Legacy of the Incas with Peru's Amazon, Chiclayo & Trujillo Extension

Welcome to Lima, where you will be met by a Monograms representative.

Fly to Puerto Maldonado. Embark on a MOTORBOAT RIDE up the Tambopata River to your Amazon Jungle Lodge with your expert Naturalist. After settling in, participate in a night WALK with your expert Naturalist to observe nocturnal wildlife. (B/L/D)

A boat trip and walk bring you to OXBOW LAKE to search for the resident giant river otters, howler monkeys, macaws, and other fauna. Next, take a walk to the CANOPY TOWER to observe the forest and river and its inhabitants. This afternoon, visit a local FARM to meet local farmers and learn about the Amazon's crops. Your guide will also teach you the medicinal uses of the area's endemic plants. (B/L/D)

Visit a CLAY LICK and watch from a blind as parrots and macaws perch to eat clay. Also, visit a Brazil nut FARM & CAMP and learn how this nut is sustainably harvested and prepared for consumption. Later, visit a MAMMAL CLAY LICK, where peccary and other large mammals can often be found. (B/L/D)

Return to Puerto Maldonado and fly to Lima, where the remainder of your day is at leisure. (B)

This afternoon, 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 PERUVIAN FOOD MARKET to taste some typical Peruvian fruit and experience a bit of everyday life in Lima. This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner with your fellow travelling companions at one of Lima's finest historic homes, CASA GARCIA ALVARADO. (B/D)

Fly to Cusco, the impressive Andean city that was once the capital of the Inca Empire. Head into the Sacred Valley of the Incas, where you will enjoy a special lunch prepared exclusively for Globus guests at a private location. Here, enjoy a live Andean band and experience a mystical El Pago a la Tierra, or MOTHER EARTH CEREMONY, performed by a local shaman. These ceremonies thanking Mother Earth and asking for good health and safe travels have been practiced in Peru since before the arrival of the Incas. Next, continue to PISAC, an old mountain village where you will have free time to shop for local wares, such as alpaca sweaters and blankets, jewellery, or hand-painted ornamental dishes and vases. Stay in the Sacred Valley tonight, and enjoy a special dinner at the hotel. (B/L/D)

This morning, visit the Inca Fortress of OLLANTAYTAMBO, followed by the opportunity to visit a HOME, meet some of the locals, and experience their traditional way of life. Next, board the Vistadome TRAIN for a short journey through the lush Urubamba Valley. Then, transfer to a motorcoach for the ascent to legendary MACHU PICCHU, the "Lost City of the Incas," high above the steep valley overlaid with dense tropical jungle. Your Local Guide will bring you closer to the lives and mysteries still hidden in these amazing structures built by the Pre- Columbian masters of this sacred land. Tonight, learn how to mix the perfect Pisco Sour, Peru's national drink, before an exquisite dinner at the hotel. (B/L/D)

Your entrance to MACHU PICCHU is included for a second day. Enjoy the tranquility of the morning, with free time to wander the ruins at your own pace and experience the magic that is Machu Picchu. After lunch, return to the Sacred Valley by TRAIN RIDE and continue on to Cusco. (B/L)

This morning, learn more about the Incas and their struggle against invading Spaniards on your Cusco CITY TOUR, with visits to the imposing CATHEDRAL and the SANTO DOMINGO MONASTERY. During your city tour, you will be greeted by an INCA KING, so have your cameras ready! Also visit the semi-circular KENKO Temple with its stone altars and labyrinth of passages, and see the ancient site of Puca Pucara before 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. The remainder of your day is free to explore at your leisure. Tonight, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. (B/D)

Board a flight to Juliaca, where you will continue to Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca. (B/D)

Today, take a motorboat trip to some of the more unique islands of LAKE TITICACA. Start with TAQUILE ISLAND, which was once part of the Inca Empire and was one of the last areas of Peru to be conquered by Spain in the 16th century. The Spanish banned traditional dress on the island, which is why the Spanish peasant dress can still be found today. Next, travel to the fascinating UROS ISLANDS, home to the Uros Indians, who were forced to live on the lake as the Inca Indians pushed farther into their territory. These islands are completely made by reeds and are continually added to as they disintegrate to the bottom of the lake. (B/L/D)

Depart for Juliaca this morning, visiting the ruins of SILLUSTANI en route. At this pre-Incan burial ground, see where the ancient Aymaras buried their high priests in chullpas-above-ground, cylinder-shaped tombs dating back to the 1400s. While here, spend some time with the locals, see their HOMES, learn how they work, what they eat, and gain a better understanding of their lives. Fly from Juliaca to Lima this afternoon. (B)

Enjoy a scenic drive south along the Pan-American Highway to the Bay of Paracas. Embark on a CRUISE out to the Ballestas Islands, which are inhabited by a wide variety of sea mammals and exotic birds, including boobies, sea lions, and Humboldt penguins. The huge Candelabro, a candelabra-shaped etching on the Paracas cliffside, can also be seen as you cruise back to shore. Continue to the town of Pisco, the wine capital of Peru. Have your camera handy today as you board your aircraft for FLIGHTSEEING over the Nazca plains, which can only be appreciated by air. Your pilot will point out the mysterious markings known as the NAZCA LINES, a series of drawings of animals and geometric figures etched into the parched soil-some up to 305 metre (1,000 feet long)! Theories vary, but the most accepted belongs to German mathematician Maria Reiche, who dubbed the land the "astronomical calendar" of the ancient Peruvians. Enjoy dinner this evening at your hotel. (B/D)

After some free time in Paracas, return to Lima today. Tonight, your Tour Director hosts a memorable farewell dinner at a local restaurant. (B/D)

Take a morning flight to Chiclayo and begin with a visit to SIPAN, discovered in 1987 and considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries this century due to its intact tombs. Dating back to around 100 AD, these pyramid-shaped tombs made from adobe hold many similarities to those found in Egypt. A visit to the SIPAN MUSEUM shows a reconstruction of the tombs as well as the artifacts found inside them. Visit the TUCUME PYRAMIDS, where ancient mythology and legend envelops these 26 adobe pyramids that once served as a ceremonial complex. Many natives still fear the site, known locally as "Purgatory." (B/L)

En route to Trujillo, visit EL BRUJO, a stepped pyramid believed to be used for religious ceremonies between the 1st and 7th centuries. At the museum, learn about and see the artifacts found in the tombs. (B)

Visit the SUN & MOON PYRAMIDS, the largest Pre-Columbian structures in South America, and hear how and why human sacrifice was practiced here. Continue to CHAN CHAN, a well-planned metropolis and ancient capital of the Chimu Empire. This archaeological site is characterised by very tall walls, some of which are 8 metres (26 feet high), that enclose each of the 11 citadels. After lunch on Huanchaco Beach, transfer to the airport for your return flight to Lima. (B/L)

Your tour ends with breakfast this morning. (B)