Highlights of Peru with Galápagos Legend North and Central Cruise

The Capital of the New World extends a warm welcome on your epic voyage through the iconic and unexpected highlights of Peru. Meet your local host on arrival and transfer to your hotel in the upscale shopping district of Miraflores. This evening, you’ll join your Travel Director and fellow travellers for dinner.

Connect with the colonial heritage of Francisco Pizzaro’s 'City of Kings', admiring the colonial splendour of Lima’s UNESCO-listed Historic Centre, with your Local Specialist. Stand in the birthplace of this ancient, yet modern city, surrounded by the Baroque façades of Cathedral of Lima and Palace of the Union. See the Church of San Francisco and discover its hidden catacombs. Celebrate Lima’s status as the culinary capital of South America and Connect With Locals when you meet Ignacio Barrios, who has worked alongside many of Peru's most award-winning chefs. We visit a local market where Ignacio will explain how Peruvian fruits, vegetables, seafood and meats are the basis of Peruvian cooking. Then, continue to Chef Ignacio's cooking school where we’ll enjoy a demonstration on how to prepare some of Peru's most popular dishes and have an opportunity to sample some at a Be My Guest experience with lunch before spending the rest of the day at leisure.

Board a morning flight to Cusco and the Sacred Valley. MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® when you visit Manos de la Comunidad, a Weaving Centre where you’ll uncover the traditions of the Sacred Valley, called “lindaje.” Then continue to a former 18th century colonial-style monastery, our hotel for the night. MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® and learn more about the artisan traditions meeting Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez, a master Quechua weaver and the first person from her village to attend university. She has been an ambassador for Andean traditions since she began learning ancient pre-Columbian weaving techniques as a young girl in the 1960s. MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience as your visit helps to preserve and promote traditional pre-Columbian weaving techniques in the 21st century.

The mystical empire of the Incas takes centre stage today. We visit the famous Sacred Valley stronghold of Ollantaytambo before boarding the Vistadome train (light snack included) for our epic journey to Machu Picchu, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Delve into the mysteries of this once-great civilization, admiring the 15th century stone ruins of temples, palaces and terraces perched high amidst the clouds. Join your Local Specialist for an exploration of the iconic great Temple of the Sun, the House of the Priest, the Sacred Plaza and the Intihuatana, an intricately carved rock most likely used as a sundial centuries ago.

The ancient ruins of Machu Picchu beckon again and you have an opportunity to re-connect with this ancient wonder. Board the train to the Sacred Valley, then head to the colonial city of Cusco, stopping en route at a local chicheria. Enjoy the sweet flavors of chicha as you learn how this Peruvian corn beer is brewed by the local women.

Embark on a sightseeing tour of the sacred city of Cusco this morning, admiring the 16th-century Spanish colonial buildings that stand on the foundations of former Inca temples and palaces. See the baroque Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas and 17th-century Church of Santo Domingo. Visit the ruins of the Sacsayhuaman fortress and see nearby warehouses where the Incas once stored their grain. The afternoon is free to explore on your terms.

A leisurely start to our day sees us return to Lima this afternoon. Meet a Local Specialist at the Larco Museum, which houses one of the largest private collections of pre-Columbian art in the world. This evening we join our travel companions for dinner in the museum's garden restaurant.

Transfer to the airport for your onward flight to Ecuador (flight not included in holiday price). Enjoy a warm welcome in Quito where you will be greeted at the airport and taken to your hotel.

Visit the historical centre of Quito, which was the first place in the world to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and travel to the 'Middle of the World' to stand on the Equator. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

Fly to Baltra Island where you’ll transfer to your Galápagos cruise for the next three nights. After a welcome lunch on board, cruise towards Santa Cruz Island and head inland to the highlands. Walk through the Highlands Tortoise Reserve with your Local Specialist, where you’ll come face to face with these ancient creatures in the wild. A scenic drive reveals the island’s changing landscape, from volcanic craters to lush forests. Keep your eyes on the canopy for paint-billed crakes and Darwin’s finches. Return to your cruise later this afternoon and relax on deck before enjoying dinner with your fellow travellers.

Ride by boat across the caldera at El Barranco, keeping watch for red-billed tropicbirds and Galápagos fur seals along the rugged shoreline. Step ashore with a Local Specialist and follow the trail up Prince Philip’s Steps, climbing into a landscape of a palo santo tree forest and ancient lava fields. This is prime nesting ground for Nazca boobies, storm petrels and finches, with short-eared owls sometimes seen gliding low over the volcanic rock. Later, explore the mangroves and saltbush of Darwin Bay on Genovesa Island. Cross a tidal lagoon and you may be lucky enough to spot one of the world’s rarest birds—the elusive lava gull—hidden among the shorebirds that make this island their home.

Visit South Plaza Island with a Local Specialist, home to a large sea lion colony and land iguanas that feed on the island’s distinctive Opuntia cacti. You’ll take a walk across the rocky terrain and along the cliff where swallow-tailed gulls and other seabirds nest. Return to your cruise before travelling to Santa Fe Island. Go snorkelling in the bay, where you might spot turtles, reef sharks and spotted eagle rays. Then walk along the beach and through a cactus forest, keeping an eye out for Santa Fe land iguanas. The island is also a good place to look for Galápagos hawks and the rarely seen Santa Fe rice rat.

Disembark for a visit to Bachas Beach, named after the rusting remains of World War II barges still visible in the sand. Go for a swim or walk along the shoreline where you may spot marine iguanas and, if you’re lucky, flamingos feeding in the nearby lagoon. The beach is also an important nesting site for green turtles, with tracks often seen in the sand. Later, return to your cruise for the final time. You’ll disembark and transfer to the airport for your flight back to Quito, where your Galápagos journey comes to an end.