Inca Explorer excluding the Inca Trail - Overland Trip

Itineraries

Arrive in Lima and check in to your hotel.

We fly to Cuzco. The rest of the day is free to explore this delightful old Inca city. (B)

Full day to explore Cuzco, the old Inca capital and home to the largest and most intriguing empire in Latin America. Cuzco is packed full of amazing architecture and ruins from days gone by. (B)

Today we visit the Sacred Valley, home to a number of impressive Inca ruins, bustling markets and friendly villages like Ollantaytambo. Our trip includes a stop at the interesting Moray site, off the touristy circuit; these ruins are an amazing set of concentric terraces with a perfect shape used by the Incas as agricultural laboratory and ceremonial site to the goddess Pachamama. We spend the night in Urubamba, in the heart of the Sacred Valley. (B)

We board the famous train that runs from the Sacred Valley to Aguas Calientes, at the foot of Machu Picchu, a spectacular journey through a dramatic and changing landscape. We disembark at Km 104, and can hike the last part of the famous Inca Trail toward the Sun Gate, before reaching the citadel of Machu Picchu, hopefully in time for sunset. (Note: You can continue on the train to Aguas Calientes if you do not wish to hike.) Later we transfer by bus to our hotel in Aguas Calientes. (BL)

We rise early and travel by bus to the ruins at Machu Picchu again, to fully enjoy one of the most impressive sites to be found anywhere on the planet. We have a guided tour around this amazing ancient city, as well as having time to explore on our own. Later we travel in our comfortable train back to Cuzco where we spend the night. (B)

We take the bus to Puno, on the edge of Lake Titicaca. On the way there is chance to visit different sites, like the Raya High Pass, Andahuillas or Raqchi Temple, dedicated to Viracocha the Creator God of the Incas. (B)

We cross the border into Bolivia and head out onto the sparkling waters of the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca in a hydrofoil. After a quick visit to the Moon Island we arrive at Sun Island where legend says that the first Incas mystically appeared here after a direct order from the sun. One of the most sacred sites in the Inca world, the island is scattered with enigmatic ruins, including the Inca Stairway and Inca Springs. We spend the night at an eco-lodge on the island. (BLD)

A short boat transfer takes us to Copacabana. This town served as a site of religious pilgrimage for centuries, beginning with the Incas. From there we drive to La Paz, the Bolivian capital and highest capital city in the world. (B)

We drive along the edge of Lake Titicaca back to Puno. Before leaving Bolivia, we stop at Tiwanaku, a pre-Inca city that was once home to 50,000 inhabitants, and one which remains largely a mystery. We spend the night in Puno (B).

In the morning we visit the burial towers of Sillustani, situated in a beautiful setting by a lake. Built originally by a Pre-Inca culture (Colla), their use was continued by the Incas, so we can appreciate the differences in the architecture. From there we transfer onto Juliaca airport for our flight back to Lima. (B)

We depart early in the morning driving along the Pan-American Highway to Pisco. From there we take a picturesque boat ride out to the Ballestas Islands, home to an abundance of birdlife, sea lions, penguins and pelicans. We also see the famous 'candelabra' figure etched onto the coastal hills. Later we continue to Ica, in the Peruvian desert. (B)

As we are in the area famous for their grape production, in the morning we visit a wine and pisco factory, where we can see how the national drink of Peru is made. Later we drive to Nazca. On arrival we visit the Chauchilla cemetery, a impressive collection of mummies, most of which still have their original hair, and their funerary ornaments. They belong to the pre-Inca Nazca culture that was responsible for the famous 'lines'. (B)

In the morning we take a flight over the Nazca Lines, mysterious lines and figures etched into the landscape. The pictures represent people, a variety of birds from hummingbirds to condors, fish, a whale, a lizard, a pair of hands and a series of intersecting grids and trapezoids, some of which are 10 km long. No one exactly knows why and when they were created or what they were meant to represent. We drive along the coast back to Lima (B)

Tour ends after breakfast.