DAY 01: International arrival
Arrival in Quito’s international airport, transfer to your hotel of choice. Day off for personal activities. Overnight in your hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 02: Baltra Island – Bartholomew Island
Transfer to the airport in Quito to take your flight bound for Baltra Island. At your arrival you will be transferred to the port to get on board the Galapagos Legend Cruise. Then we will return ashore. Your first impression after arriving on the island will be that you are walking on the moon due to its volcanic formations; there are spurts of lava, spattered cones and cones of volcanic ash, and on our way up to the top we will be able to watch the Pinnacle Rock, an eroded cone made of limestone. There are sea iguanas living on this island, as well as lava lizards; regarding its flora, we can find red mangroves, cacti, etc.
Meals: Lunch and diner
DAY 03: Fernandina Island (Punta Espinosa) - Isabella Island (Cove)
After a dry coming ashore in Punta Espinosa, we will find a largest colony of sea iguanas sharing the same habitat with crabs of hasty legs. There are also nests of land cormorants, penguins of the Galapagos, falcons of the Galapagos and sea lions. It is possible to watch Brachycereus cacti, "pa-hoe-joe" lava, unusual lava formations and recent flows of lava at a safe distance. The mangroves stretch towards the sea forming a rich and vibrant ecosystem. Tagus Cove is the largest inlet in the entire Galapagos Islands, and there we will learn more, after a dry coming ashore, about the five volcanoes who gave birth to this island after erupting together. It is possible to watch the largest colony of Giant Turtles (close to 4000 individuals, though hard to watch), a pathway will lead us to the salt water Lagoon of Darwin, where we will have an excellent view of the lava fields and unique volcanic formations. From the motorboats we will watch the marine life and the penguins of Galapagos too. We will visit the zone of graffiti of 1800, where we will appreciate the relation between these islands and tourism nowadays. It is believed that these graffiti were made by the buccaneers and pirates.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and diner
DAY 04: Santiago Island (Puerto Egas) - Rabida Island/ Jervis
After coming ashore in Puerto Egas we will visit the black beach. The landscape is composed of eroded rocks and lava flows; it is a magnificent place to watch herons, large blue herons, lava herons, pelicans and crowned nocturnal herons, iguanas resting on mattresses of algae when the tide is low and crabs of hasty legs. We will also watch a colony of sea lions swimming in the pools of cold water known as grottos. In this place it is possible to swim and dive in search of octopuses, seahorses, starfish and other species. From a safe distance we will watch morey eels, hammerhead sharks, white fin sharks, golden mantled and spotted rays, tuna fish, sea lions and sea turtles. All dwellers of the cold and warm waters of the coral reefs and sponges. Dry coming ashore on a beach with dark red sand of volcanic origins. It has the greatest diversity of volcanic rocks in all the islands; a pathway will lead us to a lagoon of salt waters where we can watch small flocks of flamingos. The brown pelicans nest in the mangroves on the other side of the lagoon. We can also find brown boobies and 9 species of Darwin’s chaffinches. The motorboat will take us near the coral reefs, an excellent place for diving.
Meals: Breakfast and lunch
DAY 05: Santa Cruz Island, Charles Darwin Station - Cerro Dragon
The Charles Darwin Station hosts international scientists who undertake biological investigations and conservation projects. It is possible to watch giant turtles and their one-year old offspring in this place as part of a breeding program, as well as an incredible forest of giant cacti and many land birds. Then we will have some time off to take a walk across the town and buy some souvenirs. After a dampish coming ashore we will go to a very salty lake located behind the beach and frequented by a large number of pink flamingos. The trail will take us up to the top of Dragon Hill, where we will have a beautiful view of the bay. This is a reproduction area for a species of land iguanas reintroduced by the Charles Darwin Scientific Station. There is also a rare forest of scalesia trees.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and diner
DAY 06: Santa Cruz (Bachas Beach)
Visit to Bachas Beach, located north of Santa Cruz Island; in this place it is possible to practice snorkeling and you can encounter sea lions, iguanas and turtles. Return to the M/V Galapagos Legend. Transfer by bus to the airport to take your flight back to Quito. At your arrival you will be transferred to your hotel. Lodging.
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 07: Quito- City Tour – Middle of the world - Lima
Breakfast. In the morning you will be guided to the most important places of the old city. We will begin with the Church of Guapulo. We will tour many churches such as the Company with its altars made of gold; the Monastery of San Francisco (Jesuits), the Cathedral and the Presidential Palace. We will visit Cerro El Panecillo, with its statue of the Virgin Mary, where we can have a view of the entire city. Then we will visit the Equatorial Monument in the middle of the earth; make sure to have your picture taken in front of it in order for you to obtain a diploma at 0.0.0 of latitude, (you will be weighing 2 kilos less than usual!). In due time transfer to the airport to take your flight bound for Lima. Assistance at your arrival in the international airport of Lima and transfer to your hotel. Here you will be briefed regarding your hired tour, you will be handed the vouchers for the rendering of all the services included in the tour and the schedule of your trip around Peru.
Meals: Breakfast
DAY 08: Lima / Cusco: City tour and visit to nearby ruins
Breakfast. Early in the morning transfer to the airport in Lima to take your flight to Cusco. At your arrival you will be transferred to your hotel. You will have the rest of the morning off to rest and get acclimatized. In the afternoon we will go on a guided city tour around Cusco, visiting the Plaza Mayor, the Cathedral and the Temple of the Sun or Korikancha. The excursion continues on the city’s outskirts to visit the Inca complexes of Kenko, Tambomachay, Puca Pucara and the amazing Fortress of Sacsayhuaman, strategically built on top of a hill that surveys Cusco. Famous for its huge carved rocks, joined with an astonishing precision, which form the outside walls of the complex. Some of these rocks rise above 9 m high and weigh more than 350 tons. Return to the hotel to get ready to enjoy a diner with a folkloric show in a local restaurant, where the musicians play their melodies with Andean instruments of beautiful sound, while dancers in typical garments will show you the ancestral dances of our country; there is the chance to take part on the show for the most enthusiastic.
Meals: Breakfast and diner
DAY 09: Cusco: Sacred Valley of the Incas
Guided excursion to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, over the Vilcanota River, for a panoramic view of the Inca Citadel of Pisac and visit to the typical Indian Market of the Town of Pisac, where we will have the chance to take a close look at the customs of its inhabitants and bargain with the salespeople of the Indian Market, which takes place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Lunch at a country restaurant in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. In the afternoon we will tour around Calca and Urubamba on our way to the Fortress and Citadel of Ollantaytambo, built to guard the entrance to this part of the valley and protect it from possible invasions of people from the forest. We will have the chance to stroll across the town’s narrow streets, thus having a better sense of how this military, religious and cultural center operated during the Inca Empire. On the way back to Cusco we will visit the picturesque little Town of Chincheros, where we find the remains of the 4* Royal Hacienda of Tupac Inca Yupanqui. You will admire its well preserved Inca wall in the main plaza and visit the beautiful colonial temple, with its amazing frescos on the portal, built on the foundations of an Incan building. Back in Cusco you will be transferred to your hotel; night off. We suggest you to stroll around the Plaza de Armas and enjoy the night atmosphere, while tasting a delicious pisco sour in one of the many pubs surrounding the Plaza.
Note: The visit to the Town of Chincheros is subject to time availability.
Meals: Breakfast and lunch
DAY 10: Cusco: Machu Picchu / Cusco
Very early you will have breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the train station for a 3 and a half-hour trip towards Aguas Calientes, town at the foot of Machu Picchu, discovered in 1911 by North American explorer Hiram Bingham. Arrival: after arriving in Aguas Calientes we will climb up to the Lost Inca City on a 25-minute trip by bus through a zigzagging road in the slope of the hill. We will tour the ruins for approximately 3 hours. Our guide will explain us the amazing level of technology achieved by the builders of this astonishing work. The exact precision on these buildings of massive rocks, the canals providing water thus revealing their deep knowledge on hydraulics, the flights of stairs carved in the sheer mountain, and the Intihuatana (or "The Sun’s Highest Point"), which served as a sun calendar that regulated the sowing and the cropping, are tangible and concrete expression of the Incas deep knowledge and technological advancement. All these constructions, along with the Temple of the Sun, the Royal Tomb, The House of the Priest, the Inca Baths and the Temple of the Three Windows, allow us to go back in time and, with the help of our guide, revive the existence of those truly admirable builders. Back in Aguas Calientes we will have lunch at a local restaurant. At mid-afternoon we will take the train back to Cusco, where our representative will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel.
Note: There is the chance of spending the night in Machu Picchu stretching your tour for one day (subject to availability).
Meals: Breakfast and lunch
DAY 11: Cusco / Lima – International departure
You will enjoy breakfast at your hotel in Cusco. Transfer to the airport bound for Lima, where one of our representatives will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel. Rest of the morning and noon off. We recommend you to have lunch at a restaurant in the vicinity of the hotel. In the afternoon guided tour through the most important and attractive places in the City of Lima, the “City of the Kings". The tour includes sightseeing the Historic Center of Lima, panoramic view of the Plaza San Martin, Plaza Mayor, Palace of Government, Basilica Cathedral, Archiepiscopal Palace, Municipal Palace, Church of Santo Domingo, where the tombs of Santa Rosa and San Martin de Porres are located, and balconies of the colonial Lima. Then we will visit the Convent and Church of San Francisco, the largest monumental complex of colonial art in America and World Heritage of Mankind. The tour includes a visit to the basilica of 21 altars, the convent of cloisters, the chapter and Clementine rooms, the choir, the monk’s library, the field museum exhibiting 11 canvases of the school of Rubens, the sacristy with canvases by Zurbaran and Rivera, the great patio decorated with XVI-century glazed tiles from Seville, Moorish arches and subterranean catacombs. Then we will visit the residential districts of San Isidro and Miraflores, passing by the Huaca Pucllana, a ceremonial and administrative center of the Lima Culture built in the II century AD and regarded by the Incas as Ñaupallaqta, or "Sacred Place"; El Olivar Park in San Isidro, with olive trees brought in from Spain in the XV century; Central Park in Miraflores and Larcomar, a tourist and entertainment center, symbol of modern Lima and a privileged spot to appreciate a spectacular panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean from. Then we will return to your hotel. In due time transfer to the airport to take your international flight.
Meals: Breakfast
