Day 2 - Lima / Iquitos / Ceiba Tops

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Iquitos. Reception at the airport, brief city orientation and transfer to the Explorama dock. Twenty-five mile journey down the Amazon River to Ceiba Tops, where rooms with air conditioning and private bathrooms provide the comforts of home in the rainforest. Afternoon hike in the beautiful primary rainforest reserve surrounding the lodge which includes many huge trees festooned with epiphytes. After dinner there may be local flute or guitar music at the El Toucan Bar or the guides are always ready to relate some of the many legends of the Amazon forest. Overnight Ceiba Tops. (B,BL,D)

Day 3 - Ceiba Tops

Morning boat ride, spotting for dolphins, to visit a small village of Yagua Indians where your guide will explain the local Yagua Indian culture and how it was affected by the arrival of Europeans and the passing of time. There will also be an opportunity to see some of the local crafts and for a demonstration of the blowgun which some of the Yagua elders still use for hunting. Afternoon walking excursion to the neighboring town of Indiana. Originally a Franciscan mission, Indiana has grown into a large river community with its own market, high school and small hospital. Overnight Ceiba Tops. (B,L,D)

Day 4 - Ceiba Tops / Iquitos / Lima

Your choice of morning walking or boating excursion to further enjoy the rainforest and Amazon River. Afternoon transfer to Iquitos and to the airport. Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. (B)

Day 5 - Lima / Chiclayo

Breakfast at your hotel. Tranfer to the airport for your flight to Chiclayo. Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. Visit the complex of Huaja Rajada which comprises two huge pyramids mad of adobe mud in front of which there is a platform which is to have contained the royal mausoleum. The intact remains of an important Mochica ruler known as the Lord of Sipan were discovered here in 1987. Then continue to the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum, a museum inaugurated in November 2002. Rated as one of the most outstanding archaeological museums in South America, the building is modeled after an ancient pyramid of the region. Here you can find a reconstruction of the tomb of Sipan, dubbed the "Tutankhamen of the Americas" because of the golden splendor of his tomb : hundreds of pieces of pottery and exquisite gold jewelry. (B)

Day 6 - Chiclayo / Trujillo

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer in bus to Trujillo. Upon arrival a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. In the afternoon visit the city of Trujillo, known as "the City of the Eternal Spring", where you will visit the Main Square, the Cathedral and the beautiful residential and commercial areas which contain grandiose colonial houses and well preserved porches, balconies and churches such as the Colonial Mansions of "Casa Iturregui" and "Casa Bracamonte". Transfer to the National University of Trujillo Museum, that contains cultural expressions of Peru´s diverse Pre-hispanic epochs such as: ceramics, weavings, metal, etc. (B)

Day 7 - Trujillo / Lima

Breakfast at your hotel. Visit to Chan Chan, the former capital of Chimu Empire. This Empire reached its apogee in the 15th century, not long before falling to the Incas. The planning of this huge city, the largest in pre-Columbian America, reflects a strict political and social strategy, marked by the city's division into nine 'citadels' or 'palaces' forming autonomous units. This pre-Columbian adobe city is famous for its archaeological site in South America!. From Chan Chan you will visit the seashore village of Huanchaco, known for its totora seahorses - a typical small reed boat used for fishing. Then visit one of the most important centers of the ancient Moche. This pre-Inca civilization, a warrior culture, once dominated the valleys of the northern coast of Peru. Experience the amazing adobe engineering of the Temple of the Sun (sol), the tallest pyramid in the Americas at a height of 48 meters, which is estimated to have involved over 200,000 workers in its construction and over 140 million adobe bricks. Steps away is the temple of the Moon (Luna), the Moche political center where recently uncovered friezes of mystical images are believed to belong to a divinity of sacrifices. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima. Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. (B,L)

Day 8 - Lima / Cusco

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Cusco. Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. Tour of Cusco and its Ruins - This afternoon's tour of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the western hemisphere includes important landmarks of enchanting Cusco and also the nearby ruins of Kenko, Puca-pucara, Tambomachay as well as the Sacsayhuaman fortress. Once the center of the Inca civilization, modern Cusco is a delightful combination of Inca and colonial architecture. During the tour, you will visit Cusco's Cathedral, Santo Domingo Church and the Plaza de Armas. (B)

Day 9 - Cusco / Sacred Valley / Cusco

Full Day Excursion to the Pisac Indian Market and the Ollantaytambo Fortress
Breakfast at your hotel. Morning departure for a drive through the fertile countryside of the Urubamba Valley to the colonial village of Pisac where a unique Indian Market takes place daily. The variety of products offered is overwhelming, from pottery with reproductions of archaeological pieces, to all kinds of textiles, jewelry and Peruvian handicrafts. During your visit to this bustling marketplace you will have the opportunity to bargain with the artisans and indigenous traders. Grab the items you like, you will hardly see the same one again.

Continue to the Ollantaytambo archaeological complex, the Incas built it as a fort that included a temple, agricultural terraces, and an urban area. There are two distinct sectors: The religious and worship zone, and the residential area. Ollantaytambo was an important administrative center with probable military functions if one considers the walls and towers. There are also traces of ancient roads and aqueducts. The town of Ollantaytambo is called a "Living Inca Town" since the inhabitants maintain very old practices and customs. Lunch is at a beautiful country estate on the shores of the Urubamba River. (B,L)

Day 10 - Cusco / Machu Picchu / Cusco

Breakfast at your hotel. Full Day Excursion to Machu Picchu - Early wake up for a train ride through the sacred valley of Urubamba to the "Lost City of the Incas," Machu Picchu. Perched 8,200 feet above the valley, it was hidden by mountains and semi-tropical jungles for 400 years until discovered by Hiram Bingham of Yale University in 1911. Archaeologists believe that the Inca "Virgins of the Sun" took refuge from the Spanish Conquistadors here. Guided tour of the ruins upon arrival. All transfers are included. Lunch is at the Orient Express' Sanctuary Lodge located just a few steps from the Inca citadel. Afternoon return to Cusco. (B,L)

Day 11 - Cusco / Lima / Home

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer from hotel to the airport for your flight to Lima and then take your connecting flight to home. (B)