Peruvian Immersion

Arrival at Jorge Chavez Airport in Lima.

Reception and transfer to the hotel.

Lima was founded on January 18, 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, under the name "la Ciudad de los Reyes" ("City of Kings"). Its city centre was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. It is a capital, the commercial, financial, cultural and political heart of Peru.

Dinner on your own.

Overnight at the hotel

Breakfast.

Transfer to the airport and flight to Arequipa (flight not included). Arrival in the "White City", so called because of its constructions of sillar, a kind of volcanic tuff.

Visit the Plaza de Armas in the city of Arequipa, considered one of the most beautiful in the country. This square space is surrounded by volcanic stone buildings with beautiful arcades. In the center of the square is a bronze fountain with three basins crowned with a figure (angel or soldier) with a trumpet called "Tuturutu". The Cathedral (outside visit) cannot go unnoticed in this square. Built in 1621, it was rebuilt following a fire in 1844. The last work dates back to 2002 after the last earthquake. On one corner of the square are the cloisters of the Society of Jesus, the construction of which took place in the
begun in 1595. We make a stop at the "Casa del Moral", an old casona from the seventeenth century to appreciate its baroque façade which is a true masterpiece. It is one of the oldest and most important Baroque architectural monuments in Arequipa.

• Discovery of the San Camilo market and meeting with the arequipenos.
• Tasting of a fresh fruit juice (depending on the season)

Visit to the Convent of Santa Catalina. Maria de Guzmán bought a neighborhood in the center of Arequipa in the seventeenth century, surrounded it with high walls and founded a convent of the Dominican order in joint devotion to St. Catherine of Siena. This convent served as a strictly enclosed cloister for more than 400 years. Its construction dates back to 1580 with more than 20,000 m2, it is a real city within the city with its narrow streets bearing Castilian names, its volcanic stone fountains, its gardens and its imposing temple. The small houses on these alleys were built by the families of the first inhabitants of the cloister who
sought to give their daughters all the comforts due to girls of good society. The convent opened its doors to the public in 1970 after the Pope's visit to Arequipa and is now one of the city's greatest tourist attractions.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon at leisure

Dinner at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel

Breakfast.

Departure to the Colca. You will cross the Cañahuas Pampas, where you will be able to observe vicuñas, llamas, alpacas and even guanacos in complete freedom, this is the Aguada Blanca National Reserve.

Arrival and check-in at the hotel.

Visit the Thermal Baths of La Calera, 3 km from Chivay. These thermal baths with their multiple healing properties are very popular with the inhabitants of the region.

Note: Depending on the confirmed hotel, the visit to the thermal baths of La Calera can be replaced by the visit to the thermal baths of Umaru.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Dinner at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel

Breakfast.

Early departure towards the Colca Canyon. Stop at the Croix du Condor. At this point is the viewpoint, from which you can enjoy the impressive panorama of the Andean mountains. Splendid view of the Andean terraces of the Colca Valley. It is the habitat of the condor, the emblematic bird of the Andes, whose
majestic flight you will no doubt contemplate.

Return to Chivay. Along the way, stop at small local villages such as Maca and Yanque.

Continue to Puno.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Crossing the Altiplano, the great wild plains that stretch between the snow-capped peaks of the Andean Cordillera.

Arrival in Puno and check-in at the hotel.

Dinner at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel

Breakfast.

Visit to the Uros Floating Islands. These islands, made of "reeds", are inhabited by families who devote themselves mainly to fishing with rudimentary nets and raising ducks. Their
Survival depends on the resources of the lake. The reed is used in the manufacture of houses, rafts and in handicrafts.

IMMERSION IN THE COMMUNITY OF LLACHON at TITICACA LAKE

Arrival in Llachón, welcome and check-in with the locals.
Participation in community activities, fishing, agriculture, cooking

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Dinner at a local's home.

Check-in and overnight stay with the locals.

Breakfast.

Departure by coach to Cusco. Stop at La Raya.

Lunch at a local Felipon restaurant

During the route, the bus stops in Andahuaylillas, an opportunity to visit its impressive chapel, also known as "the little Sistine". The 17th century church houses an organ, a polychrome ceiling and a set of altars, baroque altarpieces and paintings from the School of Cusco.

Dinner at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel

Breakfast.

Visit of the city: the Plaza de Armas, the place where, according to legend, the golden staff of the Inca Manco Capac was sinking, indicating to him the place where to found his city which would be the capital of the mighty empire. Continue the visit by Hatun Rumilloc Street where the famous stone of the 12 corners is perfectly embedded in the wall that surrounds it.
Contains. The street changes its name to San Blas Street and slopes up to the district of the same name. San Blas is an artisan district, one of the most picturesque places in the city. Passing by the Cathedral (exterior),

Visit to the San Pedro Market

Visit the beautiful temple "Koricancha" or golden site which in the period of the Empire housed sacred relics from all over the territory. It was a place of great ritual importance for the Inca as well as a political and religious building. After the conquest, the Spaniards partially destroyed the Koricancha, preserving some of its walls as a base for the construction of the Dominican church and its monastery. Here you will find the famous temple dedicated to the Sun, whose rounded walls of polished stone are considered to be the best works of Inca art.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon at leisure.

18:00 meet for a Pisco Sour tasting

Dinner at the hotel.

Breakfast.

Departure for the village of Pisac, 32 km north of Cusco.

Visit the village of Pisac to participate in the market. From the main square, the whole village has become a fair, mainly on Sundays, offering visitors a colourful and folkloric show with its fruit and vegetable stalls on the ground and stalls where it is possible to buy handicrafts brought from all corners of the region: multicoloured fabrics, knitwear, traditional ponchos, jewelry, antiques, ritual items and more. There is a very nice bread oven near the square which is well worth a few photos.

Empanada tasting.

Stop at a local's house for a tasting of Chicha, a local beer.

Continue to the Maras Salt Flats. These salt pans, clinging to the mountainside and divided into numerous basins fed by salt water, are among the oldest in Peru. They were already exploited before the arrival of the Incas in the region.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Departure to Ollantaytambo, visit the village including the layout of the streets, squares, and foundations of the Inca houses.

Dinner at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel

Breakfast.

Depart from Ollantaytambo Station to take the Expedition train to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu). (EXPEDITION TRAIN 83 -07:45-9:15)

Ascent in a minibus for a vertiginous climb that will take you to the outskirts of the site.

Visit to Machu Picchu.

Guided tour of the site of Machu Picchu, "the lost city" 110 km from Cusco, discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham. Following extensive brush-clearing work, the surprising beauty of the site and its harmonious construction, in osmosis with the mountain, were highlighted. The citadel is undoubtedly one of the most important architectural and archaeological monuments on the planet. It is located at an altitude of 2400 meters in the province of Urubamba, department of Cusco. Machu Picchu is made up of stone constructions spread out on a low and narrow hill, bounded by a 400-meter cliff, a canyon overlooking the Urubamba River. The function of the citadel is shrouded in a mystery that archaeologists have not yet been able to unravel. They study the history and function of this almost kilometre-long stone city, built by the Incas in this magnificent geographical area where the Andean and Amazonian coexist.

At the end of the morning, go down by shuttle.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Departure of the Expedition train to Ollantaytambo. (EXPEDITION 34)

Arrival in Ollanta.

Continue by coach to Cusco

"Show" dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight at the hotel

Breakfast.

At the scheduled time, transfer to the airport and flight to Lima
Departure to the historic center of Lima: the Main Square of Lima with the Presidential Palace and the Municipality. Visit the cathedral built in 1625 and rebuilt after the earthquake in 1940. Despite a relatively austere façade, it retains splendid mansions and beautiful wooden stalls carved into the choir.

Continue the visit to the Convent of San Francisco, a beautiful colonial architectural ensemble with its cloisters decorated with frescoes depicting the life of San Francisco and Seville earthenware. A fabulous library and the catacombs used to bury the dead during the colony's time make it famous.

Pisco Sour followed by a seafood lunch at the restaurant facing the Pacific.

Visit Miraflores, the city's modern neighborhood by the sea

Free time in the Indian market

Transfer to Lima airport.

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