Machu Picchu and Iguassu Falls 8 Days/7 Nights Contact me to price and add air and to book. 7 Nights Includes Day 1 ˜ Arrive Lima: You’re greeted at the airport and transferred to your hotel in the trendy neighborhood of Miraflores near the beach. The conquistador Pizarro founded the city in 1535 after defeating the Incans. It became the capital of Spanish-ruled South America. Today, Lima is considered the gastronomic capital of the Americas, with a fresh, creative cuisine that combines the flavors of the many people who settled here: European, African, Andean, Chinese and Japanese. Go for a stroll among Miraflores’ parks, sculptures, bars and restaurants. Enjoy dinner and a pisco sour. Overnight Lima. (Accommodations, Lima) Day 2 ˜ Lima: Free time. Choose one or more of Avanti’s half-day or fullday tours. Themes include art, architecture, history, shopping, nightlife or gastronomy. Or explore on your own. Start with the historic colonial center: the Plaza de Armas (or Plaza Mayor) on the exact spot where Pizarro founded “the City of the Kings”; the Cathedral of Lima, where he is buried; the Larco Museum for its mummies and extensive pre- Columbian ceramic collection – much of it X-rated; the elaborate neo-colonial Archbishop’s Palace; San Francis Monastery and its bone-filled catacombs. Take a taxi to Huaca Huallamarca, a restored adobe pyramid built 200- 500AD. Overnight Lima. (Breakfast, Accommodations, Lima) Day 3 ˜ Lima to Cuzco: Fly just over 1 hour from Lima to Cuzco -- 11,200 ft above sea level. The sights aren’t the only thing that will take your breath away – best to take it easy your first day. You’re met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. Wander the cobblestone-paved city on your own or choose one of Avanti’s many supplemental half-day or evening tours, with themes such as pottery, weaving, Pre- Columbian Art museum and gourmet meal, rafting, cooking class, Andean craft market, planetarium, dinner with traditional music/dance show. Overnight Cuzco. (Breakfast, Lima; Accommodations, Cuzco) Day 4 ˜ Lima to Cuzco: Your half-day guided tour starts at Plaza de Armas, which marks the exact center of the Inca Empire, making Cuzco the “navel of the world”. The Church of Santo Domingo is built on the ruins of the meticulously cut stone walls of Qorikancha, the Incan “Temple of the Sun”. The colonial Cathedral has outstanding examples of Cuzco School paintings. Next: the Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman, where massive stone blocks form zig-zag walls. Ponder the mysteries of pre-Columbian civilizations, unexplained ruins set high against the magnificent Andes. See Peruvian cities - Lima, Cuzco - where cultures collided and now coexist in a rich tapestry of peoples and traditions. Then witness the raw power and beauty of nature at Iguassu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina. Some 275 falls – and innumerable rainbows – around a 1.7 mile horseshoe-shaped escarpment will dazzle you. A place of unspeakable grandeur. A place from the beginning of time. 8 Days/7 Nights Departs Daily from Lima Machu Picchu and Iguassu Falls • All Ground Transfers • 2 Nights Lima • 3 Nights Cuzco • Cuzco City and Ruins Tour • Day Trip to Machu Picchu by Vistadome Train • 2 Nights Iguassu Falls • Private Argentina Falls Tour • Private Brazil Falls Tour • Daily Breakfast For information and reservations, please see your professional agent. Continue to the ruins of Kenko (Q’enqo), a complex believed to be an observatory. An underground labyrinth of chambers has altars carved into the rock. Next stop is Tambomachay, known as the “baths of the Incas”, and Puca Pucara, a ruin known also as the red fort. Return to Cuzco for free time, dinner and overnight. (Breakfast, Accommodations, Cuzco) Day 5 ˜ Machu Picchu: Sit back and relax while you admire the scenery through the panoramic windows of the Vistadome train from Cuzco. The 1 hour route takes you through lush farmland and picturesque villages. A 20 minute bus ride from the train station delivers you to the citadel of Machu Picchu on a breath-taking mountain ridge. A guided tour explains the sights at this “Lost City of the Incas” – never discovered by the Spanish conquerors. Admire the polished dry-stone walls (no mortar), typical of Incan architecture and able to withstand earthquakes – the site sits on two fault lines. Lunch at the adjacent Sanctuary Lodge is included. Return by bus and train to Cuzco for dinner and overnight. (Breakfast, Dinner, Accommodations, Cuzco) Day 6 ˜ Cuzco to Iguassu Falls: Travel by air today from Cuzco to Iguassu Falls over the Andes, deserts and jungle. Arrive early evening in Iguassu Falls, Brazil. Dinner and overnight Iguassu Falls. (Breakfast, Cuzco; Dinner, Accommodations, Iguassu Falls) Day 7 ˜ Iguassu Falls: Both Argentina and Brazil have national parks surrounding the falls, creating the most important tropical rainforest remaining in this half of South America. Today you take a guided half-day tour of the Argentine side. Cross a bridge into Argentina and board a small train to visit the park, continuing on foot to the upper walkways to see the falls up close. The largest falls are at a narrow U-shaped chasm called the Devil’s Throat, a sight described as “an ocean plunging into an abyss”. Stand on the suspended platform at the very brink, if you dare. Return to your hotel for relaxation, dinner and overnight. (Breakfast, Dinner, Accommodations, Iguassu Falls) Day 8 ˜ Iguassu Falls: After breakfast, follow a guide down a trail to the canyon where you see 240 falls in one incredible panoramic view. Feel the spray on your face as you walk along the catwalks to get a closer look. Take a glass-enclosed elevator up the cliff face for a view from the upper deck. With heavy heart, leave behind this paradise and transfer to the airport for your next Avanti destination.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 21:32:54 +0000
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