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Photo courtesy of Jeremy Hetzel -
Photo courtesy of Mike Weston -
Photo courtesy of Jeremy Hetzel -
Photo courtesy of Jeremy Hetzel -
Photo courtesy of Flickr -
Photo courtesy of Tim Heyer -
Photo courtesy of Tim Heyer -
Photo courtesy of Jeremy Hetzel -
Photo courtesy of Jeremy Hetzel -
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Tour Description
Visit two remarkable countries on this suggested program: Peru for its colorful Andean cities and astonishing archaeological sites (including mysterious Machu Picchu) and Ecuador's Galápagos Islands for a wildlife experience unmatched by any other destination on earth.
Itinerary
2012 Galapagos and Peru Experience
Day 1 -Monday Arrival in Quito
Quito, nestled at the foot of 15,696-foot Volcan Pichincha, is known for its eternally spring-like climate and for the beauty of its well-preserved colonial center. Originally settled by the Quitu tribe in the first millennium, Quito was eventually integrated into the Inca Empire before being destroyed and re-founded in 1534 by Spanish Conquistador Sebastian de Benalcazar. For nearly three centuries, the arts and intellectual societies flourished under Spanish colonial rule until 1809, when Quito established the first self-governing junta in the colonies. Liberator Simón Bolívar led the country as part of the Republic of Greater Colombia until 1830, when the Republic of Ecuador announced its independence with the adoption of the Constitution signed in Riobamba. Due to the city’s preservation of its blended past, UNESCO declared Quito the first of its World Heritage Sites in 1978. The city is beautifully situated in an Andean valley at 9,300 feet, making it the 2nd highest capital city in the world.
Dann Carlton Quito hotel (standard room) no meals
Day 2 -Tuesday Quito
Depart for a city tour of Colonial Quito. This morning sightseeing demonstrates some of the reasons why Ecuador's capital has earned its honor as a world cultural site. Marvel at the city’s ornate churches such as the Cathedral, La Compañía de Jesus and San Francisco, and experience a long history of local culture in Quito’s “Old Town”. Rich in art treasures, fine woodcarvings and altars of gold leaf, the churches are historical icons of Quito.
Ride up the road to the Panecillo or the Itchimbia hills for a breathtaking view of Quito
Then visit the Middle of the World, where you will be able to straddle both hemispheres at once. Visit the Ethnographic Museum (with a display of the costumes and lifestyle of the various Indigenous groups of Ecuador) OR the Inti Ñan Museum (where you will see samples of how life was in the pre-Hispanic times and will experience demonstration on gravity at the Equator).
Dann Carlton Quito hotel (standard room) B & L
Day 3 -Wednesday Quito / Otavalo / Quito
Departure for a sightseeing of the Otavalo area. You will drive North from Quito along the Panamericana road for your first stop at Guachalá – Your first stop will be the Quitsato Sundial, which is located 70 kilometres from Quito. At this place, you will find a Monument of the Middle of the World, designed as a huge Sundial, which is located right on the Equator. A short visit will provide you with a very interesting insight to the magnificent astronomic knowledge that was part of the pre-Hispanic population of the Andes.
Continue to the Otavalo area for your next stop at the Otavalo market. Besides the textile market, you can visit the produce market, which is very colourful and will give you the opportunity to see and smell many of the fruit you will taste during your stay in Ecuador.
During a visit to the famous market town of Otavalo we will give you the opportunity to visit Indian homes for a fascinating textile demonstration. Not only is the technique century old, but is also traditional to the area and the local people, who are known throughout South America for the quality of their loom work. We will witness the entire process from cleaning the wool, to spinning it, dying it, and how they work in the looms. No trip to Otavalo would be complete without the opportunity to go shopping as well, but this special experience offers a look behind the scenes of the textile products found in the marketplace.
After lunch you may want to end your visit to Otavalo with an easy hike to the waterfall of Peguche, which is considered a sacred symbol of the Otavalo culture.
Dann Carlton Quito hotel (standard room) B & L
Day 4 -Thursday Quito / Galápagos
Transfer to the airport for your flight to Galapagos (via Guayaquil).
Upon arrival at Baltra Airport, you will be met by your guides, who will escort you on a short bus ride to the harbor. Motorized dinghies, known locally as “pangas” will transport you to the boat, where the captain and crew will welcome you aboard. After departure there will be a briefing, lunch and a safety drill.
The first visit you will make, is to Bartolome Island. Dry landing. Passengers will see volcanic formations like lava bombs, spatter, and cinder cones. After hiking to the summit you can enjoy a great view of the surrounding islands, including Pinnacle Rock’s eroded tuff cone. During the hike to the summit, travelers will often see colonies of marine iguanas, lava lizards, tiquilla, and various cacti. Visitors will be able to snorkel and see the Galapagos penguin, sea turtles, and white-tipped reef sharks from a safe distance.
M/Y Galapagos Legend B,L,D
Day 5 -Friday Quito/Galapagos
Urbina Bay (Isabela). Wet landing. Passengers will visit the fossil beach and coral area. Depending on the season you may be able to observe giant tortoises, land iguanas and flightless cormorants. After the walk we will have time for snorkelling. Fernandina (Espinosa Point). Dry landing. Visitors will see the biggest marine iguanas mingling with sally light-foot crabs, as well as flightless cormorants at their nesting sites, Galapagos penguins, Galapagos hawks, and sea lions. Among the flora and volcanic formations observers will spot brachycereus cactus, and "pa-hoe-hoe" lava and "AA" lava formations. Numerous mangrove beds extend into the sea.
M/Y Galapagos Legend B,L,D
Day 6 -Saturday Galapagos
Santiago (Egas Port). Wet landing on a dark sand beach. Most of the landscape is tuff-stone layers and lava flows. You can observe hunting herons, great blue herons, lava herons, yellow crowned night herons and oyster catchers. Passengers will see marine iguanas grazing on algae beds alongside red sally light-foot crabs. There is a colony of fur seals swimming in deep cool-water pools. Here you can swim and snorkel and find octopuses, sea horses, star fish.
Rábida (Jervis). Wet landing. The volcano-formed beach is dark red and is often occupied by sea lions. It’s considered the geographic center of Galapagos because it has the most diverse volcanic rocks on the Islands. You’ll hike to a salt water lagoon, where flamingos can sometimes be found. July through September is a good time to observe brown pelicans nesting in the salty bushes. Boobies and 9 species of Darwin’s finches can also be observed. You can take a ride along the reefs in a dinghy, as well as snorkel.
M/Y Galapagos Legend B,L,D
Day 7 -Sunday Galapagos
Santa Cruz (Charles Darwin Research Station). Travellers will visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, staffed with international scientists conducting biological research and conservation projects. Here guests can admire the giant tortoises that are part of the breeding program. Visitors can also admire the prickly-pear cactus forest and many land birds. Later on, you’ll have some free time to walk around town and shop for souvenirs.
Santa Cruz (Highlands). Travellers can trek through the highlands of Santa Cruz and visit Cerro Chato, where they will be able to observe the famous giant tortoises. Additionally, travellers can walk inside the dormant lava tubes.
M/Y Galapagos Legend B,L,D
Day 8 -Monday Galapagos/ Guayaquil /Lima
Santa Cruz (Bachas Beach). Wet landing. This beach is located on the north side of Santa Cruz Island. Visitors will encounter many sea birds, marine iguanas, sea turtles.
Transfer to the airport in Baltra to take your flight back to mainland.
Arrival in Guayaquil where you will be met and assisted to board internationalflight to Lima
On arrival at Lima International Airport you will be met and given assistance to check in at your hotel.
Lima, the Capital of Peru was founded on 18th January 1535, by Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro, and quickly became known as the City of the Kings. Within 70 years it was the most important city in the Spanish-American Empire, and was the focal point for European trade and cultural activity in the region.
It is a city of rare fascination and unexpected pleasures. Lima has decaying colonial splendor and the teeming vitality of an oriental bazaar; melancholy cloudy winters and warm breezy summers; impoverished urban sprawl and quiet elegant corners among ancient buildings where the nightair is scented with jasmine.
Casa Andina Private Collection Hotel (Superior room) with breakfast
Day 9, 2012 Lima / Cusco/Sacred Valley
This morning you are transferred to the airport where you embark on your flight to Cusco, an Andean community and former ancient capital of the Inca Empire.
Upon arrival in Cusco, you are met and transferred directly to the Sacred Valley. On the way your will visit the local village of Pisac, famous for its bustling, colorful market which attracts tourists from all over the world to try their hand at bartering for local sweaters, ponchos, wall hangings, jewellery and goods.
You will have time to shop before enjoying lunch at the charming Wayra Ranch, where you will enjoy a Paso Horse demonstration.
After lunch, continue on to the massive fortress of Ollantaytambo. The fortress, a formidable stone structure that climbs massive terraces reaching the top of a high peak, was the valley’s main defense against the Antis and was the site of the Incas’ greatest victory against the Spanish during the wars of conquest. Constructed of rose-colored granite, this huge installation was once a thriving complex of baths, temples and military barracks. Below the fortress lies a complete Incan town, also called Ollantaytambo, still inhabited and with its original architecture and layout preserved.
Dinner is on your own.
Sol & Luna hotel (standard Casita) B, L
Day 10, 2012 Sacred Valley
Breakfast at your hotel
Day at leisure to explore the sacred valley on you own.
Lunch and dinner on your own
Sol & Luna hotel (standard Casita) with breakfast
Day 11, 2012 Ollantaytambo / Machu Picchu
This morning you will be transfer to Ollantaytambo station and board the Vistadome train bound for Machu Picchu, where a late morning arrival gives you time to begin your explorations of this breathtaking Incan citadel.
Accompanied by your guide, explore the city's ruins, and feel its pulse as you visualize the lives of the priests, craftsmen, and servants who inhabited this seemingly uninhabitable citadel. Excavations at the site have revealed skeletons, artifacts and woolen clothing, but no gold.
The same precision of assembled stones exists here as in other Incan sites. Overlooking the raging Urubamba River and discovered in a hidden tangle of vines and trees atop the mountain, the city of Machu Picchu will forever hold its secret of its destruction - the Incas left no writtenrecord. (your guide return to Cusco this afternoon)
Lunch will be served at Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge.
Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel (superior room) B,L,D
Day 12, 2012 Machu Picchu / Cusco
It is said that Machu Picchu is a place of great spirituality, and the ultimate spiritual moment of the day happens at sunrise. This morning therefore there is an option to rise early and view the world’s most spectacularly situated ruins at sunrise.
This morning, you will have the opportunity to take one of two hikes on tour own. The first possibility is to the Inti Punku, or famous Sun Gate, which is the entry point to Machu Picchu on the Inca Trail and offers excellent views of the ruins, (approx 2 hours). The second is the chance to hike up the Huayna Picchu – the highest mountain which is actually part of the ruins (seen here on the right), from where you are afforded excellent views of the surrounding area, as well as a unique view of the famous ‘lost city’, (approx 2.5 hours). Or if you prefer you can just relax and continue exploring this magnificentcitadel on your own. (Entrances and guide are not included)
Lunch at your hotel
In the afternoon, you will join the Vistadome train to Cusco. Upon arrival in Cusco a representative will be waiting for you to transfer to your hotel in Cusco.
Casa Andina Private Collection Cusco (Superior room) with breakfast
Day 13 , 2012 Cusco
Breakfast at your hotel.
This morning, you will enjoy city tour which includes the Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas and Santo Domingo, a Dominican church and convent built upon the foundations of the Koricancha, or the ‘place of gold’, the Incas’ principal religious building, dedicated to the worship of the sun. Continue, your visit will take you to the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, a true testimonial to Incan architectural skills. Compiled of massive stones (one weighs 125 tons!) you are challenged to try to slip a piece of paper through the cracks in between these blocks, cut and fitted together with incredible precision without a single drop of mortar to hold them in place. This ancient fortress (where the greatest battle between the Spanishand Incas took place) overlooks the red-tiled roofs of Cusco and the breathtaking countryside surrounding the city.
Lunch at Local restaurant
Afternoon at leisure
Dinner is on your own.
Casa Andina Private Collection Cusco (Superior room) with breakfast
Day 14, 2012 Cusco / Lima/ Out
Breakfast at your hotel
Transfer to the airport to board your flight back to Lima. Upon arrival, reception and you will be meet by our representative who will assist to board your international flight. Breakfast included.
End of Services
Bon Voyage!
*** THIS IS A PROPOSAL ONLY AND IS SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY AT THE TIME OF CONFIRMATION.
WE ARE NOT HOLDING ANY SPACES FOR THIS ITINERARY AT THIS TIME. ***
Departures
This trip is designed around a cruise component offering weekly departures. Please call for details.
Pricing Information
| 2012 Galapagos and Peru Experience
2 people sharing one room on the land portions and one standard cabin on the Galapagos Ship $6299.00 2 people – upgrade for junior cabin: plus $500.00 each. 2 people – upgrade for Legend Cabin : Plus $700.00 each. 2 people – upgrade for Balcony cabin : $1100.00 each.
4 people sharing two rooms on the land portions and 2 standard cabins on the Galapagos Ship $5899.00 4 people – upgrade for junior cabin: plus $500.00 each. 4 people – upgrade for Legend Cabin : Plus $700.00 each. 4 people – upgrade for Balcony cabin : $1100.00 each.
Add additional $1100 per person for the following:
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All prices are in US dollars and do not include international airfare, unless otherwise noted.
Prices displayed are based on the lowest season base price and assume double occupancy. Prices are shown in U.S. dollars and may or may not include administrative fees, taxes, meals, airfare (where applicable) and Single Supplements. Cancellation penalties, blackout dates and other restrictions may apply.
