Peru Unique : Lima – Paracas – Ica – Nazca – Cusco – Machu Picchu – Puno -12 Days

INTRODUCTION

Few itineraries in the country manage to connect three such distinct geographical regions in a single trip. This 12-day program traces a route from the Pacific coast to the high plateau, crossing coastal deserts, inter-Andean valleys, and the basin of the highest navigable lake in the world, with stops at some of the most studied archaeological sites and natural landscapes in South America.

The starting point is Lima, a port city with five centuries of accumulated history in its historic center and a cuisine that brings together techniques and ingredients from very different origins. From there, the route heads down to Paracas to board a boat to the Ballestas Islands, where the Humboldt Current sustains a food chain that supports dense colonies of sea lions, penguins, and seabirds just a few kilometers from the desert coastline. In Ica, the dunes of Huacachina and a visit to a traditional pisco winery round out the coastal leg of the journey before arriving in Nazca, where a small aircraft overflight reveals the true scale of the geoglyphs drawn across the pampa more than a thousand years ago.

From Nazca the itinerary turns inland toward Cusco, the former capital of the Tawantinsuyu, where Inca and colonial architecture coexist within the same urban fabric. The Sacred Valley of the Urubamba River, with its agricultural sites, fortresses, and active communities, fills a full day before the route reaches Machu Picchu, the fifteenth-century citadel built on a ridge surrounded by cloud forest at 7,972 ft (2,430 m.a.s.l.).

The journey closes in Puno, at 12,507 ft (3,812 m.a.s.l.) on the Peruvian shore of Lake Titicaca. The floating islands of the Uros, built and maintained with totora reeds directly on the lake, represent a form of territorial organization with no equivalent on the continent, and the contact with the communities that inhabit them is one of the most distinctive stretches of the entire program.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Reserve your excursion in advance as soon as possible.
• Check personal items that you will take to this Tour.
• If you have any questions or would like more information about this package, do not hesitate to contact us: Cell phone: +51 984 525 006 / WhatsApp: +51 984 683 047 or write to: info@incredibleperutours.com

DAY 1. ARRIVAL IN PERU + LIMA CITY TOUR

The entry point to the country is Jorge Chávez International Airport, where an agency representative will be waiting to take the group to the hotel. The following hours are available to rest and get oriented in the city before the tour begins.

The afternoon departure takes the group into the historic center of Lima, one of the best-preserved colonial urban ensembles in South America and a site recognized by UNESCO. The tour opens at the Plaza de Armas, the city’s founding square laid out in 1535, flanked by the Government Palace, the Municipality, and the facade of the Cathedral. The interior of the Cathedral of Lima holds, among other elements, the funerary chapel of Francisco Pizarro and a series of baroque altarpieces distributed along its naves. Steps away, the San Francisco Convent is known primarily for the catacombs that extend beneath its floor plan, a network of underground galleries that served as an ossuary until the late eighteenth century and that today preserve the remains of around 70,000 people arranged in niches and collective pits. The descent into these galleries is a key part of the tour.

Overnight at hotel in Lima.

DAY 2. PARACAS + BALLESTAS ISLANDS + HUACACHINA

From 5:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Departure is before dawn from the hotel to the bus terminal. The bus ride from Lima to Paracas follows the Pan-American South Highway for approximately four hours, skirting the desert coastline where the coastal desert meets the sea directly.

In Paracas, you will board a motorboat to approach the Ballestas Islands, wave-eroded rock formations that serve as shelter and breeding grounds for a remarkably dense marine fauna. Throughout the boat tour you will see colonies of sea lions spread across the rocks, Humboldt penguins settled into cliff crevices, and flocks of pelicans, boobies, and cormorants skimming low over the water. The vessel circles the islands without landing, keeping the impact on the ecosystem to a minimum. Time on the water is approximately two hours.

The second part of the afternoon moves the group inland into the desert to reach the Huacachina lagoon, a body of water surrounded by dunes that in some points rise over 100 meters. The tubular buggy ride covers the highest crests of the dune system with the guide at the wheel, alternating speed runs with stops at natural viewpoints. Sandboarding takes place on the steepest slopes, with boards provided by the operator. The day ends with the view of the oasis framed between the dunes as the sun goes down.

Overnight at hotel in Ica.

DAY 3. FLIGHT OVER THE NAZCA LINES + RETURN TO LIMA

From 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The morning transfer takes the group to the Nazca airstrip, where you will board a Cessna aircraft to fly over the Nazca pampa, a vast desert plain where the Nazca culture engraved between the second century BC and the seventh century AD a series of lines, geometric shapes, and large-scale representations of animals and plants. The flight passes over the 13 most representative figures in the complex: the Hummingbird, the Monkey, the Spider, the Condor, the Astronaut, the Dog, the Hands, the Tree, the Whale, the Pelican, the Booby, the Lizard, and the Parrot. The flight altitude and the clarity of the desert sky allow each figure to be seen in its entirety, something that is impossible from the ground given the scale of the drawings. Flight duration is between 30 and 40 minutes.

Back on the ground, the group boards the bus back to Lima. The return along the Pan-American Highway takes around four hours.

Overnight at hotel in Lima.

DAY 4. FLIGHT TO CUSCO + CUSCO CITY TOUR

The group leaves the hotel early for Jorge Chávez International Airport to catch the flight to Cusco. The landing at Alejandro Velasco Astete Airport takes place at 11,152 ft (3,399 m.a.s.l.), an altitude at which the body needs time to adjust. For that reason, the first hours in the city are set aside for rest at the hotel, with the option of drinking muña or coca leaf tea, both used locally to ease altitude sickness symptoms.

The afternoon tour begins at the Plaza de Armas of Cusco, whose space corresponds to that of the ancient Inca Huacaypata, the ceremonial plaza where the great rituals of the Tawantinsuyu were held. Nearby, the Qorikancha was the highest-ranking religious center of the Empire, with walls originally lined in gold sheets that the Spanish removed after the conquest to build the convent of Santo Domingo on top. The result is an architectural layering that can be visited today in both strata.

Outside the urban center, Sacsayhuamán is a ceremonial and defensive complex built with limestone blocks of extraordinary dimensions, some exceeding 300 tons, fitted together without mortar with a precision that has withstood centuries of seismic activity. Qenqo is a natural rock mass shaped by the Incas into a labyrinth of channels, cavities, and offering surfaces. Puca Pucara was a control point on the road network connecting Cusco to the Antisuyu, and Tambomachay is a set of fountains and channels that still carries a constant flow of water from underground springs today.

Overnight at hotel in Cusco.

DAY 5. HUMANTAY LAKE

From 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Departure from Cusco takes place in the early hours of the morning to reach the trailhead at Soraypampa, a community at 12,795 ft (3,900 m.a.s.l.) at the base of the Salkantay glacier. From there, the trail ascends over approximately 4 kilometers with a sustained elevation gain of 400 meters. Hiking time ranges from one and a half to two hours depending on each person’s fitness level and degree of acclimatization. The path crosses high-altitude grasslands with gradually expanding views of the mountain range.

Humantay Lake sits at 13,779 ft (4,200 m.a.s.l.), enclosed between walls of rock and ice. Its waters display a turquoise color produced by glacial sediments held in suspension, and the reflection of the Salkantay glacier, at 20,574 ft (6,271 m.a.s.l.), is projected across the surface during the calmest moments of wind. The lake is considered a sacred place by the surrounding communities, who perform periodic offerings on its shore as part of their active ritual practices.

Overnight at hotel in Cusco.

DAY 6. SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS

From 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The Sacred Valley stretches along the Urubamba River between Písac and Ollantaytambo, and concentrates a density of archaeological sites, active communities, and high-altitude agricultural landscape that made it the most strategically and symbolically valuable territory for the Inca state. The day covers five points spread between the upper reaches and the valley floor.

In Chinchero, at over 12,139 ft (3,700 m.a.s.l.), the group visits the colonial church built over an Inca terrace and attends a weaving demonstration led by community women who work with drop spindles, backstrap looms, and dyes obtained from local plants and minerals. Each step of the process, from spinning the fiber to finishing the textile, is explained in detail by the artisans themselves.

In Maras, the salt ponds form a grid of more than three thousand terraced pools carved into a hillside and continuously fed by a saltwater spring that rises from inside the mountain. The natural evaporation process deposits a layer of salt that the families who own each pool harvest by hand with simple tools, just as has been done since before the Inca period.

The circular terraces of Moray consist of a series of descending concentric rings cut into a natural depression in the terrain. The temperature difference between the outer ring and the floor of the deepest enclosure reaches 15°C, which led researchers to propose that the site functioned as an experimental station for cultivating species under climatic conditions different from those of the surrounding environment.

In Ollantaytambo, the Inca fortress rises across a series of terraces that climb toward the Temple of the Sun, whose construction was left unfinished after the arrival of the Spanish. The town surrounding the fortress preserves the original Inca street grid and water channels, with stone blocks that still form the foundations of current homes. The day closes at Písac, where the archaeological complex spread across the hillside includes residential, agricultural, hydraulic, and funerary sectors that allow visitors to understand the integrated organization of an Inca settlement.

Overnight at hotel in Cusco.

DAY 7. RAINBOW MOUNTAIN AND RED VALLEY

From 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Departure from Cusco takes place before dawn to reach the trailhead in Cusipata before the sun heats the slope. The ascent to the summit of Rainbow Mountain covers approximately 5 kilometers with an elevation gain that runs from 12,795 ft (3,900 m.a.s.l.) to 17,060 ft (5,200 m.a.s.l.). The hiking pace at this altitude is necessarily slow, with regular stops to catch breath and observe how the landscape shifts in color as elevation is gained.

The stratified coloring of the mountain, which alternates bands of deep red, ochre yellow, mineral green, turquoise, and purple, results from the geological composition of the massif: different types of minerals and marine sediments that remained beneath glacier cover for centuries and were exposed as the glacier retreated. From the summit, Mount Ausangate dominates the southern horizon at 20,945 ft (6,384 m.a.s.l.).

The descent toward the Red Valley leads into a lateral ravine of completely different coloring, dominated by reddish and orange tones produced by a high concentration of iron oxide in the soil. The visual contrast between both landscapes, separated by just a few minutes of walking, is one of the most striking aspects of the day.

Overnight at hotel in Cusco.

DAY 8. SANTA TERESA + COCALMAYO HOT SPRINGS + ECO-LODGE

From 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The bus departs Cusco heading toward the town of Santa Teresa, in the province of La Convención, following a route that crosses the Málaga Pass at over 13,123 ft (4,000 m.a.s.l.) before descending the western face of the mountain range toward the bottom of the Urubamba valley. Over the five hours of travel, the vegetation changes progressively: the grasses and shrubs of the high plateau give way to denser, more humid forest as the road loses altitude.

Upon arriving in Santa Teresa, the group heads directly to the Cocalmayo hot springs, located alongside the Urubamba River. The pools are carved into the natural rock of the riverbank and maintain temperatures between 97°F and 104°F (36°C and 40°C). Soaking in these waters after several hours on the road offers a welcome contrast to the hiking days that preceded it.

In the afternoon, a visit to a local coffee farm allows the group to follow the complete journey of the bean from plant to cup: manual harvesting of ripe cherries, pulping to remove the outer skin, fermentation, washing, drying on raised beds, and roasting. Santa Teresa sits at an elevation range of between 3,937 ft and 5,906 ft (1,200 and 1,800 m.a.s.l.), conditions that favor slow bean development and produce cup profiles recognized in the specialty coffee market.

Accommodation is at the Majestic Sky Domes Eco-Lodge in Sahuayaco, where each dome has a transparent roof that allows you to watch the night sky without leaving your bed. The evening closes around an outdoor bonfire.

DAY 9. MACHU PICCHU + RETURN TO CUSCO

From 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The morning transfer takes the group from the Eco-Lodge to Hidroeléctrica station, the boarding point for the Expedition tourist train. The rail journey follows the course of the Urubamba River through the interior of the canyon, with walls of cloud forest closing in around the tracks as the train advances toward Aguas Calientes. The change in vegetation compared to the previous days on the high plateau is immediate and marked.

From Aguas Calientes, the authorized shuttle buses climb in fifteen minutes along the switchback road to the entrance of the citadel, at 7,972 ft (2,430 m.a.s.l.). The guided tour moves sequentially through the different sectors that make up the site. The agricultural zone, formed by stepped terraces that make use of every meter of usable slope, precedes entry into the urban sector. There you will find the Main Plaza, a space for gathering and ceremony; the Temple of the Sun, with its window aligned toward the June solstice; the Intihuatana, a stone of astronomical and ritual function located at the highest point of the urban enclosure; the Temple of the Three Windows, whose exact purpose remains debated; and the residential sector, where the distinction between elite spaces and service areas is still readable in the quality of the stonework.

The citadel was built on the orders of the Inca Pachacútec during the fifteenth century and fell out of use just a few decades later, which explains why Spanish conquistadors never recorded it and it remained unknown outside local communities until 1911. At the end of the tour, the group descends to Aguas Calientes to board the return train. Arrival in Cusco comes late in the evening. Transfer to the hotel.

Overnight at hotel in Cusco.

DAY 10. ROUTE OF THE SUN: CUSCO TO PUNO

From 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

On this day the journey itself takes center stage: the overland route between Cusco and Puno along the Route of the Sun covers approximately 389 kilometers across the southern high plateau, with stops at historical and archaeological sites that fall outside the standard Cusco circuits.

The first stop is Andahuaylillas, 45 kilometers from Cusco, where the church of San Pedro Apóstol concentrates within its interior one of the most elaborate mural decoration programs in colonial Andean art. The walls, vault, and coffered ceiling are covered with fresco paintings, gilded altarpieces, marquetry work, and wood carvings that researchers date between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The comparison with the Sistine Chapel, though informal, gives a sense of the visual density inside.

The second stop is Raqchi, where the walls of the Temple of Wiracocha represent the largest Inca religious structure known to date. The central wall, of adobe over a stone base, originally reached over 49 feet (15 meters) in height, and the complex included storehouses, dwellings, and plazas that formed a major administrative and ceremonial center on the Qhapaq Ñan road network.

In Pukara, the museum holds a collection of monoliths and ceramic pieces from the culture of the same name, which occupied the northern basin of Lake Titicaca between the second century BC and the seventh century AD and whose influence extended across much of the high plateau before the Inca expansion. The bus completes its descent toward Puno at dusk, when the surface of Lake Titicaca catches the lateral light of the setting sun. Transfer from the terminal to the hotel.

Overnight at hotel in Puno.

DAY 11. LAKE TITICACA

From 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

From the lakeside port of Puno, the boat heads out toward the floating islands of the Uros, the first destination of the day. These islands are not natural formations but platforms built and continuously maintained with overlapping layers of totora, an aquatic plant with a spongy stem that grows in the shallow margins of Lake Titicaca. The Uro families who inhabit these islands also build their boats, their homes, and part of their furniture from the same plant. During the visit, the residents explain the process of building and renewing the islands, the workings of their solar panels and communication radios, and the history of a community that chose to live on the water as a strategy of independence from other groups on the high plateau.

The boat continues toward Taquile Island, about 45 kilometers from the port, a crossing of approximately two hours over open lake water at 12,507 ft (3,812 m.a.s.l.). Taquile has its own communal organization that regulates access to tourism, the distribution of work, and daily life among its approximately 2,200 inhabitants. The textile tradition of the island was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005: men knit continuously from the age of eight using four-needle hand knitting, and the caps, sashes, and bags produced in Taquile communicate through their colors and patterns the marital status, age, and community position of the wearer. The walk along the stone paths of the island offers views over the lake in all four directions. Return to the port of Puno and transfer to the hotel.

Overnight at hotel in Puno.

DAY 12. SILLUSTANI + RETURN FLIGHT TO LIMA

The final day includes a visit to the Sillustani archaeological site before heading to the airport. The site is located 34 kilometers from Puno, on a peninsula that extends into the Umayo lagoon, a body of water smaller than Titicaca but equally integrated into the high plateau landscape. The chullpas of Sillustani are circular funerary towers built by the Colla culture between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries to house the bodies of their rulers and elites alongside offerings and burial goods. The distinctive construction feature of these towers is that they were built from the base upward with a slight progressive widening toward the top, which required precise calculation of the angle of each course of stone. Some exceed 39 feet (12 meters) in height. The view from the promontory over the Umayo lagoon and the surrounding high plateau closes the itinerary with a landscape that is characteristic of the southern Peruvian sierra.

From Sillustani, the transfer continues to Juliaca Airport, 44 kilometers from Puno, for the return flight to Lima.

Arrival in Lima and end of service.

THIS TOUR INCLUDES

• DAY 1: Arrival transfer from the airport to the hotel in Lima. Lima city tour: transportation, professional tour guide, and entrance tickets to all sites visited.
• DAY 2: Transfer to the bus terminal. Bus to Paracas. Ballestas Islands tour: transportation, professional tour guide, entrance ticket, and motorboat with life jackets. Huacachina dunes experience: tubular buggy and sandboard equipment.
• DAY 3: Transfer to the Ica airstrip. Flight over the Nazca Lines with flight guide. Bus back to Lima.
• DAY 4: Transfer from the hotel to Lima airport. Flight from Lima to Cusco with 23-kilogram baggage allowance included. Arrival transfer from Cusco airport to the hotel. Cusco city tour: transportation, professional tour guide, and entrance tickets to all sites visited.
• DAY 5: Humantay Lake tour: transportation, professional tour guide, entrance ticket to the lake, and meals: 1 breakfast and 1 lunch.
• DAY 6: Sacred Valley tour: transportation, professional tour guide, entrance tickets to all sites visited, and meals: 1 buffet lunch.
• DAY 7: Rainbow Mountain tour: transportation, professional tour guide, entrance ticket, and meals: 1 breakfast and 1 lunch.
• DAY 8: Transportation from Cusco to Santa Teresa. Entrance ticket to Cocalmayo hot springs. Professional tour guide. Coffee farm experience. Transportation to Majestic Sky Domes Eco-Lodge. Bonfire night.
• DAY 9: Transfer from Majestic Sky Domes Eco-Lodge to the train station. Professional tour guide. Expedition tourist train from Hidroeléctrica station to Aguas Calientes. Shuttle buses up and down to visit Machu Picchu. Entrance ticket to Machu Picchu citadel. Expedition tourist train back to Cusco. Transfer to the hotel.
• DAY 10: Transfer from the hotel to Cusco bus terminal. Tourist bus with capacity for 40 passengers to Puno. Professional tour guide. Entrance tickets to sites visited along the route: colonial church of Andahuaylillas and Inca temple of Raqchi. Lunch included. Transfer from Puno bus terminal to the hotel.
• DAY 11: Lake Titicaca tour: transfer from the hotel to the lakeside port. Professional tour guide. Lake entrance ticket. Shared motorboat service. Transfer from the port to the hotel. Meals: lunch on Taquile Island.
• DAY 12: Departure transfer from the hotel in Puno to Juliaca airport with a stop at the Sillustani chullpas. Professional tour guide. Entrance ticket to the archaeological site. Flight from Juliaca to Lima with 23-kilogram baggage allowance included.
  
  11 nights of accommodation: 2 nights in Lima, 1 night in Ica, 5 nights in Cusco, and 2 nights in Puno at the selected hotels, plus 1 night in a panoramic geodesic dome. All accommodations include breakfast.

NOT INCLUDED

• Personal insurance.
• International air flights.
• Food not specified in the itinerary.

LIST OF PERSONAL ITEMS TO BRING

WHAT TO PACK?

Many people assume that the climate in South America is warm at all times, but in the higher altitude areas of the southern part of the country temperatures can drop considerably, especially during the night and in the early hours of the morning. Along the coast, where the elevation is significantly lower, the heat is felt with much greater intensity. This itinerary covers both zones, so your luggage should account for both climate conditions.

Below you will find the complete list of recommended items to help you organize your bags ahead of time. If any of them are not available before the trip, there is no need to worry: in each city along the route there are stores where you can purchase whatever you need, including warm clothing, trekking accessories, and gear suited for high-altitude conditions.

Please review this list carefully before packing. Each item serves a specific purpose at some point during the itinerary and contributes directly to making the experience more comfortable at every stage of the journey.

Documents

• Original passport
• Student ID, if you are a student
• Travel insurance (some copies)

Essentials

• Day pack.
• Bottle of water for tours.
• Some snacks like cookies, candies, chocolates, energy bars.
• Money belt and some cash if you want to buy some souvenirs.

Clothes and shoes

• Shoes and sandals.
• Warm clothing: especially at night such as a thermal jacket, gloves, scarf, wool socks, wool hat for cold nights.
• Waterproof clothing (jacket and rain poncho)
• Synthetic or cotton clothing (pants, socks, trousers, shorts, T-shirts).
• Swimsuit
• Sun hat

Pharmaceutical products

• Anti-inflammatory tablets
• Insect repellent.
• Sunscreen
• Lipstick

Personal hygiene items

• Small towel.
• Toothpaste and toothbrush
• Body Wash Soap
• Shampoo and conditioner
• Toothbrush
• Body spray deodorant
• Toilet paper

Other articles

• Flashlight (headlamp recommended)
• Sunglasses
• Camera with memory cards and additional batteries.
• Rubber tipped canes (optional).
• Pocket knife

* If you have any Questions or Queries about the Items you should bring to the tour, please contact us at WhatsApp: +51 984 525 006 / +51 984 683 047 or email us at: info@incredibleperutours.com

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here you will find the Most Frequently Asked Questions from our Clients. Before asking anything, we invite you to carefully read these questions and answers, as well as all our links about this Tour. This will help you obtain information in a simple, fast and practical way.

IMPORTANT:

• The available tickets shown on our website are always Updated and in Real Time.
• We recommend you book the Excursion as soon as possible, to avoid missing out on this great Experience.
• If you are interested in doing this route and would like to book, or want more information, contact us: Cell phone: +51 984525006 / WhatsApp: +51 984683047 or email us at: info@incredibleperutours.com
• If there is no longer availability for your Travel Date, you can search for other similar Excursions such as: the PERU FANTASTIC Route or the CHARMING PERU Route.

PRICES 2024

IMPORTANT:

• The package price is calculated according to the chosen hotel category.
• Prices are per person, in US dollars and without IGV (Peruvian sales tax).
• Accommodation in all rooms is based on double and/or triple occupancy, according to your requirement.
• Min. 2 passengers. Discounts apply from 5 passengers on: -5%.

TO CONSIDER:

• Our passion is family travel, so if you are coming with children, please get in touch to offer our promotions.
• Our company also has promotions and discounts for student groups and groups of friends. Please contact us to receive our offers.
• Incredible Peru Tours – IPT for your peace of mind does not have any hidden charges or expenses.
• For more information, contact us at: (+51) 984 525 006 / (+51) 984 683 047

AVAILABLE HOTELS