Peru & Galapagos by Yacht

Touch down in Lima, the “City of Kings.” Across ancient lands and earthly legends, experience the mysticism of the Peruvian Andes.
Hotel Name: Casa Andina Premium Miraflores

Become fascinated by Lima’s history on a tour through the historic center, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site, where the elegant Cathedral at Plaza de Armas stands out among the colonial architecture. Visit the former home of a conquistador and feel the surge of colonial and republican life. Get to know new friends over a menu of artful Peruvian dishes at a welcome dinner.

Breakfast Included
Dinner Included

Visit Area: Lima
Lima is the capital of Peru, located in the central coastal region of the country, overlooking the Pacific. The population in the metro area is 2.8 million, and it was founded in 1535 by conquistador Francisco Pizarro. About a third of the country’s population lives in or near Lima. Much of the city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1940, and during the rebuilding, much of the current population migrated to Lima from the country. The historic center was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, and it contains sights such as the Monastery of San Francisco, Plaza Mayor and Cathedral. Lima is known as the “Gastronomic Capital of the Americas” with cuisine influenced by the Spanish conquerors and by immigrants from other European countries, Africa, China and Japan.

Fly over the Andes on your way to Cuzco – the heart of the Inca civilization. Follow the trails of this Andean paradise with a local guide to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Learn about centuries-old methods of traditional textiles at Awana Kancha – known as the "palace of weaving." Stop in Pisac village and browse a handicraft market full of vibrant colors. Discover why Peru has consistently been named the world’s top food travel destination during a fun-filled interactive cooking class where you will learn how to master ceviche and pisco sours. Settle into your hotel nestled in the heart of the Sacred Valley and relax in the calming surround of the Andes.

Breakfast Included
Dinner Included
Hotel Name: Casa Andina Premium Sacred Valley

Visit Area: Sacred Valley of the Incas
Also known as Urumbamba Valley, Sacred Valley of the Incas is near Cuzco and overlooked by Machu Picchu. The valley was formed by the Urumbamba River, making it very fertile. There are many remains of Inca villages in the valley, and it was thought to be used for production of maize (corn). Mummies of Incas have been discovered in the valley.

Visit the terraced ruins of Ollantaytambo, the only Incan settlement that has remained continually inhabited since its inception. At the ceramic studio of artist Pablo Seminario, see how he utilizes the intricate techniques inspired by ancient Peruvian cultures. Deep dive into the cultures of modern Andean people and experience an Impact Moment as you mingle with a nearby community. Thanks to their effort and teamwork, tourism has become additional income for agriculture which has positively impacted their quality of life. Learn traditional methods of growing, harvesting and weaving, listen to their music and learn their dances before enjoying a farm-to-table meal of local specialties.

Breakfast Included
Lunch Included

Admittance: Cooking Class
Learn to cook Peruvian favorites at a cooking class, hosted in a local restaurant in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Try your hand at concocting a quintessential dish and cocktail, and taste the fruits of your labor.

Hop aboard your train to Machu Picchu, where views of the Andes astound through panoramic windows as you climb toward the “Lost City of the Incas.” Uncover the mysteries of this “Lost City” at the meeting point between the Peruvian Andes and the Amazon Basin. Wrapped inside a semi-tropical jungle and hidden by mountains, Machu Picchu or La Ciudadela, (the Citadel), is one of the world’s most spectacular archaeological sites.

Breakfast Included
Hotel Name: Casa Andina Standard Machu Picchu

Admittance: Pablo Seminario Ceramic Studio
This is a ceramics workshop and studio in the Urumbamba Valley opened by artist Pablo Seminario who has studied ancient Peruvian pottery techniques for almost 30 years. His current works are combinations of traditional and modern styles, and he has pieces displayed in the Field Museum in Chicago. He makes pieces that range from utilitarian, such as bowls and plates, to decorative, such as Peruvian masks and jewelry pieces.

Enjoy some leisure time this morning. You may choose an optional excursion to Machu Picchu at sunrise, or maybe you’ll explore the local markets before boarding your train back to the Sacred Valley. Continue to Cuzco and feel the local culture at a special community dining experience.

Breakfast Included
Dinner Included
Hotel Name: Casa Andina Premium

Admittance: Home-Hosted Meal
Enjoy a home-hosted Peruvian meal in Cuzco. You’ll get to know some locals in the intimate setting of their home, and learn about their culture at this special dining experience.

Start your morning with a local guide on your tour of Cuzco, visiting the San Pedro Market, the Koricancha Temple, the central Plaza de Armas, and the Cuzco Cathedral. Later, it’s your choice! Travel above the city to discover the Incan ruins of Sacsayhuamán Fortress -OR- embark on a walking tour of San Blas, the traditional old quarter of Cuzco, lined with restaurants and artisan shops. The rest of the afternoon is yours. This evening, enjoy flexible dining at a popular local restaurant featuring the local flavors of Cuzco.

Breakfast Included
Dinner Included

Visit Area: Machu Picchu
This is an Inca ruin dating from the 15th century, located in the Andes in Peru above the Sacred Valley of the Incas. It was thought to have been built as an estate for an Inca ruler and was abandoned after only about 100 years when many inhabitants died from diseases such as smallpox brought by the Spaniards, and transmitted to the site by travelers. The site was discovered by Hiram Bingham, a lecturer at Yale, in 1911 and National Geographic Magazine devoted a whole edition to it in 1913. It is now Peru’s most visited tourist attraction, and numbers have to be carefully controlled to minimize negative impacts on the site by too many people.

This morning, fly to Ecuador’s stunning capital city – Quito, your home for the next two nights. An intersection of mountains and colonial architecture, this city is a UNESCO World Heritage site full of lively culture and vibrant history.

Breakfast Included
Hotel Name: Mercure Hotel Alameda

Visit Area: Cuzco
Cuzco is a city of over 400,000 people in southeastern Peru. It was the historic capital of the Inca Empire, and it has an elevation of 11,200 feet. Cuzco is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Inca Empire existed from the 13th century until the arrival of the Spanish in 1532, who took the city of Cuzco from the Incas in 1536. When Machu Picchu was rediscovered in 1911, the city became the starting point for tourists to visit the ruins. It has become a very important destination in itself. The old city center is noted for its combination of pre-colonial (Inca) and colonial buildings, and important sights include the Barrio de San Blas, the Cathedral and Plaza de Armas.

Today, tour the Presidential Palace in Quito’s colonial center. After lunch, stand at the “Middle of the World,” situated between two hemispheres, at the Equatorial Line Monument and Museum. Spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Breakfast Included
Lunch Included

Admittance: Sacsayhuamán Fortress or Walking Tour of San Blas
For the afternoon, you have the choice between two activities. You can visit the sacred Inca ancient ruins of the Sacsayhuamán Fortress. Your other option is to embark on a walking tour of San Blas, the traditional old quarter of Cuzco, lined with restaurants and artisan shops. Sacsayhuamán Fortress Activity Level 4: Guests must be able to walk continuously for 10-15 minutes on uneven surfaces with slight inclinations. Walking Tour of San Blas Activity Level 4: Guests must be able to walk continuously for 30-45 minutes on uneven surfaces, up and down steep streets.

Fly to the gateway of the Galápagos, Baltra to launch your eco-adventure aboard the M/Y Coral II,* an exclusive yacht that serves as your home for the next four nights. After dry landing on Santa Cruz Island, head from the coast to the dense humid forests and the Highlands Tortoise Reserve. In addition to famed Galápagos Giant Tortoises, you may also spot many different kinds of birds, such as tree and ground finches, vermillion flycatchers, paint-billed crakes, yellow warblers, and cattle egrets - usually found standing on the tortoises’ shells.

Breakfast Included
Lunch Included
Dinner Included
Hotel Name: M/Y Coral II

Visit Area: Colonial Quito
Discover Quito’s colonial center on a tour featuring the Presidential Palace and the 17th century Church of La Compañia. Enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience as you cross between hemispheres at the Equatorial Line Monument and Museum at the “middle of the world.”

On Isabela Island soak in the wonders of one of the richest marine havens on earth during deep-water snorkeling at the Bolivar Channel. Then, take a dinghy ride along the coast to observe a great diversity of sea and coastal birds; Nazca and blue-footed boobies, noddies, brown pelicans, penguins, and flightless cormorants. Continue on to make a dry landing on Fernandina Island, where the largest, most primitive-looking marine iguanas are found mingling with sea lions and Sally Lightfoot crabs. You may even encounter flightless cormorants at their nesting sites, Galápagos penguins and the “King” of predators on the islands, the Galápagos hawk!

Breakfast Included
Lunch Included
Dinner Included

Visit Area: "Middle of the World"
This is a park located on the Equator about 16 miles from the center of Quito (Ciudad Mitad del Mundo in Spanish). It contains a 30 meter high stone monument which commemorates a mission by the French Academy of Sciences to investigate the shape of the Earth, and there is a small museum inside the monument of articles of Ecuadorian culture. The park also contains a planetarium, a miniature model of Quito and several restaurants.

Make a wet landing today on the volcanic black beaches of Urbina Bay - home to giant tortoises, land iguanas, and the unusual flightless cormorant. Here, colorful varieties of plants and flowers attract unusual insects, birds, and reptiles. Enjoy time to snorkel, possibly swimming alongside with sea turtles, sea lions, and countless tropical fish. Don’t miss the remarkable views of the Alcedo Volcano from the island’s uplifted coral reef. Travel from Urbina to Tagus Cove for a dry landing. Take the trail that leads to Darwin’s salt-water crater lake, offering excellent views of lava fields and volcanic formations. A dinghy ride along the shoreline full of marine wildlife highlights a variety of seabirds, such as Bluefooted Booby, Brown Noddy, terns, and - depending on the season - a large number of Galápagos Penguins which are only 35 cm tall and the only penguin species to live in the tropics. Keep an eye out for graffiti believed to have been left by 19th-century pirates.

Breakfast Included
Lunch Included
Dinner Included

Admittance: 4-Night Galápagos Cruise
Spend 4 nights aboard a new, privately-chartered luxury yacht. Take in the beautiful views as this elegant ship takes you through the waters of Peru and the Galápagos islands. The ship is intimate and modern, including a comfortable lounge with large windows that look out across the ocean scenery.

Walk in Darwin’s footsteps today on Santiago Island. Begin with a wet landing at Egas Port’s black volcanic sand beach, visited by Darwin in 1835. Take a unique trail formed of volcanic ash that transitions halfway to uneven terrain of volcanic basaltic rock. The unique, truly striking layered terrain of Santiago is home to the bizarre yellow-crowned night heron and marine wildlife such as lobster, starfish and marine iguanas that graze on algae alongside Sally light-foot crabs. Colonies of fur seals swim in volcanic rock pools. After landing in Sullivan’s Bay on southeastern Santiago Island, walk through the otherworldly landscape of solidified pa-hoe-hoe lava flows, formed during the last quarter of the 19th century.

Breakfast Included
Lunch Included
Dinner Included

Your last landing in the Galápagos is on the north side of Santa Cruz at Bachas Beach where ponds entice Galápagos Flamingo’s to visit, iguanas to sunbathe, and coastal birds such as Darwin finches, mockingbirds, and gulls flit among the red and black mangroves. This beach is also one of the main sea turtle nesting sites in the Galápagos and home to the remains of barges that sank during World War II. Bid the Galápagos goodbye and return to Quito, where a day room will be available close to the airport before your flight home.

Breakfast Included