Land of the Incas with Easter Island

The Capital of the New World extends a warm welcome on your epic voyage through the iconic and unexpected highlights of Peru. Meet your local host on arrival and transfer to your hotel in the fashionable barrio of San Isidro. This evening, you’ll join your Travel Director and fellow travellers for a Welcome Reception at 6 p.m.

Ease in to Lima life with a leisurely morning to enjoy the city. Next, you’ll connect with the colonial heritage of Francisco Pizzaro’s 'City of Kings', joining your Local Specialist for a city tour that reveals Lima’s colonial splendour. Admire the UNESCO-listed Historic Centre and see the Church of San Francisco, delving into its hidden catacombs, religious art museum and extensive library.

We'll fly to Cusco this morning, the gateway to Peru's treasured Sacred Valley, where you will enjoy a local Peruvian lunch with sweeping views of the Sacred Valley. Then we'll Dive Into Culture, meeting a Shaman who will perform a special ceremony to welcome us to Peru. Tonight, you'll stay at our Stays With Stories hotel along the banks of the Vilcanota River, on the grounds of an old 17th-century colonial hacienda. It is great for morning birders and afternoon walks in the gardens.

Connect With Locals over a Be My Guest experience lunch, learn about the culture surrounding the production of Giant White Corn. Our hosts will demonstrate the differences between traditional farming techniques and the newer technologies used today. Revel in the romance of the local Marinera dance and local musicians. The marinera is the best-known couple dance on the coast of Peru. It is characterized by the use of handkerchiefs, steps of great elegance and rhythmic music similar to the Aragonese jota, the zamacueca and the Chilean cueca, but with its own Peruvian identity that flaunts the Hispano-indigenous-African miscegenation. For the same reason, over the years Andean and highland versions have emerged.
This evening, meet Local Specialist, Peter Frost, a writer, photographer and independent scholar who has explored the Andes and Amazon for 47 years, locating and investigating the previously unknown Inca and pre-Inca site of Qoriwayrachina. He currently resides in Peru and works as an accompanying expert for National Geographic Expeditions.

Visit the mystical Incan stronghold of Ollantaytambo, en route to Machu Picchu, a village in the Sacred Valley, set on the Urubamba River amid majestic mountains. It's known for the Ollantaytambo ruins, a massive Inca fortress with large stone terraces on a hillside. Then, ascend to the Lost City in the Clouds aboard the Vistadome train (light snack included) travelling along the Inca Trail, where you can view hikers and porters along the way. Here you will delve into the mysteries of this once-great civilisation, joining your Local Specialist for an exploration of the temples, palaces and terraces whose construction defy imagination. Visit the iconic great Temple of the Sun, the House of the Priest, the Sacred Plaza and the intricately carved Intihuatana, most likely used as a sundial centuries ago. We return to our hotel where we will Connect With Locals and learn how to prepare an authentic Ceviche and pour the perfect Pisco sour.

The ruins of Machu Picchu beckon yet again and we enjoy one final opportunity to reconnect with its story, spending some time on our own to explore the hill-top fortress. Next, we’ll journey back to the Sacred Valley by train, stopping en route to Cusco to Dive Into Culture and learn about the natural dyeing techniques used by native weavers. Visit the Pisac handicraft market followed by sampling the sweet flavours of chicha as we Dive Into Culture yet again, savouring the favourite drink of the Andes. Then a Stays With Stories tonight, in what was once an old, colonial Hacienda located in the historic centre of Cusco.

Begin your day at the ruins of the UNESCO-listed Sacsayhuaman fortress overlooking Cusco. Your Local Specialist will guide you through Cusco’s colonial centre. Later, you’ll join another Local Specialist who will reveal insights into the nearby 13th-century Incan settlement of Qoriwayrachina. The afternoon is free.

Fly to Juliaca and meet a Local Specialist to learn about daily life on the Peruvian altiplano. After an included lunch, we’ll visit Sillustani, a pre-Incan burial ground on the shores of Lake Umayo. Explore the towering chullpas (above ground tombs) before travelling via Puno along the shores to Lake Titicaca, the birthplace of the sun.

Connect With Locals as you cruise the deep blue waters of Lake Titicaca, passing floating islands constructed by the Uros people. Next, in the midst of South America’s largest lake lies Taquile Island, where we’ll Make Travel Matter and embark on a private tour to gain insights into the tradition of knitting and weaving for which the local villagers - men and women - are renowned. Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO. This experience aligns with UN's Global goal 10, reduced inequalities. Enjoy a lunch here and learn more about the islanders’ unique way of life upon islets make of totora reeds, which grow in the lake, and are attached to sticks driven into the bottom of the lake. Tonight, we indulge in a Regional Dinner at our favourite local restaurant in Puno.

Return to Lima this morning, then continue your journey to the coastal playground of Paracas. Discover what life is like in Peru’s rural countryside before arriving to Paracas for dinner at your seaside hotel and an evening at leisure. Perhaps there’s even time for a stroll along the Malecon.

Take to the skies, soaring above the coastal desert to see the enigmatic Nazca Lines, gigantic geometric designs viewable only from the air. Next, stop this afternoon at our Dive Into Culture, the Regional Museum of Ica, where we’ll explore the centuries-old cultures of the Paracas and Nazca. Later, we will once again Dive Into Culture during a visit to Bodega El Catador to learn about and taste the finest pisco in the country. The rest of the day is free.

This morning, connect with nature with a Local Specialist, cruising around the uninhabited Ballestas Islands, a 'mini-Galapagos' teeming with wildlife. See the mysterious Candelabra in Pisco Bay, then return to Lima where this evening, we’ll visit the Larco Museum with a Local Specialist. Our journey almost at its end, we’ll indulge in a festive Farewell Dinner in the museum’s garden restaurant.

It’s time to say goodbye to your fellow travellers as your trip comes to an end. Head to Lima and fly to Santiago International Airport (flight not included in holiday price). Stay the night in Chile's vibrant capital of Santiago before heading on to your Easter Island extension tomorrow.

Fly to Easter Island (flight not included in holiday price) and connect with the legend and lore of one of the world’s most remote and remarkable islands, delving into the ancient culture of the Rapa Nui who once prospered on this land. Our first stop on this mystical adventure is Ahu Akivi, where we’ll enjoy a private guided excursion with our Local Specialist to view its seven Moai statues, facing the ocean. Learn about their astronomically precise location and how they were placed there to use their mana to protect the inhabitants of the nearby village. Continue to ancient Ahu Hanga Poukura to see the tumbled Moai statues that stand as a testament to ancient battles. Then, visit the Puna Pau quarry with its red scoria stone.

Embark on a privately guided excursion with our Local Specialist to the southern coast and witness the perfectly preserved ceremonial Ahu Vaihu in the bay of Hanga Te'e. Set out with your boxed picnic lunch and proceed to Rano Raraku, a quarry of almost 900 stone statues - 397 of them still located at the slopes of the Rano Kau volcano. Visit Ahu Tongariki, the largest ahu on the island, then continue to the eastern coast and visit Ahu Te Pito Kura with its Paro Maoi, the largest maoi statue ever erected. Afterward, visit scenic Anakena beach, where the king first set foot on the island.

Journey to the UNESCO-listed Rapa Nui National Park. Join a private excursion with our Local Specialist up the extinct Rano Kau volcano. Admire views of the island from its slopes, then drive to the village of Orongo, where you’ll view petroglyphs revealing the local culture. Later, catch a glimpse the three islets of Motu Nui, Motu Iti and Motu Kao Kao on the opposite coast. Then it’s on to Ahu Vinapu for further evidence of the pre-Incan architectural influence. Our final stop is at the Ana Kai Tangata to view the ornate cave paintings from its mouth. Return to your hotel this afternoon before being transferred to the airport. Airport arrival is at 12 p.m., please be aware when booking your flights.