Peru Splendors with Galápagos Cruise

Welcome to the modern city of Lima!

Upon arrival, you will be met by your Globus representative.

Legendary Lima

Join your Local Guide focuses on the city's colonial heritage during a walking tour. Start at the Plaza de Armas to see the Government Palace and the cathedral. From here, stroll to the venerable San Francisco Monastery with its splendid 17th-century cloister murals. For a special treat, stop at a local food market to get a real taste of life for the local people. This evening, enjoy dinner at one of Lima's Peruvian restaurants with your fellow travel companions.

LOCAL FAVORITE - LOCAL TASTES: Stop for a real taste of Peru at a local market. Sample some of the local fruits and vegetables that aren't found in other parts of the world. You can also find spices, meats, seafood, and even a souvenir or two. And you'll definitely want to take some photos of the beautiful, brightly hued displays.

Empire of the Andes

Fly to Cusco, the impressive Andean city that was once the capital of the Inca Empire. Head into the Sacred Valley of the Incas and visit the semi-circular Kenko Amphitheater with its stone altars and labyrinth of passages and see the ancient site of Puca Pucara.

Also, in the Sacred Valley, experience an El Pago a la Tierra, or Mother Earth Ceremony, performed by a local shaman. Meet a local who preserve the ancient technique of pre-Columbian weaving using South American camelid fleece. This is your chance to get up close to the various camelids, including alpaca, llama, guanaco, and vicuña, indigenous to the region.

Continue to Pisaq, an old mountain village, where you will have free time to shop for local wares, such as alpaca sweaters and blankets, jewelry, or hand-painted ornamental dishes and vases at its famous market. Stay in the Sacred Valley tonight, with dinner at the hotel.

LOCAL FAVORITE - CULTURE & TRADITION: Feel the earth and smell the coca leaves as you make payment to Mother Earth. Participate in an El Pago a la Tierra, an ancient ceremony led by a shaman thanking Mother Earth and asking for good health, wealth, and safe travels. These mystical ceremonies have been practiced in Peru since before the arrival of the Incas.

Mystery on the Mountain

This morning, visit the Inca Fortress of Ollantaytambo, followed by a visit to a local home to experience their way of life in the Sacred Valley. Then, board the Vistadome train for a scenic journey through the lush Urubamba Valley. Upon arrival, ascend the mountainside to legendary Machu Picchu, the “Lost City of the Incas.” Your Local Guide will introduce this intact fortress with its temple remains, holy houses, and mile-long aqueduct, and will bring you closer to the mysteries still hidden in these amazing structures.

Tonight, you may wish to try a Pisco Sour (a traditional Peruvian cocktail) or an Inka Kola, before the included dinner.

LOCAL FAVORITE - TIMELESS TRADITIONS: Today, you are invited into a local's home in the Sacred Valley. Learn about their traditions like weaving that has been passed down for centuries from ancestors. See how they cook, live, sleep, work, and maybe ask about the cuy (Guinea pigs) they keep in their house.

Here Comes the Sun

A morning at leisure in Machu Picchu allows you to wake up early to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu with your second included entrance to the ruins. After lunch at a local restaurant, return to the Sacred Valley by train and continue to Cusco.

TOUR HIGHLIGHT - HISTORY & MYSTERY: Staying overnight in Machu Picchu allows you to get up early and experience the ruins at their most pristine before the crowds arrive. Watch as the mist slowly burns off and the sun rays illuminate the ruins. While you are there, you may even want to try and get a selfie with one of the local llamas or alpacas!

Sun Worship & Spanish Conquests

On your guided sightseeing tour of Cusco today, learn more about the Inca and Spanish influence. Begin at the heart of Cusco in the Plaza de Armas (main square), with a visit to the imposing Cathedral, where construction began in 1550 and was finally completed 100 years later.

Join a traditional Pasacalle through the streets of Cusco before continuing to Koricancha and the Santo Domingo Monastery and see how the two sites have become one. The Temple of the Sun at Koricancha was once the most important Inca site, dedicated to the worship of the Sun. The walls, altars, and decorations were all said to be covered in gold—until the Spaniards looted the temple and then built the contrasting Baroque Santo Domingo Monastery on top of the temple's foundations.

Also visit the Temple of Sacsayhuaman, perched on a hillside overlooking Cusco. It remains unfathomable how and when this fortress of gigantic stones—with some blocks weighing more than 350 tons—was built. This evening, your Tour Director hosts a festive farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

LOCAL FAVORITE - CULTURE & TRADITION: A special treat is in store for you when you are greeted by a group of Andean musicians dressed in vibrant Inca textiles. They will escort you on a Pasacalle (Andean Parade) through Cusco while playing traditional music and performing ancient dances—an experience you won't soon forget!

Welcome to Ecuador!

Fly to Quito, via Lima, where you will be met by a Globus representative and transferred to your hotel. Free time this evening.

Please Note: The Tour Director does not accompany guests on extensions. Guided service is as outlined in the day-by-day itinerary.

TOUR HIGHLIGHT - ACCOMMODATION SPOTLIGHT: Centrally located across from the nightly craft market in El Ejido Park and near the Casa de la Cultura Museum, the Hilton Colon Quito is the ideal spot for your time in Quito. Amenities include a fitness facility, spa, pool, 3 restaurants and bars.

Quintessential Quito

On an included city tour with a knowledgeable Local Guide, discover the historic heart of Quito, a UNESCO listed Old Town rich in colonial architecture and culture. Stroll through Independence Square, framed by elegant landmarks including the grand Cathedral and the beautifully detailed San Francisco Plaza Church, one of the oldest and most significant religious complexes in South America. Continue to the striking Basilica, renowned for its neo Gothic design and panoramic views over the city.

After returning to your hotel, enjoy a free afternoon and evening to explore Quito at your own pace—perhaps wandering cobblestone streets, relaxing at a café, or sampling traditional Ecuadorian cuisine.

Expedition Extraordinaire

Fly to Baltra and visit the highlands of Santa Cruz, marked by extinct volcanoes, lava tubes, and astonishing plant life. Here, witness giant tortoises in a natural reserve and learn about efforts to conserve these ancient creatures. Continue to the port where you will board the Galápagos Legend.

TOUR HIGHLIGHT - SHIP SPOTLIGHT: The M/V Galapagos Legend, with a capacity for 100 guests, has the charm of The Enchanted Islands. With her three different decks, the Galapagos Legend offers a great variety of comfortable and spacious social areas without losing its sense of intimacy. The boat features a restaurant serving fresh international and local cuisine, outdoor BBQ area, a lounge with full bar, 24-hour snack and coffee station, a pool bar, Jacuzzi, pool, boutique, science corner, fitness facility, auditorium, library, glass bottom boat, kayaks, and doctor's office. On top of the numerous amenities, the Galapagos Legend has the top Naturalists in the archipelago who will lead you on every excursion and bring the islands to life!

For the Birds

Your Naturalist guided tour take you up Prince Philip's Steps, where you will see large nesting colonies of Nazca and red-footed boobies, as well as many other fascinating feathered locals. After lunch on board, visit Darwin Bay to observe frigatebirds, red-footed boobies, herons, lava gulls, and many other bird species. At the tidal lagoon you may also see the rarest gull in the world, the endemic lava gull.

TOUR HIGHLIGHT - NATURAL WONDERS: In addition to the Nazca and red-footed boobies found nesting on Genovesa Island, you'll have the happy chance to view the antics of wedge-rumped storm-petrels above the lava fields. Keep your head swivel to catch a glimpse of the short-eared owl who wisely calls the island home.

Natural Selections

On South Plaza Island, take a walk through an impressive cactus forest populated with land and marine iguanas. Due to the proximity of land iguanas and marine iguanas here, this is the only place on Earth where you will find the Galápagos hybrid iguana. From the summit, watch for tropicbirds, Nazca and blue-footed boobies, and swallow-tailed gulls.

On Santa Fé, a large sea lion colony greets you on its white-sand beach. Walk through a cactus forest in search of the endemic Santa Fe land iguana, the largest in the islands. This island is home to a number of endemic species, including the Galápagos hawk, Galápagos snake, a variety of finches, and one of the four species of Galápagos mockingbirds. You also have time to snorkel in the turquoise waters with sea lions, turtles, reef sharks and spotted eagle rays.

TOUR HIGHLIGHT - NATURAL WONDERS: A true rock star of South Plaza Island is undoubtedly the hybrid iguana which is found nowhere else on earth. The island is the breeding ground for both marine iguanas and land iguanas. The breeding season happens to be simultaneous for both species thereby creating this unique population of hybrid iguanas.

Beach Beauties

Your final visit takes you to Bachas Beach named for some wrecked World War II barges whose ribs are still visible in the sand. This site offers great swimming, a lovely walk along the shore, and a visit to a lagoon with wading birds, marine iguanas, and sometimes flamingos. The area is also a frequent nesting site for green turtles. Later, disembark and fly to Guayaquil.

TOUR HIGHLIGHT - PICTURE PERFECT: Warm, gentle waves lap against the glistening sand of Bachas Beach, where life truly is a walk on the beach. Named Bachas as an attempt of locals to pronounce ‘barges,' the island was once the site of US ships during WWII. Nearby ponds provide a paradise for pink flamingos and coastal birds, including Darwin finches, mockingbirds, and gulls – along with marine iguanas amid the mangrove trees.

Safe travels until we meet again!

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.