Peru- The Sacred Valley

On arrival in Lima, you are met and transferred to your hotel for the night.

After an early breakfast, you are transferred from the hotel to the airport at the scheduled time for the flight to Cusco. On arrival, you are met and transferred to your hotel. At the scheduled time, a guided city tour visits the Cathedral, known for its architecture and its collection of paintings from the Escuela Cusqueña (Cusco School); the Temple of the Sun, or Koricancha, a classic example of the fusion of Inca and Western cultures; and the archaeological sites of Sacsayhuaman, Q'enqo and Tambomachay. Return to the hotel.

After an early breakfast, a scheduled tour visits the Sacred Valley, formed by the Vilcanota or Urubamba River. It begins at Pisac market, where artisans sell a wide variety of handicrafts. After lunch, the tour continues to the archaeological site of Ollantaytambo, where local people still live in the original buildings of the Inca town. Return to the hotel in Cusco. Lunch is included.

After an early breakfast, you set off on a full-day excursion to Machu Picchu, the most important archaeological site in Peru. The site lies 113 km (70 miles) northwest of Cusco. You are transferred early to the railway station for the morning train to Aguas Calientes, a journey of about three and a half hours, followed by a 20-minute bus ride up to the site for a guided tour. Rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911, Machu Picchu is considered a masterpiece of architecture and a unique record of the Inca civilisation. Lunch is provided. At the scheduled time, you return to Cusco and are transferred to the hotel.

After an early breakfast, you are transferred from the hotel to the airport at the scheduled time for the flight to Lima. On arrival in Lima, you are met and transferred to the hotel. At the scheduled time, a tour of Lima begins in the historic centre, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site because of its many historic buildings, which show a strong European medieval influence. Important buildings include the Government Palace (Casa de Pizarro), the Municipal Palace, Lima Cathedral, and the church and convent of San Francisco, with valuable works of art, as well as the stone and wooden structures and balconies of the colonial houses. We also visit Huaca Pucllana, a large ceremonial and administrative centre of the Lima culture. The tour ends in the modern districts of San Isidro and Miraflores. San Isidro has modern apartment buildings and parks such as El Olivar, with olive trees brought from Spain in the 16th century. Miraflores has its Central Park and the Larcomar shopping centre overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Return to the hotel.