Peru | Lost Civilizations of Peru: Kuélap to Machu Picchu

Upon arrival in Lima, after clearing customs and immigration, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Tonight attend a welcome dinner and orientation to your program. Check in starts at 2:00 pm.

After breakfast, drive along the main streets, plazas, and avenues of Peru's capital. Start at Lovers' Park in the Miraflores district, looking out over the Pacific Ocean, then take in a panoramic view of Huaca Pucllana, a ceremonial center used by the ancient Lima culture. Visit San Isidro, the financial center of the city, and continue to the main square, where you will find the government palace and city hall. Visit the Cathedral of Lima and explore the Santo Domingo Convent; in the 17th century, San Martín de Porres and Santa Rosa de Lima walked these corridors, and their remains rest here today. Have lunch at one of the oldest taverns in Lima for an introduction to Peruvian food and a taste of the famous pisco sour. This afternoon visit the Larco Museum for a comprehensive look at the most representative cultures of ancient Peru. Enjoy time at leisure this afternoon to walk around the Miraflores district and the Larcomar Center on your own.

Depart Lima and fly to the city of Jaén in northern Peru. From here, transfer to Chachapoyas, approximately a 4- to 5-hour drive. Stop for lunch en route at a local restaurant taking in beautiful views of Gocta Waterfall. At 2,528 feet, Gocta is among the world's tallest cascades, yet until 2005 only locals knew of its existence. Continue to the lodge and check in. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon at leisure.

Spend today exploring the ruins at Kuélap. First, head to the cable car station in the nearby town of Nuevo Tingo. Enjoy incredible views as the cable car carries you up the side of the mountain to the walled city of Kuélap. This ancient site was an important political, religious, administrative, and military center for the pre-Incan Chachapoyas culture; the ruins sit atop a mountain surrounded by cloud forest, giving the Chachapoyas a reputation as the "Warriors of the Clouds." The fortress is surrounded by an immense and impressive wall almost 2,000 feet in length. Have a boxed lunch on site. After leaving Kuélap, you will have the opportunity to stop and view the burial towers of Macro, an outpost of the Chachapoyas culture built into cliffs overlooking the Utcubamba River.

Follow the Utcubamba Valley upstream, spotting herons and perhaps the Torrent Duck (an Andean endemic) in the river as you slowly ascend. At the village of Santo Tomás, turn off the main highway, crossing the river and ascending a side valley through typical Chachapoyas farmland. Huge cliffs loom overhead; it is here the ancient Chachapoyas built the tombs of Revash, where they interred their dead. Continue your journey to Leimebamba, with a boxed lunch along the way. The city retains much of its antique charm, with balconied houses and narrow streets. Set in a spacious garden environment, the Leimebamba Museum features a collection of extraordinary artifacts recovered from another group of cliff tombs discovered as recently as 1997 at the remote Laguna de los Condores, high in the mountains east of town. After the museum tour, visit the Kenticafé across the street for a cup of the best coffee in Chachapoyas. Watch as dozens of the region's hummingbirds flit among the strategically placed feeders, perhaps including the dazzling and highly endangered Marvelous Spatuletail.

After an early breakfast, return to Jaén and fly to Cusco via Lima, arriving in the late afternoon or early evening.

Spend today exploring Cusco and the surrounding areas, starting with a visit to the fortress of Sacsayhuaman. Old Cusco is said to be built in the shape of a puma, with Sacsayhuaman forming the head. The fortress is a wonder of technical achievement and a testament to human will. The ruins are constructed of huge polygonal blocks that interlock with one another and are so precisely placed that a knife blade cannot be inserted between them. Its construction remains a mystery, because the stones are not found in the region and most of the blocks weigh over a ton. Next explore Cusco, where modern and colonial buildings are built on top of Inca foundations, and colonial churches dominate the central square.

After breakfast take the train to Machu Picchu, traveling alongside the Urubamba River with spectacular views of the Andes. Upon arrival, journey by bus to the Machu Picchu ruins and have lunch at a local restaurant. This afternoon, tour the ruins on a guided field trip. Known as "The Lost City of the Incas," Machu Picchu is probably the best-known yet least understood of all Incan sites. Apart from a few locals, nobody knew of Machu Picchu's existence until 1911, when American historian Hiram Bingham stumbled upon the thickly overgrown buildings almost by accident. The quality of the stonework and the abundance of ornamental sites indicate that Machu Picchu must have been an important ceremonial center, but knowledge of the city's history has been lost over time. Have dinner at the hotel this evening.

This morning take the train back to Ollanta and visit the Ollantaytambo ruins, gaining a glimpse into the engineering ingenuity of the Inca. The town has original buildings of Inca construction where the Inca retreated for their last stand in the highlands against the Spanish. Running water still flows through the aqueducts, terraces are still farmed, and the pinnacle above the town is a burial ground. Learn about the town's ancient heritage while walking the narrow streets and observing numerous aqueducts that remain unchanged. Later transfer to the Sacred Valley.

Spend a full day in the Sacred Valley. Visit the salt mines of Maras, and then continue to Chinchero to visit a local weaving community. Learn about the ancient traditions still practiced by modern-day descendants of the Inca. Have a traditional lunch with members of the weaving community, then end the day with an ancient Pachamama ceremony led by a shaman.

This morning, visit the Museum of Living Culture of Yucay and experience Inca traditions, like coca leaf reading and the ceremony of payment to the earth, as well as traditional Inca dishes and drinks, like Pachamanca, a mixture of legumes and several meats marinated in herbs and baked over hot stones, and Chicha de Jora, a corn beer. Learn about the local textile techniques of native weavers from different areas, which include harvesting of different wools and natural wool dying, and see them show their different weaving styles and dresses. Continue to Cusco for your late afternoon flight back to Lima and connecting evening flights home.

Arrive home following your overnight flight.