Classic Peru with the Amazon Jungle

On arrival into Lima you will be met by an Amigos Travel representative and be privately transferred to your hotel for three nights.

This morning you will be taken on a shared city tour of Greater Lima. You will be taken to visit the three distinct historical periods of the city: Pre-Columbian, Colonial and Modern. The tour visits the Santo Domingo Convent, the Government Palace and the Plaza de Armas. You will then drive by the elegant residential tree-lined avenues of San Isidro Miraflores to Parque Salazar to enjoy spectacular views of the western side of the Pacific Ocean. (B)

This morning you will visit one of Lima’s symbolic markets on a shared tour. Here you can appreciate the amazing variety of fish, exotic fruit and vegetables used in Peruvian food. You will pass by the Huaca Pucllana, a massive 2000 year old adobe pyramid which has recently been painstakingly restored. It is built with seven staggered platforms and served as an important ceremonial and administrative center of the ancient civilization that inhabited the Central Coast of Peru. You then visit the Larco Herrera Museum, regarded as Peru’s best museum showcasing the ancient culture of Peru. It is a privately owned museum located in an 18th-Century vice-royal building built over a 7th-Century pre-Columbian pyramid. (B)

This morning you will be met and privately transferred to the airport your flight to Iquitos, deep in the Amazon Basin. You will be met on arrival in Iquitos and transferred to the river where you will board your speed boat that takes you to your remote Jungle Lodge. Enroute to the lodge, you pass the jungle town of Indiana. Originally a Franciscan mission, Indiana has grown into a large river community with its own market, high school and small hospital. Your lodge is located down the Amazon River from Iquitos and deep in primary jungle. Your stay here is for three nights. This afternoon you will hike in the beautiful primary rainforest reserve which includes many huge trees festooned with epiphytes. After dinner there may be local flute or guitar music for you to enjoy at the “jungle” bar while you listen to guides relating some of the many legends of the Amazon forest. (BLD)

*The details and order of activities in the Amazon may change due to weather conditions and any specific interests you have.

Early this morning you will travel by boat on a full day excursion down the Amazon and up the Napo River, one of the Amazons major tributaries to the Sucusari Reserve. Here you can climb and walk the Amazon Canopy Walkway, one of the longest treetop walkways in the world through primary rainforest in an area named by scientists as the "Biodiversity Capital of the World". You will walk through virgin forest with its canopy of vegetation embellished with wild orchids and bromeliads. The birdlife is particularly rich in this area and you may see monkeys and marmosets. Your expert guide will highlight the various plant, animal and bird life of the jungle. The local Shaman will explain the medicinal properties of many of the Amazonian plant species that are used by the locals. You then return by boat back to the lodge for dinner. (BLD)

After breakfast this morning you will have a morning boat ride to look for the pink and grey freshwater dolphins and fish for piranha. This afternoon you may choose to hike with your guide in the beautiful primary rain forest reserve surrounding the lodge which includes many huge trees festooned with epiphytes. (BLD)

Today you will be transferred back to Iquitos to for your flight to Cuzco, the Inca Capital. On arrival in Cuzco you are met and driven by a private car to a lower altitude in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, where you have accommodation for two nights. The remainder of your day is at leisure to recover from your flight. You might like to wander and enjoy your hotel’s magnificent gardens. (B)

This morning you will be taken on a shared tour to visit a famous site situated here: the Inca Fortress of Ollantaytambo. You then continue to the famous and traditional Indian Market of Pisac where you have time to bargain with the local Indians for their fabulous artefacts and weavings. (BL)

After breakfast you are privately transferred to Ollanta Train Station where you join the Vistadome Train, on one of the world’s ‘great train journeys’ following the Urubamba River. On arrival at Aguas Calientes train station, you are assisted in the change to the shuttle bus service, for the 25 minute transfer up the side of the mountain to Machu Picchu, also known as the “Lost City of the Incas” and undoubtedly the best known and the most spectacular archeological site on the continent. You are taken on a guided tour of the ruins visiting the Main Square, the Royal Quarters, the Temple of the Three Windows, the Circular Towers, the Sacred Sun Dial and the Burial Grounds. Your lunch is provided at the Sanctuary Lodge this afternoon. This evening please enjoy a lovely dinner at your hotel. (BLD)

You have another entry to Machu Picchu this morning, you may choose to climb to Huayna Picchu. (Must be booked in advance) Huayna Picchu (on which there are also some more Inca ruins) is the mountain overlooking the site and has steps to the top for a superlative view of the whole area. Your second entry to Machu Picchu, & Huayna Picchu permits are included. This afternoon please make your way back to the train station for the Vistadome Train to Ollanta. On arrival you are met and privately driven to Cuzco, to your hotel where you stay for three fabulous nights. (B)

Cuzco is the archaeological capital of the Americas and the continent’s oldest continuously inhabited city. Massive Inca-built stone walls line most of Cuzco’s central streets to form the foundations of Colonial and modern buildings. The streets are often stepped and narrow and thronged with Quechua-speaking descendants of the Incas. This morning you are taken on a comprehensive shared tour of Cuzco that includes the Main Cathedral, the Plaza de Armas, the Temple of the Sun (Koricancha), as well as other city highlights, such as the local markets. The tour then visits one of the other very important Inca Ruins in the area outside Cuzco: Sacsayhuaman. Your afternoon is at leisure. (B)

Enjoy a day at leisure in this charming little city. (B)

This morning you will be collected from your hotel and privately transferred to the airport for your onward flight. (B)