MEALS - (B) Breakfast (L) Lunch (D) Dinner

American breakfast daily (B), 7 lunches (L), 9 dinners (D), including a welcome dinner in Lima and a farewell dinner in Quito

SUPERIOR HOTELS - (D) Deluxe (SF) Superior First-Class (F) First-Class

Lima Casa Andina Private Collection Miraflores (SF), Sacred Valley Casa Andina Private Collection (SF), Machu Picchu Sumaq Hotel (F), Cuzco Casa Andina Private Collection Cuzco (SF), Quito Hilton Colon (SF), Galapagos Cruise Santa Cruz, Amazon Extension Sacha Lodge (BA)

INSIDE VISITS

Inside visits and special features are shown in the description, including admission charges when applicable.

Itinerary

Day 1 Fly to Lima, Peru

(Wed.) Fly to Lima, known as the "City of Kings," where you will be met by your Local Host.

Day 2 Lima

(Thu.) Your Local Guide focuses on the city's colonial heritage during today's walking tour. Start at the Plaza de Armas to see the Government Palace and the cathedral, where the remains of Francisco Pizarro, the founder of Lima, are housed. Stroll to the SAN FRANCISCO MONASTERY with its splendid 17th-century cloister murals. Also visit the LARCO HERRERA MUSEUM housing an impressive collection of Peruvian pre-Columbian artifacts. This evening, meet your Tour Director and enjoy a welcome dinner at Casa Moreyra. (B,D)

Day 3 Lima-Cuzco-Sacred Valley

(Fri.) Fly to Cuzco, the Andean city that was once the capital of the Inca Empire. Continue into the Sacred Valley and visit the semi-circular Kenko Amphitheater with its stone altars and labyrinth of passages. See Puca Pucara before reaching the TEMPLE OF SACSAYHUAMAN. It remains unfathomable how and when this fortress of gigantic stones-with some blocks weighing more than 350 tons-was built. In Pisac, an old mountain village, you have the chance to visit a local home and experience their way of life before time to browse colorful stalls where vendors sell their handicrafts, ranging from fine alpaca sweaters to hand-painted dishes and vases. (B,L,D)

Day 4 Sacred Valley-Machu Picchu

(Sat.) Begin the morning with a visit to the Inca fortress of OLLANTAYTAMBO. Next, board a TRAIN through the lush Urubamba Valley. Ascend to legendary MACHU PICCHU, "The Lost City of the Incas," high above the valley and overlaid with dense tropical jungle. Your Local Guide will bring you closer to the lives and mysteries still hidden in these amazing structures, built by the pre-Columbian masters of this sacred land. (B,L,D)

Day 5 Machu Picchu-Cuzco

(Sun.) With your second included entrance to Machu Picchu, enjoy the tranquility of the morning with time to wander the ruins and absorb the magic that is Machu Picchu. Return to Ollantaytambo by train and continue to Cuzco. (B,L)

Day 6 Cuzco

(Mon.) Learn more about the Incas and their struggle against the invading Spaniards, visiting the imposing CATHEDRAL and the SANTO DOMINGO MONASTERY on your guided tour. Tonight, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant accompanied by ANDEAN FOLKLORIC MUSIC. (B,D)

Day 7 Cuzco-Quito, Ecuador

(Tue.) Fly to Quito, a UNESCO

The World Heritage List includes over 800 properties with cultural and/or natural heritage of global significance World Cultural Heritage Site. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant tonight. (B,D)

Day 8 Quito

(Wed.) A sightseeing tour showcases Quito's treasures: the historic stone murals of the LEGISLATIVE PALACE; Independence Plaza and the 16th-century SAN FRANCISCO MONASTERY; the Jesuit's LA COMPANIA CHURCH with its stunning golden altars; and the impressive paintings at the WORKSHOP & MUSEUM of Oswaldo Guayasamin. Be sure to have your photo taken in front of the EQUATORIAL MONUMENT, "the center of the world." (B)

Day 9 Quito. Excursion to Otavalo

(Thu.) An in-depth experience into the traditional ways of the Otavalo people is in store for you today. First, visit OTAVALO'S famous Indian market full of textiles, clothes, vegetables, and much more. Next, in Peguche, famous for its exquisite weavings, you have the opportunity to visit homes and observe handicrafts being made. Finally, enjoy Andean delicacies prepared the traditional way at a home-hosted lunch before returning to Quito. (B,L)

Day 10 Quito-San Cristobal-Galapagos Islands (Embarkation)-Cruising

(Fri.) A morning flight to San Cristobal, one of the remote Galapagos Islands. Board the sleek Santa Cruz and enjoy four days of CRUISING among various Galapagos Islands. Each day, travel ashore to the remote islands with your expert naturalist who introduces you to the unique fauna living free and fearless of man. Today, visit San Cristobal Island, where Charles Darwin first set foot in the Galapagos back in 1835. This island is home to seabirds like blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, herons, and frigate birds. Also look for the Chatham Mockingbird and Chatham Lava Lizard-seen nowhere else in the Galapagos. (B,L,D)

Day 11 Galapagos Islands Cruising

(Sat.) Your exploration continues on Espanola (Hood Island). Here, you will see unique sea bird colonies, including the waved albatrosses (April-December), Nazca and blue-footed boobies, Darwin's finches, and the famous blowhole. Also, look for red-green-black marine iguanas and a rookery of sea lions right at the landing site. This afternoon, visit a brackish-water lagoon on Floreana where Greater Flamingos, pintail ducks, common stilts, herons, and sandpipers may be observed. For marine enthusiasts this is a great place for snorkeling! (B,L,D)

Day 12 Galapagos Islands Cruising

(Sun.) This morning brings you to the youngest island, Fernandina. Having no introduced mammals, Fernandina has a very unique environment and the highest density of marine iguanas. Sharing their habitat are sea lions, Sally Lightfoot crabs, and hawks. In the afternoon, enjoy coastal exploration along the cliffs of sunken Ecuador Volcano, where naturalist guides explain the dramatic geology of the area with remains of lava flows and tuff stone layers. This is the nesting place for flightless cormorants, the only birds in the world that have changed from flying birds to diving birds. Wildlife here includes sea lions, Galapagos penguins, blue-footed and Nazca boobies, and noddy terns. (B,L,D)

Day 13 Galapagos (Disembarkation)-Quito

(Mon.) Visit the CHARLES DARWIN RESEARCH STATION, established to help conserve the Islands' natural habitat and protect the famous giant tortoises. Depart for Quito. This evening, your Tour Director hosts a special farewell dinner to celebrate an unforgettable experience. (B,D)

Day 14 Fly from Quito to Coca

(Tue.) Fly from Quito to Coca and travel by canoe to your Amazon lodge. In the Ecuadorian Amazon, one Amazonian tree can host more ant species than all of the British Isles, one hectare of forest boasts as many frog species as all of North America, and the great expanse of jungle contains more than 20 percent of the earth's vascular plant species. Here you can find a monkey small enough to sit on your fingertip, an 8-pound toad, a spider that eats birds, and the world's largest snake, the 30-foot anaconda. (B,L,D)

Day 15 Amazon

(Wed.) At the suspended CANOPY WALK, view the rainforest canopy, where your naturalist points out many different species of vibrantly colored birds. In the jungle below, learn of the medicinal plants and immense biodiversity that have been used by the native cultures for hundreds of years. After a picnic lunch in the primary forest, return to the lodge by canoe. Perhaps visit the lodge's BUTTERFLY HOUSE, one of Ecuador's largest. This evening, accompany your Local Guide on a night WALK or canoe RIDE to discover creatures that can rarely be seen during the day! (B,L,D)

Day 16 Amazon

(Thu.) This morning opt to visit a parrot clay lick, where parrots and parakeets by the thousands can usually be seen. Later, depart on a CRUISE through the flooded forest in search of the varied wildlife. You will have a good chance of seeing troops of squirrel, capuchin, and howler monkeys-and maybe even the incredibly well camouflaged 3-toed sloth. After fishing for piranhas, arrive at the KAPOK TREE TOWER, perched 135-feet high. Get close-up views of birds as the sun sets on volcano Mount Sumaco and the Andes. (B,L,D)

Day 17 Coca-Quito

(Fri.) Depart the lodge and fly to Quito this evening. (B)

Day 18

(Sat.) Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (B)