Incas & Conquistadors : Itinerary - A 12 day / 10 night holiday from Llama Travel

Itinerary

Day 1 (Thursday) Lima
Fly from the UK to Lima. You are met at the airport and escorted to your hotel (2 nights).

Day 2 (Friday) Lima
Enjoy a free day in Lima, or alternatively take our half day Colonial Lima excursion. The city tour includes a visit to the catacombs of San Francisco and the cathedral of Lima where the conquistador Francisco Pizarro is buried. Afterwards, return to the modern district Miraflores and visit the pre-Inca site of Huaca Pucllana.

Day 3 (Saturday) Cusco
Take a morning flight to Cusco, the historic capital of the Inca Empire nestled in the Andes at 3,300 metres above sea level. The afternoon is free to help you acclimatise to the altitude (7 nights).

Day 4 (Sunday) Cusco
Enjoy a free day in Cusco, or take the half day optional Inca Cusco excursion. This excursion takes you to several Inca sites in and around Cusco, including the fortress of Sacsayhuaman and Qoricancha, one of the most important sites in the Inca Empire.

Day 5 (Monday) Cusco
A free day to explore Cusco further. The colonial centre of Cusco is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the centre of the city, has a mix of colonial and Inca architecture, making it a truly fascinating place to visit. The city is also an excellent place for shopping, with a huge range of local goods on sale from fine alpaca jumpers to traditional Andean paintings; and it is very easy to spend hours wandering around the various market stalls.

Day 6 (Tuesday) Cusco
Take the optional full day Sacred Valley excursion. You visit the bustling market town of Pisac, which sells some of the finest crafts in Peru. After a good lunch at a country restaurant, explore the superb Inca ruins at Ollantaytambo, and then continue to the colonial village of Chincheros, with amazing views of patchwork fields.

Day 7 (Wednesday) Cusco or Machu Picchu
Take the optional excursion to Machu Picchu, which starts with a magical train ride, followed by a guided visit to the ruins. You then have some free time to further explore the ruins independently. After a buffet lunch next to the ruins, board the mid-afternoon train to Cusco, arriving in the evening, or check into your hotel in the valley and return to the ruins on the following day.

Alternatively, take the Short Inca Trail excursion to Machu Picchu. This one day 9 mile hike climbs to the beautiful Wiñay Wayna ruins arriving at the Sun Gate in the late afternoon. You check into your hotel in the valley below and return to Machu Picchu for a guided tour the next day, before returning to Cusco.

Days 8 - 9 (Thursday - Friday) Cusco
Two free days. Get to know Cusco better; there are 500 Inca sites around the city, alternatively revisit the Sacred Valley or try one of the many adventure sports on offer.

An excellent day trip is to visit the town of Maras which is famous for its salt pans. The soil in the region has large amounts of salt in it, and salt evaporation ponds have been used since pre-Inca times. Close to the town of Maras are the very different Inca ruins of Moray, which were used as an agricultural experimentation centre. The ruins consist of many levels of terraces in concentric circles at different elevations, and each different level was used to try out different crop strains.

Day 10 (Saturday) Lima
Morning flight to Lima. Afternoon free. Go shopping in the fashionable district of Miraflores, perhaps visiting Larcomar on the cliff tops above the Pacific Ocean. Lima today is home to some of the finest cuisine in all of Latin America, and the city has some excellent seafood restaurants, with ceviche being the most famous dish (1 night).

Day 11 (Sunday)
Fly overnight to the UK.

Day 12 (Monday)
Arrival in the UK.