Country: Peru
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Early Visit to Machuwasi Lagoon
An early visit is made to Machuwasi Lagoon on the last morning at Amazonia Lodge. It is a calm, water-focused start to the day before the afternoon boat transfer toward Pantiacolla Lodge.
Read MoreCocha Blanco Lake Wildlife Visits (Days 16-18)
The block at Manu Wildlife Center includes visits to Cocha Blanco Lake to look for river otters and black caimans, alongside the lake's other wildlife. Lake sessions are quiet and watchful — scanning the water, the edges and the sky for movement.
Read MoreMachu Picchu Guided Excursion
Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel at 7,970 ft (2,430 m), a masterpiece of engineering built as a sanctuary and seasonal retreat for the emperor Pachacutec and his royal court — the name means 'Old Mountain'. It was rarely home to more than 800 people, with about 100 servants maintaining the grounds during the royals' absence, and it was abandoned about 100 years after construction, remaining largely hidden until the early 20th century. With the guide you move through the buildings and curious corners of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, where roughly one-third of the site has been reconstructed into its original structure.
Read MoreChinchero Textile Traditions
Chinchero, believed by the Inca to be the birthplace of the rainbow, pairs extensive Inca terraces and several small colonial-era churches with a living textile tradition. The visit tours a weaver's studio, follows the cleaning and production of the wool, and browses the vibrant textiles that make the village's handmade gifts. It is culture carried by hands, not by displays.
Read MoreSalinas de Maras Salt Pools
About two miles from Moray, the salt mines of Maras spill down the mountainside in more than 3,000 salt pools, filled daily by a stream of water. The village was a salt-producing center thought to date back to pre-Incan times, and the site is a genuine change of scenery after the ruins.
Read MoreMoray Inca Agricultural Terraces
Moray is a set of three famous amphitheater-like terraces carved deep into the earth in the shape of a bowl. The Incas are believed to have used them as agricultural laboratories, working out the optimal conditions for growing crops. The site invites a slow look rather than a quick photo.
Read MoreOllantaytambo Ruins and Inca Town
Ollantaytambo holds some of the best-preserved Inca architecture in the entire Sacred Valley. The visit roams the town's winding alleys and vast plazas and takes in the marvelous llama-shaped ruin above the rooftops.
Read MorePisac Market and Inca Fortress
Pisac is a village known for its traditional market and for the immense Inca fortress watching over it from the hillside. The visit gives time for both — the market in the village below and the fortress and terraces above — before the road continues deeper into the valley.
Read MoreCusco City Tour: San Pedro Market, Qoricancha and Sacsayhuamán
The day begins indoors at the San Pedro Market, where locals shop daily for produce and groceries among many food stalls and vendors — the endless selection of fresh fruit smoothies is the treat worth finding. From there the route reaches Qoricancha, the most important temple of the Inca Empire, the Sun Temple, whose detailed, intact architecture holds smaller temples dedicated to the moon, the rainbow, the stars, lightning and thunder. The tour then walks to Sacsayhuamán, an important religious site of immense stones that the Spanish considered a military fortress because of its location and construction, before returning to the hotel to rest.
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