Cruising the Amazon River
Lima – Iquitos – Cusco – Sacred Valley – Machu Picchu
10 Days / 9 Nights
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1
LIMA (331 ft)
Welcome to Peru
Lima was the center of Spanish power in the Americas for three centuries. Today it is a bustling modern city which still retains some of its historical ambiance.
When your international flight arrives in Lima you will be met and assisted by our English-speaking representative. He will accompany you to the Costa Ramada el Sol Hotel located at Lima airport. We recommend spending the first night at the airport hotel since most flights arrive late in the evening and your flight to Iquitos will leave the next morning. This way you will enjoy a good night sleep.
Day 2
LIMA – IQUITOS
Start of your cruise: Nauta / Embarkation / Marañon River
This morning, our representative will pick you up at the hotel lobby and accompany you to the airport for your direct flight to Iquitos. Upon arrival to Iquitos airport you will be met by a representative and assisted onboard an air-conditioned bus for a scenic one-and-a-half hour drive through the Peruvian countryside to the small village of Nauta, where the M/V Aqua lies at anchor awaiting your arrival.
You will then have a few moments to settle into your suite. Over the next four days, you will sail along several tributaries of the Amazon, as well as on the mighty river itself. You are embarking on a spectacular adventure to a place visited by only a few of even the most experienced world travelers.
Before dinner you will be given a safety drill and briefing on the Top Deck. Afterwards your cruise director and guides will give a brief orientation and talk about life on board, where you will go, and what you will see on your Amazon journey.
Tonight you will have a welcome dinner and discover why Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the world’s best. Here it is presented with a touch of European flair, and a vegetarian dish is always available. Raise a glass of fine South American wine to toast the beginning of a beautiful journey, then look out the window and watch the river go by as you experience your first wonderful meal aboard the M/V Aqua. Later you may enjoy a nightcap on the Upper Deck under the stars.
Day 3
IQUITOS JUNGLE
Ucayali River/Yanallpa Area
Today you will take a jungle walk to Yanallpa Lake. You will go in search of bizarre-looking birds called “hoatzins,” which live in huge colonies in a very strange, Jurassic Park-like lake. As you hike, your guides will teach you orientation techniques used in the deep jungle. You will return to the M/V Aqua for lunch and enjoy light midday fare in an air-conditioned dining room.
In the afternoon you will cruise the majestic Ucayali River, giving you a chance to see and meet native balseros, or fishermen, who demonstrate their skill and show you their catch, including a type of armored catfish with a shell-like skin that they take to the market in the small village of Requena. You will also find a “banana balsero” raft, loaded with hundreds of clusters of bananas and drifting down the river to market.
Tonight you will take a night trip along the Sapote River. Your guides will show you several types of caiman, members of the alligator family, along this fish-rich river. It is also very possible that you may be surprised by other night-dwelling creatures as well. Afterwards, you will return to the M/V Aqua around 10:00 pm to sail upstream on the Puinahua River.
Day 4
IQUITOS JUNGLE
Puinahua River Hatun Posa Lake and Pacaya River
Near Hatum Posa Village, you will go for a jungle walk, on which your guides will take the opportunity to introduce you to native people doing subsistence farming and tell you how they learned to cultivate wild plants and trees to earn income. Deep in the primary forest, your guides will also show you the wealth of fruit trees and medicinal plants hidden in the jungle. After your walk, you will return to the M/V Aqua for a well-deserved lunch.
In the late afternoon, you will take skiffs along the Pacaya River, journeying from Ranger Station No. 1 toward Yanayacu Lake, where you can view the abundant life that is hidden in the deep rainforest. You will have the chance to see saki monkeys, capuchin monkeys, and the easy-to-spot heavy howler monkey. As the sun sets you can hear the ferocious warning signals made by the howler monkeys marking their territories. As night falls, you can hear the second movement of the Amazon rainforest symphony, as other nocturnal animals send their shrill calls across the tree tops. You will use your special spotlight torches to locate night creatures, including, perhaps, huge caimans. You will return to the M/V Aqua, docked by the No. 1 Ranger Station in Pacaya Samiria National Park, for a sumptuous dinner.
Day 5
IQUITOS JUNGLE
Puinaua / Pacaya Rivers and Carocurahuayte Lake
Today you have breakfast on the skiffs in the bright morning light while your guides show you parrots, macaws, toucans, and many different types of monkeys. You will also go to the dolphin feeding spots along Yanayacu Lake, where you should find yourselves delightfully surrounded by these creatures, while enjoying a light breakfast and fresh juice. On your return to the M/V Aqua you begin your homeward journey, sailing toward Iquitos. You will enjoy lunch en route.
Armed with poles and bait, you will find a special place on the river where you can catch some of the more than 3,000 species of tropical fish that live in the Amazon Basin. The target is the piranha, the small carnivorous fish with a fearsome reputation, considered a good food source by the locals. On your return to the M/V Aqua you will sail downstream all night as you continue towards Iquitos.
Just minutes after being in the wilderness, surrounded by monkeys, birds, and the other wildlife of the rainforest, you will find yourselves sitting down to a final gourmet feast in the ship’s dining room.
Day 6
IQUITOS – LIMA
Arrive in Iquitos City / Check – Out and Disembark at the Main Wharf / City Tour and Transfer to the Airport
A brief, optional skiff trip along the majestic Amazon gives you a last chance to photograph the wildlife of the jungle. Then you will return to the M/V Aqua in order to pack and prepare for the next stage of your journey.
Your afternoon in the remote city of Iquitos, accessible only by river or air, does not disappoint. This bustling town, complete with a house built by Gustave Eiffel, was once a rich center of the rubber industry. After a city tour, you will make a stop at San Juan Amazonian Indians’ Market for some last-minute shopping.
Afterwards you will continue to Iquitos airport for your return flight to Lima. Upon arrival you will be met by Alvaro, who will check you in at the Costa Ramada el Sol Hotel.
Day 7
LIMA TO THE CUSCO (11,200 ft)
Private Visit of Cusco
According to legend, Manco Capac plunged his golden staff into fertile ground and found the "navel of the earth." There he founded the capital of the Inca Empire. Today Cusco is probably Peru's most attractive city, a fascinating fusion of the past and present that most visitors find very hard to leave behind.
This morning, our representative will be waiting for you in the hotel lobby to accompany you back to the airport for your direct flight to Cusco. This is one of the most spectacular flights anywhere in the world. During the flight, which takes you from sea level to 11,200ft in just under an hour, the major glaciated peaks of the Cordillera Vilcabamba and Vilcanota ranges can been seen, surrounded by an agricultural patchwork quilt of tranquil Andean fields and tiny hamlets, which you will be exploring over the following days. Cusco airport is unique because it requires the pilot to make a sweeping 180 degree turn to enter the valley on approach, providing you with amazing views of the Incan city center.
Upon arrival in Cusco, you will be met and assisted by our Cusco host. Transfer to the Monasterio Hotel, voted "Best Hotel in South America." When you step onto the hotel property, you will certainly see how it came to earn such a distinction. An extremely historic hotel, it was built as a monastery in 1595 on the site of the palace of Inca Amaru Ohala. In 1598, it was founded as the Seminary of San Antonio Abad by the Sixth Bishop of Cusco, Monsignor Antonio de la Raya, to train Catholic priests. It is decorated in the indigenous baroque style with gold-plated frames surrounding truly magnificent paintings that depict scenes from the life of San Antonio Abad, painted by the best artists of the Cusquenian Art School. The stones around the huge wooden entrance doors looking on to the Plazoleta Nazarenas still bear the Spanish escutcheon and the image of Bishop Monsignor Juan Serricolea y Olea.
Once you have a chance to check in and get settled, become acquainted with Cusco, beginning with the Santo Domingo Convent Monastery. This former colonial monastery was previously the Koricancha Temple, one of the most important temples devoted to the worship of the sun. According to its chronicles, the temple was covered in gold leaf and filled with golden representations of nature.
Stops at the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral bring the city portion of your tour to a close. Then it will be time to venture into the countryside to visit remarkable Incan sites, including the cult centre of Sacsayhuaman, the temple and amphitheatre of Qenqo, and the complex of Puca Pucara.
Day 8
MACHU PICCHU (7,872 ft)
Luxury Train Ride on board the Hiram Bingham Train/Guided Tour of Machu Picchu
For most travelers, the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is the climax of their visit. This is an awe-inspiring sight, superb Inca craftsmanship perched amidst verdant vegetation, high above the winding Urubamba River.
This morning, relax over an indulgent breakfast and a rich and robust cup of Peruvian coffee. Transfer to Poroy station to board the Orient Express luxury train, the Hiram Bingham, named after the Yale professor who discovered Machu Picchu in 1911. The journey will take approximately three and a half hours, during which time you will brunch on local dishes and extraordinary cuisine while enjoying the spectacular scenery of the Andes. This is an incredible trip and one that will be remembered long after the photographs have faded.
You will arrive at the Lost Citadel of the Incas around 1:00 p.m, and be transferred by private bus to the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge Hotel, the only hotel located next to the ancient citadel of Machu Picchu, and the perfect base from which to explore the area. Offering luxury accommodation, Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge is the perfect place to relax and unwind in the shadow of the Lost City.
Later you will enter the Machu Picchu Citadel for your tour during the least crowded time of the day, while the majority of visitors are returning to Cusco. Your guided tour of “the Lost City of the Incas” includes a lecture about the natural granite rock formations, which were adapted and incorporated into the construction of the citadel and its highly stylized temples. It is an amazing feat of architecture considering the difficulties of the site’s geography. Machu Picchu, hidden in the Andean cloud forest, is also believed to possess a special mystical energy.
Day 9
MACHU PICCHU – CUSCO
Free morning at Machu Picchu/Return to Cusco
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Today, you are encouraged to explore the citadel for a second time on your own. Take your time absorbing sites and taking photographs of any interesting scenes you missed the day before. This is truly an incredible location and one that deserves two days of exploration. Later, you will transfer back to the train for your departure to Cusco. On board, relax and smile as you recall Machu Picchu’s ancient secrets. During the return journey dinner will be served in the dining car. A full menu of seafood, local produce, meats, and tantalizing desserts are on the menu. In addition, you will be entertained by Peruvian dancers and musicians who will delight you with the sounds of unique Andean instruments.
Upon arrival to Poroy Train Station you will be met by our representative and taken to the Monasterio Hotel, where you can enjoy your last evening in the Inca Capital
Day 10
CUSCO – LIMA
Return Home
Today you will be transferred to the airport to board your direct internal flight from Cusco to Lima. There our representative will meet you and assist with your transfer to Miraflores, the principal shopping district of Lima.
At the appropriate time you will be transferred back to Jorge Chavez Airport for your international flight home.
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