Peru Complete

You are met by our staff at the airport and transferred to your hotel in Miraflores, where we will give you information about Peru and your tour and also answer any question you may have. Miraflores is a safe area by the coast where the best hotels and restaurants are situated.

You are picked up in the morning by our staff for a transfer to the bus station, to take your bus to Paracas by the Pacific coast south of Lima, a bus-ride for about four hours. On arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel. You will then have a free day to use according to your own wishes and interests; maybe beach life, relaxing by the pool, a visit to Paracas National Reserve, testing wine in Ica, enjoying beach-buggies or sandboarding in the desert or something else.

After breakfast, you are transferred to the port for the Ballestas Islands tour. The Ballestas Islands are commonly referred to as “Little Galapagos” and here you will see an amazing collection of sea lions, pelicans, penguins, seals and different sea birds. After the tour you are transferred to the bus station for your bus to Nazca (3 hours) where you will be picked up and transferred to your hotel.

Before breakfast, a flight over the Nazca Lines. These gigantic formations and geometrical figures are painted in the driest desert in Peru and date back to 250 A.C. They occupy more than 1000 square meters and leave an unforgettable impression with the visitor. The formations are of different animals such as a spider, a monkey and several birds. They are believed to be an astronomical calendar or maybe sacrifices of some kind. They were discovered in 1550 already but it was not until it was possible to see them from above in a plane that it was possible to understand the full meaning of them.
After the flight you will have breakfast, and then visit the ancient Cantalloc aqueducts and the ruins of a recently discovered Inca village. You are then transferred to the bus station for the night-bus to Arequipa (8 hours). On arrival in Arequipa in the morning you will be picked up and transferred to your hotel.

On arrival to Arequipa you are picked up at the busstation and taken to your hotel, and at about 10 am you are picked up by the hotel for your city tour of Arequipa starts where you will visit the Chilina valley and the old San Lorenzo district. You will get a nice view of the city and you will visit the Main Square and the Cathedral as well as the extraordinary Santa Catalina Monastery that is built of volcanic lava and dates back to the 16th century. You will end the tour with a visit to Juanita, the best preserved mummy in the Americas, which was found in 1995 during an expedition high up in the mountains. You then have the rest of the day free to explore the beautiful city of Arequipa on your own.

In the morning we will pick you up at the hotel for a two days Colca Canyon tour. You travel towards the hot springs of Yura, passing the volcano Chachani and then further up to the natural reserve of Pampa de Cañahuas, where you will see groups of llamas and alpacas. In the wetlands of Tocra you can see lots of various migratory birds, including flamingos. We pass the crater of an extinct volcano (Cuchura), and make a stop at the highest point of the trip, Patapampa, (4,910 m), where you will have spectacular views of the Andean mountains. Then starts the descent to the Colca Valley where you will arrive in Chivay, the main-village in the Valley. You are accommodated in your hotel and are then having a free afternoon to discover the Colca Valley district and maybe visit the hot springs for a nice bath. In the evening you may enjoy a delicious dinner in a restaurant with folkloric show and local dances.

After an early breakfast, we head further into the Valley towards the deep ravine, Cruz del Condor, where the condors mostly are seen. The view from this place is amazing and you’ll also stop by several times during the journey to admire the Colca Canyon. The condors can have a wingspan of over three meters and in the morning they take advantage of the warm upwind from the gap to be able to sail out from the cliffs in search of food. After a walking tour along Colca Canyon, it is time to return to Chivay. On the way, we stop in the picturesque villages of Pinchollo, Maca, and Yanque, with beautiful colonial churches and at the viewpoints of Choquetico and Antahuilque, where you will experience beautiful views over terraces in the valley as well as Inca and pre-Inca graves. On return to Chivay, you will then travel by bus to Puno (approximately 6 hours with breaks for sight-seeing). We will meet you at the bus terminal for transfer to your hotel.

After breakfast, you are picked up for your guided tour of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. On the first stop, you will visit the floating reed islands of Uros. The inhabitants will show you how the islands are built and you may go for a short trip in one of their reed boats. Then you go to Taquile, a truly beautiful island where the locals live as they have been doing for centuries with their small scale agriculture and animals. You walk around on the island with the guide and after lunch, it is time to go back to Puno where you will arrive late afternoon and get transferred to your hotel.
(It is possible to stay overnight on the island in a family´s home. This is a very nice and special experience which we really recommend, keep in mind that the houses are very rustic though).

Early transfer to the bus station for your tour with a comfortable tourist bus to Cusco. You travel across the Andean highlands in a very beautiful landscape, and make several stops on the way to visit museums, ancient Inca ruins, markets and small villages. A stop for lunch is also made at La Raya, 4310 m above sea level. The journey takes about 9 hours, but it never becomes tedious thanks to all interesting stops along the way. Late in the afternoon you arrive in Cusco, the Inca Empire’s old capital. We meet you at the bus terminal for transfer to your hotel.

Enjoy a morning to sleep a little longer or explore Cusco on your own. After lunch you will be picked up for a guided tour in Cusco and its surroundings, with visits to the four famous Inca ruins which lies in the outskirts of Cusco; the water temple of Tambo Machay, the Puca Pucara fortress, the oracle place Quengo and the impressive fortress and temple of Sacsayhuamán. Three enormous boulders, each one weighs 120 tons, are making three perfect zig-zag walls and the view over Cusco from this place is wonderful. You will finish the day with a walking tour in the center of Cusco with visits to the Cathedral, the Main Square and the Sun Temple of Korikancha.

Full day excursion to Urubamba, the Sacred Valley of the Incas. You will visit the village of Pisac, which was established during the colonial era and is located at the foot of a terraced mountain, crowned with impressive Inca ruins, and also the market in Pisac on the main square, where Indians sell their products and crafts. After lunch in the valley you will visit Ollantaytambo, the only Inca village the Spaniards never managed to conquer, where you will explore the ruins above the town on a hill. Late in the afternoon, you will take a train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, at the foot of Machu Picchu. You are met by a guide at the station and escorted to your hotel.

This morning you will wake up by the highlight of your tour, the forgotten city of the Incas and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World – Machu Picchu. Your guide will pick you up at the hotel and you will catch an early bus up to Machu Picchu, to be able to enjoy the famous sunrise over the ruins. Then it’s time for your guided tour which takes about two hours. After the tour, you will have plenty of time to explore sight and take photos. A popular option for the adventurous is to climb the mountain Huayna Picchu (about 2 hours), from where you will have a spectacular view over Machu Picchu and the surroundings. In the afternoon you take the bus down from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes, and then the train back to Cusco. On arrival we will meet you for transfer to your hotel.

Transfer to the airport for the flight to Puerto Maldonado. Reception at Padre Almirez International airport, where your professional guide awaits you. He will accompany you throughout your stay. From there we will go to the lodge´s office to obtain the official waterway permits (you can also guard luggage you won’t need during your stay). Meanwhile you can visit the town’s main square and also take some photos of the beautiful scenery of the confluence of the rivers Madre de Dios and Tambopata from Grau square. Embarkation will be at Capitania port, the destination being the lodge. We will navigate approximately 40 minutes on the Madre de Dios River in a typical Amazonian boat. Arrival at Corto Maltes Amazonia Lodge. Here we will have a welcome cocktail and afterwards you will be handed over the keys to your bungalow and lunch will be served. The kitchen of the lodge stands out for the beautiful presentation and the exquisite tastes of the dishes prepared by our French chef. After lunch you will have some free time to get comfortable in your bungalow, or take a refreshing dip in the pool.

3:30pm: It´s time to have some first contact with the jungle. We go for a trek where you will see a large variety of tropical trees, medicinal plants, insects, butterflies and animals. On our way back we will make a small stop at a lookout. Here you can observe toucans, macaws and other species of birds before we return for sunset. (Duration: between 2,5 and 3 hours) Returning to the lodge you may take a refreshing dip in the pool or have an exotic cocktail in the terrace-bar. You may also admire the sunset in the relaxing tranquility under palm- and mango trees at the port.
7pm: Before dinner we will go on a nightly boat trip, a little safari trying to spot the white caiman (caiman crocodilus) that lives in the river banks.
8pm: After a delicious dinner, those who wish may have some smalltalk in the reclining seats or have some fun and make friends with other travelers in the bar. Another option is to take a swim in the pool (with bar) under the starry Amazon sky and the Cross of the South.

At 5:30 am we will go on a trek for about 20 min until we arrive at a parrot clay- lick. Here a minimum of five different species is fed on special clay, vital to their metabolism. It’s a truly marvelous, multicolored spectacle.
8am: Breakfast and free time to explore the splendid gardens of Corto Maltes Amazonia. We have dozens of exotic plants and flowering trees.
10:30am: Again we will navigate the Madre de Dios River. This time on an expedition destined to “Monkey Island” where some species of these interesting and entertaining animals live in freedom. Following another boat ride of 30 min we will enter the territory of the Tambopata – Candamo National Reserve. We will trek 5km through the dense vegetation of the tropical rainforest. Giant trees, snakes, monkeys, birds and sometimes even the elusive jaguar can be observed here.
Our next destination is heavenly Sandoval Lake. Its privileged settings are shared by numerous species of animals: Birds (in particular Hoatzins, Kingfisher, and Cormorants), different species of monkeys (Squirrel monkeys, Howler monkeys, Capuchin monkeys). At the lake itself, we can enjoy the spectacle of Giant River Otters. Black Caimans and Piranhas (sometimes we can even observe anacondas in the areas covered by reed). This is also the habitat of the giant Arapaima, a fish of more than 2,5m, weighing in at +200 kg. Going by canoe in the sunset on the lake is a spectacular unforgettable sight. On our return to the river, we might be able to spot some nocturnal animals.
8pm: The body demands rest and food after an active day in the jungle. You will enjoy the exotic tastes of our meals, especially our desserts. If you still have energy left you can share moments of music and conversation in the bar whilst having a cocktail or enjoy the sounds of the rainforest surrounding you from your hammock. After a long day full of activity you will enjoy the comfort of your bungalow´s hammocks. You can also recover with a massage by a qualified masseur at the lodge.

8am: Breakfast and free time to have a swim in the pool or maybe buy some exclusive Amazon handicrafts and jewelry in our shop.
10am: We will follow the course of the river for approximately 1,5 hours in order to visit a native community. Occasionally we can see monkeys, river turtles, caimans and various birds in the dense vegetation of the riverbanks. We will also see some medicinal plants. (Sangre de Grado, Oje, Capirona) The “Project for the Rescue of Cultural Values” supports the local native community “Palma Real”. It is the biggest community with approximately 200 families of the Ese’eja tribe. This project, located at Gamitada island, works together with two families who will introduce us to the cultural values of their ancestors, their language, their customs, their garments, and their dances. In an era where globalization rapidly changes traditional societies this is a great opportunity to have direct contact with this tribe of ancient warriors and hunters. As well as a chance to support them economically with the purchase of some of their handmade products
1pm: Circumnavigating the Gamatida Island we can occasionally see animals escaping the human presence. Afterward, we will visit a chakra (local term for farm). We will get to know a variety of tropical fruits and other local products (Cocoa, bananas, café, cocona). Here we will also have lunch consisting of a typical Amazon dish. The chacarero (farmer) will also let us taste some of the fruits that will later be taken to the city of Puerto Maldonado for consumption. Upon return to the lodge, you will surely enjoy a bath in our swimming pool, maybe with a cocktail that might also serve as an aperitif for dinner.
8pm: Dinner is served. After dinner, you can retire to our bar to have some tropical cocktails, relaxed chit-chatting in our reclining seats at the central terrace or have a swim in the pool underneath the shining Amazon sky.

After breakfast its time to say goodbye to the setting and staff of Corto Maltes Amazonia. Your guide will accompany you on your way back to the city. We will pass by our office again to recollect the baggage left. After that we will visit the local market to show you agricultural products of the region, especially fruits of the Amazon. Afterwards our personnel will accompany you to the airport for your flight to Lima, wishing that your stay was as pleasant for you as it was for us to show you this beautiful corner of Peru.