Inca Lands & Nazca Lines – Overnight in Ica - 8 Days

Arrival in Lima, the “City of Kings” famous for its Spanish Colonial architecture, extraordinary museums and cuisine. Lima is internationally recognized as the “Gastronomic Capital of the Americas”, and its cuisine is considered among the most diverse and exquisite in the world on par with French cuisine. Upon arrival a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and in registering.

Breakfast. Tour of Modern and Colonial Lima including the world famous Larco Museum – This half-day tour visits both the colonial and modern sections of Lima. Colonial sites include the lovely Plaza Mayor, the Government Palace, San Francisco Church and the exquisite Torre Tagle Palace modern day seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In modern Lima, drive along the exclusive residential areas of Miraflores and San Isidro.

Continue to the Larco Museum, founded in 1926, it displays remarkable chronological galleries providing an excellent overview on 3000 years of development of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. Located in a unique vice-royal mansion of the 18th century built over a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid is surrounded by beautiful gardens. The Larco Museum also features the finest gold and silver collection from Ancient Peru and the famous erotic archaeological collection, one of the most visited Peruvian tourist attractions.

Breakfast. Travel along the Peruvian coast to Ica for a spectacular flight over vast drawings, figures like a spider, a hummingbird, a monkey, etc. The Nazca Lines, discovered in 1927, are the most extraordinary legacy left by a culture that flourished in 300 BC. The lines are a series of complex designs, some up to 300 meters long, which can only be seen in their true dimension from an altitude of at least 1,500 feet. The Nazca culture is not believed to have been capable of manned flight. But the question remains as to how they crafted the drawings, what technology they used and what purpose the lines served. Continue to your hotel in Paracas. Lunch and Dinner in the Hotel.

Breakfast. Early morning transfer for a yacht ride to the Ballestas Islands passing the Candelabro. These islands, also known as the Guano Islands, constitute the habitat to large concentrations of sea birds and sea lions colonies in their natural environment. El Candelabro (The Candelabra) is a geoglyph of more than 394 feet long, better appreciated from the ocean. Lunch in a Local Restaurant.

Afternoon return to Lima.

Breakfast. Early morning transfer from the hotel to the airport for a short but spectacular flight over the snowcapped Andes to the oldest inhabited city in the hemisphere, Cusco, at an elevation of 11,440 feet.
Upon arrival a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and in registering.

Tour of Cusco and Nearby Ruins – Visitors are caught up in the excitement of touring the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, a delightful combination of Inca and colonial architecture. The tour visits important landmarks such us Cusco’s Cathedral, Santo Domingo Church, Plaza de Armas and Koricancha “The Temple of the Sun”. This tour of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the western hemisphere also includes the nearby ruins of Kenko, Puca-Pucara, Tambomachay as well as the Sacsayhuaman fortress, an imposing example of Inca military architecture.

    Cusco Dinner and Show at Tunupa

Cusco has enough entertainment to keep you busy for a week. Tonight you flavor a Novo Andean and International buffet, which utilizes regional ingredients to rescue the gastronomic roots of the Andes.
Dinner is followed by a folkloric show with whirling Peruvian dancers performing a variety of regional entertaining dances.

Breakfast. Full Day Excursion to the Pisac Indian Market and the Ollantaytambo Fortress – Morning departure for a drive through the fertile countryside of the Urubamba Valley to the colonial village of Pisac where an Indian Market takes place Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Other days you will tour the religious nucleus and archaeological site of Pisac. During your visit to the bustling marketplace you will have the opportunity to bargain with the natives for many different types of Peruvian handicrafts and jewelry.

Continue to the Ollantaytambo archaeological complex, the Incas built it as a fort that included a temple, agricultural terraces, and an urban area. There are two distinct sectors: The religious and worship zone, and the residential area. Ollantaytambo was an important administrative center with probable military functions if one considers the walls and towers. There are also traces of ancient roads and aqueducts. The town of Ollantaytambo is called a “Living Inca Town” since the inhabitants maintain very old practices and customs. Lunch is at a beautiful country estate on the shores of the Urubamba River.

Breakfast. Morning train ride through the sacred valley of Urubamba to the “Lost City of the Incas,” Machu Picchu. Perched 8,200 feet above the valley, it was hidden by mountains and semi-tropical jungles for 400 years until discovered by Hiram Bingham of Yale University in 1911. Archaeologists believe that the Inca “Virgins of the Sun” took refuge from the Spanish Conquistadors here. Guided tour of the ruins upon arrival. Lunch is at the Orient Express’ Sanctuary Lodge located just a few steps from the Inca citadel.