The full itinerary of the Path of the Incas

Day 1: Arrival in Lima - Afternoon City tour

After collecting your luggage and making your way through customs, you'll be met by your private driver, who will whisk you to your hotel in the Miraflores district. Once you've checked in and had a chance to freshen up, it'll be time to explore!

Your afternoon city tour will take you to Lima's iconic sights, including the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral, and the San Francisco Monastery. You'll also enjoy panoramic city views from the Larcomar shopping center. After a busy day of sightseeing, you'll have worked up an appetite! Head back to your hotel for a well-deserved rest or explore Miraflores' many restaurants and cafes for dinner.

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide
• Not Included: Meals
• Accommodation: Best Western or similar

Recommendation: Arrive in Lima early morning to participate in the city tour. 

Day 2: Lima - Paracas - Ballestas Island - Huacachina

After breakfast at our hotel in Lima, we'll set off for the coastal town of Paracas. Here, we'll board a boat for a tour of the Ballestas Islands, home to abundant marine life, including penguins, seals, and birds. After lunch, we'll head to Huacachina, an oasis town in the middle of the desert. We'll spend the afternoon exploring the dunes and enjoying the views. We spend the night in a hotel near the Oasis.

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide
• Not Included: Lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: DM Hoteles or similar

Day 3: Huacachina - Nazca - Arequipa

We start the day with a delicious breakfast and some time walking around and taking in the scenery before heading to Nazca. During the day, we visit the Nazaca lines, Chauchilla Cemetery, and the Antonini Archaeological Museum. You will check in at the hotel to shower and rest for the long journey to Arequipa. Around 10.30 pm, you will board the overnight bus to Arequipa.

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide
• Not Included: Lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: Casa Andina Nazca or similar

Day 4: Arrival in Arequipa

The Arrival to Arequipa is around 08.00 am; our representative will pick you up and transfer you to your hotel in Arequipa. You will have the morning free, and at 2.00 pm, your tour guide will take you on a tour of the "White City" and Santa Catalina convent. 

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide
• Not Included: Lunch and dinner
• Accommodation: Casa Andina Arequipa or similar

Day 5: Arequipa - Chivay

We will pick you up from your hotel at 7.00 am and drive towards the Colca Valley. We'll pass through Aguada Blanca National Reserve and have the chance to see the Andean camelids. We arrive in Chivay for lunch. In the afternoon, we hike to Canocota, following the Colca River through the mini canyon, passing by cactus and flowering bushes. Optional: hot springs in La Calera.

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide, meals
• Not Included: Dinner
• Accommodation: Casa Andina Colca or similar

Day 6: Chivay - Condor's Cross - Coporaque

Early in the morning, depart to the "Condor's Cross" (Cruz del Condor) to see the Condor and farmed green pre-Hispanic terraces. Enjoy the impressive panorama of the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest in the world (3,000mts.). You will have a 1-hour hike along the canyon back to Chivay. In the town of Yanque, we visit the beautiful church and the stone streets.

To have spectacular views of the Colca Valley, we will drive to the observation points of Choquetico and Artahuilque, where you can see pre-Inca tombs and mock-ups of the terraces. In the afternoon: We start the hike from Coporaque; we walk along terraces above the river before climbing to the Pre-Inca ruins of Uyo Uyo. We pass the Colcas (mud and stone caves used for storing harvested crops) and cross the orange Sifon Bridge to reach Yanque, where we drive back to the hotel.

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide, meals
• Not Included: Dinner
• Accommodation: Casa Andina Colca or similar

Day 7: Chivay - Puno

Morning at leisure to recover and enjoy the town. In the afternoon, around 1.00 pm, we will pick you up from the hotel and take a tourist shared transport to Puno, arriving around 5 pm in the city of Puno and taking you to the hotel.

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide
• Not Included: Meals
• Accommodation: Conde de Lemos or similar

Day 8: Puno - Uros - Amantani

We will pick you up from your hotel at 8:00 am and take you to the dock, where we will use the roofed speedboat and navigate along Titicaca Lake.
Our first stop is at the Uros Floating Islands; there, we will explore the unique small islands and learn the traditions of the local people. 10:00 am approx. Continuing with our tour towards the island of Amantani, the villagers will take us walking for about 15 minutes to their family houses to serve us lunch, take a break and then prepare for the activities in the afternoon. We have a small gathering and celebration in the evening at a family house in Amantani.

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide, meals
• Not Included: Dinner
• Accommodation: Homestay in Amantani    

Recommendation: Warm clothes, the weather in the morning is frigid (0°C). During the day, it gets hotter (20°C); however, the weather is very changeable. 

Day 9: Amantani - Puno

After breakfast with the family, we will descend to the port, where the captain awaits us next to the boat, to go to the island of Taquile. Taquile Island is where a relatively quiet walk takes place for approximately 30 minutes, enjoying the beautiful landscapes of Titicaca and the Taquile houses until we reach the main square and then go to the local restaurant at 11:30 am. We will arrive at the restaurant, where the residents await us with some typical delicious dishes of the area, such as Quinoa soup with a main course of grilled trout. Finally, once satisfied, our guide explains more about this island, its customs, way of life, and worldview of life, along with the meaning of its famous Taquile fabrics. At 1:30 pm, we will descend, walking to the port of Taquile to return in our fast boat to the port of Puno. Around 15:30 hrs approx Arrival at the port of Puno, then we will transfer to our respective hotels.

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide, meals
• Not Included: Dinner
• Accommodation: Conde de Lemos Puno or similar

Day 10: Puno - Cusco

Our representative will pick you up from your hotel at 6.30 am and drive you to the bus station. The bus will depart at 07.00 am and arrive at around 5.30 pm to Cusco. Along the way, we will have guided tours of Raya pass (the road limit between Cusco and Puno), the Lithic Museum of the Pukará, the Temple of Wiracocha in Raqchi, and the Andahuaylillas church.

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide, meals
• Not Included: Dinner
• Accommodation: San Agustin Plaza or similar

Day 11: Cusco - Sacred Valley

Your tour guide will collect you from your hotel at 7.30 am and take you on a full-day tour of the Sacred Valley. We will visit the Viewpoint of Taray, Pisac ruins, Pisac Market, Moray, Salineras of Maras, and Ollantaytambo throughout the day. We spend the night in a hotel near Ollantaytambo. 

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide, meals
• Not Included: Dinner
• Accommodation: Tunupa Lodge or similar

Day 12: Inca Trail

Your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel after breakfast at 7.30 am and drive you to Km 82 to begin the Inca Trail. On the first day of the IncaTrail, you will hike for 6 hours to the Campsite at Ayapata (3300 m). 

• Included: Transfers, entry tickets, professional tour guide, meals
• Not Included: Sleeping bags, trekking poles, air mattress
• Accommodation: Camping

Day 13: Classic Inca Trail 

On the second day of the Inca Trail, you will conquer the highest mountain of the Inca Trail, the Dead Women's Pass (4200 m). You will hike for 10 hours total until the second campsite at Chaquichica (3600 m)

• Included: Professional tour guide, meals
• Not Included: Sleeping bags, trekking poles, air mattress
• Accommodation: Camping

Day 14: Classic Inca Trail 

On day 3, you will hike for only 6 hours, visiting Phuyupatamarca, Initpata, and Wiñaywayna Inca sites. We camp only 2 hours behind Machu Picchu at 2600 m. 

• Included: Professional tour guide, meals
• Not Included: Sleeping bags, trekking poles, air mattress
• Accommodation: Camping

Day 15: 4-day Classic Inca Trail - Cusco

After 2 hours of hiking the last part of the Inca Trail, you will arrive at Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate. Your tour guide will take you to explore the best of Machu Picchu, then you have time on your own for lunch and take the Panoramic Vistadome train back to Ollantaytambo. We will pick you up and transfer you to your hotel in Cusco city.

• Included: Transfers, hotel, entry tickets, professional tour guide, meals
• Not Included: Dinner
• Accommodation: San Agustin Plaza or similar

Day 16: Day at leisure in Cusco

You will have free time to recover and enjoy the magical Cusco city. 

• Included: Hotel
• Not Included: meals
• Accommodation: San Agustin Plaza or similar

Day 17: Cusco - Puerto Maldonado - Tambopata - Sandoval Lake

We will pick you up from the hotel and take you to the airport for the flight to Puerto Maldonado (flight not included). Once in Puerto Maldonado, we drive to the port to board the boat that will take us to the lodge. We take a three-kilometer (2-mile) trail while pausing to observe birds and butterflies. We go through the palm tree swamp leading to the calm lake's open waters.

Our team will row the boats to the lodge (motors are prohibited on the lake). A large Paiche (an Amazonian fish) may be visible below the lake's surface. The Giant Otter of the Amazon, Pteronura brasiliensis, may start making strange and unsettling screams, and you may even see heads peering out from the water. After a short break, we resume our boat exploration of the entire eastern end of the lake by listening for the sound of countless Blue-and-Yellow and Red-Breasted Macaws as they fly back to their breeding grounds.

• Included: Transfers, entry tickets, professional tour guide, meals
• Accommodation: Sandoval Lake Lodge   

Day 18: Sandoval Lake

We will be on the lake just before dawn to witness what is frequently a magnificent sunrise and to try and spot the giant otters that roam the lake in families and are very active at this time of day. Most of the birds living around the lake are active right now. Watching the birds fishing as they pursue and catch their prey will be peace. Additionally, we will get up-close looks at the primitive Shansho (Ophistocumus hoazin) munching on leaves. After a late breakfast, we'll hike the trail through the cool primary rainforest understory that envelops the lake. We'll see the enormous chestnut trees that are common in this area. We'll take an hour to rest after lunch before we continue.

• Included: Transfers, entry tickets, professional tour guide, meals
• Accommodation: Sandoval Lake Lodge   

Day 19: Sandoval Lake

If you're one of the many visitors who adores this lake and its unique environment, or if you want to get a closer look at the giant otter, we can start the day early once more. After breakfast, we return to the lodge for a brief break to enjoy the expansive views of the lake before embarking on a unique circuit to explore and learn about the uses of various medicinal Amazonian plants. We will see the Cinchona tree, the ginger candle used to make anti-inflammatory medications, and the Pamicho plant, which provides the material for the thatched roofs of our homes. The Cinchona tree's bark has saved millions of people from the agony of malaria. This route includes the wild jungle.

• Included: Transfers, entry tickets, professional tour guide, meals
• Accommodation: Sandoval Lake Lodge   

Day 20: Sandoval Lake to Puerto Maldonado - Lima

After breakfast, we paddle through palm swamps on the lake's western end one last time. A stunning sunrise and its reflection in the lake can be seen on clear mornings. Returning to the Madre de Dios River, we travel toward Puerto Maldonado before continuing to the airport. Please note that itineraries may change to maximize wildlife viewing based on the findings of our local researchers and knowledgeable naturalist guides.

• Included: Transfers to the Airport of Puerto Maldonado
• Not Included: Lunch and dinner
• You must book a flight to Lima connecting with your international flight or stay an extra day in Lima.