South America
11 Day Highlights of Peru - Machu Picchu, Land of the Incas and the Manu - From: $7,090
Trip Summary
Marvel at ancient sites in the Sacred Valley of the Incas before a train takes you up to the Inca city of Machu Picchu. Then explore the Amazon rainforest on foot and by boat as you learn about the flora and fauna and look for wildlife. A visit to a parrot clay lick is a spectacular opportunity for some close-up photos of these colorful birds.
Highlights
- Visit the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Urubamba, the historic heart of the Inca Empire
- Explore the ancient city of Machu Picchu
- Travel by motorized canoe on the Madre dios River to the Manu Wildlife Center
- Observe and photograph parrots and macaws as they fly in to a clay lick in the rainforest
Trip Details
Price:
| Per Person, double occupancy | From: $7,090 |
Based on low season rates with two guests traveling.
Departure Dates:
- Daily
Itinerary
Day 1
Lima
Arrive Lima. You will be met upon arrival and assisted for check-in at the Ramada Airport Hotel.
Lodging: Ramada Airport Hotel
Day 2
Urubamba Valley
Commercial flight to Cusco. On arrival in Cusco drive to the Urubamba Valley also known as the Sacred Valley of the Incas (elevation 8500 feet), the historic heart of the Inca Empire. Visit Pisac ruins and the local market in Pisac.
Lodging: Rio Sagrado
Day 3
Urubamba Valley
Full day touring to include a visit to Chinchero community. In Chinchero you will find the remains of what was the royal hacienda of Tupac Inca Yupanqui, as well as beautiful colonial temples built on Inca´s foundations. However, its main attraction is its Sunday market originally dedicated to the barter of products by the people of the valley. This market is full of colours and movement which fascinates tourists with its variety of handicrafts and textiles made in true pre-columbian style.
Lunch at the Hacienda Huayoccari
Afternoon the excursion continues to Ollantaytambo
Lodging: Rio Sagrado
Day 4
Urubamba Valley
Day available for optional activities such as hiking Maras/ Moray, Biking Chincheros to Urubamba, Rafting.
Option 1 - Urubamba River Rafting Expedition A fun day out on a beautiful section of the Urubamba river for anyone looking for an alternative adventure. Rafting is a fun sport, suitable for pretty much any one- no experience is needed to take part in a great day out. The section that is usually run is the class 3 - 4 Chuquicahauna section, above Cusco where the river is cleaner and more exciting. The river starts gently with time to practice the maneuvers required, then builds up with a number of rapids through a beautiful canyon with views of the surrounding peaks. After approximately two hours of rafting the take out point is reached and a full picnic lunch is enjoyed before returning to Cusco mid to late afternoon.
Option 2 - Maras - Moray Trek The Maras –Moray one day trek is a fantastic way of combining breathtaking Andean scenery, local farming techniques, Inca Ruins, ancient towns and the interesting Maras salt pans. The trek begins across the fertile plain of Chinchero, rich with grain, potatoes & beans, and gives a fascinating insight into traditional Andean agriculture. A picnic lunch is enjoyed at the circular Inca ruins of Moray before exploring these fascinating ruins. Moray is believed to be an Incan agricultural center used to improve high altitude crops – an essential food source for the Incan armies and road building teams throughout the vast Inca Empire. The trek continues along mule trails before passing through the ancient town of Maras with its outstanding Spanish door arches and vast church. Maras is famous for its spies due to its strategic location above the Sacred Valley. The trail then descends down into the Sacred Valley of the Incas. En-route are the incredible salt pans of Maras that were mentioned in the chronicles of the conquering Spanish. A vehicle awaits in the valley for the drive to a local hotel, or back to Cusco.
Option 3 - Bike the Andes Possibly the best one day bike trip in Peru, if not the whole of South America. This route is largely downhill across the Chinchero plains and into the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Using dirt trails and ancient mule routes, cycle past the beautiful lake Huaypo and then through the village of Chequereq. It is then a short uphill ride to the incredible circular Inca ruins of Moray where a enjoy a picnic lunch is enjoyed. Those with lots of energy can explore these fascinating ruins. From here it is a smooth ride along a mule trail to the town of Maras, and then another descent of a lifetime, down into the amazing Maras salt pans, before finally meeting the vehicle again beside the Urubamba River, for the drive back to Cusco. This trip is suitable for riders with some mountain biking experience.
Lodging: Rio Sagrado
Day 5
Machu Picchu
Transfer to Ollanta train station. Morning vistadome train to Machu Picchu. Afternoon visit Machu Picchu.
Lodging: Sanctuary Lodge Machu Picchu
Day 6
Machu Picchu / Cusco
Return to Machu Picchu and spend the morning in both guided and individual exploration, visiting the most fascinating features of this astounding and mysterious Inaca settlement. Some will prefer to take the optional hike to the summit of Wayna Picchu for an amazing overview of the site, while others may want to investigate Machu Picchu’s multitude of hidden nooks and corners. After lunch and your complete experience of this glorious monument to the Inca achievement, take a bus to Aguas Calientes(approximately 30 minute) and board the return train to Cusco.
Lodging: Libertador Palacio del Inka Hotel
Day 7
Cusco
Explore Cusco and the surrounding ruins of Kenko, the ceremonial bath of Tambomachay and the amazing fortress of Sachsayhuaman.
After lunch at the Pre Columbian Art Museum continue to visit Blas, the Main Plaza, the Cathedral.
Lodging: Libertador Palacio del Inka Hotel
Day 8
**( Fixed departure Thursday – Sunday only )**
Manu Wildlife Center
An early morning transfer to Cusco airport will be followed by a 45-minute scheduled charter flight to Boca Manu, and then a 90-minute motorized canoe journey down the Madre de Dios river to Manu Wildlife Center. Arrive just in time for lunch. This afternoon make your first acquaintance with the lowland rainforest, learning about the plants and forest ecology exploring some of the 30 miles of trails that surround the lodge. You will have an opportunity to encounter some of the 12 species of monkeys, including the Monk Saki and Emperor Tamarin, which inhabit the surrounding forest. After dinner enjoy a night walk along the trails, in search of the nocturnal birds and animals of the rainforest.
Lodging: Manu Wildlife Center
Day 9
Manu Wildlife Center
Another early start (inevitable on wildlife expeditions), is followed by a short boat ride downstream. We take a 20-minute trail through palm plantations to a cut-off channel of the river, where we find the Blanquillo Macaw Lick. A spacious hide provided with individual chairs and a convenient place for cameras and binoculars is our ringside seat for what is usually a very spectacular show. We enjoy a full breakfast here while waiting for the main actors to arrive.
In groups of twos and threes the big Red-and-Green Macaws come flapping in, landing in the treetops as they eye the main stage below -- the eroded clay banks of the old channel. Meanwhile the supporting cast appears: these may included Blue-headed, Mealy, Yellow-crowned, and Orange-cheeked Parrots -- and the occasional villain, a menacing and unwelcome Great Black Hawk.
The drama plays out in first in tentative and then bolder approaches to the lick, until finally nearly all the macaws, parrots and parakeets form a colorful and noisy spectacle on the bare banks, squabbling as they scrape clay from the hard surface.
(Please note that the clay lick is most active from August to October and less so during the months of May and June.)
We return to the lodge for lunch, and then we continue to explore and discover the rainforest, its lore and plant life, on the network of trails surrounding the lodge, arriving in the late afternoon at our 34m/112ft Canopy Tower. On its platform we witness the frantic rush-hour activity of twilight in the rainforest canopy, before night closes in.
Later we set off along the “collpa trail”, which will take us to the lodge’s famous Tapir Claylick. Here at the most active tapir lick known in all the Amazon, our research has identified from 8-12 individual 600-pound Tapirs who come to this lick to eat clay from under the tree roots around the edge. This unlikely snack absorbs and neutralizes toxins in the vegetarian diet of the Tapir, the largest land animal of Latin America. The lick features a roomy, elevated observation platform 5m/17ft above the forest floor. The platform is equipped with freshly-made-up mattresses with pillows. Each mattress is covered by a roomy mosquito net. The 50-m-long, elevated walkway to the platform is covered with sound-absorbing padding to prevent our footsteps from making noise. This Tapir Experience is unique and exciting because these normally very shy creatures are visible up close, and flash photography is not just permitted, but encouraged.
The hard part for modern city dwellers is to remain still and silent anywhere from 30 minutes to two or more hours. Many prefer to nap until the first Tapir arrives, at which point your guide gently awakens you to watch the Tapir 10-20m/33-66ft) away below the platform. Most people feel that the wait is well worth it in order to have such a high probability of observing the rare and elusive Tapir in its rainforest home.
Lodging: Manu Wildlife Center
Day 10
Manu Wildlife Center
We set off early for Cocha Blanco, an old oxbow lake full of water lilies and sunken logs. As we circle the lake in our catamaran we might encounter the resident Giant Otter family on a fishing expedition, or troops of monkeys crashing noisily through the trees. Wattled Jacanas step lightly on the lily pads, dainty Sun Grebes paddle across the water, supple-necked Anhingas air-dry their wide, black wings, and perhaps an Osprey scans for fish from a high branch. Among the bushes near the waterline, Hoatzins, which look like rust-colored, punk chickens, announce their presence with distinctive, bizarre wheezing and grunts. Woodpeckers, tanagers, macaws, toucans and parakeets all finally come swooping in to trees surrounding the lake. Many of them roost around the lake for the night. After lunch at the lodge our guide is available to lead us on freewheeling expeditions in search of further wildlife encounters, or we may take one of the lodge’s many trails on private and personal excursions to commune with the spirits of the rainforest.
This evening, from late afternoon until after dinner, we can take a boat ride in search of caiman (alligator-like reptiles), and other nocturnal wildlife along the riverbank.
Lodging: Manu Wildlife Center
Day 11
Manu Wildlife Center
Rising at dawn we board our motor-canoe to visit Cocha Camungo, an oxbow lake. Each of these forest lakes seems to have its own personality, and after circling these enchanted waters by catamaran to look birds and other lakeside fauna, we will explore the forest trails and visit the 40m/130ft canopy platform, set amongst the massive branches of a giant kapok tree. This platform provides a beautiful view of Cocha Camungo, as well as the forest canopy, and on very clear days we can spot the distant ranges of the Andes above the undulating treetops of the forest. After lunch at the Center we will explore the forest trails, with the emphasis on visiting the fruiting and flowering trees that our experienced naturalist guides have been monitoring. Here we will hope to encounter more monkey species as well as numerous species of birds. Before or after supper, avid explorers will have a second chance to visit the Tapir Clay lick.
Lodging: Manu Wildlife Center
Day 12
International Flights Home
After an early breakfast, depart the lodge on a two-hour boat trip to the Boca Manu airfield, enjoying early morning wildlife activity along the way. From Boca Manu fly by scheduled charter to Cusco. On arrival in Cusco connect with a commercial flight to Lima and you onwards international flight home.
Destinations
The Details
