Treasures Of The Incas (Small Groups, Base, 12 Days)

Guide

Experience enhanced hygiene protocols to align with the latest guidance following COVID-19. All Travel Concierges, Well-Being Directors and Drivers have completed training in enhanced well-being and hygiene protocols.

Meals

7 Dinner (D) 11 Breakfast (B) 9 Lunch (L) Lima: You can relax before meeting your Travel Concierge at 18.00 for a Welcome Dinner where local flavors and contemporary culinary techniques highlight the pillars of Peruvian cuisine. Lima: Enjoy a fantastic seafood restaurant in the trendy neighborhood of Barranco in Lima. This restaurant offers Peruvian classics in a great outdoor ambiance underneath the lush trees. Sacred Valley: Experience a caja china lunch, a popular way to create a delicious meal in Peru, cooked in a wooden box. Machu Picchu: Enjoy lunch at Café Inkaterra, located between the Machu Picchu train tracks and surrounded by lush forest. Machu Picchu: Savor traditional Andean cuisine at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary. Cusco: Dine at MAP restaurant, one of the city's most prominent restaurants, situated on the lively, modern patio of the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art. Lake Titicaca: Sit down with community members for a farm-to-table lunch featuring ingredients grown on the island before exploring the terraced hillsides and viewing the skillfully made crafts the inhabitants are known for. Lima: Savor a creative array of seasonal dishes created by chef Arlette Eulert at Matria. This Peruvian restaurant boasts organic ingredients that change according to the season. Lima: If you are traveling on a Founder's Collection departure you will meet Dr. Canseco – a local politician who comes from a long lineage of Peruvian politicians and has started his own party in Peru. Visit his beautiful home for lunch and hear about his family's history and his own successful career. Puno: Enjoy a picnic lunch on the shores of Lake Umayo before visiting the archeological site of Sillustani. Explore the stone burial towers 'chullpas' that have dotted the shores since pre-Inca times. Lake Titicaca: Visit the Uros Floating Islands to learn about the lifestyle and customs of the local people and enjoy lunch with this community that bundles reeds from the lake to build floating platforms, houses and canoes.

Others

Choose between two carefully selected activities Lima: Take a guided visit of the Monastery and its catacombs. Lima: Visit the historic Torre de Tagle Palace and the Central Reserve Bank museum. Machu Picchu: Visit a working tea plantation. Machu Picchu: View the world's largest private collection of indigenous orchids around your hotel surrounded by the Cloud Forest. Machu Picchu: Embark on a twilight nature walk where your guide will point out medicinal plants, sacred Pre-Inca pictographs, and an enchanting waterfall in the Cloud Forest. Machu Picchu: Seize the opportunity to return to Machu Picchu a second time on this Personalize Your Day option. After exploring the ancient Inca citadel with your Local Expert earlier in the day, you can personalize your experience and create and savor your own moment at this enigmatic fortress. Cusco: Visit the ruins of Tambo Machay and enjoy a leisurely 3.7 mile (6 km) downhill walk back to Cusco as you pass the ruins of Puca Pucara and Quenguo. Cusco: Return to Cusco by vehicle and visit San Blas church and the surroundings of this fascinating artsy neighborhood of Cusco. After San Blas, continue to San Pedro market for some local shopping and insight into Peruvian produce. You will be escorted by one of our fine Travel Concierges, handpicked to serve as your expert guide, consummate organiser, and friend overseas. Personal radio headsets give you the freedom to wander during visits to famous highlights, without missing any of your Local Expert's fascinating commentary, available on departures with 15 or more guests. At every hotel, you'll be treated to seamless baggage handling, with prompt delivery inside your room. Hotel and restaurant tips are included - you'll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. We also include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels. Sacred Valley: Learn from locals about the process of salt mining.The cascading salt terraces along this scenic canyon have been harvested using an evaporation technique since the times of the Incas and has been passed down by local families, who still harvest salt from it today to sell to the local market. Sacred Valley: A local shaman will perform a welcoming ceremony to the Sacred Valley and the mystical Andes Mountains that surround it. Ollantaytambo: Join a local expert and visit the ruins of Ollantaytambo. See the magnificent views of the ruins on the side of the cliffs above the Urubamba river. Machu Picchu: Experience Machu Picchu with a Local Expert. You’ll learn about Machu Picchu’s history and the use of each section of including ceremonial, storage, agriculture, temples, astronomical, and observatory as well as the possible reasons why the Incas left Machu Picchu. Sacred Valley: Travel back to the Sacred Valley by train, offering you great views with panoramic windows and an outdoor observation carriage. Visit the village of Lamay for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER ® Experience with the locals. First stop at the guinea pig sheds to learn more about the animals and how this traditional activity evolved into a business opportunity in Lamay. Your immersive visit is organized by “La Base Lamay,” an initiative that involves locals from the village and nearby communities in tourism activities to generate fair and higher income. At a traditional chichería bar frequented by locals, learn about making “chicha de jora” (a traditional corn beer) and taste a healthy snack, called “picante”. Cusco: Join your Local Expert for a visit to the ruins of Sacsayhuman, on of the most important Incan sites and a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site. You'll also visit Korikancha, also known as the Temple of the Sun, and the beautiful colonial neighborhood of San Blas and the magnificent Cathedral at Plaza de Armas which took 100 years to complete. Machu Picchu: This enchanting Andean village hotel is located within 12.3 acres of pristine cloud forest. The spectacular grounds are laced with paths that wind past waterfalls and trails, and organic gardens that wander through the misty forest. A place to relax, while exploring nature and encountering the wonders of the Incan civilization, experiencing authentic travel. Dating back nearly five centuries, the storied mansion of the Palacio del Inka stands in the historic center of Cusco. Directly across from the Qoricancha (Temple of the Sun), it is a five-minute walk from the main square and less than a mile from an array of museums, markets and restaurants. Uniting the past and present, Andes Spirit Spa presents indigenous treatments and an indoor therapy pool. Meanwhile, Inti Raymi Restaurant offers authentic Peruvian dishes. Lima: Visit the home of local artist Victor Delfin, known for his monumental El Beso sculpture at his workshop in the city's trendy Barranco district. Cusco: Join a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience as you meet Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez, a Quechua scholar, director of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco. Learn about her mission to preserve traditional weaving techniques. Cusco: Savor a Pachamanca feast in the Sacred valley. This traditional way to slow cook local vegetables and meats using hot stones and clay pots underground is a communal rite in the Sacred Valley that dates back to pre-historic times. It is a way to celebrate and show gratitude to Pachamama, "Mother Earth". Lake Titicaca: Join a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience a you as you meet a local family on Amantani Island. Home to about 4,000 inhabitants, you'll discover how the traditions and language of the Inca culture are being kept alive on this remote location not commonly visited by tourists. Your Well-Being Director takes a proactive approach to your welfare ensuring all well-being regulations are met. On tours fewer than 15 guests, your Travel Concierge will act as your Well-Being Director. We only work with establishments we are confident will consistently adhere to our high well-being standards, which include hotels, restaurants and sight-seeing venues. Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

Transport

Stay connected with friends and family with our complimentary coach and hotel Wi-Fi (where available). Complimentary airport transfers are included on start and end dates and when additional accommodation has been booked through Luxury Gold. Guests will be transferred with fellow Luxury Gold Travelers that arrive on the same flight. Complimentary, private train station transfers are included when train travel is included within the itinerary. Transfers to train stations or alternate hotels, in the same start or end city of the itinerary, may be requested but are not guaranteed. Our customized luxury coaches are sanitized before the start of your tour and are maintained to very high standards. Physical distancing measures have been implemented on our customized luxury coaches.

Accommodation

Lima: Explore the very best of Peru's capital city at the JW Marriott Hotel Lima. Sacred Valley: The elegant Tambo del Inka will ensure an indelible stay. Machu Picchu: Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel is an intimate Andean village with terraced hills, waterfalls, stone pathways and 81 whitewashed adobe casitas tucked away in the cloud forest. Cusco: The stylishly decorated and luxurious JW Marriott El Convento Cusco is built atop ancient Incan ruins. Lake Titicaca: Enjoy the sunsets on the lake from the only five-star hotel region, the Libertador.

Hygieneprotocol

All guests travelling with Luxury Gold through December 31, 2022 are required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, which may include a booster shot to keep the vaccination status current and valid, depending on the travel destination. Children not eligible for vaccination and/or booster at the time of travel must provide a verifiable and negative Covid-19 test result, taken within 72 hours prior to the start of the tour (taking time zones into consideration) for all tours departing until December 31, 2022. For guests travelling with Luxury Gold from 1 January 2023, Covid-19 vaccinations and boosters are highly recommended, but no longer required. Please note that regardless of time of travel guests will need to comply with specific vaccine and/or booster requirements imposed by airlines and/or authorities in the destination visited, as well as requirements for accessing restaurants and venues, which may be more restrictive than above. It is guests’ responsibility to ensure that they comply at all times with these requirements. No refunds will be given if guests are unable to undertake some or all of their vacation due to their failure to comply with these requirements.