A Note About Activity Levels
This active program is designed for people who are in good health and can comfortably participate in a demanding daily schedule of physical activities. The itinerary may feature full days of ongoing activities. Excursions on this program require:
walking distances of up to 3-5 miles
walking on cobblestones, unpaved paths and/or uneven and slippery surfaces
getting on/off motor coaches, boats and/or trains
climbing in/out of excursion boats
walking up (sometimes steep) hills in ports where docks are not available and at sites in the Sacred Valley
tolerating varying climactic conditions, including high altitude and humidity

Each morning during your journey, start your day with a hearty buffet breakfast.

Discovery: Highlights of Lima. Visit the Larco Museum, housed in an 18th-century viceroy mansion and enclosed by beautiful gardens. It offers a fascinating account of more than 5,000 years of pre-Columbian Peruvian history. The museum’s pottery storeroom is one of a select few in the world open to the public, where you can walk among the 30,000 exquisite ceramic artifacts carefully cataloged and displayed there.

Continue to the historic center of Lima, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Known as the City of Kings, Lima was the heart of Spain’s South American empire for 300 years, and its oldest section abounds with elegant, colonial-era architecture. Visit Plaza Mayor, a spacious public square surrounded by palm trees and the majestic facades of the Government Palace, Municipal Palace, Archbishop’s Palace and the Cathedral of Lima. The Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro personally designated the plaza’s location when he founded Lima in 1535. Almost three centuries later, it was the stage for Peru’s declaration of independence from Spain in 1821.

Enjoy a relaxing lunch break in a restaurant near the Plaza.

Afterward, step inside the Cathedral to see its beautiful interior. Then visit the lemon-colored, 17th-century Monastery of San Francisco. This fascinating complex contains a church, decorated in the mudéjar style, a mix of Spanish and Moorish designs; a library, housing an impressive collection of 25,000 antique volumes; and bone-filled catacombs beneath the church’s chapels.

Enrichment: Meet the People. This evening, gather for a private Welcome Reception and Dinner at Casa Garcia Alvarado in the Miraflores district. This stately residence was declared a National Historical Building in January 2005. After enjoying pisco sours and hors d’oeuvres served in the drawing room, take a tour of the historic house. Then sit down to a typical Peruvian home-cooked meal in the company of one of the present owners of the home.

Accommodations – Casa Andina Premium Miraflores
Meals – Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Transfer to the Lima airport for your flight to Iquitos, the gateway to the Amazon and accessible only by plane or boat.

Journey through the streets of Iquitos on a panoramic transfer, where rickshaws, colorful tuk-tuks and 19th-century mansions financed by the rubber boom reflect the town’s unique character.

Travel to Nauta, a small riverside town on the Marañon River. Along the way, see the vibrant “terra firma” (non-flooded forest) and various aspects of daily jungle life. Upon arrival in Nauta, embark the Delfin III at a private port along the shores of the Marañon River.

Later, as the Delfin III begins its initial navigation, savor the fantastic panoramic views from the elegantly outfitted observation area on the third deck, and sip a cocktail made with regional fruits and pisco, Peru’s beloved brandy.

Then listen as your naturalist guide provides an overview of your cruise schedule and activities, the wildlife and vegetation that you are likely to see, geographical and historical information and other useful details. Delight in your first lovely sunset in the Amazon rain forest as you sail by the confluence of three rivers, known as “Union de los Rios.”

Accommodations – Delfin III
Meals – Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Set out aboard skiff boats, anticipating each day’s astounding and unexpected wildlife encounters! The region in which you are cruising, Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, is Peru’s largest wildlife preserve, boasting more than five million acres of rich biodiversity.

Skim along rivers and cruise through creeks, peeking into lagoons and other waterways, where an abundance of wildlife hides in the deep rain forest, such as blue and yellow macaws, toucans, umbrella birds, capybaras and more. Zoom in on exotic spiders, dragonflies, butterflies and tarantulas. You may perhaps even catch glimpses of the endangered charapa turtle, spider monkey, giant river otter or red macaw.

Marvel at the pink dolphins swimming nearby, known as boto. These intelligent and agile creatures, the largest freshwater dolphins in the world, are grey at birth and grow pinker with age. They boast unfused neck vertebrae that allow them to turn their heads up to 180 degrees, enabling them to maneuver among the underwater tree trunks of the rain forest.

Also below you in the waters of the Amazon Basin are more than 25 different species of piranhas, including black-, white-, and red-bellied ones. During the rainy season, the river floods the forest with more than three feet of water. This attracts piranhas and other fish that come to feed on the low-hanging flowers, fruits and bark of flooded trees.

Accommodations – Delfin III
Meals – Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Never does nature seem more bountiful than in the tropics, and rising early is always rewarding since wildlife is most abundant and active at daybreak. With your expert guide, hike into the rain forest to explore the fantastic flora and fauna. Sharp eyes may spot squirrel and red howler monkeys, iguanas lazing in the sun and sloths hanging in the upper canopy. You’ll also likely see brilliant parrots, hawks, hummingbirds and “laughing” falcons. In fact, over 1,300 species of birds are found in the Amazon!

Enrichment: Contemporary Peru. Learn from a local expert how modern Peru has been shaped by the events of its past.

Accommodations – Delfin III
Meals – Breakfast, lunch and dinner

After breakfast, bid farewell to the Amazon and disembark the ship in Nauta. Transfer via coach to the Iquitos airport.

Discovery: Manatee Rescue Center. On your way to the Iquitos airport, visit the Manatee Rescue Center, where the Association for the Conservation of Amazonian Biodiversity-Dallas World Aquarium Zoo (ACOBIA-DWAzoo) coordinates a conservation program to protect this endangered species and other animals. Meet these gentle creatures up close and even feed them!

Board your flight for Cusco via Lima. Once you arrive in Cusco, take a panoramic drive to the Urubamba Valley, the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Marvel at this breathtaking, open landscape of farm fields and traditional Andean villages tucked amid towering mountain slopes.

Check in to the Casa Andina Premium Valle Sagrado. After you’ve settled in, savor Andean specialties at dinner in the hotel tonight.

Accommodations – Casa Andina Premium Valle Sagrado
Meals – Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Discovery: Sacred Valley. The quaint town of Ollantaytambo, built on top of an Incan settlement, is the best surviving example of Inca town planning. It rests just below the Ollantaytambo ruins, a series of huge terraces that hug the hillside. Originally built for religious purposes, the structure was later employed as a fortress. Explore this fascinating site where the Inca emperor Manco Inca successfully fought off Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.

Conclude with a visit to a village seemingly frozen in time. Learn about the ancient weaving methods the residents have used for centuries to support themselves in this challenging mountain environment. While in town, visit with local citizens to learn about their daily life in this remote area. Later, visit a ranch for lunch and an equestrian demonstration.

Accommodations – Casa Andina Premium Valle Sagrado
Meals – Breakfast and lunch

Take a scenic train ride through the Sacred Valley to the town of Aguas Calientes and the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo hotel, which sit at the foot of Machu Picchu.

Discovery: Machu Picchu. Nestled in a misty cloud forest high in the Andes, the Lost City of the Inca is considered the most important archaeological site in the Americas. Archaeologists believe that this masterfully planned site, surrounded by steep agricultural terraces, served as a center of worship or a royal estate for Inca emperors and nobility. At an elevation of 7,972 feet, the mountaintop complex contains more than 200 buildings, all of which testify to the Incas’ impressive design and construction skills. Wander through stone temples, grassy plazas, palaces and workshops with an expert guide. Explore the Temple of the Three Windows, the Sacristy, the Hitching Post of the Sun and the Temple of the Sun.

Accommodations – Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo
Meals – Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Free Time: This morning, pursue your own interests or perhaps enjoy the amenities of your hotel.

Travel by train through the beautiful mountain scenery and then by motor coach to Cusco. Check in to the Palacio del Inka hotel.

Free Time: Enjoy the evening at leisure. Peru’s cuisine, a tantalizing blend of eclectic styles and flavors, is regarded as among the best in the world. At dinner on your own in Cusco, discover new taste sensations such as Peru’s renowned ceviche, raw fish marinated in lime juice, often served with choclo, a white Andean corn. Another enticing choice that’s almost as popular as ceviche is lomo saltado, a beef stir-fry.

Accommodations – Palacio del Inka
Meals – Breakfast

Discovery: Cusco, the Ancient Incan Capital. This sacred city, perched 11,152 feet above sea level, was the religious and administrative center of the Inca Empire. Enjoy guided visits to the Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas, noted for its colonial art; and the Santo Domingo Temple, a Dominican Church and convent built on the foundations of the Koricancha or ‘place of gold’, the Incas’ principal religious building dedicated to the worship of the sun.

Gather with your fellow travelers for lunch in town.

Discovery: Sacsayhuaman. Just outside of Cusco, visit the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, constructed with massive stones (one weighs 125 tons!). You are challenged to try to slip a piece of paper between the cracks of these blocks, cut and fitted together with incredible precision to hold them in place. The site of a fierce battle between the Spanish and Incas in 1536, this ancient fortress overlooks the red-tiled roofs of Cusco and the spectacular, lush countryside.

Conclude your Peruvian adventures with a Farewell Reception at the hotel.

Accommodations – Palacio del Inka
Meals – Breakfast and lunch

Enjoy your morning at leisure in Cusco, followed by lunch in town. Depart for Cusco’s airport and fly to Lima.

Connect in Lima to your international flight home.

Meals – Breakfast and lunch

Arrive home in your gateway city.

Meals – Appropriate in-flight meal service

NOTE: Itinerary may change due to local conditions.