Group tour- Family trip- South Peru/jungle Puerto Maldonado, cusco, machu picchu, titicaca, Puno, Arequipa

Tour for 13 or 16  days relaxed South Peru with 3 days Jungle !

In private or in group ( Dutch tour with fixed date look at dutch page)
We can arrange with or without English speaking tour leader
In private you can decide the quality of hotels

How do we work ?

Our tours are with an English speaking tour leader, he travel all the time with you and the group, he is no guide but after many years working in Peru/Bolivia he knows what a tourist need

Kind of Tour

This is an easy hotel +  tour for all ages. Open – young minded persons is what we are looking for. Leave your western look home and just enjoy the beauty of this Andean country. Accept that its different, we come to admire the country, not to change it!

What is included ?
*bus transport , and 3 national flights + international flights ( if you like)
*All hotels in good 3*** hotels and hostels with private bathroom all very clean and central located
*All hotels are based on double room, if you are single and don’t mind to share the room with a man or women from an other sex ,there is no surcharge ,if you like a single rooms there’s an extra cost and you have to tell us in advance.
*All buses are based on good local buses, sometimes private if written in the program.
*In all the hotels is breakfast included!

Not included

Highlights 
*3 days Jungle/ lodge wit  parrot clay lick
*sleep in the sacred valley
*The Inca empire with Machu Picchu
*Amazing Cusco
*Bus with stops over altiplano to Puno
*Sleep with local family on an island at Titicaca
*Short tour with only highlights
*possible extencion to Arequipa

Day 1 depart to Lima
Depart in the evening from Europe to Madrid and at night international flight to Lima

Day 2  Puerto Maldonado
Early in the morning you arrive in Lima, There you have connection flight to the Jungle

Jungle

Your guide will be waiting for you at the airport and take you to our office located approximately 5 minutes from the airport in the city of Puerto Maldonado. Here we will register and make some last minute shopping for things we might have forgot such as batteries or raingear.

Afterwards we will take an unpaved road to Puerto Nuevo, our port in the Infierno Community, for about one hour. On our journey we can see various types of woodland, traditional banana and citrus plantations, cattle ranches and small creeks. Once in Puerto Nuevo we will embark on our one and a half hour boat trip up the mighty Tambopata.During the boat ride we will also have lunch consisting of delicious vegetarian Arroz Chaufa wrapped in the leaf of the bijao heliconia. There will also be fruit, crackers and a bottle of water.We will enter the Buffer zone of the Tambobata National Reserve and the Bahuaja Sonene National Park. During your journey you can appreciate the banks vegetation consisting mainly of patches of canes, Cecropias and Ficus. We might also see wildlife such as river birds like the oropendulas and their hanging nesting colonies, egrets, herons and others might fly over such as toucans or the magnificent macaws. Once we arrive at INOTAWA the manager will receive us and your guide will tell about the dos and don’ts in the jungle in order for you to enjoy your stay to the maximum. He will also lead you around the installations and show you your room. In the afternoon we head out into the jungle for a small walk in order to observe the flora such as immense Ironwood or Kapok trees and birds such as Trogons, quails and wild turkeys. Once night falls we can also find spiders such as tarantulas and other nocturnal creatures. After dinner your guide will give you a small speech about what to expect and explain the various activities during your stay.

Day 3  Puerto maldonado Jungle lodge
Jungle

Tres Chimbadas Lake

Day 4 Jungle – Cusco – Sacred valley
After an early breakfast we will return to the INOTAWA office in Puerto Maldonado and then on to the airport. Your guide will accompany you until the airport and help you with the check-in process for your flight back to Cusco . From Cusco airport we drive direct to the lower part/ sacrad valley.

Here we have a nice hotel.

Day 5 Sacred valley + train to Aquas calientes
Today we will visit the Sacred Valley of the Incas. It is divided by the Urubamba River and protected by towering mountains, like Veronica, Chicon, and Pitusiray, all above 5000 meters . Your first stop is visiting the local market in a small village of Pisac. After lunch you’ll spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the impressive Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo town and ceremonial center, an important archeological site and an Inca stronghold during the Spanish conquest. In the afternoon we take the train to Aquas calientes .This is the village close to Machu Picchu. There’s also a big tourist market and it’s much warmer than Cusco, because we are at the border with the jungle.We stay overnight in Aqua calientes.

Day 6 Machu Picchu + Train to  Cusco
Today we will leave early on sunrise to the Machu Picchu ruins. You will start with a guided tour of the ruins for 2 h, in which you will learn all about the origins of this archeological wonder with some free time to explore on your own. Your return train through the Sacred Valley of the Incas to Cusco will depart in the afternoon and arrive in the evening. hotel in Cusco
Early in the morning you will be transported by bus to Machu Picchu citadel, Our bilingual guide will take you throughout the vast ruins for about 2h. After this you have some free time to wander around yourself Machu Picchu is the best known of the Inca ruins, as it is recognized worldwide yet it is not mentioned in any of the writings of the Spanish Conquistadors. It believed to have been constructed around the mid-15th century and was “rediscovered” by American historian Hiram Bingham in 1911. The guided tour of this fascinating place is an inspiring experience. Visit the Main Square, the Royal Quarters, the Temple of the Three Windows, the Circular Towers, the Sacred Sun Dial and Burial Grounds.  After the excursion you can walk to Inti Punko, the “SUN GATE” to take the famous picture. Than you drive down by bus to the town of Aqua Calientes where we take the afternoon train back direction Cusco

Day 7 + 8 Cusco
Cusco is located in the south east of Peru at 3,400m above sea level Famously known as the gateway to Machu Picchu, one of the 7 wonders of the world/ Previously the capital of the Incan Empire. Get to know the city of Cusco, an UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site and possessor of a style all its own. The tour begins at the Koricancha Temple, an old Incan palace and main center for the worship of the sun god, Inti. Once the Spanish conquered Peru, the Dominican order built a lovely church over top this temple’s foundations: the church of Santo Domingo, that is still there today. Your next destination is the Main Square to visit the Colonial Cathedral, home to finely carved wooden art pieces and impressive altars, and then the adventure continues at the Sacsayhuaman fortress built of enormous stone blocks expertly shaped by the Incas. It is strategically located at the top of a hill overlooking the city of Cuzco. What a view of the city! Visit to three archaeological sites three archaeological sites: Qenko, Puca-Pucara, and Tambomachay, important religious and administrative centers for the Incas. In the evening there are many excellent restaurants to choose from in Cusco, just consult our restaurant list. Accommodations in Cuzco.

Day 9  bus Cusco – Puno
You can take the bus with stops at La Raya Pass,  the Incan archeological site of Raqchi, renowned for its massive temple built for god  Viracocha. Next on the itinerary is a stop at the village of Andahuayllas, where you will see an actual architectural masterpiece: its main church, built in the 17th century, whose finely painted interior walls will astound you. Accommodations in Puno  The bus  is with guide and stops included lunch.

Da 10 + 11  Titicaca
Day 1 Today you will visit the incredible Lake Titicaca, situated some 3800m above sea level and covering an area of over 8000 square kilometers. You’ll begin your tour by visiting the fascinating Uros islands, home to the descendants of the pre-Inca Urus people, who continue to live on the floating islands, which are constructed by totoro reeds that grow around the lake. It is said that, when seen from the sky, the lake looks like a Puma hunting a rabbit. Uros is comprised of about 40 islands, but the total number varies. Then we will go to Amantania island. You will sleep on the island with a local family; basic but a nice adventure! They will treat you as their own children, in the evening you sing and dance with the whole village in local clothes. This option provides a great opportunity to interact with the warm and hospitable islanders and to learn about their daily lives. We leave in Puno our big luggage and travel with a day pack.

Day 2
After breakfast, we will leave our local family and go to Taquile Island, another beautiful destination. The island still bears vestiges of a pre-Incan past. There are Ayamara Indians. The intricate and brightly-colored textiles produced here reflect the inhabitants’ Andean beliefs, myths, and ways of life. After a short but steep climb to the main village you’ll enjoy lunch and spend the afternoon exploring the island and finding out about its people. The islanders are known for the beautiful textiles and garments that they produce, and interestingly, the knitting of these garments is done exclusively by men.  Afterward you’ll take a boat back to the Puno hotel.

Day 12 going back home or Colca canyon
This morning we have transfer to Juliaca . From there you take the flight to lima to continue internacional home

OR

Day 13 Condors – Arequipa
After early breakfast we leave to the condor cross to see this amazing bird “The Condor. It,s still nature, so we can,t  promise you anything. The Canyon is real worth a visit also without the condor. If you see one, just take it as extra! It’s the best place for a breathtaking view of the canyon with the Colca River flowing 1,200 meters below. We visit the hanging tombs at Choquetico before continuing to the towns of Maca, Achoma and Yanque with its lovely white church. We return back to Chivay for lunch, before driving further with our private bus to Arequipa. Hotel in Arequipa

Day 14 Arequipa
Arequipa, at 2325 m altitude. The white city with his amazing Misty volcano. Here we can relax, after our night bus. Free time to visit this beautiful city , visit the star of Arequipa “The Mummy JUANITA “or the” Santa Catalina monastery” , , or do the excursion reality tour. In the evening you can try in one of the many restaurants the local“CUY” or marmot or the great alpaca steak,

Arequipa is Peru’s second largest city with a population of over 800,000 people and arguably the most beautiful city in Peru. Situated about 2,335 metres above sea level in the shadows of the stunning ice capped Misti Volcano (5,822 metres).
You can do optional a city tour.We will show you all its charms of the main streets and colonial buildings, where you will visit The Main Square, The Cathedral from outside, La Compañia a Jesuit’s church and religious cloisters, Santa Catalina convent – which is a city within the city – built on the XVI century and closed to the public for almost 400 years until 1970, and it’s still home of a few nuns. The tour continues to the Church and Square of San Francisco and the local market. The highlight of Arequipa is the 16th century Santa Catalina Convent. This beautiful complex of plazas and buildings is remarkably intact and remained closed to the outside world until 1970. You’ll also need to visit the star of Arequipa “The Mummy Juanita “. In the evening you may choose to dine at one of Arequipa’s many fine restaurants. Try the amazing alpaca steak!  You also can go on excursion rafting on the Rio Chile. 1 night hotel in Arequipa

Finish of the tour

General

People who like to do the very famous INCATRAIL, the 2 or 4 days  (look at this website for the program ) have to make reservation for this, together with the reservation of this tour . This Inca trail is so popular that it need more than 60 days reservation in advance