Tour the Inca trail to Machu Picchu

Andean Route

Name of the Tour: Andean Route

Description: This trip includes 3 of the most interesting destinations in Peru: Machu Picchu, lake Titicaca and the Colca canyon in Arequipa. You will have the chance to hike a new trail to Machu Picchu and do rafting in the Urubamba river (optional). Also, you will home-stay in one of the islands in lake Titicaca and enjoy the lovely cities of Cusco and Arequipa. This tour is full of history, fun and adventure.

Destinations: Cusco, NEW Inca Trail, Machu Picchu, lake Titicaca, Arequipa and the Colca Canyon.

Duration: 17 days

Comments:

	Amy Wong (USA, CA): "I had the most amazing, incredible, exciting, fun, enjoyable vacation in Peru. I truly believe Indiana Expedition is the reason. I thought your tour was well organized."
	Sinead Connolly (Ireland): "I highly recommend Indiana Expedition, they made our holiday to Peru one we will treasure forever."
	Ryan Goebel (USA): "This trip was the greatest experience of my life. I absolutely loved it. Your company was great, and I will recommend it to anyone I know that may be considering a trip to Peru in the future."

Day	Activities	Accommodation
01	Arrival to Lima: We will pick you up from the airport upon arrival and take you to the hotel in Lima.	Lima
02	Flight to Cusco: In the morning we will take you to the airport in Lima for your flight to Cusco (1 hour). Once in Cusco we will take you to the hotel there. You will have time to rest and drink a "coca tea" to get used to the altitude. Cusco City Tour: 1st day After settle in the hotel, you will visit the high points of Cusco City as the Cathedral (great example of the colonial architecture of the 17th century); San Blas church with the best wooden carved pulpit (a magnificent piece of art of the 17th century); and the Archbishopric's Palace with a collection of paintings of the 17th century.	Cusco
03	City Tour Cusco: 2nd day You will visit the Inca remains in Cusco. The tour will start in Sacsayhuaman, in this site are massive walls made of huge stones that fit perfectly, a impressive example of their architecture. From there you will ride on a horse for 3 hours to visit 2 other archaeological sites: Qenqo (a temple where the Incas mummified their dead) and Tambomachay (a temple where the Inca king went to take ceremonial baths to purify himself and the whole empire).	Cusco
04	Excursion to the Incas Sacred Valley We will take you to Pisac, the first town in the Urubamba Valley. There you will do a short hike (without backpacks) of 3 hours to visit the Inca temple on the top of a mountain and the Inca cemetery on a cliff. Then, we will take you back to Pisac to lunch and some shopping in its famous handicraft market. Afterwards, we will take you to Ollantaytambo town, after a nice ride along the valley. In Ollantaytambo you will visit a huge Inca temple. Finally, you will return to Cusco city in the evening.	Cusco
05	NEW Inca Trail: 1st day (16 Kms / 10 miles) Early in the morning (4 AM) a private bus will pick you up to take you to the beginning of the trail. On the way it will be stops to take pictures of the amazing sceneries, including a wonderful view of the Salkantay snow-capped mountain. Once in Soraypampa (3,850 meters / 12,705 feet), you will eat breakfast and afterwards you will get ready to start the hike. The first part takes 4 hours to the Salkantay pass, the highest point on the trail (4,600 meters / 15,180 feet). On this part you will stop for a quick lunch next to a nice lagoon. From the pass you will hike down for 4 more hours to Rayan-niyoc campsite at 2,890 meters (9,537 feet). There you will have a nice dinner and a good sleep.	Campsite
06	NEW Inca Trail: 2nd day (15 Kms / 9.3 miles) After a good breakfast, you will continue hiking down for 3 hours and an half to Winaypoco. You will leave behind the rocky mountains to enter to the cloud-forest. White-water rivers and lush vegetation will surround you. After lunch you will continue with your hike for another 4 hours until Playa campsite (2,350 mts / 7,755 ft). Along the trail you will see coffee and banana plantations, and waterfalls.	Campsite
07	NEW Inca Trail: 3rd day (12 Kms / 7.4 miles) In the morning you will hike up for 3 hours and an half until Llactapata (2,700 mts / 8,910 ft), this part is an original Inca trail leading to the Llactapata Inca site. From there you will see Machu Picchu at lunch. Then you will hike down for another two hours to the bottom of the Urubamba valley (1,870 mts / 6,171 ft). After lunch, you will take a train to Aguas Calientes town, there a hot shower and a comfortable bed will wait for you in a nice hotel.	Aguas Calientes
08	Machu Picchu tour: Early in the morning (5:30 AM) you will take a bus (25 minutes) to Machu Picchu. You will be one of the first tourists in the place. You will have a guided tour for 2 hours and then you will have free time to discover and explore the site by yourself before the crowds of tourists arrive. In the afternoon, you will take the bus down to Aguas Calientes town to take the train back to Cusco at 4 PM. You will arrive in Cusco at 8:30 PM.	Cusco
09	Free day in Cusco: You will have the day free to do some shopping and to tour the city by yourself. OPTIONAL: Rafting in the Urubamba river In the morning (9 AM), we will take you to the Urubamba river to raft for 2 hours and an half. The level of it is very good, adventurous but safe (class 2 and 3). After a picnic lunch, you will return to Cusco at 4:30 PM.	Cusco
10	Journey to Puno At 8 AM you will take the bus to Puno. Along the road you will see wonderful landscapes as snow-capped mountains and valleys. You will arrive to Puno at 2 PM.	Puno
11	Excursion to lake Titicaca: 1st day In the morning, you will take a boat to visit the Uros and Amantani islands. The first stop is Uros islands, known as the "floating islands" because they are made with "totora" reed by its inhabitants. Then, you will continue to Amantani island, there you will be welcome by the community and you will stay with a local family in their house. After lunch, you will walk to the top of a hill in the island to watch the sunset on the lake. In the evening, you will be the guest of a party with the local people.	Amantani
12	Excursion to lake Titicaca: 2nd day After breakfast, you will continue your journey to Taquile Island by boat. After one hour, you will reach this island home of an ancient community. There, the people still wear typical costumes. If you want you can swim in the lake. You will be back in Puno in the afternoon (4:30 PM).	Puno
13	Tours in Puno You will visit two archaeological sites: Sillustani and Chucuito. The first one is a sacred cemetery of the Incas with tombs as big as towers, done with huge rocks. The second one is an Inca temple for fertility with phallus-shaped stones, it's very funny. Journey to Arequipa In the afternoon (2 PM), you will take the bus to Arequipa. You will arrive there at 8 PM.	Arequipa
14	Arequipa City Tour In the morning, you will tour the highlights of the city of Arequipa as the Cathedral and the Santa Catalina Convent. Most of these buildings were built with the "sillar" rock (a white volcanic rock). Journey to the Colca valley After lunch, a 6 hours bus ride will take you to Cabanaconde town. There you will stay for a night in a nice hotel.	Cabanaconde
15	Colca Canyon Trek: 1st day You will hike down 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) from Cabanaconde town to the bottom of one of the deepest canyons in the world. At the bottom you will stay in a lodge with bamboo huts and a nice swimming pool filled with spring water.	Oasis Campsite
16	Colca Canyon Trek: 2nd day Early in the morning, you will hike for 3 hours from the bottom to the top of canyon. Once in Cabanaconde town, you will have the chance to eat a second breakfast and wash yourself in the hotel before take the bus to Arequipa. You will get in Arequipa city at 7 PM.	Arequipa
17	Flight to Lima We will take you to the airport for your flight to Lima.

OPTIONS: If you want to hike the Classic Inca Trail instead of the New Inca trail, let us know to check the availability.

INCLUDES:

	Accommodation for 12 nights at nice hotels in Lima (1 night), Cusco (5 nights), Aguas Calientes (1 night), Puno (2 nights), Arequipa (2 nights) and Cabanaconde (1 night). More information on the hotels included
	Home-stay for 01 night in Amantani Island (lake Titicaca).
	Campsites along the New Inca Trail (2 nights) and the excursion in the Colca Canyon (1 night).
	Camping equipment (except sleeping bags and backpacks).
	Mules to carry your backpacks on the New Inca trail.
	Three meals per day during the New Inca Trail (3 days), the home-stay in Amantani island (1 day) and the excursion to the Colca Canyon (1 day).
	Breakfasts at hotels.
	All transfers to airports and hotels listed in the itinerary.
	All transports to visit the places included in the tour.
	Entrance fees to the places included in the itinerary.
	A Peruvian Tour leader (English speaker) who will accompany you the whole trip.

PRICE: 1,445 US dollars per person. Convert to other currencies
The price you will pay for the tour could be lower than the one above. It depends on how big the group is, as it is showed below. One month before your trip we will confirm to you the final price based on the number of people that will be in the group you will join.

Number of people in the group	Price US dollars
3 - 4 people	1,445
5 - 6 people	1,210
7 and more	1,110

EXTRAS: not included

	Single Supplement (single rooms): 110 US dollars.
	Flight LIMA-CUSCO: 100 US dollars (airport's tax is not included).
	Flight AREQUIPA-LIMA: 100 US dollars (airport's tax is not included).
	Rafting in the Urubamba river: 30 US dollars (it includes the complete equipment and box lunch).
	Extra night in Lima: Single room US$25 / Double room US$30 (breakfast included).

PAYMENT:
To confirm your booking you have to pre-pay 300 US dollars, that you can pay with a check direct to INDIANA EXPEDITION. The rest can be paid upon arrival in cash (US dollars).

For payments with Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard or American Express) we use a secure online service. You can pay the 300 dollars deposit or the total with credit cards. All payments using a credit card are subject to a 8% fee.

Please, read our "Terms and Conditions" that apply to all our tours.

DATES: If your dates don't match with our schedules, contact us through the form in this link. We can customize a tour for you.

April 2006: from April 7th to April 23rd from April 21st to May 7th	September 2006: from September 8th to September 24th from September 22nd to October 8th
May 2006: from May 5th to May 21st from May 19th to June 4th	October 2006: from October 6th to October 22nd from October 20th to November 5th
June 2006: from June 2nd to June 18th from June 16th to July 2nd from June 30th to July 16th	November 2006: from November 3rd to November 19th from November 17th to December 3rd
July 2006: from July 14th to July 30th from July 28th to August 13th	December 2006: from December 1st to December 17th
August 2006: from August 11th to August 27th from August 25th to September 10th