Peru - Land of the Incas

Day 1 (Lima): Travel to Lima, Peru, meet your travel director and transfer to your hotel.

Day 2 (Lima): Explore Lima’s streets and plazas with a guide, including Love Park and the Huaca Pucllana, ceremonial center of the ancient Lima culture. See the Main Square, where the Government Palace and the Town Hall are located, as well as the Cathedral and the Santo Domingo convent. Visit the Huaca Huallamarca, used by humans since the sixth century as a sacred burial temple. Explore this vibrant city at your leisure before enjoying dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 3 (Sacred Valley): Fly to Cusco in the morning, then journey to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Stop at Awanacancha along the way to admire Andean alpacas and llamas, and learn traditional dyeing and knitting techniques from locals. Wander through the Pisac Market in the afternoon, taking time to shop for handicrafts and taste the traditional empanadas. Enjoy a free afternoon and evening.

Day 4 (Sacred Valley): Explore some of the more remote sites in the valley today. In Chinchero, visit the archaeological site and learn the art of textile making and ancestral dyeing techniques. Continue to the concentric terraces of Moray, designed to guarantee the agricultural production of the empire through the creation of microclimates. Finally, visit Maras, the famous salt mines from colonial times. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant and dinner at the hotel.

Day 5 (Aguas Calientes): On a morning visit Ollantaytambo, visit the main temple used as a fortress during the Inca resistance and take in the amazing, breathtaking views. Then, travel by expedition train to Aguas Calientes for a free afternoon.

Day 6 (Cusco): Journey by winding road to Machu Picchu, enjoying a spectacular view of the Urubamba River and its canyon along the way. Explore the Lost City of the Incas and its terraces, ceremonial shrines, steps and urban areas. Return to Cusco by expedition train and have dinner at the hotel.

Day 7 (Cusco): Enjoy a morning climb to the archaeological park and fortress of Sacsayhuaman, then head to Q'enqo and the ancient temple of the Puma. See both an altar for sacrifices and sacred fountains of life and health, then enjoy a panoramic view from Puca Pucara, a watchtower that controlled the entrance to the city. Visit the legendary Temple of the Sun, on top of which the Saint Dominique convent was built. Then go to the Main Square and visit the Cathedral that contains invaluable colonial paintings and the cross that arrived with the first conquistadors. Enjoy a free afternoon.

DAY 8 (Cusco): Journey to Pisac to visit the Parque de la Papa, or potato farm. Learn about the diversity of native potato varieties, protected for centuries by the local Quechua peoples, then sample potatoes and other local delicacies during an included lunch. Return to Cusco for a free afternoon.

Day 9: Fly to Lima and then board your return flight to the U.S.

Day 10: Arrive in the U.S.