Machu Picchu & Rainforest tour

Schedule by Day

• Day 1 Lima
  • Reception at the airport and transfer to your hotel.
  • Overnight at selected hotel at Lima.
• Day 2 Lima - City tour
  • Our guided visit to Lima allows you to see the Historical Center: Main Square, the Government Palace, the Archbishop's Palace, the City Hall and old streets with colonial mansions and Moorish balconies. You will also visit the historic Santo Domingo Convent , an icon of colonial architecture. The tour goes all the way to modern district of San Isidro and Miraflores, where you’ll appreciate archaeological sites of sacred Inca structures and also, you will observe the Pacific Ocean coast from the vast seafront.
  • Overnight at selected hotel at Lima.
  • Included: Breakfast.
• Day 3 Lima – Cusco - Sacred Valley
  • Transfer to the airport.
  • Flight to Cusco.
  • Free afternoon to rest and acclimatize
  • Overnight at selected hotel at Sacred Valley.
  • Included: Breakfast.
• Day 4 Sacred Valley - Machu Picchu
  • You will start your excursion visiting Maras, located in the province of Urubamba, 46 kilometers West of the city of Cusco. Salt deposits are located Northwest this town. There, you will find the most important salt mines of the region, operated from the Incan times and the viceregal period.
  • Then, you will visit the circular andenes in Moray, created by the Andean man with the looks of an amphitheater.
  • Finally,you will go to Ollantaytambo, military, religious and agricultural center of the Incan Empire. The fortress is located on top of the mountain and allowed them to protect the whole valley from invaders. From the highest spot we will be able to appreciate the narrow roads along with the channels that remain unaltered since Incan times. Lunch will be provided at local restaurant.
  • Transfer to Ollantaytambo train station to take the ride to Machu Picchu town.
  • Overnight at selected hotel at Machu Picchu.
  • Included: Breakfast.
• Day 5 Machu Picchu - Cusco
  • Today you will start your Machu Picchu excursion with a private guide. This incredible place is a renowned example of the advanced Inca’s architecture, surrounded by an amazing landscape of lush forest. Lost in history, Machu Picchu was not discovered until 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham, but was built in the middle of XV century. The name of the citadel comes from the Quechua language that means “Old Mountain” and apparently was the principal Inca’s Sanctuary. Enjoy a buffet lunch at Sanctuary lodge.
  • At the appointed time, you will return to the station to take your train ride back to Cusco.
  • Transfer from the train station to the hotel in Cusco.
  • Overnight at selected hotel at Cusco.
  • Included: Breakfast, lunch.
• Day 6 Cusco - City tour
  • Get to know the city of Cusco, an UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site and possessor of a style on 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, 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 Cusco. What a view of the city! The tour continues with visits to three archeological sites: “Qenko, Puca-Pucara, and Tambomachay”, important religious and administrative centers for the Incas. Finally you will visit an art workshop named “Inkas Expression” that presents artists working on silver pieces and painting in wood. This is an ideal place for the ones who like andean art.
  • Overnight at selected hotel at Cusco.
  • Included: Breakfast.
• Day 7 Cusco – Puerto Maldonado lodge
  • Transfer to the airport.
  • Flight to Puerto Maldonado.
  • POSADA AMAZONAS
  • Arrival and Reception by Guide: Our guides are biologists, tourism professionals, or community members. Unless noted otherwise, our guides speak English. We assign guides at 10:1 ratio . This means groups smaller than 10 people will be merged with other groups under one guide. If you would like a private guide or a guide in a language other than English please let us know.
  • Transfer Airport to Pto Maldonado Headquarters: Upon arrival from Lima or Cusco , we will welcome you at the airport and drive you ten minutes to our Puerto Maldonado headquarters. While enjoying your first taste of the forest in our gardens we will ask you to pack only the necessary gear for your next few days, and leave the rest at our safe deposit. This helps us keep the boats and cargo light.
  • Puerto Maldonado to Tambopata River Port: Skirting Puerto Maldonado, we drive 20 kilometers to the Tambopata River Port , entering the Native Community of Infierno. The port is a communal business.
  • Tambopata River Port to Posada Amazonas: The forty five minute boat ride from the Tambopata Port to Posada Amazonas will take us into the Community´s Primary Forest Private Reserve. Orientation. Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips.
  • Canopy tower: A twenty minute walk from Posada Amazonas leads to the 30 meter scaffolding canopy tower. A bannistered staircase running through the middle provides safe access to the platforms above. From atop you obtain spectacular views of the vast expanses of standing forest cut by the Tambopata River winding through the middle. Now and then toucans, parrots or macaws are seen flying against the horizon, or mixed species canopy flocks land in the treetop next to you.
  • Ecotourism Lecture: A daily presentation on the Infierno ecotourism project is available every night from a staff member.
  • Overnight at Posada Amazonas.
  • Included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Day 8 Puerto Maldonado lodge
  • TRES CHIMBADAS OXBOW LAKE, ETHNOBOTANICAL TOUR & NIGHT WALK
  • Tres Chimbadas Oxbow Lake: Tres Chimbadas is thirty minutes by boat and forty five minutes hiking from Posada Amazonas. Once there you will paddle around the lake in a catamaran, searching for the resident family of nine giant river otters (seen by 60% of our lake visitors) and other lakeside wildlife such as caiman, hoatzin and horned screamers.
  • Ethnobotanical Tour: A twenty minute boat drive downriver leads you to a trail designed by the staff of the Centro Ñape. The Centro Ñape is a communal organization that produces medicines out of forest plants and administers them to patients who choose their little clinic. They have produced a trail which explains the different medicinal (and other) uses of selected plants.
  • Night walk: You will have the option of hiking out at night, when most of the mammals are active but rarely seen. Much easier to find are frogs with shapes and sounds as bizarre as their natural histories.
  • Overnight at Posada Amazonas.
  • Included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Day 9 Puerto Maldonado lodge
  • PARROT CLAY LICK & COMMUNITY OF INFIERNILLO
  • Parrot clay lick: This clay lick is only a twenty minute walk from Posada Amazonas. From a blind located about twenty meters away you will see dozens of parrots and parakeets descend on most clear mornings to ingest the clay on a river bank. Species such as Mealy and Yellow- headed Amazon, Blue-headed Parrot and Dusky headed Parakeet descend at this clay lick. The clay lick is active at dawn, during the late mornings and mid-afternoons.
  • Ceiba Trail Hike: We leave from the lobby at Posada Amazonas and embark on a two hour hike crowned by the largest tree in the vicinity: a giant ceiba tree. During the hike we will focus on the natural history of the rain forest and its principal taxonomic groups.
  • Farm Visit. A thirty minute boat drive downriver takes us to the most complete farm in the community of Infierno. The owner grows a diverse variety of popular and unknown Amazon crops. In his garden, just about every plant and tree serves a purpose.
  • Overnight at Posada Amazonas.
  • Included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Day 10 Puerto Maldonado lodge - Lima
  • LAST DAY IN THE JUNGLE
  • We retrace our river and road journey back to Puerto Maldonado, our office and the airport.
  • Depending on airline schedules, this may require dawn departures.
  • Arrive at the airport for your flight back to Lima.
  • Upon your arrival, reception at the airport and transfer to your hotel.
  • Overnight at selected hotel at Lima.
  • Included: Breakfast.
• Day 11 Lima
  • Transfer to the airport for your international flight back home.