Los Angeles to Lima, Peru

We depart from Los Angeles to Lima on LATAM Airlines, the premier airline of South America. Our departure is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

Lima

We arrive in Lima at 7:05 a.m. Our bilingual guide will meet us at the airport and transfer us to the hotel, located in the heart of San Isidro, accross the street from a 400 year-old olive grove.  After a few hours rest, we will enjoy an afternoon tour of Lima includes the highlights of this colonial city, once the capital of the Viceroyalty in northern South America. We will visit the main square of Lima, surrounded by the government palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral and the other public buildings that shows the glory of the colonial days. Our visit to the San Francisco Convent, built in the 17^th century with its catacombs and work of art is more than what you may expect from a city tour.   

Lima

After Breakfast we leave down town San Isidro to visit the Larco Museum located in an 18^th century mansion that houses 3.000 years of Peru’s pre-Colombian history. The museum boasts a magnificent collection of gold and silver that demonstrates the skilled art of ancient civilizations, such as the Moches, Paracas, Nazcas and Chan-Chan. The Paracas were the weavers while Moches and Nazcas created beautiful pieces of pottery, used for ceremonial purposes. There is nothing like this private museum in all of Peru. The specialized guides will introduce us to the wonders of ancient Peru.

We return to San Isidro to enter Casa Luna. A unique collection of nativity scenes from all over the world fill the different rooms of this mansion. Ambassador Luna collected the most beautiful handcrafted collection of the nativity scenes ever found in all of Latin America. 

Lima to Cuzco

Early morning transfer to the airport of a 90 minute flight to Cuzco. Upon arrival in Cuzco, our guides will escort us to the Palacio Del Inca Hotel, a former residence the Spanish Conquistador. The mansion, now a hotel is a five hundred year old historic landmark.

After a few hours of rest to acclimate to the high altitude, we start the city tour of the former capital of the Inca Empire. The visit to the ancient capital includes visits to the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, the Temple of the Sun, located across the street from our hotel and the 17^th century old cathedral with its collection work of art of the Cuzco School of Painting and altars of solid gold and silver. The enormous painting of the Las Supper, executed by Marcos Zapata in 1753 shows Christ and the 12 apostles seated around a table to partake of a guinea pig, a traditional meal still prepared in Cuzco. The symbols on the table are those known to the native Incas.

There is no other cathedral in the world where the emblems of the Christian world and the ancient traditions of the Inca civilization join in a unique syncretism, of the old and the new. 

Cuzco - Corpus Christi Celebration

The Corpus Christi festivity is considered one of the most lavish celebration of faith in the Christian world. 

After the ceremony performed in the Cathedral a solid silver carriage takes in a procession the golden sun, which represent the sacrament. The people dressed in typical colorful dresses follow the silver carriage accompanied by civil and religious leaders. A lunch will be served in a restaurant. From the balconies, overlooking the main square and the cathedral our group will be able to see the procession. Afternoon free to explore downtown colonial Cuzco.

Cuzco - Parade and celebration

This morning we walk a short distance with our guides. We reach Plaza de Armas, or Main Square. The images of saints finely dressed, travel from the different churches around the city, and enter the cathedral, followed musicians and dancers. Some of you attended the Oberammergau in Bavaria. You will be surprised by the elaborate celebration of the Corpus Christi. This is not just a show, but a religious feast of devotion by the locals, who labor all year to prepare their costumes and practice the music for the activities in honor of Christ. 

Cusco to Sacred Valley

Our visit to the “Sacred Valley of the Incas”, will connect us to the glorious past and traditions of the Incas,  We explore colonial towns, and pass isolated villages lost in the mist of times.. Our tour will include a visit to the Awanacancha. All the camelids of South America, starting with Llamas, Alpacas, Vicunas and Guanacos are exhibited here. Local villagers will show their skills in the ancestral methods of dying the wool and making the best textiles and clothes. Before check- in to the luxurious Tambo Del Inca hotel, we will taste a delicious lunch and a “Paso Horse Show” 

Sacred Valley - Ollantaytambo inca town and Fortress

Our visit takes us to one of the last remaining Inca villages. Ollantaytambo was one of the massive Inca fortress

built by the Incas to protect the Sacred Valley from invasions coming from natives living in the rainforest or from the Aymaras on Lake Titicaca.  After exploring Ollantaytambo and its village, we travel to the town of Chincheros where we see the finest textiles made by the artisans of Peru.

Our gourmet traditional dinner will be at the hotel. The restaurant named cinco fuegos (five fires) offers five different types meats or vegetables being cooked on several grills. (Chinese roasting box, cylinder, grill, clay oven and pachamanca).

Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu

A train ride will cover the distance from Ollantaytambo to the village of Aguas Calientes. The ride offers spectacular views of the high Andes following the course of the Urubamba River, through deep canyons and mountains that jut to the sky. Upon arrival in Aguas Calientes, personnel from the deluxe Sumaq hotel will transfer our luggage to the hotel while we board a bus to the top of Machu Picchu, the Lost Citadel of the Incas.

We will tour part of the ruins before returning to Aguas Calientes and to our hotel, where a lunch will be served.

Machu Picchu to Cuzco

This morning we re-enter the citadel of the Incas to do some further exploration and sightsee the ancient complex built by the Incas. Weather permitting, we may see the sunrise over the Vilcabamba range and the citadel. Lunch at El Indio Feliz Restaurant. Afternoon return by train and bus to our hotel in Cuzco. 

Cuzco to Lima

Today we have a free morning for last minute shopping and relaxation. There are several highlights in the former capital of the Inca Empire which could only be visited by walking along the cobblestone street. Over the many tours to Peru, my travelers always request and extra time in Cuzco, the jewel of the Andes. Late afternoon we are escorted by our guide to the airport for a flight to Lima. We arrive in Lima and connect to our flight to Los Angeles.  

Lima to Los Angeles

Early morning departure from Lima.  Connecting flights to your final destination.

To Book This Tour, Contact:

Carol Alegre, Tour Manager
Tel: (801) 483-6165
Email Carol

 TOUR ID#9223f04

CASH DISCOUNT of $100.00 for final payment by check