Andean World: Machu Picchu & Lake Titicaca – 9 days / 8 nights

Arrive at Lima Airport. A transportation service and a guide will pick you up from the airport at the scheduled time to transfer you to your hotel in Lima. The Peruvian capital is a modern metropolis full of history and currently undergoing an exciting process of cultural and economic changes.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Lima.

Begin your day with a delicious breakfast at the hotel. Explore Lima’s old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, packed with fascinating historic buildings. Start with a scenic tour in the colonial downtown. See the Main Square, where you can appreciate the grandiose architecture of the Spanish Empire. Admire Lima’s Cathedral, built during the 16th century and then visit the Casa Aliaga, a colonial mansion granted by chief conquistador Francisco Pizarro to one of his captains, Jeronimo de Aliaga. This is the only house from that time, still belonging to the same family. Continue to the traditional Pueblo Libre district and visit the Larco Museum, located in a beautifully restored viceregal mansion built on a pre-Columbian pyramid from the seventh century. The museum boasts a complete pre-Hispanic collection of gold and silver objects, as well as pieces of erotic art.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Lima.

Have breakfast at the hotel, before transferring to Lima airport for your flight to Cusco. Domestic flight from Lima to Cusco must arrive not later than 10:30hrs. Noon arrivals are too late. Arrive at Cusco airport and enjoy your transfer to the selected hotel. A guide will assist you with your check-in and inform you about the city’s main attractions. The tour begins in the afternoon, in Coricancha, also known as the ‘Temple of the Sun’ and built by order of Inca Pachacuti. At the arrival of the Spaniards, it became the basis for the construction of the Santo Domingo Convent. Then, visit the Cathedral, the most imposing monument of the Main Square and the Sacsayhuaman, one of the most emblematic buildings of the Incas. It is an immense fortress built with larges stones. The way workers transferred and ensembled these stones is still a mystery!

Continue your tour with exploring Qenqo, an archeological complex of religious use, where inhabitants used to participate in agricultural rituals. To conclude, visit Puka Pukara, located seven kilometers far from the city. Puka Pukara means ‘red fort’ and it was an architectural complex of supposed military use with multiple environments, plazas, baths, aqueducts, and towers. It is believed that it was used by the Inca entourage while the leader rested in Tambomachay. In the evening return to the hotel and get ready for another memorable day.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Cusco.

Wake up and have breakfast at the hotel. A transportation service will pick you up and transfer you to the Ollanta Station. Your trip to Machu Picchu starts with a train ride to the town of Aguas Calientes. Aguas Calientes has a handicrafts market, restaurants, and accommodation of different categories for those who prefer to spend the night next to the mountain and then visit it early next morning. After a short trip, arrive at Machu Picchu, a masterpiece of engineering and architecture that served as a sanctuary and resting place for Inca Pachacuti. Machu Picchu means ‘Old Mountain’, and was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. At the end of the tour, return by bus to Aguas Calientes, where you will enjoy a delicious lunch and have the afternoon at leisure.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Aguas Calientes. Lunch included.

Enjoy a tasty breakfast at the hotel. You can optionally return to Machu Picchu and visit any of the attractions that the citadel keeps. Visit the Intipunku (‘Puerta del Sol’) a former control gate, climb the Huayna Picchu (subject to space availability), seeing the ‘Temple of the Moon’, an underground complex of constructions, along the way, and admire the Inca Bridge, an amazing stone construction that served as an entrance or exit to the citadel. In the afternoon, transfer to the Aguas Calientes train station and head back to the Ollanta station, from where you are transferred to your hotel in Cusco.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Cusco.

Indulge in a delicious breakfast at the hotel, before transferring to the bus station to begin our trip to Puno. First, we stop in Andahuaylillas, a town located 40 kilometers from Cusco. It’s main attraction is the Church of Andahuaylillas, nicknamed the ‘Sistine Chapel of America’, due to the impressive works of art found in it. We continue our route to Racchi, where the Wiracocha Temple is located, a surprising 30-meters wide by 20-meters high construction of rectangular shape. Have a tasty lunch in Sicuani, followed by a brief stop in La Raya, the highest point between Puno and Cusco, over 4,313 meters above sea level. Then, we arrive at the town of Pucara, where the Pucara Lithic Museum is located. Developed between the years 100 and 300 AC, this town was the first proper urban settlement of the lacustrine highlands. Finally, we undertake the last trip to the city of Puno, arriving at the selected hotel where a representative will assist you with the check-in.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Puno. Lunch included.

Start your day with breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the lacustrine port of Puno, where a boat takes you to the floating island of the Uros. The Uros are an ancestral society that populates a series of artificial islands built with totora plant, a type of reed which grows in the Titikaka lake. There they build their houses, also from totora. This is why they cook outdoors, to prevent possible fires. After a journey of an hour and a half, continue your trip to the island of Taquile. This island was part of the Inca Empire and remains of the culture can still be seen when looking at its buildings. Once there, receive a briefing of the island and witness a cultural activity. Have a tasty lunch and start your return to Puno.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Puno. Lunch included.

Enjoy a delightful breakfast at the hotel. A transportation service will take you from the selected hotel to Puno airport, and a representative will assist you along the way. Breakfast included.