Our Signature Luxury Expedition
$0
per person
11 Days 10 Nights
Itinerary Resume
Travel through the iconic highlights of Peru on this luxury private expedition. Starting off in the capital city of Lima, enjoy this cosmopolitan city and the fantastic selection of gourmet restaurants, museums and colourful markets to explore.
Explore the Sacred Valley of the Incas from your luxury lodge, one of the most beautiful and historically important areas of Peru offers a great place to discover some local communities and enjoy the spectacular scenery of the rolling valleys, as well as the Maras Salt Mines and smaller ruins. And of course a double visit of the most famous ruin in the world, the Machu Picchu.
You will have a private guided visit of the site on the first day. After a luxury rest in your hotel, you will visit the ruin on the next day at your own pace. With a spectacular train journey through the Urubamba Valley, arrive back in the
archaeological city of Cusco, to spend your final nights in the glorious former capital of the Incan empire. And there is not a better way to finish your Peruvian journey than relaxing in the Amazon Jungle.
Tour Highlights
- Gourmet and historical exploration of Lima
- Explore the Sacred Valley of the Incas
- An exclusive moment with a Quechua Family.
- A private tour of the famous Machu Picchu
- Exclusive train ride through the Urubamba Valley
- Walk through the beautiful Cusco City
- Explore the Amazon Jungle from your luxury lodge
What’s Included
- Luxury accommodations
- Completely private tours in all activities mentioned
- Meet and greet airport service
- Full support from your Travel Concierge before, during and after your trip
- Our help with restaurant recommendations and reservations
- Expert local guides as well as your Tour Concierge/Photographer.
Hotels
Together with our partners, we organize luxury accommodation throughout the entire expedition
Sacred Valley
Mancora
Please check also our related blog article: 12 Best Luxury Hotels in Peru
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Reviews
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Departure/Return Location
Lima -
What to wear
Comfortable seasonal clothing & shoes -
Included
AccommodationEntrance FeesGuideLocal FlightsLunchMealsPhoto AssistanceTransport -
Not Included
ExtrasInsurance
From our gallery
What you will see..
Tour Plan
1
DAY 1
Enjoy the Capital of Peru, known particularly for its excellent cuisine and good museums, as well as the historic down-town areas. your Travel Designer can arrange a tour for you should you wish and you'll have all of our recommendations at hand for the best things to see and do in the city to make the very most of your stay.
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DAY 2
Lima city tour.
Drive to the historical center of Lima and the Plaza Mayor, where the Government Palace, City Hall, the Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace are located. Move along to the San Francisco Monastery.
Continue to the district of Pueblo Libre, to visit the Larco Herrera Museum, housed in an 18th-century colonial mansion. The museum holds the most extensive collection of pre-Columbian art in Peru, featuring many fine examples of textile work. Also found in the museum are the materials and tools used by ancient Peruvians to produce their work in ceramics and metal, huaco pottery, gold and silver pieces with semiprecious stones and erotic art pieces.
Larco Museum tour.
Enjoy a guided tour around one the most impressive collections of Pre-Colombian art and artifacts in the world. Privately owned and housed in a pretty 18th century building, this museum showcases chronological galleries that provide a thorough overview of 4,000 years of Peruvian history with a fascinating array of pieces.
Flight to Cusco. And stay in the Sacred Valley.
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DAY 3
North west of Cusco, the Sacred Valley is one of the most beautiful and historically important parts of Peru. The Valley was one of the bases of Inca civilisation, the river that winds its way through believed to be aligned with the cosmos.
Several of the Inca’s finest works were built in this region making it a fantastic place to take in the ancient culture of Peru. Explore the fortress town of Ollantaytambo, the ancient Inca terraces at Moray and the salt terraces at Maras.
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DAY 4
Private tour to a beautiful community lost in the Andes. You will have an exclusive moment with some of the gentlest people you will meet during your holidays (apart of your guide).
It is a family of 7. They will welcome you with a cup of tea, show you around their village, school, lakes…) And our host Bernardiño will cook for you. Using products from his lands. This day tour includes a visit to a colorful local market.
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DAY 5
Private Tour of Machu Picchu with overnight train ride to the Machu Picchu Pueble (Aguas calientes). Your private guide will take you on a comprehensive tour of the Machu Picchu citadel, really bringing it to life by detailing the history, significance and myths surrounding it as well as taking you to the hidden corners and best viewpoints. Then after your guided tour, you'll enjoy a delicious lunch before an afternoon at your leisure. You can explore the areas around Machu Picchu or carry on exploring the ruins.
Return in the evening to overnight at your chosen hotel in the Machu Picchu area.
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DAY 6
Discover the Machu Picchu citadel by climbing up either Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain. Both scenic sites offer incredible, sweeping views, but vary in route. Huanya Picchu is a steeper route for the confident hiker as you pass sheer drops and takes around two hours. Machu Picchu Mountain is a rewarding three-hour ascending hike taking you away from the larger crowds to enjoy the vistas.
Board the train for the journey back from Machu Picchu with refreshments served on board.
And private transportation from Ollantaytambo to Cusco.
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DAY 7
Cusco. Enjoy this beautiful city and UNESCO World Heritage site. You'll have our list of recommendations as well as private guides on hand to enjoy the best of this beautiful city. We can arrange a number of private, interest-led tours to booking fine
restaurants for you. Your personal travel designer will be able to recommend activities that are most suitable to your interests.
Cusco walking tour. Cusco is a beautiful and vibrant city and you’ll explore its many gems including the
cathedral with its magnificently carved woodwork, ornate altar and canvases from the 17th-century Cusco Painting School. The cathedral sits on the Plaza de Armas square, the nerve centre of the city - keep your eyes peeled for the two flags that usually fly
here, the red and white Peruvian flag and the rainbow coloured flag that represents the four quarters of the Inca empire. You’ll also visit San Blas with its beautiful colonial church, housing an impressive pulpit and a filigree woodcarving celebrating the fruits of the region.
Explore the beautiful city of Cusco at your own pace with a day at leisure.
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DAY 8
Early in the morning we will go to the non touristic side of the famous Rainbow Mountain. The normal tourist route brings about 1000 people per day to the most common tourist path of the famous mountain. However most people do not know that it is possible to visit the other side of this mountain range. That is exactly where we will take you, deep into the Andes.
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DAY 9
Arrive into Puerto Maldonado, coined the Capital of Biodiversity. Transfer by road to our pier and begin your Amazon adventure with a 45-minute boat ride along the Madre de Dios River that splices through the jungle. The motorized wooden boat hugs the meandering riverbanks to reach your eco-lodge, Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica, ensconced in the heart of the rainforest.
After a short briefing, settle into your palm-thatched cabaña set within Peru’s first ever private ecological reserve, established by Inkaterra in 1975 to protect this sensitive environment.
After lunch, retreat to your rustic-luxury cabin for a nap or a swing in your hammock before choosing from the wide range of à la carte guided excursions with your expert Inkaterra explorer guide. We recommend walking along the Trail system for an immersive introduction into the intricate biodiversity of the Amazon basin and the layers of the rainforest.
Wind your way through towering trees, like the Shihuahuaco, as your ears tune in to the croaks, rustles and calls of the exotic wildlife inhabiting this rich ecosystem. There are excellent opportunities for birding and observing a cornucopia of flora. Keep your camera at the ready just in case sloths or monkeys appear dangling from the treetops. In the late afternoon, we highly recommend taking our gentle Twilight River excursion to witness the jungle transform from a diurnal to a nocturnal world: animals and birds of the daytime give way to species specially adapted to the shadows of the night. You may be able to spot the likes of nightjars, owls, capybaras and big caiman lurking on the riverbanks.
Amazonian-inspired dinner is served in the main dining room from 19:00-22:00 where we invite you to enjoy a complimentary Pisco Sour cocktail. Back in your comfy cabaña, listen to the intriguing cacophony of critters that inhabit the rainforest surrounding the lodge.
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DAY 10
The sunlight squeezes through the dense trees as jungle inhabitants awake from their slumber. Optionally join them in the early hours, with
buffet breakfast served from 05:30. Visit Lake Sandoval this morning, a glassy, ox-bow lake located inside the protected Tambopata National Reserve. Reached via a sun-dappled jungle trail, explorer guides enjoy regaling visitors with their tales of unexpected encounters with poison
frogs and camouflaged creatures. Board a dug-out wooden canoe to quietly paddle through mangroves and glide onto Lake Sandoval, flanked by picture-perfect palms. This serene lake is home to thousands of species of birds, the endangered giant river otter, red howler monkeys, red-bellied macaws, anacondas, side-neck turtles and black caimans.
Return to Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica in time for lunch. In the afternoon, we recommend climbing the exhilarating Inkaterra Canopy Walkway and navigating the Anaconda Walk. The Inkaterra Canopy Walkway is a sophisticated and safe 344 metre (1,135 feet) network of seven ecologically constructed hanging suspension bridges, strung between eight treetop observation platforms above the forest floor. This is an unforgettable opportunity to observe the rainforest from the rooftop and gain a sense of its colossal size. Ascend the first vertiginous tower 38 metres (124 feet) above ground, keeping an eye out for bright toucans, woodpeckers, trogons, monkeys and the three-toed sloth. It’s possible to extend your elevated amble with sunset drinks from atop a tower – or spend a once-in-a-lifetime night in a specially-designed treehouse cabin with surprising creature comforts.
After descending, enjoy a 30-minute Anaconda Walk that follows a 200-meter (656 feet) raised wooden platform over the atmospheric flooded aguajales swamp. In this lush ecosystem you may observe various species of amphibians, birds, mammals, abundant flora and interesting trees – there is even a chance you might spot snakes.
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DAY 11
With a staggering roster of wildlife found in and around Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica – 540 bird species have been inventoried in the
grounds of the lodge - enjoy your last morning in this unspoilt natural wonderland as parakeets chatter away in the trees and capybara mammals scurry between vibrant orchid-rich gardens. Check-out is at 10:00; depending on your departure flight time lunch can also be arranged today (additional cost applies). Embark your ready-waiting boat for the 45-minute return trip along the snaking Madre de Dios River. You will make a short visit to a Butterfly House before reaching the airport. Peru boasts the greatest variety of butterflies in the world, with 3,700 known species. Many of these can be seen at the Butterfly House, which serves to showcase the variety, beauty and adaptability of these fascinating insects.
FLIGHT BACK TO LIMA.
Tour Location
Discover Machu Picchu
More than 7,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains, Machu Picchu is the most visited tourist destination in Peru. A symbol of the Incan Empire and built around 1450AD, Machu Picchu was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
10 Interesting Facts about Machu Picchu
10. In the Quechua Indian language, “Machu Picchu” means “Old Peak” or “Old Mountain.”
9. Machu Picchu is made up of more than 150 buildings ranging from baths and houses
to temples and sanctuaries.
8. The compound contains more than 100 separate flights of stairs. Most of the individual staircases were carved from one slab of stone.
7. Although many of the stones that were used to build the city were more than 50 pounds, it is believed that no wheels were used to transport these rocks up the mountain. Rather, it is thought that hundreds of men pushed the heavy rocks up the steep mountain side.
6. Many different theories exist about Machu Picchu’s purpose—a royal estate and a secret ceremonial center among them.
5. The Incas were some of the best masons in the world. The structures were so well built with a technique called ashlar (stones that are cut to fit together without mortar) that not even a knife blade can fit in between stones.
4. Machu Picchu was only known locally until Yale Professor Hiram Bingham re-discovered the site in 1911. His book, The Lost City of the Incas, was based on his findings.
3. A long-standing dispute between Peru and Yale University has existed over the artifacts collected by Bingham during his exploration of the site. Yale maintains that they own the items while Peru insists they were given on loan.
2. Machu Picchu was an astronomical observatory, and its sacred Intihuatana stone accurately indicates the two equinoxes. Twice a year, the sun sits directly over the stone creating no shadow.
1. Unfortunately, most cities built by the Inca civilization were destroyed by the Spanish conquest. Machu Picchu was in a hidden location—invisible from below—and not found, making it one of the most well-preserved Inca cities and an archeological gem.
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