Family Adventure Tour | Highlights of Peru

Discover during this family adventure trip, the mystery of the Incas. Peru is known for its Inca ruins and the lost city of the Machu Picchu. The landscape creates amazing views of the snow-capped Andean peaks. In the villages you can get acquainted with the colorful Indian population. Of all the Inca ruins Machu Picchu is the most famous. The location of this city by the Spaniards never found out is almost more mystical than the city itself. On foot via the famous Inca Trail you´ll travel to the highlight of this adventurous family trip.

Visit Chincheros where the colorful people with the typical customs look awesome! Mixing the adventure with culture in an unique tour in the Sacred Valley and the freedom that comes with practice of mountainbiking on small roads having the best views of snow mountains and traditional agricultural life.

In the capital of Peru, Lima, you enjoy a water show in the Parque de la Reserva and a dinner show in the famous restaurant La Dama Juana. Combine culture and adventure in this family trip in Peru and discover the land of the Incas!

General Information

Trip Style: Family Adventure – Cultural
Altitude:

Lima 1.550m
Cusco 3.326m
Sacred Valley 2.800m
Machu Picchu 2.430m

Temperature:
Peru does not have one climate. Because Peru is close on the equator, the seasons are hardly effected by changes in the state of the sun. However there can be observed some differences between the months November to April and April to November. Due to very diverse landscape that Peru has, there are several distinct climate zones. The climate depends on the geographical location, altitude and sea currents, so we can divide Peru in three climatic zones:

Coast: Through the influence of the warm gulf El Niño off the coast of Peru are the summer months between December and April. The short summer is associated with small showers. The temperature is pleasant and between 25°C and 35°C. From April to November dominates the cold Humboldt Current along the coast and the temperatue is between 15°C and 25°C.
Highlands: In the Andes a mountain climate prevails. The climate is fairly constant during the year. The temperature differences are mainly to do with day and night and the height at which you are located. In general; the higher, the colder! The climate in the Andes has also a dry and a wet season. The dry season runs from May to October and the air is often brightly. The temperature range is between 15°C and 25°, depending on the height. At night the temperature drops quickly to 0-5°C. The rainy season runs from November to April. It can rain for days during this period. The temperature differences between day and night are less extreme. In the afternoon it is around 20°C and in the night about 5°C.
Rainforest: East of the Andes you will find the rainforest which covers most of Peru. In the rainforest is a subtropical climate. It is here all year round humid and temperatures will be around 25°C. The rainy season runs from November to April. The rains are generally short and after the rain usually appears the sun. In the dry season from April to November, there is much less rain in the rainforest.

Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. With a population of approaching 9 million, Lima is the most populous metropolitan area of Peru and the fifth largest city in the Americas. It is one of the most interesting and challenging cities in South America with a huge archeological, historical and cultural past. Most of its treasure might be well hidden, but are worth being discovered!

Cusco
Cusco is a city in southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. In 1983 the historical capital of the Inca Empire was declared by the World Heritage Site. Today the city is a jumping-off point for the Inca Trail and the famous Machu Picchu. Cusco got his name in a very special way; legend tells that in the 12th century, the sun god Inti looked down on earth and decided that people needed organizing, so he created the first Inca, Manco Cápac, and his sister-wife, Mama Ocllo. They came to life on Isla del Sol (Sun Island), way over Lake Titicaca with a long walk ahead of them. Inti gave Manco Cápac a rod and told him to settle in the spot where he could plug it into the ground until it disappeard; this would be the navel of the earth, Qosq´o in the Quechua language, Cusco.

Sacred Valley
The Sacred Valley of the Incas or the Urubamba Valley is a valley in the Andes of Peru, close to the Inca capital of Cusco and the ancient of Machu Picchu. The valley was formed by the Urubamba River. The star attractions are the loftly Inca citadels of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Pisac is known for its craft market, by far the biggest in the region. You can visit the market daily but the official market days are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Ollantaytambo is an archeological site and dominated two Inca ruins.

Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a 15th century Inca site located 2.430 meters above sealevel. It is also called ¨Lost city of the Incas¨ and declared by the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. In 2007 Machu Picchu was voted one of the ¨New Seven Wonders of the World¨.

8 Day Peru Itinerary

Day 1: Lima

At your arrival in Lima your private transportation will take you to your beautiful hotel in Miraflores. In the afternoon you will go on a guided excursion to the ¨Magical Water Circuit¨ the largest water fountain compound in the world, certified by Guiness World Records. Here you will enjoy a wonderful display of water, light, music and images presented at Reserve Park, one of Lima´s most beautiful urban areas.

Afterwards you will be able to enjoy a buffet dinner at La Dama Juana restaurant, one of Lima´s most famous places to explore the best of Peru in one place. Enjoy the delicious food and the typical dance show.

Day 2: Lima- Cusco

According to your flight´s schedule you will be transferred to the airport in order to take your flight to Cusco. On your arrival in Cusco you will be taken directly to the Sacred Valley. Today you will enjoy a full day tour of the Sacred Valley. The Sacred Valley of the Incas is as magical as it name suggests: a winding trail of lush, green slopes lining the Urubamba River. Discover everything from colorful markets to fascinating architectural remains.

You will visit Chincheros where the colorful people with the typical customs look awesome. Its settlers live in almost intact Inca constructions, in the same place where their ancestors lived and formed the largest and most prosperous civilization in America. After this we will have lunch at the Huayoccari Restaurant and then we will continue to the town of Ollantaytambo, one of the oldest continuously occupied settlements in the Americas. Climb the steep stone steps up to the imposing fortress at the top of the mountain for breathtaking views down the valley, and admire the huge monoliths that form the Temple of the Sun. Finally you will be taken to your beautiful lodge.

Day 3: Sacred Valley

Mixing the adventure with culture in an unique tour in the Sacred Valley and the freedom that comes with the practice of mountain biking on small roads having the best views of snow mountains and traditional agricultural life.

In the morning you will meet your guide at your hotel and you go by bus to the village of Chequerec where we start our bike tour. Passing the lagoon of Huaypo, we arrive at the archeological center of Moray where we stay for more or less 40 minutes to enjoy the beauty of Nature and Archeology. This part of the tour is very adventurer because of its constant ups and downs.

Continuing our trip we arrive to Maras a picturesque town in the Andes. Afterwards, 1 hour downhill ride let us feel the peace of the Andean countryside. After this great time you go on riding to the terraces of salt in Maras and then start again a downhill to the Sacred Valley (pichingoto, tarabamba), where is the end of our biking tour. We will transfer you to your hotel in Sacred Valley.

Day 4: Sacred Valley – Wiñay Wayna – Machu Picchu

At the coordinated time your private transportation will take you from hotel to kilometer 104 (the start of the trail for us). From here, we have a walk of approximately 4 hours up to the Inca site Wiñay Wayna (´Forever Young´8792 ft). You have joined the path in time to see the most impressive site on the whole Inca trail.

We will then continue on to ¨Inti Punku¨ (Sun Gate 8792 ft) from where you will have the first dramatic, panoramic view of Machu Picchu. We will walk down the last part of the trail towards the ancient city itself. We will leave the visit to Machu Picchu for the next day. You will spend the night at the closest lodge to the Machu Picchu, and then you have the chance to be one of the first guests to get into the citadel.

Day 5: Machu Picchu-Cusco

After breakfast your guide will meet you at your hotel and will go with you to the Machu Picchu. You walk from your lodge right to the ruins of Machu Picchu and you will be there before anyone else! Our tourguide will give you a guided tour of approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, visiting the Inca Terraces, The Agricultural Sector, The Urban Sector etc. Then you will be able to have plenty of time to explore this mysterious city by yourself!

Things to do:

Walk up to the Sun Gate (45 minutes to 1 hour)
Walk up to the Inca Bridge (40 minutes)
Walk up to Huayna Picchu Mountain (2 hours, early booking requiered)

In the afternoon, you will take the bus down to the town of Aguas Calientes in order to catch the train back to Cusco. When you arrive back in Ollantaytambo or Cusco´s train station we will pick you up and bring you to your hotel

Day 6: Cusco

At 7am or 12pm pick up from your hotel, our car will transfer you to the south of Cusco where the ranch is located. There we will meet our horses and horseman, who will show us how to saddle and practice how to drive the horses inside the corral before to get outdoors.

We begin the riding tour going through the Inca ruins located around Cusco. During the guided tour we will pass through agriculture field of native productions. The landscap will offer us spectacular view of the mountains and lots of contact with the nature and mother earth.

Riding the friendly horses and acompanied by the horseman we will stop in different places with the opportunity to enter some Inca Remains. During the tour we will stop at the best point to get a light snack and get the remember picture of this amazing tour riding Peruvian horses around Inca empire. After 5 hours of riding tour you will be transferred to hotel to end the tour.

Day 7: Cusco - Lima

Today you will have a flight to Lima on your arrival you will be taken to your nice hotel in San Isidro. Right after, you will enjoy a nice full day tour where you will visit the Larco Museum, the largest and most impressive pre-Columbian art collection in the world.

Located in a 18th century vice-royal mansion, built on a pre-Columbian pyramid of the 7th century. Its new galleries display the best and most complete collection of gold and silver of Peru. Afterwards you will have a typical lunch.