Peru: Train Journey Through the Andes
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PERU: TRAIN JOURNEY THROUGH THE ANDES 25 SEPTEMBER - 8 OCTOBER 2020 FROM £5,640 PER PERSON Tour Leader: Andrew Cumming DISCOVER THE MYSTICAL WONDERS OF PERU This captivating tour offers the perfect introduction to Peru taking in the very best of this magical country. It combines the country’s rich Inca heritage with its remarkable colonial legacy and the picturesque grandeur of the Peruvian Andes. After a couple of nights in historic Lima on the shores of the Pacific, we fly into the heart of the Andes to explore the Inca strongholds of Cusco and Machu Picchu, as well as the traditional Indian markets of the ‘Sacred Valley’. We then board the Belmond Andean Explorer for a stunning two-day rail journey across the high ‘Altiplano’ to Lake Titicaca and the Colca Canyon, where Andean condors wheel on the thermals rising from its depths, before a final couple of nights in the beautiful ‘white city’ of Arequipa. Bar onboard the Andean Explorer Lima Sacsayhuaman 14-DAY ITINERARY, DEPARTING 25 SEPTEMBER 2020 25 September London / Lima ceramics including the famous erotic never defeated. Dinner under own collection. Visit the Pedro de Osma arrangements. Suggested flight (not included in the Museum of Colonial Art, located in cost of the tour) British Airways flight the bohemian district, Barranco, with BA2239 departing London Gatwick at its valuable collection of paintings 29 September Sacred Valley / Machu 11.55 hrs arriving Lima at 18.30 hrs. and sculpture. Dinner under own Picchu / Cusco On arrival transfer to the Innside Lima arrangements. Early morning departure for Miraflores Hotel, located right in the Ollantaytambo station and board heart of the fashionable Miraflores, the train to Aguas Calientes. Visit where two nights are spent. Dinner at 27 September Lima / Cusco / Sacred Machu Picchu, the ‘Lost City of the the hotel. Valley Incas’, which was discovered by the Transfer to Lima Airport for a domestic American explorer Hiram Bingham 26 September Lima flight to Cusco. On arrival transfer to in 1911. Construction began around the Sacred Valley via Pisac. 1430 AD but it was abandoned by the Depart for a morning tour of the Incas a hundred years later at the time Packed lunch. Visit Pisac market and ‘City of Kings’. Visit the Casa Aliaga, of the Spanish Conquest, although it interact with the local people and even America’s best-preserved colonial was never discovered by the invaders. try your hand at haggling. Check into mansion, and the Convento de los Since it was not plundered by the the Casa Andina Premium Sacred Descalzos, built in 1592 by ‘the Spanish, it is especially important Valley, where two nights are spent. Barefooted’, a reference to the as a cultural site and is considered The hotel has a beautiful setting with Franciscan friars. See the Paseo de a sacred place. Machu Picchu was extensive gardens overlooked by Aguas or ‘Avenue of Waters’, a garden declared a UNESCO World Heritage mountains and facilities include an built in the 18th century by the Viceroy Site in 1983. Amat in honour of his mistress excellent restaurant, spa, planetarium Perricholi, and the Almeda de los and observatory. Dinner at the hotel. Late lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge Descalzos, Lima’s famous promenade Hotel at Machu Picchu. Depart for which was built in 1611 by the Marquis Aguas Calientes to board the Hiram 28 September Sacred Valley of Montesclaros. End the morning with Bingham, the luxury train service a visit to the San Francisco Monastery, Visit the impressive salt flats of named after the American explorer, the jewel of colonial Lima, established Maras and the Moray terraces which Hiram Bingham. This spectacular soon after the foundation of the city have been in use since the Incan 3.5 hour journey takes you through a with its fascinating interior decorated Empire. Continue to the picturesque changing landscape while you enjoy in Mudejar style and decorative stone Andean village of Chinchero with its pre-prandial drinks, a 4-course dinner façade. main square bordered by an Inca- and live music as the train descends constructed wall and its church back to Cusco through the Andes. Continue to the Larco Herrera decorated with unique frescoes. On arrival, check into the Belmond Museum for lunch. The privately- Monasterio where two nights are owned museum is housed in an Lunch at Casa de Barro restaurant in spent. The hotel was originally built 18th century vice-royal mansion and Chinchero. Afternoon visit to the Inca as a monastery in the 16th-century contains 45,000 pieces including the fortress and citadel of Ollantaytambo and converted into a hotel in 1995. finest gold and silver collections from built just as the Spaniards arrived and It remains a national historical ancient Peru and pre-Columbian one stronghold where the Incas were landmark, protected by the INC, 020 3411 4595 | [email protected] | THEULTIMATETRAVELCOMPANY.CO.UK Courtyard at the Belmond Montasterio Arequipa Andean Explorer (National Institute of Culture), and has Lunch in a local restaurant. Afternoon Continue to Taquile Island, a beautiful retained its characteristics and charm. walking tour of the artistic San Blas island with a way of life barely It is a splendid model of the colonial district with its winding streets and touched by time. renaissance style, consisting of three white washed houses. Time at leisure Private lunch on Collata Beach, with sections on different levels. The heart to explore the local markets. Dinner demonstrations from traditional of the hotel is the central courtyard under own arrangements. dancers and artisanal workers. Return with its fountain and 300-year-old to the train for tea as your journey cedar tree surrounded by gardens and continues. Dinner on board. the famous stone cloisters – a unique 1 October Cusco / Puno (Andean atmosphere providing the comforts Explorer) and quality of a modern five-star hotel. Board the Belmond Andean Explorer 3 October Colca train for a two-night journey from Set off on an early-morning excursion Cusco to Colca. Settle down in your of Lake Lagunillas. Afterwards visit 30 September Cusco luxurious cabin as the train begins its Sumbay Caves, home to fascinating Morning city tour of Cusco, the journey southeast towards Puno. cave paintings that are estimated to ancient capital of the Inca Empire, set Lunch on board in one of the elegant be almost 8,000 years old. Disembark in a verdant valley high in the Andean dining cars. Andean specialities at Km99 and transfer to the Colca mountain range. Placed on the World are served with contemporary flair. Canyon, twice as deep as the Grand Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO Disembark to visit Raqch’i. Once an Canyon, and reputed to be the world’s in 1983, it is undoubtedly one of the important control point for the Incas, deepest river gorge. Check into the most important destinations in Peru. it is a fascinating archaeological site Belmond Las Casitas Hotel where two Explore the cobbled streets and brimming with history. Return to the nights are spent. This is a luxurious Andean baroque buildings from the train in time for tea and to take in the property that features twenty exclusive colonial period such as the Cathedral sunset over La Raya Mountain range. bungalows each with a heated pool, and the Santo Domingo Church built Dinner on board. The train continues Roman tub with a glass roof for upon the foundations of the Inca to Lake Titicaca, where it will stop for stargazing, terrace and fireplace. temple, the Koricancha, (the Temple of the evening. the Sun). Lunch at the hotel. Afternoon visit to the Colcas at Chininia and the Visit Sacsayhuaman, the impressive pre-Inca constructions. See the view- Inca ruins above Cusco, an intricately 2 October Puno / Colca (Andean point at Ocolle and the amphi-theatre designed walled temple complex Explorer) followed by a short walk to the ruins at built of massive interlocking Awake early to catch the sunrise Uyo-Uyo. Dinner at the hotel. stones and, like much of the Incas’ across Lake Titicaca. Today’s tours stonework, there is still much mystery explore the eclectic beauty and rich surrounding how it was constructed. diversity of life on Lake Titicaca, the 4 October Colca Canyon Continue to the red fortress at Puca largest lake in South America and Morning visit to the observation Pucara, Qenqo, a ritualistic site home to many islands. First take a point at ‘Condor’s Cross’, with its with subterranean galleries which traditional boat ride out to the Uros panoramic views of the canyon, to try form an underground maze, and Islands, stunning man-made lands and catch sight of the Andean Condor, Tambomachay, also known as the carefully created from woven reeds the largest flying bird in the world. Incan baths. that are constantly being replenished. 020 3411 4595 | [email protected] | THEULTIMATETRAVELCOMPANY.CO.UK TOUR PRICES PER PERSON Tour Price £5,640 £6,300 Single Supplement £1,575 £1,870 PRICE INCLUDES • Accommodation throughout as shown in the itinerary • Twin bed cabin on board the Andean Explorer • Breakfast daily; 11 lunches; 8 dinners • Bottled water with included meals; Peruvian wine, beer, pisco sour and soft drinks on board the Hiram Bingham; all drinks on board the Andean Explorer • All entrance fees, visits and excursions • Transportation as per the itinerary • Gratuities for staff on board the Andean Explorer • Gratuities in restaurants for included meals Return to the lodge passing through the Church of the Society of Jesus • Gratuities to guide/s; gratuities the local villages of Maca at the or La Compaña (1590), considered to driver/s base of the Sabancaya Volcano and a classical example of the local • Porterage Yanque with its baroque church from baroque architecture, which houses the colonial era.