Definitive Peru Family Adventure Tour

Arrival to Lima, reception at the airport and transfer by private vehicle to your hotel. We recommend the Deluxe Art B Hotel.

After breakfast, morning transfer to Ica in private minvan. The drive will take around 5 hours along the coastal Pan Americana Highway. Arrival and transfer to the Hotel Viñas Queirolo in Ica. This is a marvelous boutique-vineyard hotel in the wine area of Peru but the best in the region. You will enjoy taking a dune-buggy tour around the surrounding dunes. After your tour, return back to your hotel.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for the flight over the Nazca Lines; Gigantic drawings and geometrical figures, representing animals, such as a spider, a monkey and several birds which are engraved in the desert sands of Nazca. Visible only from the air, these huge markings were once believed to be an enormous astronomical calendar. The flight will take 1 hour 10 minutes. Please note airport tax is not included and is paid locally, $6 per person. After the tour, a visit to the museum of Ica and the natural desert oasis at Huacachina before the return drive to Lima and return to your hotel. Enjoy a gourmet dinner at the Astrid and Gaston Moreyra Restaurant.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital of the Incas. After the one hour flight, reception and transfer to your hotel. We recommend the Boutique Aranwa hotel. Upgrade option to the Monasterio available.
In the afternoon, a tour of the city of Cuzco; including the Main Square, the Cathedral and the Koricancha or Temple of the Sun. A tour of the ruins surrounding the Inca capital including the Sacsayhuaman Fortress overlooking the city of Cuzco, a pre Inca architectural masterpiece; Kenko, a rock sanctuary whose main attraction is the monolithic altar representing a puma, the red fortress of Puca-Pucara, and Tambomachay.

After breakfast, we pick you up from your hotel for the 1 ½ hour drive to the put-in at the Upper Urubamba River at Cusipata River Camp. Our professional rafting guides will give a safety talk and provide all the necessary equipment before starting on your 2 ½ hour rafting on Class II and Class III rapids. During the rainy season, December to March these rapids are IV and IV plus but outside of these months they are class III. After a lunch, return to Cuzco.

After breakfast, we depart by vehicle to just outside Chinchero where we will start our mountain bike ride, totaling over 22 miles on back roads and trails. We first ride back roads for about an hour, climbing several hills, witnessing scenes of rural Andean life, before arriving at the Inca site of Moray. This is a fascinating, unique ruin; a fabulous amphitheatre of terracing that was used as an agricultural experimental site by the Incas by taking advantage of the microclimates produced by the varying altitude to breed new varieties of their crops. After retracing our route briefly, we leave the back roads and transition to a two track road that later becomes a walking trail. The route is mostly flat and downhill, with one steep and fairly technical downhill followed by a short but steep uphill. Those who would prefer to ride in the support vehicle are free to do so. After riding for about 45 minutes we reach the village of Maras, where we will rejoin our support vehicle on the town plaza for a picnic lunch. We get back on our bikes for a mostly downhill ride to the salt pans of Maras. The salt pans are an unforgettable site the people from Maras have diverted a salt-laden spring coming out of the hillside, evaporating the water to collect salt, as their ancestors have done for centuries. We will walk among the salt pans, witnessing a scene largely unchanged from Inca times. From the salt pans we have a final technical bike ride, downhill into the Sacred Valley town of Urubamba. On this half hour section there are a few rocky drops that can be ridden or walked. There is also the option to take the support van along another route. Arrival to the Urubamba for the transfer back to Cuzco. Dinner at the Map Café Restaurant.

Early breakfast, before transfer to the train station for the train to to Aguas Calientes, gateway to Machu Picchu. Arrival to Aguas Calientes, assistance with your luggage and check-in to your hotel, the Inkaterra Pueblo Hotel .
Boarding of the bus for the short ride up to Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca citadel. Shortly after, a private guided tour of Machu Picchu, the most spectacular ancient city in the world. Built by the Inca Pachacutec, and comprising stone blocks fitted with masterful precision, Machu Picchu harmoniously blends into the mountain landscape. There are many theories as to the origins behind Machu Picchu but three of the most popular ideas include a temple to the sun, a fortress against the jungle inhabitants or a sanctuary for the Incas. This fabulous city has houses, temples, warehouses, a large central square, all connected by narrow roads and steps, and is surrounded by terraces cut into the mountain side which were used for agriculture. Dinner and accommodation.

Free day in Machu Picchu with tickets for the morning trek up to Wayna Picchu. Let Machu Picchu unfold all its mysteries for you, take in the breathtaking cloud forests and jagged mountains, or marvel at the extraordinary Masonic precision of the ancient Incas. Either way, your day of self-discovery will be a day never to be forgotten. Return to Cuzco onboard the Vistadome train and to your hotel. You can upgrade to the Hiram Bingham train today.

After early breakfast, we bid farewell to Cuzco and take a short drive in a private car to the airport for the flight to Puerto Maldonado. Arrival to Puerto Maldonado. Reception at the airport and transfer to the river port, whilst hearing an introductory talk about the city and surrounding areas, in addition to the characteristics of the Amazon region. You will embark on a 45-minute boat ride on the Madre de Dios River until your arrival at the Reserva Amazonica Rainforest lodge. Here you will be assigned to your cabin.
After lunch, an afternoon of excursions begin with a guided walk along one of the trails close to the lodge. The trails wind past important giant trees of the forest such as the kapok and the strangler fig, and you may see superb examples of bird and insect life.
You will also take a boat ride along the Madre de Dios River to see the change in the environment as twilight gives way to darkness. Animals and birds are replaced by special species adapted to the darkness, such as nightjars, owls, capybara, and caiman. You may choose to take the Twilight Rainforest excursion as an alternative. Cocktails and buffet dinner in the dining room of the lodge's main pavilion.

Wake up early to observe the sun rise over the Madre de Dios River before a buffet breakfast with eggs, cereals, local fruits, and fresh bread.
You will then gather in the Eco-Centre for your morning excursions.
A five-minute boat ride takes you to the Canopy Inkaterra Interpretation Centre where you can ascend the first tower, 45 metres (150 feet) above the forest floor. Spend an hour and a half walking on the bridges that stretch between seven platforms, as you see giant strangler fig trees, orchids, toucans, woodpeckers, trogons, and with luck, monkeys or a three-toed sloth. You will then embark on a 40-minute boat ride that takes you to the Tambopata National Reserve. Spend an hour-and-a-half walking the 3 km (1.8 mile) trail through the wildlife-rich reserve, and you will arrive at the breath-taking oxbow lake, Lake Sandoval. Here you will have an excellent opportunity to see the endangered giant river otter.

After breakfast, check out of the lodge and return by boat to Puerto Maldonado, an hour and a half upriver. Visit the city's Butterfly Farm, unique in Peru where you can experience several dozen of the more than 3,800 varieties of butterflies and moths found in Peru. Assistance with your luggage, prior to boarding your flight to Lima and transfer to your hotel.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight home.