IN SANTA CRUZ: Panoramic city-tour and free afternoon:
Arrival at Viru Viru Santa Cruz International Airport (Δ 400). Welcome and transfer to the city center. Panoramic tour of the city of Santa Cruz, called the "Eastern Capital", being today the economic center of the country. The city is located on the plains or Amazon plain and the Spanish checkerboard urbanization became circular like the rings of a tree trunk, leaving the "old town" or historical center, as the nucleus of this city that is in permanent growth. You can also discover the historical character of the city during a stroll through the Main Plaza 24 de Septiembre where the atrium of the cathedral is a meeting place for young people from Santa Cruz. Visit of Artecampo, an exhibition center for crafts of the Amazonian ethnic groups. Finally, a walk through “La Recova”, a market where typical products of the native eastern and Andean communities are offered. Transfer to the hotel (room available from ½ day). Free lunch. Free afternoon. Free dinner. Night in Santa Cruz.
Note: The program of the first day may vary according to the schedule and / or airline of international flights.
SANTA CRUZ / SUCRE: Visit of the city during the afternoon:
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the Santa Cruz airport and boarding to take the flight to Sucre (50 min approx.). Arrival in Sucre (Δ 2750). Transfer to the city center. Free lunch. Walk through the city of Sucre during the afternoon. The pleasant climate invites you to walk through the streets of this colonial city, the constitutional capital of Bolivia and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Visit to the main square, headquarters of the main institutions such as the Cathedral, the City Hall and the Prefecture. The facade of the Casa de la Libertad, cradle of the country's independence. Visit to the Museum of Indigenous Textile Art of the ASUR Foundation and the Mirador de la Recoleta, where the city was founded and where you will have a panoramic view of it. The tour will continue towards the Bolívar Park, where the Palace of Justice is located and a meeting point for students to go out and have fun. Return to the hotel. Free dinner. Night in Sucre.
SUCRE / POTOSÍ: City Tour and visit to the Casa de la Moneda / UYUNI:
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to the city of Potosí (02h30 on the way - Δ 4100). Arrival and Visit to the historic center of the city: Main square and its adjacent streets, with old porticos of the colonial residences, as well as the facades of the monumental churches, including San Francisco and San Lorenzo, masterpieces of mestizo baroque architecture. Visit the «Real Casa de la Moneda», where you will find all the information about the origin of the city, its colonial past and the exploitation of the mines. Lunch at a local restaurant. Continue towards the city of Uyuni (3h30 of road approx.). Arrival in Uyuni (Δ 3 665) and transfer to the hotel. Free dinner. Night in Uyuni.
UYUNI / SALAR DE UYUNI: Visit of the Incahuasi Island / UYUNI
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to the mythical Salar de Uyuni in a private 4x4 vehicle and ride in the middle of this incredible place. On the way to the "Salar" you will be able to observe the extraction and refining process of the salt. Lunch included during the excursion. Visit of the Incahuasi Island, the most spectacular of all, where giant cactus grow (over 8m). The colors and contrasts are variable depending on the daylight that makes it particularly beautiful, a pleasure for photography lovers. An unforgettable moment to share in a group: an aperitif in the middle of the Salt Flat to enjoy the sunset. Then return to Uyuni and transfer to the hotel. Free dinner. Night in Uyuni.
Note: optional supplement "Night in a Salt Hotel (4 *) in Colchani" -with transfers and dinner included- if you want to live a unique experience!
UYUNI () / LA PAZ: Visit of the city and the Valley of the Moon
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the Uyuni airport to take your flight to La Paz (01h flight). Arrival at El Alto airport and departure to the city center for a City tour that was specially designed to allow you to have the best view of the charms and cultural heritage of La Paz (Δ 3600). Colonial and republican circuit starting at Plaza Murillo, formerly the city's main square, headquarters of the Government Palace, the Legislative Assembly and the Cathedral. They will continue to the famous Witches Market and the artisan market. Visit the San Francisco cathedral, whose facade is decorated with indigenous symbols. Free lunch. Then, visit the Valley of the Moon. Descent towards the residential neighborhoods located in the South of the city, to enjoy a unique landscape with eroded sedimentary formations, giving the impression of being in a true lunar landscape among the fairy chimneys and rocky peaks. Transfer and installation at the hotel. Free dinner. Night in La Paz.
LA PAZ / TIWANAKU: Visit the archaeological site / DESAGUADERO / PUNO:
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Tiwanaku (approx. 01:30). Considered as the “Cradle of the Andean Civilization”, this place is the testimony of a great civilization, developed in a high plateau environment. Ancient temples and palaces demonstrate impressive handling of construction in the areas of architecture, engineering, and astronomy. During its heyday, the city of Tiwanaku was the religious capital of a state that reached 600,000km2. Due to its historical importance in the cultural evolution of the American and Andean man, in particular, it was classified, by UNESCO, as a World Heritage Site. Arrival and visit to the museum and the archaeological site. Free lunch. Departure to Desaguadero (45min approx.); the border between Bolivia and Peru. Customs procedures and arrival in Peru. Free dinner. Hotel night in Puno.
PUNO / LAKE TITICACA: Visit of the Uros and Taquile Islands / PUNO:
Breakfast at the hotel. Early in the morning transfer to the Puno pier for our full-day excursion on Lake Titicaca, where we will visit the islands of Uros and Taquile, located in the area of the Titicaca National Reserve, where its inhabitants continue to live like their ancestors, maintaining its customs and idiosyncrasy, but above all its communal life system. Lake Titicaca "the highest navigable lake in the world” (Δ 3809), constitutes the mythical cradle of the Tahuantinsuyo Empire. Lunch menu included in a rustic lodge managed by the inhabitants of Taquile, here you will taste the trout caught in the lake. Return To the city of Puno and transfer to the hotel. Free dinner. Hotel night in Puno. * Excursion in shared boat with private guide. * Includes tickets: Uros + Taquile
PUNO / CUSCO: Visits in route (Pukará + Raqchi + Andahuaylillas)
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the bus station to take the Tourist Bus to the Imperial city of Cusco (approximately 11 hours - 350 km), this route includes a stop for lunch and three visits on route. At our first stop we will cross the Altiplano and numerous tourist sites such as Pukará and its lithic museum; Then Raqchi and his temple to the god Wiracocha; and finally Andahuaylillas and its "Sistine Chapel" in Latin America. Upon arrival in Cusco (Δ 3400m), reception and transfer from the Bus Station to the hotel. Buffet lunch included at a local route restaurant. Accommodation at the hotel and at night Free dinner. Hotel night in Cusco. * Transportation Puno Cusco in shared service * Includes tickets: Pukará, Raqchi, and Andahuaylillas
CUSCO: Tour of the city and the 4 nearby ruins - Free afternoon:
Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning visit of the city and the 4 nearby ruins located on the outskirts of Cusco. We will visit the Temple of the Sun or Qorikancha (Golden Garden), built by the Incas and partially destroyed by the Spanish during the first years of the conquest; The Cathedral of Cuzco, the result of various projects carried out by different architects who, in a very short time, were revealed at the forefront of the works; Sacsayhuaman ("The Place where the Puma rests" in Quechua), a fortress considered, along with the city of Cuzco, one of the new 7 wonders of the world; Q´enqo (“labyrinth” or “zigzag” in Quechua), it is thought to have been a place of worship for mother earth (Pachamama); Pukapukara ("Red Tower" in Quechua), administrative and military center (checkpoint of the Inka Trail), located in a strategic place on the way to Antisuyo (Inka Amazon province) and Tambomachay; known as “Los Baños del Inka” and considered a place of worship to water, where the high degree of mastery in hydraulic engineering of the Incas is expressed again. Return to the hotel. Free lunch. Free afternoon to make purchases or other personal activities. Free dinner. Hotel night in Cusco. * Includes entrance: Koricancha + BTG Cusco
CUSCO / VALLE SAGRADO: Visit of the ruins and the Pisaq market, in addition to the Ollantaytambo fortress:
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, we will start visiting the local market and then the archaeological site of Pisaq (Δ 2 970), one of the most important and visited archaeological sites of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, which assumes the shape of the partridge from puna. Písac is divided into two areas, the old one, located in the upper part, is an Inca archaeological site, and the current one, located in the valley, which dates back to colonial times. Free lunch. In the afternoon, visit to the Inca town and the Ollantaytambo fortress (Δ 2 792) standing on true Inca foundations: the distribution of the houses and the channels that supply glacial water to the town, has remained identical despite of the years gone by. As a kind of protective god, The Fortress majestically embraces the people. At the end, transfer to the hotel and accommodation. Dinner included in the hotel. Hotel night in the Sacred Valley.
SACRED VALLEY / AGUAS CALIENTES: Visit to the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu / CUSCO:
Breakfast at the hotel. Very early in the morning departure by train to Aguas Calientes, a town located at the foot of Machu Picchu. Upon arrival in town, ascent to the citadel by shared tourist bus. Guided tour of the site The stone citadel of Machu Picchu, one of the most imposing and impressive monumental complexes on the planet and recognized by UNESCO as Cultural Heritage of Humanity, was a productive, administrative, religious and military center, in addition to the most complete with the perfection of Inca architecture. Then descent to the citadel on a shared tourist bus. Free lunch. In the afternoon, departure from the Aguas Calientes station to the Sacred Valley. Upon arrival, transfer by bus with return to the hotel in Cusco. Free dinner. Hotel night in Cusco. * Includes entrance: Machu Picchu
CUSCO () / LIMA:
Breakfast at the hotel. Then, transfer to the Cusco airport to take your flight to Lima (duration: 1h15). Arrival in Lima and transfer to your hotel. Free lunch and dinner. Night in Lima
Note: optional supplement "1/2 day visit to the city of Lima" (private service).
LIMA: International departure
Breakfast at the hotel. Then, transfer to the Lima airport to take your flight to an international destination.
END OF THE CIRCUIT
