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Peru, a road trip to the Inca country
13 days
€ 1490 / per person
Departure location
Lima, Peru
Return location
Cuzco, Peru
Time travel
About the trip
There is probably no person who has heard nothing about Peru. This wonderful country in South America is so rich in landmarks that it is extremely difficult to cover them all in one trip, limited by vacation. We have designed our program so that you can see all the fun that makes millions of tourists come here.
Our trip is a car route from Lima to Cuzco.
We will travel along the coast of the Paracas Peninsula, where the best beaches of Peru are located, tour the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba River and see the main archeological wonders of the Inca Empire: ancient fortresses composed of granite monoliths, temple complexes, agricultural terraces reminiscent of amphitheatres, and the most famous abandoned city - Machu Picchu.
Additionally, the program includes:
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flight on an excursion plane over the lines of the Nazca Plateau,
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the sunrise in the mountains, painted by the nature itself in the colors of the rainbow,
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unique exhibits of pre-Columbian art at the Peru Gold Museum and the Larco Archeological Museum.
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Join us!
The program
Day 1. Lima
Getting acquainted with the group and the capital of Peru - Lima.
Lima was once called the City of Kings - Ciudad de los Reyes - it was named after Francisco Pizarro, who is considered its founder. There are magnificent cathedrals and beautiful mansions. The city has preserved the unique architecture of the colonial period, making its historic center a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The most important buildings are located on the main square - Plaza de Armas, including the Cathedral of Lima with the tomb of Francisco Pizarro.
It is definitely worth visiting the Museum of Lima, which contains unique specimens of archaeological artifacts of pre-colonial Peru:
the Gold Museum of Peru is holding the largest collection of gold posthumous masks, tiaras, ear ornaments, pectorals, and ritual knife tumi - just over 8,000 exhibits,
Rafael Larco Herrera Museum of Archeology, where you can see an interesting private collection of gold and silver jewelry as well as pre-Columbian erotic pottery.
Overnight stay at a hotel.
Day 2. Lima - Pachacamac - Pisco
We continue getting acquainted with Lima and in the afternoon leave by car to Pachacamac.
Pachacamac is an archaeological site located 40 km away from Lima, where there used to be the city of the ancient state of Ichma, which existed in 100 BC - 650 AD. It was the center of worship of the Creator of the Universe – god Pacha Kamaq. The Incas, having conquered it, maintained its high status and built the Temple of the Sun on the main square of the city. The ruins of ancient pyramids, palaces and temples have been preserved in Pachacamac. There is a historical museum with a lot of ancient artifacts.
After spending 2-3 hours in Pachacamac, we leave for Pisco, on the Paracas Peninsula. Upon arrival, after 2.5 hours, we check into the hotel.
Day 3. Pisco - Paracas Peninsula - Nazca
Early in the morning we leave the hotel to see the Candelabra of the Andes.
This drawing is a geoglyph on a coastal slope consisting of compacted sand, measuring 128 m in length and 74 m in width. The width of the lines laid in stone reaches 4 m. It is called a candelabra because it is similar to a candlestick with three branches. There is a lot of controversy around the "candelabra". It is believed that its trident shape may represent the staff of the god Viracocha, another Creator of the Universe in the mythology of the pre-Columbian peoples of South America. Some say it looks more like a cactus, as if the prehistoric inhabitants of the region were heading north to collect the plant, and the geoglyph was used to facilitate finding the way back. Locals believe the candelabra was used by sailors to navigate the peninsula. The dating of the origin of the geoglyph is also controversial - it may be the first millennium BC - such a conclusion is made on the basis of earthenware found in this field, whose radiocarbon analysis dated the origin back to 200 BC. One way or another, we will see it, and afterwards we will stop at Playa de la Mina Beach - one of the best beaches of the Paracas Peninsula.
After the beach, our path lies to Nazca, a city called after the plateau of the same name. The road will take approximately 4 hours. Upon arrival in Nazca, we will settle into the hotel. Here we will stay for two nights.
Day 4. The Nazca Plateau
Today is a significant day - we will see the world's most famous geoglyphs on the Nazca plateau from the bird's eye view.
The Nazca lines are one of the world's mysteries. Historians still cannot answer the question who (and why) made these huge figures depicting animals, birds, insects and even a humanoid creature, the so-called "astronaut", which can only be seen from a bird's eye view. It is suggested that with these patterns the ancient inhabitants of the valley communicated with a deity or deities, but the astronomical significance of these lines is not excluded.
As for the time of the creation of lines, scientists agree on the XII century, when the Incas appeared in the valley. Most studies attribute their creation to the Nazca civilization, which inhabited the plateau until the II century AD.
We are confident that flying on a small plane over the Nazca lines will become one of the life-long impressions.
Day 5. Nazca - Cusco
We check out of the hotel early in the morning and leave for Cuzco. This is a day-long trip with a 12-hour travel to Cuzco, the south of Peru.
Upon arrival, we settle into the hotel. Here we stay for four days during which we will explore the sights near Cuzco.
Day 6. Cuzco - Moray - Maras - Urubamba - Cuzco
Our trip leads us to the Sacred Valley of the Urubamba River – to Moray and Maras. These cities are 50 km from Cuzco. We leave after breakfast.
Moray is famous for a large complex of ruins of the Incan civilization, including monuments of terraced agriculture. This sacred agro-valley was constructed in such a way that there was a temperature difference of 15 degrees between the upper and lower terraces. This allowed the Incas to create different microclimates for different cultures.
It should be noted that in Moray, "terraces" are special - concentric – similar to be found nowhere else. The concentric terraces, impressive in geometric clarity, are in a large hollow, and more closely resemble the ancient Greek amphitheater.
Located nearby, Maras is a small country town with salt terraces that were used for salt extraction during the Inca times. Just like hundreds of years ago, locals collect the water of a hot salt spring, which beats in this place from the ground, into special tanks. The water evaporates under the rays of the sun, and the remaining crystals of salt are dried and shipped to local markets. In total, the entire complex of salt cascades has more than 3,000 terraces belonging to the families of the locals. The area of such terraces is about 1 km.
And the city of Urubamba. We will stop here to take a leisurely stroll to experience the peaceful provincial life of the Peruvians. The central square, traditionally known as the "Weapons Square", houses the main city temple, surrounded by palm trees, and a beautiful well-maintained park, often visited by the locals and tourists. The main fountain of Urubamba is worth attention - in the middle of it there are two corn cobs - the basis of life of the local inhabitants.
In the evening we return to Cuzco.
Day 7. Cusco - Palccoyo - Checacupe - Cusco
Today we will see the rainbow mountains of Peru. There are two places near Cuzco, offering views of the rainbow massifs: Mount Vinicunca (5,080 m) and Mount Palccoyo (4,850 m). We chose the latter because the route to visit it has been opened recently, and there are much fewer people there than on Vinicunca.
The mountains are indeed colorful, and if we are lucky with the weather, we will see them in all their glory - a wonderful combination of brown, purple, turquoise, yellow and red layers of rocks. In order to see the dawn on the mountain, we have to get up very early and leave the hotel while it is still dark at about 3 am. In 150 km, we will arrive at the starting point at an altitude of 4,600 m above sea level. From here, we will have to walk a little less than 3 km with the cumulative elevation gain of about 200 meters - it will take approximately an hour.
On our way back, we will stop in the town of Checacupe to look at the old colonial bridge.
Day 8. Cusco - Temple Qenqo - Pisac - Cusco
After breakfast, we leave for Pisac, the city where an ancient Inca fortress is located, but first, on our way out of Cuzco, we visit another archeological site - the Qenqo Temple, carved in a maze-shaped rock. The original name that this place had before the conquest is unknown. The Conquistadors called it a "maze" or "spiral" in the language of Quechua people due to underground maze-shaped galleries and small zigzag channels. We will not go through the maze, it has long been littered with stones, it is only possible to squeeze into the entrance itself, see the recesses in the wall that were used to bury the mummies and a large cliff carved in the form of a table: sacrifices took place here. Qenqo is also said to have been a medical center for the Inca Empire. And besides, virgins dedicated to the sun lived there.
Pisac is located in the Inca Sacred Valley near the Urubamba River 35 km from Cuzco.
The center of Pisac consists of two parts. One of them is a city nowadays, while the other is a sacred place. Long stairs lead from the village to the mountain plateau on which the temple ruins are located. In the center of the former temple there is a sacred stone to which, according to the Incas, the sun was attached.
In the evening we return to Cuzco.
Day 9. Cusco, Saqsaywaman
Today, we take a break walking around Cuzco.
Cuzco is the capital of the Inca Empire, an ancient city that had no equals in this part of South America. The Conquistadors left memories of how blindfolded their eyes were from the glow of gold and silver plates on the walls of the main metropolitan temple, but still rebuilt the city, retaining its structure. Churches and monasteries grew on the site of temples, and housing for the Spanish nobility on the site of palaces. They used the Inca stone foundations to build a new city. Thus, a unique style formed in Cuzco from a mix of Andean and Spanish motifs. Moreover, in the XVII century in Cuzco it became fashionable to build lower floors, in the style of "a la Inca". This style was even called "Inca colonial", sometimes called "Andean Baroque".
According to a legend, Cusco's planning resembles the silhouette of one of the sacred animals - the cougar. The head of the cougar was considered Saqsaywaman district, located above the levels of other parts of the city. Walking through Cusco, we will definitely visit the Saqsaywaman Conservation Park, where the remains of an Inca fortress with 22 ledges (cougar teeth) made up of huge stone blocks have been preserved.
Cusco has its own Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, whose exhibits are brought from the Larco Museum. Therefore, if we do not have enough time in Lima, we can fill in the gap in Cuzco. The museum itself is located in a building on the ruins of the Inca ceremonial court.
Day 10. Cuzco - Ollantaytambo - Aguas Calientes
In the morning we leave the hotel and take the bus to Ollantaytambo.
Ollantaytambo is both a modern city and an archeological site of ancient culture. Here is the Inca ceremonial center with mysterious megaliths. The city itself is built in the Spanish colonial style, and its main value is the Inca construction on one of the mountains, the Temple Hill: the unfinished building of the "Temple of the Sun" with the so-called "wall of six monoliths", as well as several ritual fountains, gates (also unfinished) and several two-storey buildings of unusual shape. Olantaytambo agricultural terraces are made with much more art than ordinary Inca terraces, for example, they are surrounded by taller walls made of treated stones rather than untreated like others. Several granaries were built on the slopes of the mountains around the Inca city.
Ollantaytambo is one of Peru's most mysterious sites, as, for example, it has not yet been determined who exactly built the city. According to official versions, it is believed that the Incas, having come to these countries, found settlements and added it to their empire. They destroyed the old structures, building new ones in their place. However, the megalithic buildings of the city raise the question of whether Incas actually built it. According to some archaeologists, ancient builders have sought excellent accuracy in the processing of granite blocks, in all likelihood, using copper or stone tools. This is hard to believe, since the monoliths weighing more than 50 tons have almost perfect angles, and some surfaces are so smooth that it would be difficult to achieve even using modern equipment. In addition, it seems strange that no evidence of the use of any tools in the entire county has been found. That is why the question of how the granite surfaces were handled is still open. There is a version that a very advanced civilization in antediluvian times was engaged in construction, with perfect tools in its arsenal.
In the evening (approximately 7:27 pm) we leave by train to Aguas Calientes (arrival time 9:09 pm).
Settling at the Aguas Calientes Hotel. Here we will stay for two nights.
Day 11. Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu - Huayna Picchu - Aguas Calientes
Today we will visit Machu Picchu, a unique ancient city known as the Lost City of the Incas. The landmark is one of the reasons why millions of tourists go to Peru.
Machu Picchu is located at the top of a mountain range at an altitude of 2,430 m above sea level, dominating the valley of the Urubamba River. For more than 400 years this city has been forgotten and abandoned. It was discovered by an American researcher at Yale University Professor Hiram Bingham on July 24, 1911, after pilots saw an abandoned city from a plane. The Spanish conquistadors never reached Machu Picchu and this city was not destroyed. Neither the time of its erection nor the purpose of its construction, nor the number of inhabitants, nor even its real name are known.
Researchers, based on the materials of the Spanish chronicle of the XVI century, have suggested that it was the winter residence of Pachacutec, the ninth ruler of the Inca Empire. In the summer, during the rainy season, it is likely that no more than 200 people stayed in the city. Later, after the collapse of the Empire, the city lost its importance and the inhabitants abandoned it forever.
We will ascend to the city of Machu Picchu, and will be able to see it, having come to the neighboring Mount Huayna Picchu, whose height is 2,693 m.
In order to get to the city at 8 am, we need to leave the hotel no later than 6:30 am, walk a mountain winding road for 6 km and gain 400 m in elevation.
Entrance to the territory of the holy city is strictly regulated by time. We will be able to stay there for 6 hours.
On our return, we can visit the thermal springs of the city of Aguas Calientes, whose name is actually translated as "hot water".
Day 12. Aguas Calientes - Ollantaytambo - Cuzco
After breakfast we leave the hotel and take the train to Ollantaytambo and then the bus to Cuzco. We will devote part of the day to Ollantaytambo, this time the modern part of it.
Upon arrival in Cuzco, we will settle into the hotel and rest.
Day 13.
Check-out from the hotel. We say goodbye to Peru. Journey back home lies ahead.
Due to weather conditions and other circumstances, minor changes are possible in the program.
Included
The price includes:
- accommodation for all days according to the program;
- all transfers on the route by SUV or minibus depending on the number of people in the group;
- transfers: airport - Lima and Cuzco - airport, provided you are flying with a group;
- general equipment: GPS navigator, group medical kit, etc.;
- guide accompaniment;
- assistance in purchasing tickets if needed;
- travel and insurance advice.
The price does not include:
- flight tickets, each participant buys alone or with the group, if necessary, the assistance of the organizer;
- the price of the visa for those who need it;
- souvenirs and additional excursions;
- admission tickets of archeological and museum complexes, based on the program itinerary (approximately EUR 80-100) and other;
- flight over the Nazca lines (from 65 euros);
- visiting Machu Picchu: combined ticket (bus and train travel), as well as the entrance to the mountain - from 220 euros, depending on the travel comfort class and the visit program of Machu Picchu;
- meals (except breakfasts included in hotel rates) from EUR 300;
- insurance.
€ 1490 / per person
Departure location
Lima, Peru
Return location
Cuzco, Peru
Time travel
or write to us by
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€ 1490 / per person
Departure location
Lima, Peru
Return location
Cuzco, Peru
Time travel
or write to us by
