Cusco, Puno and Arequipa 10D/9N

We will pick you up in the airport or bus station in Arequipa, welcome you, and take you to your hotel. 
Mid-day tour: city of Arequipa and the Convent of Santa Catalina
Arequipa: it is known as the “White City” because all of its buildings, churches, and beautiful colonial monasteries are built from white volcanic stone. We visit all of the necessary sites in Arequipa, including the lookout point of Yanahuara, from where we can admire the city and the towering volcano, Misti. After this, we go to the Convent of Santa Catalina, which is one of the most important religious monuments in Peru. It was founded in 1579 and closed to the public in 1970. After the city tour, we take you back to your hotel.

Breakfast is in the hotel. Afterwards, we leave for Chivay, a city enclave in the Qolca canyon. During the trip there, we see incredible scenery, full of mountains and lakes, and get to see the Vicuna (a very symbolic animal in Peru) in its natural habitat. 
We spend the night in a hotel in Chivay.

Here you can appreciate the flight of the Condor and the majestic surroundings of one of the largest canyons in the world. We return to Chivay for lunch, and in the afternoon make the trip to Puno and the hotel there.

At 7:30am, we begin our tour of the island of Uros. Descendants of the indigenous Aymarans built their houses on these artificial islands on the waters of Lake Titikaka. The people living here live have formed familial communities and guard the customs of their ancestors. After Uros, we continue by boat to the island of Taquile. This is the largest island on Lake Titikaka, and the people living here also conserve the traditions, customs, and laws of the Incan times. In this beautiful place, you will see the traditional clothes and ceremonies (beautiful dancing) as well as their sacred and ceremonial sites. All of this is a culmination of their Cosmo vision, and they exemplify it in the way that they live, dedicated to agriculture, textiles, and fishing. We eat lunch on the island of Taquile, and then take a boat back to Puno and the hotel.

Along the way, we visit Pukara, Raqchi, and Andahuaylillas. We eat a buffet lunch in Sicuani, and then arrive in Cusco and go to the hotel.

The tour of the city includes the following: The Plaza de Armas (main plaza), The Cathedral of Cusco, Koricancha (religious complex dedicated to the different deities of Tahuantinsuyo). We then visit the archeological sites near the city: Kenko, an ancient ceremonial center dedicated to the earth; PucaPucara, an ancient administrative and military site; Tambomochay, an important and sacred place dedicated to water; Sacsayhuaman, a fort overlooking Cusco and a central part of its defense. After Sacsayhuaman, we take you back to the city and your hotel.

We leave early in the morning for an excursion to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Initially, we visit Pisaq, a picturesque little town in which you have the opportunity to visit the largest artisan market in the region. This is followed by lunch in Urubamba (not included) after which we visit the ruins of Ollantaytambo, which were a massive agricultural, administrative, social, religious, and military complex during the time of the Tawantinsuyo. At either 4:30 or 7:00pm, we take a train to the town of AguasCalientes at the base of Machu Picchu and check into a hotel.

Tour: the city of Machu Picchu
We meet at a predetermined time at the bus station in AguasCalientes, and board a bus which will take us to the lost city of the Incas on a very windy road up the mountain. Upon arrival, we will begin a guided tour of the city, an archeological complex that is clearly divided into agricultural and urban sectors that were in perfect equilibrium with the natural environment of the area. In the afternoon, we return by train to Ollantaytambo and then take a van back to Cusco and the hotel.

We will pick you up from your hotel and take you to the airport (or bus station) for your next connection.