If you do not have much time to explore all Peru and Bolivia, in this trip we share some of the most important highlights of Cusco and Bolivia, from cobble stone streets to an enigmatic valley, walk through an old Inca trail and then head to the Ancient wonder of Machu Picchu, visit some communities in the highest navigable lake in the world, to finally visit one the biggest Salt lake in the world.
Start:
Lima
End:
La Paz
Maximum group size:
12 Guests
Duration:
3 14 days
Includes:
wMachu PicchuoCulture & FoodpFamilyzOutdoorsSLake TiticacaUyuni Salt Lake
Macaw clay lick in Chuncho
Chinchero
Pisac archeological site
Sikuris in Taquile
Uros village
Locomotives in Uyuni
Fish island
Uyuni Salt Lake
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The trip in detail
This morning you will fly from Lima to Puerto Maldonado airport, where you will meet our guide. Today we’ll make the incredible journey – by van, plane, and dugout canoe – to pristine Amazon rainforest outside Puerto Maldonado. The irrepressible life all around you, with buzzing insects, flocks of birds and monkeys, and plants growing so fast you can almost see it happening, lets you know immediately that you’ve come to a very different world. The feeling that you’ve stepped into another dimension is enhanced when you find yourself spending the evening spotting caimans (freshwater crocodiles) from a boat on a jungle waterway!
Meals: Lunch and dinner included
Accommodation: Remote lodge in the jungle
We’ll spend the morning at Collpa Chuncho, the biggest macaw clay lick in the world! Up to 100 big, clever, guacamayos (macaws) congregate here each morning, eating clay which provides nutrients they can’t get anywhere else. Along the way there and back, there’s a good chance we’ll spot sloths and monkeys going about their morning business.
After lunch at the lodge we’ll hike (about 1.5 hours) to an oxbow lake, where we’ll paddle around spotting dozens of different bird species in the shallows, troops of monkeys on the lakeshore, and flocks of red-bellied macaws in the flooded palm forest.
Both tonight and tomorrow, optional guided night hikes give you the opportunity to spot tapirs, night monkeys and tarantulas, and to sink into the incredible soundtrack of the jungle after dark.
Meals: All meals included
Accommodation: Remote lodge in the jungle
We’ll spend today exploring Lake Sachavacayoc, home to countless monkeys, caimans, tapirs, anacondas, hoatzin, and lots of blue and yellow macaws and one of the best places in the Amazon for wildlife spotting.
If you like, you can fish for piranha today, and our cooks back at the lodge are happy to fry up your carnivorous catch for dinner!
Meals: All meals included
Accommodation: Remote lodge in the jungle
Today we’ll retrace our journey back to Puerto Maldonado airport. It is time to say goodbye to the Rainforest, as the expedition here comes to an end. We'll get you to the airport in time to take your flight.
Cusco, capital of the Inca Empire, and one of the most beautiful cities on Earth!
Today your guide will take you on a relaxed walking tour around Cusco’s fascinating historic centre – an incredible maze of Inca foundations overlaid with Spanish colonial architecture, all against the backdrop of the surrounding high Andes.
Please remember to take it easy today if you’ve arrived from sea level today, as you need to adjust to Cusco’s 3,400m (11,200ft) altitude.
Meals: All meals included
Accommodation: Comfortable hotel in Cusco
The sunny, incredibly scenic floodplain between Pisac and Ollantaytambo in the valley of the Urubamba River is known as the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Pisac is a tiny, cobbled Inca village which is home to the largest handicraft market in the region and a huge Inca fortress. We’ll explore both, then set off into the Sacred Valley. We’ll need frequent photo stops as we pass still-working Inca terracing, irrigation canals, and awesome mountain vistas. At the other end of the spectacular valley we'll explore Ollantaytambo, perhaps the most perfectly preserved of all Inca towns, a maze of cobbled alleyways and sun-drenched plazas presided over by a spectacular, llama-shaped ruin.
Meals: All meals included
Accommodation: Comfortable hotel in the Sacred Valley
We’ll pick you up from your accommodation and drive to Chinchero, known for its charming church and Inca stronghold perched on a hillside. We will visit a women's cooperative textile house, where we will learn about the wool process of spinning and dying after we will walk along the Incan terraces of Chinchero, then we’ll start hiking down a track that descends gently through an old Inca road. We will take a little detour on the trail to visit the little but beautiful waterfall of Poc Poc. The winding valley will take us to Urquillos, a paradise-like mountain hideaway, into the Sacred Valley. Arriving in Urquillos, we will meet our vehicle and will drive to our accommodation in Urubamba town, located in the Sacred Valley.
Hiking time: 3 to 4 hours approx.
Altitude range: 3700-2900
Degree of difficulty: Moderate
*Optional: There is always a great opportunity to celebrate life, travelling...why not? , we can quote separately a luxury picnic lunch with outstanding views of the Mountain range, just ask for it!
Meals: All meals included
Accommodation: Comfortable hotel in the Sacred Valley
Today we have an early start, we'll take a scenic 1.5 hour train ride through a rainforest gorge to Aguas Calientes, the little town that nestles between riverside and the jungle-clad base of Machu Picchu mountain.
Upon arrival we will walk and catch our 25 minute bus ride to one of the highlights of our trip. A spectacular stone city surrounded by incredibly steep, incredibly green mountains, Machu Picchu needs no introduction and is deservedly one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
We’ll be up at sunrise so there’s time for your guide to show you around Machu Picchu’s main citadel, as well as our favourite hidden nooks and crannies, before the crowds arrive. Then there’s time for your own exploration of the massive, still-mysterious site.
After exploring the Incan site, we will be delighted by a nice lunch in Aguas Calientes town, to finally board your train and private car back to Cusco.
Meals: All meals included
Accommodation: Comfortable hotel in Cusco
There are things to do in Cusco to suit every mood and personality: churches, museums, and art galleries, rafting, horse riding, and cooking classes, just for starters. This is also the perfect day to just wander around and enjoy the spectacular mountain views, traditionally dressed locals, excellent cafes and charming architecture that make Cusco such a fascinating and beautiful place.
Meals: Breakfast included
Accommodation: Comfortable hotel in Cusco
After an early breakfast, we will embark in a trip through Peru’s incredibly long and varied human history, from pioneering prehistoric art, to Inca heartland, to colonial silver capital called "La Ruta del Sol".
We will make stops along the journey starting by:
- The incredibly ornate colonial church at Andahuaylillas is living evidence of the wealth the conquistadores extracted from Peru.
- The archaeological complex of Raqchi gives us a sense of just how long ago human civilisation got started here, and the enormous adobe Templo de Wiracocha speaks to the scale and grandiosity of the Inca empire.
- A stop in the high pass called La Raya.
- A last stop in Pucará and visit the lithic museum.
The bustling port town on the shores of Lake Titicaca that’s our destination for the night.
Meals: All meals included
Accommodation: Comfortable hotel in Puno
This morning we take to the waters of Lake Titicaca. We’ll stop briefly at the Uros – the famous floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca – but our main destination is Taquile, one of the most fascinating islands in the world. It was isolated until the 1950s and still follows a very different way of life. Decisions are communal, economic activity is co-operative, and society is based on the fundamental Inca principles: "Ama sua, ama llulla, ama quella" (don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t be lazy). There are no cars, few dogs, and little electricity because the Taquileños want it that way.
Taquile is also the most famous textile centre in the Andes. Its storytelling textiles, designed and woven by Taquile’s women from thread spun by its men, draw aficionados and investigators from all over the world to this amazing island. On top of all this, the scenery is stunning, and the peace and serenity is like nowhere else on Earth. Taquile is just magic!
Meals: All meals included
Accommodation: Comfortable hotel in Puno
Today we will pick you up from your hotel and will drive along the high plateau that goes from Puno to Bolivia via Desaguadero, a very hectic landscape from quinoa and potatoes farm, through eclectic buildings in El Alto and La Paz, the highest de facto capital city in the world and its cable car system, which is the world's longest and highest, offers stunning views of the city's many vistas.
Meals: All meals included
Accommodation: Comfortable hotel in La Paz
Today you will visit some of the most interesting sites in La Paz; San Francisco Church, an unusual market in town known as the Witches Market. We will have a short walk on Jaen Street and Plaza Murillo where you will see the Government Palace, the local Cathedral and the Congress building.
You will be delighted by a delicious snack of Salteñas a Bolivian pastry that everyone loves, or api con pasteles, a local purple corn drink. Ride on one of the lines of the longest cable car in the world and be amazed by the beautiful Illimani, the snowcapped mountain, eternal guardian of La Paz.
Afterwards we will drive you to the Moon Valley and admire the moon-like landscape formed by the erosion of the land.
Meals: Breakfast and lunch included
Accommodation: Comfortable hotel in La Paz
We will take you to el Alto airport for an early flight to Uyuni, upon arrival you will meet our driver and will start your excursion, first we will visit the train cemetery where you can see the remains of 19th and 20th century steam locomotives. Next stop will be in Colchani, where you can observe the methods of salt extraction, we will continue to
Incahuasi Island (known as Fish Island) . This "Island" has a unique and isolated ecosystem that is populated by giant cactus.
Meals: All meals Included
Accommodation: Comfortable hotel nearby Uyuni
After breaksfast, we will get you to the airport in time for your flight to La Paz, upon arrival you will connect with your international flight back home.
Thank you for travelling with us – you will have had a brilliant time exploring Peru and Bolivia with us!