Laura Dellosa (610) 449-8880 Roma.travel@verizon.net

Land of the Incas with Galápagos Legend North and Central Cruise

Land of the Incas with Galápagos Legend North and Central Cruise

Explore Incan history like an insider on this epic Peru Tour, visiting Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, and Sacsayhuaman, UNESCO-listed Taquile Island and the Lines and Geoglyphs of Nazca. On a guided visit to the Ballestas Islands, you’ll marvel at penguins and blue-footed boobies, and on the Galápagos Islands, walk among giant tortoises and swim with manta rays.Please note that the flight between Lima and Quito is not included.

Tour Peru Ecuador Trafalgar Country Explorer Country Explorer
Explore Incan history like an insider on this epic Peru Tour, visiting Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo, and Sacsayhuaman, UNESCO-listed Taquile Island and the Lines and Geoglyphs of Nazca. On a guided visit to the Ballestas Islands, you’ll marvel at penguins and blue-footed boobies, and on the Galápagos Islands, walk among giant tortoises and swim with manta rays.Please note that the flight between Lima and Quito is not included.

Dining Summary

  • 6 Dinner (D)
  • 17 Breakfast (B)
  • 9 Lunch (L)

Iconic Experience

  • Nazca: Take to the skies on your Peru tour to see the iconic Nazca Lines, archaeological enigmas scratched in the ground 500 B.C. and A.D. 500. Gaze down in awe of these massive designs and patterns you can only view from above. Your private flight will show you many of the lines, complete with their names and a bit of history. From above, you’ll observe the different types: straight, geometric (such as triangles, rectangles, trapezoids, spirals, arrows, zigzags, and wavy lines), and pictorial (including a spider, hummingbird, cactus plant, monkey, whale, llama, duck, flower, tree, lizard, dog, and even a mysterious humanoid figure). Some of the animal geoglyphs are up to 1,200 feet long! You’ll also learn why the Nazca culture created these lines in the desert plains of the Rio Grande de Nazca River basin and how the Nazca people were able to carve out such massive designs.
  • Lima: Take in the highlights of Lima, the 'City of the Kings,' including a panoramic view of the ancient districts. Join a local specialist for a visit to the UNESCO-listed Historic Center. Learn how before it was destroyed by earthquakes in the mid-18th century, observing how the historic buildings display a collaboration between local craftspeople and others from the Old World. Then drive along the coastline as you learn more about the fascinating history of Peru's capital city. 
  • Lima: Dive into the rich history of Casona San Marcos, an ancient building in Lima now part of the property of a university. Learn to play the “cajón” (meaning “box” or drawer”) box-shaped percussion instrument played by slapping the faces with the hands, fingers, or sometimes implements. Continue your musical discovery trying the basic steps of “musica negra”, a dance that originated in Chincha (near Paracas) that is popular during over the Christmas season. Over your lesson, try a snack from a “pregonero”, a vendor who specializes in selling a typical snack through boisterous advertising in the city streets.
  • Sacred Valley: We'll Dive into Culture and meet a Quechua Shaman who will perform a ceremony welcoming you to Peru.
  • Machu Picchu: Learn how to prepare an authentic Ceviche and pour the perfect Pisco sour.
  • Cusco: Visit the mystical Incan stronghold of Ollantaytambo. These famous ruins are a massive Inca fortress made of large stone terraces stretching out across a hillside. Walk among the stone platforms, the sun temple of six monoliths and the Princess Baths fountain ― the Baño de la Nusta at the base of the ruins flowing from carved stone into a pool. Over your exploration, learn how the old town is an Inca-era grid of cobblestoned streets and adobe buildings.
  • Machu Picchu: Soak in every moment of your Machu Picchu tour in style as you descend to the Lost City in the clouds aboard the Vistadome train. Traveling the Inca Trail, you’ll traverse dramatic landscapes with a panoramic view of the soaring peaks, river, and ruins. Sit back and relax as you enjoy this multi-sensory journey complete with background music, an informative audio commentary highlighting interesting sites, and an included light snack.
  • Machu Picchu: Take a shuttle to the top of the mountain where you’ll meet your local specialist for a guided hike of Machu Picchu. You’ll learn about Machu Picchu’s history and the use of each section of including ceremonial, storage, agriculture, temples, astronomical, and observatory as well as the possible reasons why the Incas left Machu Picchu.
  • Cusco: Enjoy the flavors of chicha, a Peruvian corn beer. Hear about how chicha is brewed by the local indigenous women and its history dating back to the time of the Incas as a favorite drink of the Andes. Learn about the two types of chicha, alcoholic sour chicha de jora made from fermented jora corn and the non-alcoholic, sweet chicha morada.
  • Machu Picchu: The ruins of Machu Picchu beckon yet again and we enjoy one final opportunity to reconnect with its story. Journey to take in the ruins at sunrise spending some time on your own to explore the hill-top fortress. Soak in every moment at this iconic site, making stops at points of interest while your guide shares their insights on the archaeological sites.
  • Cusco: Begin your day at the ruins of the UNESCO-listed Sacsayhuamán fortress overlooking Cusco. With zig zagging walls and ruins of giant stones, see how the shape and harmony of the landscape is similar to Machu Picchu. Stroll through this Incan architecture of sacred buildings such as residential buildings, towers, shrines, warehouses, roads and aqueducts. And while you may not be able to take in the grand scale, the complex design is based on the shape of the head of a puma, a sacred animal in Inca spirituality.
  • Cusco: Join your Local Specialist for a guided walk through Cusco's colonial center, including the nearby 13th-century Incan settlement of Koricancha. Here in Cusco’s Golden Temple of the Sun dedicated to the Sun God Inti, view the trapezoidal and irregular shapes and rounded edges. Note how the stones fit together and were built simply by placing them on top of each other without using any mortar. This staggered placement also enables them to withstand earthquakes.
  • Puno: Bring Peru’s culture to life as you decorate your own torito de Pucará – a colorful ceramic bull steeped in Andean tradition. Found on rooftops across the region, these painted icons symbolize protection and prosperity, offering a hands-on way to connect with local heritage through creativity.
  • Lake Titicaca: Cruise the deep blue waters of Lake Titicaca with a Local Specialist, discovering its floating islands constructed from reeds by the Uros Indians. 
  • Paracas: Explore Paracas, a town on Peru’s west coast known for its beautiful beaches. Named after the Paracas people who were fishermen and farmers of beans, maize and red peppers, Paracas is now the gateway to the Paracas National Reserve. In this pristine desert you’ll find colonies of sea lions and sea birds. With an afternoon at leisure, explore Paracas Bay where restaurants and shops line the boardwalk and fishermen’s boats gather at the docks.
  • Paracas: The Museum of Ica traces the stories of Peru’s earliest civilisations. Through ancient pottery, textiles, skulls and mummies, you’ll discover how the Paracas, Nazca, Wari and Inca peoples lived, created and connected with the land. Exhibits highlight the cultural identity and traditions that defined these Indigenous communities long before Spanish colonisation. 
  • Paracas: Visit Cultur Pisco, a winery dedicated to preserving Peru’s national spirit. Tour the property with a Local Specialist to learn how Pisco has been produced through generations, exploring the history, grape varieties and distillation process. Then sample a curated selection of Pisco styles that showcase the care, tradition and expertise behind this celebrated drink, deeply rooted in local culture. 
  • Ballestas Islands: Connect with nature, cruising around the uninhabited Ballestas Islands, a "mini-Galapagos" teeming with wildlife. See the mysterious Candelabro in Pisco Bay. Gaze up where birds including the guanay cormorant, Peruvian booby and Peruvian pelican cruise above. Colonies of sea lions gather on rocky isles, barking as they welcome you to their home. Smaller gray or tan South American fur seals lounge on rocky shores shaded by the cliffs. Even Humboldt penguins - who only populate the coast of Peru and northern Chile – waddle along the shore.

Must-see Highlights

  • Explore Lima and Cusco with a Local Specialist, Learn about Giant White Corn, watch a local Marinera dance performance 
  • Visit the outdoor market at Pisac, Ollantaytambo, two visits to Machu Picchu, Sacsayhuaman, the Uros Islands and Lake Titicaca, enjoy a Casona San Marcos Experience
  • See the other-wordly Nazca Lines from the air
  • Scenic Cruise around Lake Titicaca and the Ballestas Islands
  • Scenic Drive through the Sacred Valley
  • Scenic Train Ride to Machu Picchu aboard the Vistadome train

Trafalgar Difference

  • Sacred Valley: Admire your idyllic setting within the Sacred Valley and take in the 18th-century colonial-style features of Sonesta Posadas del Inca Yucay, a former monastery complete with plazas and cobbled streets.

Be My Guest

  • Sacred Valley: Connect with Locals over a Be My Guest experience lunch, learn about the culture surrounding the production of Giant White Corn. Our hosts will demonstrate the differences between traditional farming techniques and the newer technologies used today.

MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®

  • Cusco: Visit Mantay, a social project supporting young mothers in Cusco through housing, education and craft training. Learn how their handmade creations provide a sustainable livelihood while their children are cared for on-site, and take home a hand-crafted gift that directly supports their work. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education.
  • Lake Titicaca: Cruise across Lake Titicaca to Taquile Island, where you’ll meet Indigenous locals and explore their UNESCO-listed textile traditions. You’ll share a home-cooked lunch and see how the community’s weaving and knitting reflect cultural identity and status. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Details

Tour Operator
Trafalgar
Start City
Lima
End City
Lima
Duration (Days)
18
Activity Level
Country Explorer

Highlights

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