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ITINERARY 15 DAY 14 NIGHTS
DAY 1 ARRIVAL LIMA (1 NIGHT) Today we take our scheduled flight to Lima. Upon our arrival, our English-speaking guide will meet us at the airport and accompany us to our hotel. DAY 2 LIMA - FLIGHT TO JULIACA - PUNO (2 NIGHTS) Today we fly from Lima to Juliaca. Upon our arrival in Juliaca, we transfer to Puno, our base for the next two nights. En route, we visit the old necropolis of Sillustani, on the shores of Lake Umayo. Relax at the Hotel to adapt to the 12,000 feet of altitude.

	DAY 3 DAY TRIP TO UROS & TAQUILE (LAKE TITICACA’S LIVING HERITAGE) This morning we travel by boat to the island of Uros. After our visit to the “floating island”, we continue on to Taquile. We return to Puno this evening.

DAY 4 PUNO - CUSCO (3 NIGHTS) Today we make a full day’s journey to Cusco, On the way we’ll have the opportunity of visiting villages, churches, and a great Inka town at Raqchi. Handycraft of best quality can be purchasedb from the producers at the various places on the way. Lodging Cusco. DAY 5 JOURNEY OF THE LIVING PAST & MEETING WITH THE ANDEAN WEAVERS Introductory Lecture, which will provide us with a broad overview on the Culture of the Andes. Today we will head up to the native village of Chinchero. In this village we will meet a family of Andean weavers who will enjoy giving us a demonstration and a basic lesson on Andean weavings. After sharing a meal with the weavers, we will head up to Moray, a great site where agricultural experimentation was held by the Inkas centuries ago. Then we will visit a salt mine still in use since the Inkas, and witness the working system. We will get back to Cusco by late afternoon.

	DAY 6 INTI RAYMI (THE INKAS FEAST OF THE SUN) & SACRED SIGHTS OF CUSCO (LEGACY OF THE INCAS) Hiking Tour in the Saqsaywaman Park. and witness a ritual demonstration performed by an apprentice with studies in anthropology. Feast of the Sun Inti Raymi This festival is a theatre like representation that gathers some 1,500 performers representing the Inca, At this time we will head up to Ollantaytambo to take a late train that will transport us to Aguas Calientes where we have reserved the famous natural of Pueblo Hotel. Spend the night at this great lodge.

	DAY 7 CUSCO - MACHU PICCHU - AGUAS CALIENTES (1 NIGHT) Aguas calientes is a village located at the bottom of a tropical valley in the cloud forest of Peru. Therefore the natural environment has special characteristics in both flora and fauna. Different from the mountain valleys and also from the rain forest since this is a transitional area. We will start our activities for the day in the early morning with a visit in depth to the orchid garden which is the place in the planet with the most species of orchids, an speech will be given by an specialist . After an early light lunch, we take the buses to Machupicchu, one of the most beautiful and mysterious sights in the world. We will enjoy a Guided Tour of the Ruins The remainder of the afternoon will free to explore these magnificent and spiritual ruins at your leisure. After our visit to Machu Picchu, we will transfer to our hotel in Aguas Calientes, where we will have the opportunity to enjoy the Hot Springs (admission included) before dinner.

DAY 8 AGUAS CALIENTES - WAYNA PICCHU - TRAIN TO OLLANTAYTAMBO (1 NIGHT) Early morning wake up and we take the bus to Machupicchu again, for a second exploration of this magic city. This afternoon we will take the train back to Ollantaytambo then a short bus ride to our lodge, located in an ancient mission in an Andean village (Monasterio la Recoleta in Urubamba)

	DAY 9 OLLANTAYTAMBO - SACRED VALLEY (A LOOK AT ANDEAN AGRICULTURE) - CUSCO (1 NIGHT) Today we will explore the area outside of Cusco known as the Sacred Valley. Our day begins with a visit to the Pisac Ruins, some of the finest, and largest, in the entire valley. Next we explore the famed Pisac Markets, some of the liveliest in Peru, where hundreds of stalls crowd the central square and spill down side streets. Sellers come from many different villages, many of them remote populations high in the Andes, and wear the dress typical of their village. Our afternoon begins with a visit to Yucay, we will enjoy a picnic lunch with local farmers; before we are we participate in a Demonstration on the farming process, such as the use of the ancient terraces, the ponds and the water channels, as well as plowing, planting and harvesting. During the demonstration, we will have the opportunity to learn how to manipulate the tools, and taste samples of the crops. We have lunch in the valley, and then head up to Cusco, passing by an Alpaca farm. In the evening we will have cooking classes and enjoy a Peruvian typical food.

DAY 10 CUSCO - FLIGHT TO PUERTO MALDONADO – POSADA AMAZONAS (3 NIGHTS) Puerto Maldonado is situated at the confluence of the mighty Madre de Dios and Tambopata Rivers and is a bustling, booming tropical frontier town. Its principal activities are gold mining, Brazil nut collecting, timber extraction, agriculture and ecotourism. After a brief survey of the town we will drive thirty minutes to the Tambopata river port in the community of Infierno. We will board our boats for a one hour trip by motorized canoe to Posada Amazonas. Depending on the arrival time of the plane we will have a boxed lunch aboard the boats or have lunch upon arrival at Posada Amazonas. During our voyage we may see bird species typical of the river or forest edge such as: Black Skimmer, Pied Lapwing, Capped Heron, Jabiru Stork, Roadside Hawk, and several species of kingfishers, swallows and flycatchers. When we arrive at Posada Amazonas we will unpack and unwind.

Posada Amazonas is a comfortable yet unobtrusive 30 room lodge owned jointly by Rainforest Expeditions and the Local Community of Infierno. We will receive a short orientation and a complete briefing on the lodge and the Ecotourism Project before our afternoon activity : the canopy tower. In this activity, we will visit a 35 meter scaffolding tower that is 15 minutes walking from the lodge. The scaffolding tower is built so that you safely climb using the internal staircase with verandahs on each side, and rest in platforms present every 2 meters. From the top you not only get spectacular views of the river and the surrounding forest but also excellent opportunities to observe birds from the canopy including parrots, toucans and macaws. A video about the forest of Tambopata will be displayed after dinner.

DAY 11 POSADA AMAZONAS

We will be up at dawn for a visit to the Tres Chimbadas oxbow lake. After an early breakfast we depart, fifteen minutes from Posada Amazonas by boat and a 30 minute walk take us to the lake shore. From here we take a long, easy canoe ride around it. We will look for giant river otters, turtles, hoatzin, and wading birds. The giant river otters that are seen in Tres Chimbadas belong to a resident family of nine. Then we will return to the lodge for lunch before embarking on our afternoon outing. In the afternoon we will visit the community's ethnobotanical center. From this little shop, the community has been registering the uses of medicinal plants from elders and planting, producing and distributing them for over ten years. We will hike the trails around the center with one of the residents who will explain to us the everyday uses of forest resources in medicine, construction, food and fiber. We will return to Posada Amazonas for dinner and an optional night walk to look for amphibians and insects.

DAY 12 POSADA AMAZONAS

After an early breakfast we will visit a clay lick. This clay lick is also a ten minute walk from the lodge, but next to the river. Amazingly, the variety of parrots that visit this clay lick is considerably different than the one inside the forest that we will visit later in the day. Some of the large macaws, like the red and green macaw, and larger parrots, like mealy and yellow crowned Amazons visit this lick, as well as the smaller parrots and parakeets. From the blind we have constructed next to this lick, even the amateur photographer can take good pictures of these wonderful birds. We will also have a great opportunity to spot other spectacular wildlife, active at this time of the day, like scarlet or blue and gold macaws and a great deal of other birds. When the activity dies out we will visit a small parakeet clay lick that is a 45 minute walk away. Dozens and sometimes hundreds of Blue Headed Parrots, Orange-Cheeked Parrots, Cobalt-winged parakeets, and sometimes even the rare Rock Parakeet congregate here on clear days to ingest clay. This congregation creates a riotous and colorful wildlife spectacle where the greens, oranges, reds and blues of the parrots dance around the bank as each individual parrot competes for their choice beakful of clay. At times, this spectacle lasts for hours. After lunch, we will have a walk through a trail on primary forest with a community member and our naturalist guide who will explain general aspects of rain forest ecology and natural history, each with their own contrasting viewpoint. We will return to Posada Amazonas where you will be able to reminisce on the happening of the past three days enjoying our happy hour's amazonian concoctions.

DAY 13 PUERTO MALDONADO - FLIGHT TO LIMA
(1 NIGHT)

Today we will take a flight to Lima. After a nice lunch in a Miraflores park, we head up to the first visit of today’s Lima. After some initial sightseeing of Colonial and modern Lima, we end our day in a mall on the ocean side.
(LARCO MAR)

DAY 14 LIMA (TREASURES OF THE COLONIAL PERIOD) - DEPARTURE FROM LIMA

This morning we will explore the heart of Lima and its colonial old quarter, once the finest in the Americas and home to several of the finest museums in Peru. We begin with a guided Walking Tour of the Colonial Old Quarter, We visit one museum of our choice (Archaeological or Museo de la Nacion), and then head up to one of the Government agencies to learn about the present day politics of this country. In the course of the day, we will also enjoy a visit to one of the city’s local authorities (Municipio de Surco) and witness how local democracy has examples of self managing projects. After time for a local school visit, at the proper time we transfer to the airport.