Peru and the Galapagos Islands

Tour begins: Miraflores Park, A Belmond Hotel. A transfer is included from Lima's Jorge Chavez International Airport to the five-star Miraflores Park, A Belmond Hotel, located in an oceanfront section of Lima – the perfect place to begin one of our most popular Peru tours, paired with a Galápagos cruise.

Begin your exploration of Lima in the city's historical center - founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535, this area of Lima was officially designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988 due to its many historical structures and over 1,600 balconies. You'll have plenty of opportunities to take in this incredible architecture on your walking tour of the center, highlighted with stops at the Main Plaza, Chabuca Granda Boulevard. Enjoy a home visit in the historical center, where you'll learn how upper-class people in colonial and viceregal times lived. Following lunch at Larco Herrera Museum, explore Lima's Barranco ("cliff") district, known for its historic houses painted in bright colonial colors, and its iconic wooden Puente de los Suspiros ("Bridge of Sighs"). It's been the bohemian heart of the city since the end of the 19th century, when it became a favorite haunt of writers, poets, sculptors and painters drawn by its lovely coastal scenery. Next, visit the Pedro de Osma Museum; dedicated to preserving Peru's cultural heritage through art, the museum showcases the private collection of the philanthropist Pedro de Osma Gildemeister and is housed in what was his private home. Tonight, a gastronomy experience precedes dinner at a local restaurant. 

A flight to Cusco, high in the Peruvian Andes, leads you to the Sacred Valley of the Incas – a stunning landscape of verdant farmlands, villages, and ancient ruins amid cloud forests, terraced hills, and towering mountain ranges. Enjoy lunch and a performance of folk dancing and horsemanship featuring Peruvian Paso horses – a breed famous for its smooth, elegant gait and athletic dancing ability – at Casa Orihuela in the Sacred Valley. Arrive at your hotel, built to resemble an Andean village along a bank of the Urubamba River, in a tranquil setting of gardens and streams that echo Incan water channels. Dinner at your hotel this evening is preceded by a private performance of Andean music and dance.

Head for Machu Picchu this morning (just about 8,000 ft. above sea level), stopping first at the town and archaeological site of Ollantaytambo, and its ruins of an Incan fortress containing a maze of narrow cobblestone streets, adobe houses, aqueducts, and the remains of a stone temple, the best example of Incan urban design in existence. Then board a scenic train ride to Aguas Calientes. The village is a former railroad camp in a gorge surrounded by cliffs and cloud forests, the closest access point to the mountaintop ruins. From here, you'll ride up a winding mountain road of hairpin turns to reach the "lost citadel," steeped in legend and mystery. Its purpose and original name are unknown; when Hiram Bingham discovered it in 1911, he followed the directions he was given to the place beside the Old Mountain (Machu Picchu), which was the name he gave it. Guided by a local expert, tour this mystical complex of giant walls, stone terraces, steps, ramps, and astronomically aligned structures, described by UNESCO as "the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height," surrounded by breathtaking mountain landscapes. After the guided tour, enjoy free time to explore on your own.

You have a choice this morning of a second Machu Picchu tour, an early-guided walk through the citadel, or sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. Return to Ollantaytambo by train, and then drive to Sacsayhuaman, a mountaintop Incan fortress overlooking Cusco, originally built by the Killkes, who preceded the Incas. Behind rows of massive stonewalls its plan centers around a giant solar calendar and includes citadels, cisterns, baths, and underground chambers. Also, visit a camelid breeding center and learn about the four different kinds of South American camelids: Huanaco, Llama, Alpaca and Vicuña. You'll also meet weavers from over 12 communities from southern Peru who alternate exhibitions of threading, dying and weaving traditional Andean textiles. Next, a visit to Sacsayhuaman Fortress for a guided tour of this ceremonial compound; a magnificent example of Inca military power that boasts a panoramic view of Cusco city. Continue on to your hotel in Cusco where dinner tonight is at your leisure.

Today you'll have a choice of excursions – one to the highlands outside Cusco, visiting several villages and the Maras salt fields; or a tour of southern Cusco and the valley south of the city. The highlands adventure begins with a visit to Chinchero – an authentic Andean village with a colonial church housing a large collection of painting from the Cusqueñan School of Art; a bartering system in which townspeople gather in the main square to trade their products; and lots of character. Next, visit the salt fields of Maras and its seemingly never-ending terraces, where salt has been extracted from springs and stored for local use for centuries, even before the time of the Incas; the variety of colors created by the reflection of the sun's rays in the  salt deposits – and the Incas' striking ability to generate resources – is impressive. Continue on to the rural community of Mullak'as Misminay – where your local hosts, dressed in their outfits used for special occasions, will greet you with a traditional welcome prior to an agricultural experience, a cooking lesson and a textile demonstration. Should you choose the Cusco tour, you'll visit the Qorikancha Temple, the most important temple in the Inca Empire - dedicated to the Inca sun god - Inti. Back in Cusco, visit San Pedro Market, a typical mercado offering local produce ranging from fruits, vegetables and meats to hand-woven sweaters other apparel and crafts. Spend the rest of the afternoon and evening as you please.

Due to a change in flight scheduling, today you'll fly back to Lima from Cusco, then take a flight to Guayaquil for an afternoon arrival. Spend the night at Oro Verde Guayaquil hotel in preparation for tomorrow's morning flight to the Galápagos – and the start of your amazing Galápagos Islands cruise!

From Guayaquil, fly to Baltra at Santa Cruz, 600 miles off the Ecuadorian coast and home to wildlife found nowhere else in the world – the starting point of your 6-night Galápagos cruise aboard Tauck's comfortable, expeditionary-style yacht, Isabela II, topped by an observation deck. After boarding the ship, an orientation briefing and lunch begin the afternoon. Then head out for a wet landing on "Las Bachas Beach" (named for the US military barges, referred to as "bachas," that were beached and abandoned there after WWII) – an important nesting area for the green sea turtle. On a guided hike around a saltwater lagoon today, look for flamingos, pintail ducks, sandpipers and stilts and if you so wish, you may enjoy your first swim and/or snorkel in the sapphire blue waters of the Galápagos. Back aboard the ship, relax with a welcome cocktail, be briefed on tomorrow's activities and enjoy dinner aboard ship.

This morning, arrive at San Cristóbal Island; a wet landing takes you to Punta Pitt for a stroll (for the adventurous, an optional walk over uneven terrain that is rewarded with dramatic views). This is one of the only destinations in the Galápagos where the three species of boobies (blue-footed, red-footed and Nazca) can be found together. Weather permitting, you have a choice between swimming, kayaking or snorkeling at the beach, or you can cruise by panga* along the coast. Return to Isabela II for lunch; this afternoon, transfer by panga* to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, another destination on San Cristóbal Island. Following a short drive to the island's southern shore, visit Cerro Colorado, a breeding center for highly endangered giant tortoises set amidst a deciduous forest that is home to dozens of species of animals including the San Cristóbal mockingbird and lava lizard. Return late afternoon to Isabela II for an enjoyable evening aboard ship as you cruise to Española Island.

Go ashore at Gardner Bay on Española, also known as Hood Island, where there are extensive nesting grounds for Waved Albatrosses and sea turtles, and a sea lion colony. Get a close up look at sea lions who love to bask and sleep on the glorious white sand beach, careless of the presence of humans. The bay and inlets provide swimming, kayaking and snorkeling opportunities today. Following lunch onboard Isabela II, a mid-afternoon wet landing brings you to Punta Suarez, on the island's western point, where sheer cliffs provide thermal currents on which seabirds soar; Galápagos Hawks, cactus finches, and Hood Mockingbirds, the only carnivorous members of the species, may be seen here. Waves crash against the rocky coast and a blowhole sends water spouts skyward, 75 feet high.

Today Isabela II makes her way to Floreana Island, the southernmost island within the Galapagos. Board a panga for a wet landing on Punta Cormorant and its radiant green beach, caused by the drifting of Olivine crystals from nearby volcanic sites to the beach's edge over the years. Walk along this rare, global phenomenon as you make your way to the other side of the island, a white sand beach famous for being a nesting point for the local sea turtles. At Champion Islet, you have choice of activities; Snorkeling, a panga ride or a ride in a glass-bottom boat, viewing the beautiful aquatic ecosystem below you! This afternoon, a dry landing takes you to Post Office Bay for a visit to the historic barrel that has served as an informal post office within the archipelago for over two centuries! Enjoy snorkeling off the beach before returning to your ship for the evening.

In the 1950s, geological activity on Isabela Island caused a mass of land to lift up some 15 ft., leaving the coastline pushed further out to sea and the underwater marine life stranded ashore. After a wet landing at Punta Moreno, join us for a walk along the rugged trails of the island, a perfect opportunity to view the unique lava formations, lava cacti, scalesia tress and of course, the abundance of wildlife that calls this place home; such as the Galápagos penguins, sea lions, herons, marine iguanas, brown pelicans and Sally Lightfoot crabs. After lunch aboard the ship, board a panga for an adventure along the coastline of Punta Mangle, the archipelago's youngest ecosystem. Filled with tiny bays, tall mangroves and tranquil coves, stay on the lookout for the Galápagos penguins and green-eyed flightless cormorants or the sea turtles and rays gliding beneath the ocean surface. Depending on the conditions of the waters, snorkeling and a glass-bottom boat ride may be possible.

This morning, board a panga for a wet landing on Eden Islet. Located off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, this small island (less than 2,000 square feet) is perfect to observe the blue-footed boobies, reef sharks and frigates that inhabit this island. Your Galápagos adventure takes you to North Seymour Island this afternoon for one of the archipelago's hidden gems. Disembark for a walk along the interior of the island, passing by nesting frigatebirds and witness the males display their vibrant, balloon-like red gular sacs (you also have the option to explore the coast by panga). Please join us tonight for a farewell cocktail aboard your ship.

Disembark Isabela II in Baltra then fly back to Guayaquil for an overnight stay at the Oro Verde Guayaquil. Spend some free time at your hotel or perhaps a stroll along the city's waterfront promenade, El Malecon. Tonight, we invite you to share favorite experiences from your Galápagos cruise with your fellow travelers at our farewell cocktail party and dinner.

Tour ends: Guayaquil. A transfer is included from the Oro Verde Guayaquil to Guayaquil International Airport; allow 3 hours for flight check-in.