Amazon to the Andes
12 days, Lima to Lima
Itinerary
Day 1Lima
Arrive at any time.
Arrive in Lima at any time. There are no planned activities so check into the hotel and enjoy the city. There is a welcome meeting in the evening.
We suggest arriving early to experience everything Lima has to offer. A full day tour will be available to book during your trip check-out process.
If you booked the Lima Cooking Class it does not include extra time in Lima and we highly recommend booking pre-trip accommodation. You will be picked up from your hotel at approx 10:00 (10:30 from Aug-Dec) and taken to a local market and restaurant to prepare and enjoy a traditional Peruvian meal. You will return back to your hotel around 13:00.
Please note that hot water shortages and power outages can be fairly common in Peru (even in upgraded hotels and private homes). We appreciate your patience and understanding that these occurrences are outside of our control.
Arrival Day and Welcome Meeting with G Representative
The adventure begins today. Feel free to explore, but make sure you're back in time to meet the group. Your G Representative will review the details of your tour.
Optional Activities - Day 1 HideShow
Lima City Tour
40USD per personDiscover Lima’s cultural and culinary highlights on this half-day guided tour. Visit the Santo Domingo Monastery, walk around Plaza de Armas, marvel at the Bodega y Quadra Museum, and get to know some of Lima's lovely neighbourhoods. Stop to enjoy some authentic Peruvian tapas and be introduced to Pisco Sours during a demonstration and tasting.
Lima Cooking Class (4hrs)
Get a taste of Peruvian cuisine, visit local markets, sample exotic fruit, select fresh ingredients, and try your hand at preparing unique Peruvian dishes influenced by China, Italy, West Africa, and Japan.
Please note that if you are travelling with a family there is no age restriction on this activity and the cooking class is acceptable for children.
Accommodation
Below is an example of the hotel we may use in this city. For the actual hotel your specific departure will be using, please check your voucher.
Ibis Budget Miraflores (or similar)
Day 2Lima/Cusco
Hop on a flight to Cusco. Enjoy a free day of shopping and exploring the city. Choose to pre-book the Cusco Cooking Class. Opt for a city tour.
Take a transfer to the airport for the flight to Cusco. Spend the rest of the day relaxing and exploring this fascinating city, and getting used to the altitude.
Please note: if you pre-book the Cusco Cooking Class you will be picked up from your hotel at approx 12:30 and taken to a local market and restaurant to prepare and enjoy a traditional Peruvian meal. Return back to your hotel around 16:00.
Plane
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.
Your Discover Moment
There's plenty to see and do in Cusco, and we wanted to make sure that you had some time to take it all in. Feel free to relax or try optional activities like visiting Museo Inka, Museo de Historia Regional, and whitewater rafting. Your CEO has more ideas if you need them. Just ask!
Optional Activities - Day 2 HideShow
Cusco City Tour
45PEN per personEnjoy a half-day tour of Cusco's main sights. Walk around the Plaza de Armas (main square) and explore this city steeped in one of the world's most alluring and ancient cultures. Visit Qenqo, Koricancha, the Cathedral, Puca Pucara, Tambomachay, and the archaeological site of Sacsaywaman.
Inka Museum
10PEN per personGet ready to explore the artifacts from the Inca Empire, including mummies, jewelry, skulls, and ceramics at this museum of archaeology.
Cusco Cooking Class
Channel your inner chef and get a taste of Peruvian cuisine. Learn all about the essential ingredients, and try your hand at preparing unique Peruvian dishes with a local expert
Accommodation
Hotel Prisma (or similar)
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 3Cusco/Ollantaytambo
Enjoy a full-day guided tour of the Sacred Valley. Stop at the G Adventures-supported women's weaving co-op before visiting a local pottery making community. Break for lunch at the G Adventures-supported Parwa Community Restaurant in Huchuy Qosco. After lunch, opt to head out on a hike to the Ollantaytambo storehouses and look out over the ruins. Or, wander around the cobblestone streets and visit a local Chicheria (corn beer bar).
Private Vehicle
Make stops along the way as you pass through this gorgeous valley – the elevation descends the whole way.
Your G for Good Moment: Ccaccaccollo Community and Women's Weaving Co-op visit
Visit the Ccaccaccollo community centre which G Adventures travellers' donations helped create in 2005, thereby enabling local women to sell traditional textiles to travellers. See local weaving and dyeing techniques used to create garments and souvenirs, and learn how the Planeterra weaving co-operative has impacted the community and those who visit it. This includes the purchase of alpacas to provide a steady supply of wool, looms, and sewing machines as well as several training courses on production, sales and small business management.
Cuyo Chico Pottery Making Demonstration
In the rural village of Cuyo Chico in the Sacred Valley, a group of families joined together to create a small business based on their traditional adobe ceramic crafts. Using clay from their surroundings, they mold bowls, plates, and all manner of decorations. Learn about the ceramics process as well as the traditional adobe brick-making that forms the basis of houses throughout the valley, all while taking in a spectacular view of the Pisac Ruins. After the demonstration, peruse the items for sale directly from the artisans in their shop.
Your G for Good Moment: Parwa Community Restaurant the Sacred Valley
Contribute to sustainable tourism in Huchuy Qosqo, a small village of 65 families in the Sacred Valley, by eating at the Parwa Community Restaurant. Learn how the resident-run restaurant was kickstarted by G Adventures and the Multilateral Investment Fund, to become a successful farm-to-table program that boosts the local economy and several spin-off microenterprises.
Optional Activities - Day 3 HideShow
Ollantaytambo Storehouse Ruins and Hike
Get your blood flowing on a steep hike up to the Pinkuylluna Incan storehouses. Perched on the hill, these ruins provide excellent views of the Sacred Valley and the Ollantaytambo ruins below.
Accommodation
Hotel Inka Paradise (or similar)
Meals included:
Breakfast | LunchDay 4Ollantaytambo/Cusco
After breakfast visit the Ollantaytambo ruins where you'll walk up the 200 stone steps to reach the top. Return to the Sacred Valley with your G representative to explore the sites of the Maras Salt Mines and the ancient Incan agricultural terraces of Moray. Continue on a scenic drive through small villages and stunning views of the Andean countryside. Then visit the Chincheros ruins. Known to the Incas as the birthplace of the rainbow, this site offers stunning views of the Andean countryside. Return to Cusco for the evening.
Leave the hikers to start their trek and head out to explore Moray and Maras ancient Incan ruins. Enjoy a scenic drive through Andean farmland on the way.
Ollantaytambo Ruins Visit
Explore this ancient site right in the heart of Ollantaytambo city. Learn about the principles of Incan architecture and get a first taste of climbing around a massive ruins site.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Maras Salt Mines and Moray Visit
Drive a little more than an hour to get to the Moray archaeological site. Tour these unique Inca ruins, consisting of circular terraces and a sophisticated irrigation system located at 3500m (11483 ft). Learn about the history and study of this fascinating site – speculation has it that it was an Inca agriculture experiment station.
Visit the impressive Maras Salt Mines, after Moray. See thousands of individual ancient salt pools spilling over a hillside. Learn about the different varieties of salt, and try the renowned pink salt, famous worldwide.
Scenic Andean Drive and lunch near Maras
Set out on a scenic drive above the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Stop along the way to look out over small farms carved into the hills and small villages dotted along the landscape. Enjoy the views and have lunch near Maras, opt to relax, explore the surroundings.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Chincheros Ruins Visit
Chincheros is known to the Incas as the birthplace of the rainbow. This typical Andean village has Inca ruins, a colonial church, and sweeping mountain views. Explore the ruins and check out the impressive architecture of this ancient place.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Accommodation
Hotel Prisma (or similar)
Meals included:
Breakfast | LunchDay 5Cusco
Fill up on breakfast at your hotel in Cusco before walking to the Cusco Cathedral where your guide will meet the group for your walking tour of Cusco's colonial side. See the colonial and Inca architecture visible throughout the city and visit the Sapantiana staircase waterfall aqueduct before having lunch near the main plaza. Afterwards, walk back to the hotel and enjoy free time for the rest of the evening.
Cusco Colonial Side Walking Tour
Spend time on a group walking tour of the colonial areas in Cusco. Start in Cusco City and finish with a visit to the Sapantiana waterfalls before having a delicious lunch at a restaurant near the main plaza.
Free Time
Spend more time getting to know this fascinating city and surrounding area. Free time is yours to explore any way you want.
Optional Activities - Day 5 HideShow
Inka Museum
10PEN per personGet ready to explore the artifacts from the Inca Empire, including mummies, jewelry, skulls, and ceramics at this museum of archaeology.
Accommodation
Hotel Prisma (or similar)
Meals included:
Breakfast | LunchDay 6Cusco/Aguas Calientes
After breakfast at the hotel in Cusco, the group will travel by van to Ollantaytambo to catch the scenic train to Aguas Calientes. After enjoying a quick orientation walk around the town of Aguas Calientes the group will have free time for optional activities. Opt to visit the Machu Picchu Museum, the Mandor Waterfalls, and the butterfly garden. Or consider taking a dip in some thermal baths to relax those muscles.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Train
Climb aboard, take a seat, and enjoy the ride.
Aguas Calientes Orientation Walk
The group will arrive at Aguas Calientes with their assistant guide or CEO and they will have an orientation walk through the town of Aguas Calientes. Your CEO can then help you coordinate any optional activities you may want to try during your time here.
Optional Activities - Day 6 HideShow
Machu Picchu Museum Visit
7USD per personGet an in-depth look at Inca history and learn more about Hiram Bingham, the American archaeologist and explorer that discovered Machu Picchu. The museum holds the largest collection of Inca artifacts excavated from Machu Picchu. Your guide will point out items of interest so you walk away feeling like an explorer yourself.
Mandor Waterfalls Optional Visit
20PEN per personThis botanical garden boasts a beautiful waterfall, varied wildlife and lush scenery. Walk along one of the trails and admire the many orchids.
Machu Picchu Thermal Baths
6USD per personAfter Machu Picchu, the biggest tourist attraction in the town of Aguas Calientes are its thermal baths. Temperatures vary from 38ºC. (100.4 ° F) to 44ºC. (111.2 ° F). The waters come from a natural spring of volcanic origin that is yellowish in colour due to the presence of sulfur.
Machu Picchu Butterfly Garden
20PEN per personThis sanctuary is located inside the National Park of Machu Picchu. There are more than 100 different endemic species here and you'll have the opportunity to see them on this visit to the House of Butterflies.
Accommodation
Hotel Wiracocha Inn (or similar)
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 7Machu Picchu/Cusco
Rise early to enjoy a guided tour of Machu Picchu. After, catch the train towards Cusco.
Rise early to catch the first bus up to Machu Picchu with your guide. Enjoy a guided visit to the ruins, then head back down by bus to Aguas Calientes to meet up with the rest of the group. Take the scenic train back to Ollantaytambo to meet the van for the ride back to Cusco.
Local Bus
Climb aboard, grab a seat, and enjoy the ride.
Machu Picchu Guided Tour
Set off with the local guide to explore Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas. Learn about the history and gain insights into this massive mountaintop citadel while wandering through ancient dwellings, stone temples and along sculpted terraces. Feel the energy of this 15th-century site, now both a UNESCO World Heritage site and voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide internet poll.
Train
Climb aboard, take a seat, and enjoy the ride.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Accommodation
Hotel Prisma (or similar)
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 8Cusco
Continue to explore Cusco on a free day in the city.
Opt to visit and hike the famed Rainbow Mountain, pre-book on the checkout page to include this optional activity on your tour or ask your GCO or travel agent for assistance.
Your Discover Moment
There's plenty to see and do in Cusco, and we wanted to make sure that you had some time to take it all in. Feel free to relax or try optional activities like visiting Museo Inka, Museo de Historia Regional, and whitewater rafting. Your CEO has more ideas if you need them. Just ask!
Optional Activities - Day 8 HideShow
Inka Museum
10PEN per personGet ready to explore the artifacts from the Inca Empire, including mummies, jewelry, skulls, and ceramics at this museum of archaeology.
Cusco Tourist Ticket
130PEN per personThis ticket allows admission at 16 sights of the city of Cusco including many popular museums and cathedrals, the ticket also provides entrance to Sacsayhuaman Archaeological Park, and sights in the South Valley of Cusco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
Rainbow Mountain Hike - Full-day Trip
Lookout over these colourful Andean mountains striped with maroon, turquoise, lavender, and gold. The sediment, elevation, and proximity to the ocean create a landscape that has to be seen to be believed. Get started early to drive around 2 hours to the starting point of this challenging, yet rewarding full-day hike. Reaching 5,029m (16,500 ft) this 14km hike is no walk in the park, but these unique mountains do not disappoint.
Accommodation
Hotel Prisma (or similar)
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 9Cusco/Amazon Jungle
Fly to Puerto Maldonado and continue by motorized boat to the comfortable and intimate G Lodge Amazon.
Fly to Puerto Maldonado, deep in the lowlands of the Amazon Jungle.
After a brief stop in town to store large luggage, drive to the pier and travel by covered motorized boat to the jungle lodge. En route, spot bird species typical of the river and forest edge. The Tambopata Rainforest area holds the world record for the most bird sightings in one area.
Local community members make up the majority of lodge staff, including multilingual naturalist guides. Take the opportunity to learn about the area’s rich flora and fauna and locals' extensive use of medicinal plants and other forest plant resources through traditional techniques for building, fishing, and hunting.
The lodge itself combines native architectural style and materials with low-impact, eco-friendly technology. Rooms are simple but comfortable, with mosquito netting for individual beds, flush toilets, showers (with solar-heated hot water), and candles for lighting (no electricity). Please note in periods of high demand you may be accommodated in a nearby Amazon lodge.
Plane
On arrival, head by private vehicle to the lodge's office in Puerto Maldonado to store large luggage. Use one of the provided duffels to bring just what you need into the jungle. From there, travel about 1 hr to reach the boat landing.
Motorized Canoe
Climb in and move swiftly through the water to the next stop.
Wildlife-spotting Night Walk
Get the lowdown on local flora and fauna, and grab a flashlight to discover what’s living around lodge grounds. Receive help from the talented, expert naturalist guide to locate heaps of hidden creatures! Keep an eye out for snakes, tarantulas, owls, and poison dart frogs, just to name a few.
Accommodation
Tambopata Lodge (or similar)
Meals included:
Breakfast | Lunch | DinnerDay 10Amazon Jungle
Enjoy guided excursions led by expert naturalists to spot wildlife at nearby oxbow lakes and along jungle trails. Spend some time relaxing in a hammock, enjoying the local swimming hole, or visiting a nearby plantation. Go on a caiman-spotting cruise after dinner.
Head out early to catch the jungle at its wildest (and coolest). Walk slowly through the forest searching for wildlife before heading out on an oxbow lake by canoe. Search for anaconda, the elusive giant river otter, or black caiman. Even if you don't spot these shy creatures, there are plenty of other birds, interesting plants, and other animals about.
Jungle Excursions
Enjoy visits to oxbow lakes to learn about the jungle and its inhabitants. Be introduced to the area’s rich flora and fauna by expert naturalist guides, who can teach extensive uses for medicinal and other forest plant resources through traditional techniques. Be prepared to go early morning or evening to avoid the heat of midday. Enjoy a leisurely pace – the trip requires some walking, but nothing too strenuous.
Free Time
Spend time around the lodge or go further afield. Free time can be used to explore any way you want.
Caiman-Spotting Cruise
Head out after dark by motorized canoe to search for caimans on the river banks. Enjoy a lesson on caimans from the expert guide. Take advantage of the keen eyes of the expert naturalist guides – they are truly spectacular at spotting these elusive smaller cousins of alligators hiding on the muddy banks.
Accommodation
Tambopata Lodge (or similar)
Meals included:
Breakfast | Lunch | DinnerDay 11Amazon Jungle/Lima
Fly back to Lima for an optional final dinner and night out.
Enjoy a delicious Amazonian breakfast before heading back to the airport by motorized boat and van. Fly to Lima and opt for a final night out for dinner or Pisco Sours.
Motorized Canoe
Climb in and move swiftly through the water to the next stop.
Plane
Take a van from the pier to pick up stored luggage before heading to the Puerto Maldonado airport for the flight back to Lima. A private vehicle will be waiting to take the group to the Lima hotel.
Accommodation
Ibis Budget Miraflores (or similar)
Meals included:
BreakfastDay 12Lima
Depart at any time.
Optional Activities - Day 12 HideShow
Lima City Tour
40USD per personDiscover Lima’s cultural and culinary highlights on this half-day guided tour. Visit the Santo Domingo Monastery, walk around Plaza de Armas, marvel at the Bodega y Quadra Museum, and get to know some of Lima's lovely neighbourhoods. Stop to enjoy some authentic Peruvian tapas and be introduced to Pisco Sours during a demonstration and tasting.
Full Day Lima Experience
150USD per personExperience the highlights Lima along with its important eras in history such as, the Pre-Hispanic Oracle of Pachacamac. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in the bohemian district of Barranco and visit the colonial convent of San Francisco and its latest addition, the Magic Water Park.
Lima Cooking Class (4hrs)
Get a taste of Peruvian cuisine, visit local markets, sample exotic fruit, select fresh ingredients, and try your hand at preparing unique Peruvian dishes influenced by China, Italy, West Africa, and Japan.
Please note that if you are travelling with a family there is no age restriction on this activity and the cooking class is acceptable for children.