA CITY TOUR
At the designated time, we will transfer you to Lima airport for your flight to Arequipa. Upon arrival, we will escort you to your hotel in the city center.

We will then commence the city tour with a visit to the Plaza de Armas, one of the most breathtaking squares in the country, and the adjacent Arequipa Cathedral, built in the 17th century. We will explore the Cathedral and the Church of the Society of Jesus (1590), a classic example of local baroque architecture housing exceptional paintings and murals.

You will also visit the stunning Monastery of Santa Catalina, a genuine medieval cloister established in September 1579, still operational today. Spanning 20,000 square meters, this mysterious convent was constructed with sillar, the primary material of local architecture.

The tour includes stops in the districts of Yanahuara and Carmen Alto, offering panoramic views of Arequipa's countryside and the surrounding volcanoes: Misti, Chachani, and Pichu Pichu. You will have time for photos.

Finally, we will visit the main square of Cayma district and the Church of San Miguel Arcángel de Cayma. At the tour's conclusion, we will transfer you back to your hotel. Overnight stay.

DAY 4: AREQUIPA / CUSCO
At the agreed time, we will take you to Arequipa airport for your flight to Cusco. Upon arrival, we will transfer you to your hotel. The remainder of the day is free. Overnight stay.

DAY 5: PISAC AND OLLANTAYTAMBO WITH OVERNIGHT IN AGUAS CALIENTES
Today, we will explore the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

After traveling 30 km from Cusco, we will arrive at the quaint town of Pisac, a charming locale with a fantastic traditional market and an archaeological site featuring stone temples and structures overlooking the valley and its terraces.

We will then continue to Urubamba, where we will enjoy a sumptuous buffet lunch at a traditional restaurant by the Urubamba River.

Next, we will visit the town of Ollantaytambo and its fortress, a remarkable example of Inca architecture that served as a military, religious, and agricultural hub. It offers breathtaking valley views and showcases advanced irrigation systems.

Our day concludes with a visit to Chinchero and its vibrant market, offering a variety of Andean ceramics and textiles.

You will then board a train at Ollantaytambo station, journeying towards Aguas Calientes. Upon arrival, our staff will assist you to your hotel. In the evening, we will have a briefing about the next day’s visit to Machu Picchu. Overnight stay.

DAY 6: FULL DAY AT MACHU PICCHU
You will take a bus ascending 30 minutes along a road with spectacular views of the Urubamba River and its canyon. Machu Picchu, meaning “Old Mountain,” will greet you with its incredible terraces, stairways, ceremonial sites, and urban areas, radiating a unique energy.

During a 2.5-hour guided tour, you will learn all about this extraordinary site. Afterward, you will have free time to continue exploring or, if adventurous, hike Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain (optional).

Alternatively, you can return to Aguas Calientes for a delightful lunch (optional) at one of its excellent restaurants.

At the scheduled time, you will take the train back to Ollantaytambo, followed by a bus transfer to Cusco. Overnight stay.

DAY 7: CUSCO PUNO BUS TOUR

Early in the morning, transfer to the bus station.

After boarding the tourist bus in the city of Cusco, we will begin a 1-hour journey towards the beautiful south valley to make the first stop in Andahuaylillas situated at 3,093 meters above sea level.

This lovely Andean town boasts an incredible jewel of architecture from the seventeenth century known as the Sistine Chapel, with an impressive work covered in gold leaf and paintings of the art school of Cusco.

There is fascinating artwork inside the Church of San Pedro de Andahuaylillas, with ceilings and walls decorated in a Baroque style, many of which belong to the Peruvian painter Luis de Reaño. Certainly, it should be a must on your travel bucket list.

The bus ride continues for one hour and a half until reaching the archaeological site of Raqchi, our second stop located at 3,450 meters above sea level. The temple of Wiracocha was built next to the Vilcanota River during the fifteenth century and currently retains huge walls that belonged to temples, as well as aqueducts and tombs.

In this place, there are circular storehouses known as Colcas. They were used to hold different kinds of grains such as quinoa, potato, corn, among others. Another interesting fact is that Raqchi is part of the incredible Inca Trail.

The tour to Puno by bus continues until we reach the city of Sicuani to enjoy a buffet lunch in a local restaurant, offering regional dishes, vegetables, desserts, and hot drinks like mate de coca.

After lunch and a 40-minute bus ride, we will reach the highest point of the tour called La Raya Pass, situated at 4,335 meters above sea level. This is the border of the cities of Cusco and Puno, and here, we will make a short stop to admire the snow-capped Chimboya and take photos of beautiful landscapes.

The next and the last visit will be at Museum of Pucara, after a journey of more than an hour from La Raya pass. This museum features an excellent collection of monoliths, stone sculptures, and ceramics belonging to the culture of Pucara, a civilization that developed in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia.

At the end, we will take the tourist bus to travel for two more hours towards the city of Puno. Along the way, you will be able to admire landscapes of the heart of the Andes, passing through the city of Juliaca, until we arrive at the bus station of Puno at 05:00 p.m.

Transfer to your hotel and overnight stay.

DAY 8: UROS AND TAQUILE ISLANDS

After breakfast at your hotel located in the city or bay of Puno, you will be transferred to the lakeside port, where a boat will take you to the floating islands of the Uros.

Located 7 kilometers northwest of the city of Puno, the Uros are an ancestral society that inhabits a series of artificial islands constructed from totora, which grows in the same lake.

To build the Uros islands, the totora reeds are woven in the densest areas, forming a natural layer. On top of this layer, they build their houses, also made of the same material, and cook outdoors to prevent fires.

Lake Titicaca is situated between Peru and Bolivia at an altitude of 3,812 meters above sea level, within the Andean Altiplano or Collao Plateau, making it the highest navigable lake in the world.

We will be on the floating island, in contact with the locals who will show us their customs and way of life. There are over 200 families that inhabit this highland area, who have adopted Aymara as their language, in addition to Spanish.

Later, we will take a boat for a one-and-a-half-hour journey to the island of Taquile. This island is Quechua-speaking, unlike the other Aymara-speaking islands in the lake. It was part of the Inca Empire, and you can still see remnants of that culture in its constructions.

This is the second largest island on Lake Titicaca, with an extension of 5.5 kilometers. Its textile art is marvelous and recognized as a UNESCO heritage. The highest point reaches 4,050 meters above sea level.

This place is perfect for experiencing experiential tourism and learning about the local culture. The people are very friendly and engage in tourism, fishing, and agriculture as their economic activities.

Afterward, we will enjoy a delicious typical Andean meal and begin the return journey to the port of Puno, where our transportation will be waiting to take you back to your hotel. Overnight stay.

DAY 9: TOMBS OF SILLUSTANI AND TRANSFER TO JULIACA’S AIRPORT

We will pick you up from your hotel to go towards the archaeological site of Sillustani Puno. This amazing complex is located on the top of a peninsula on the shores of Lake Umayo, 22.3 miles from the city of Puno and Lake Titicaca.

This place has approximately 90 funerary towers built by the Kolla culture, an Aymara community developed before the Inca Empire. Many mummies have been found inside these towers, including important figures such as priests, leaders, and nobles. They were previously mummified and placed in a fetal position, along with all their belongings, such as gold, silver, and ceramics.

The state of conservation of these burial towers is impressive, all of them made with stones of varying shapes that fit each other perfectly. The architecture and engineering used by the Kolla culture were quite advanced for its time. Some of them are 12 meters high, with the Lagarto Chullpa being the tallest and most representative tower.

The Sillustani tour continues with the visit to a local family that breeds Alpacas and will show us how they process and cook their own food, their lifestyle, their looms, and how they maintain ancestral customs.

At the end of the visit, you will be transferred to the airport of Juliaca. Arrival in Lima and transfer to your hotel. Overnight stay.

DAY 10: DEPARTURE FROM LIMA.

At the agreed time, we are going to take you to the airport of Lima.