Country: Peru
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Suggested Exploration of Cusco: Cathedral, Puca Pucara and San Blas
Cusco was designed as a walking city, and the suggested afternoon runs through its narrow stone alleyways and the Plaza de Armas, where the Cathedral — the most imposing monument on the square and a repository of colonial art — took almost 100 years to build (1560–1654). Farther out, Puca Pucara is an architectural complex of alleged military use, with plazas, baths, aqueducts, walls and towers, believed to have housed the Inca emperor's entourage while he stayed at the elaborate estate and baths of Tambomachay nearby. Back in town, the old bohemian quarter of San Blas pairs white walls and blue doors with its creative artisan community, and the evening closes at a local Peruvian table — crackling pork, pickled vegetables, earthen-oven bread, roasted vegetables and sweet donuts are the source's suggestions.
Read MoreTaquile Island Visit
Taquile remained mostly isolated from the outside world until the 1950s, and the Taquileños follow a distinctly communal way of life: decisions are made together, there are no cars and very little electricity. The island is famous for its weavings — men traditionally spin the thread while women design and weave each piece — and the visit spends time learning about those lives and traditions, with wide views of Lake Titicaca from the shores.
Read MoreBoat Excursion to the Uros Floating Islands
The full-day Lake Titicaca outing begins on the water at one of the floating Uros islands, home to people believed to be among the first ethnic groups to populate the Andean region. The islands are man-made, built from the totora reeds that grow abundantly around the lake, and the visit focuses on everyday life and traditions as they are lived today.
Read MoreChivay Market Visit
After lunch there is time to browse Chivay's local market, where the canyon's produce and crafts change hands. It is a short, human stop between the morning's viewpoint and the afternoon's long road.
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Morning at Mirador Cruz del Cóndor
Early in the morning you meet the guide and drive to Mirador Cruz del Cóndor, one of the best viewpoints over Colca Canyon and home to the condors that soar on its thermal currents. The road passes picturesque villages and pre-Inca ruins with the Ampato and Hualca glaciers visible in the distance, and from the viewpoint the canyon stretches nearly 4,000 ft below. Condors are characteristic of the viewpoint rather than guaranteed — the morning's air decides.
Read MoreCalera Hot Springs
A short ride from Chivay, the Calera Hot Springs are known for the therapeutic effects of their thermal waters. You can take a dip in the natural baths or simply sit and take in the scenery — an unhurried pause after the pass.
Read MoreColca Canyon Scenic Drive and Patapampa Pass
The road leaves Arequipa after an early breakfast and climbs through landscapes of snowcapped volcanoes and quaint Andean villages toward Colca Canyon. Crossing the Reserva Nacional de Salinas y Aguada Blanca, the drive passes wild vicuñas — smaller cousins of the llama — and viscachas, small chinchilla-like rodents, before reaching Patapampa Pass at 15,300 ft (4,820 m). From the Mirador de los Andes the view takes in the volcanoes Hualca Hualca, Sabancaya and Ampato, and the descent toward Chivay runs past the pre-Inca agricultural terraces that characterize the canyon landscape.
Read MoreArequipa City Tour
The afternoon city tour begins in the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, framed by the source as an escape to the past, then continues to the Baroque Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús with its colorful Cupula of Saint Ignacio. Arequipa's Main Square and its Neo-renaissance Cathedral follow, and the tour finishes in the traditional Yanahuara district, whose plaza looks out over the volcanoes Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu. The evening is free at the hotel.
Read MoreFree Day in Lima: Suggested City Exploration
A free day in Lima, taken on foot in the city's breezy Pacific air. The source repeats its Day 1 suggestions — the historic center and 16th-century Cathedral, Casa Aliaga, the Larco Museum with its pre-Colonial gold and silver and its pieces of erotic art, and Love Park in Miraflores at sunset — with downtown mingling and award-winning restaurants again part of the framing.
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