Classic Peru

After a quick tour of Lima you head south on the Pan-American highway. Pachacamac is a large pre-Inca complex on the coast, 30 kms outside Lima. At the time of the Spanish conquest, this was the largest city on the coast and the scale of the site is best appreciated from atop the Temple of the Sun. There is also a small museum. On leaving Lima, you visit the ruins at Pachacamac before starting your afternoon drive south on the Pan-American Highway along the Pacific coast for 3 ½ hours to reach the small fishing village of Paracas. Here you settle into your beachfront hotel and enjoy a sunset over the calm Paracas Bay. Hotel - 1 night (B)

A short drive to the port brings you to the shores of the lake. At this altitude (3850m), the air is thin and clear and the glistening icecaps of a cordon of Andean peaks seem close. You sail to Amantani via the floating reed islands of the Uros Indians. The life of the Uros is based on the tortora reed, which grows in the lake and is used to construct their houses and boats. You spend around four hours sailing between islands and marvelling at the views across this vast body of water. The island of Amantani has six tiny villages and carefully maintained terraced fields where life continues much as it has done for centuries. It is well worth climbing to the island’s highest point for sunset. Spending the night in a village house affords a very special insight to the lives of the islanders. Rustic village house - 1 night (B)

An early start today as you take a shared tourist bus across dusty altiplano, dotted with llama, alpaca and the simple adobe dwellings of local herders. Once over the pass at La Raya (4321m) the scenery changes. The fertile valleys are still worked by beast or groups of industrious villagers; their timeless agricultural methods prove the value of the knowledge of long ago. You have the opportunity to stop at several places of interest along the way including La Raya pass and the Inca ruins of Racchi and Pucara (about seven hours drive). Alternatively you may prefer the option of making this classic journey by rail (additional cost) taking you through the same spectacular scenery in the comfort of Orient Express carriages. In the evening you arrive in Cusco, the seat of Inca rule for some 500 years. Hotel - 2 nights (B)

Minibus to Pachar (Sacred Valley). Follow the Huarocondo Gorge a short way upstream to our trailhead at the village of Raphcca, (2,900m). Visit the little-known Inca ruin of Corimarca, high above the Soccma Valley. Camp here, or at a spacious set of Inca terraces a short distance up valley. Approx. walking 5hrs. Distance 5km.
Camp - 3 nights (BLD) 

Rising early this morning your group has Machu Picchu ruins largely to itself before the train brings in day-visitors from Cusco. Today you'll meet up with the rest of the group who have been on the classic Inca Trail.

The magnificent lost city, rediscovered by American archaeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911, stands on a high saddle dominated by the jungle-clad peak of Wayna Picchu. Later in the day you catch the train back to Cusco. Hotel - 1 nights (B)