The Best of Ancient Peru

B= Breakfast • L= Lunch • D= Dinner

Monday, October 9, 2023: Fly to Lima, Peru
Depart home on flights to Peru. Upon arrival at Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM), you will be met at the airport and transferred as a group (time TBD) to our hotel. Dinner is on your own tonight. Overnight at the 5-star Pullman Lima Miraflores Hotel for two nights.

Tuesday, October 10: Huaca Pucllana pyramid | Amano Pre-Columbian Textile Museum | Welcome dinner
Gather for a private breakfast and introductory meeting with your AIA lecturer and your tour manager at the hotel. Visit the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site, a huge adobe and clay pyramid located in the Miraflores district near our hotel. After lunch, visit the splendid Amano Pre-Columbian Textile Museum. Return to the hotel to freshen up and then gather for a welcome dinner hosted by your AIA lecturer. (B,L,D)

Wednesday, October 11: Lima: Historic center, Larco Museum | Fly to Trujillo
This morning we walk in Lima’s historic colonial center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and visit the 17^th-century San Francisco Church’s convent and its catacombs. We then drive to the Larco Museum, which contains a wonderful collection of pre-Hispanic pottery, including a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum’s storerooms. After lunch at the Museum’s café, we transfer to the airport for our flight to Trujillo. Upon arrival, we drive the short distance to our hotel in the historic center, check-in, and then gather for dinner at the hotel. Overnight at the 5-star Wyndham Costa del Sol Trujillo Centre for two nights. (B,L,D)

Thursday, October 12: Huacas del Sol/de la Luna | Chan Chan | Trujillo
Today we visit two of the most important archaeological sites in northern coastal Peru, both of which were the centers of their respective cultures. First visit the Huacas del Sol/de la Luna (Pyramids of the Sun and Moon) complex, which was the most sacred center of the Moche culture, occupied from around the time of Christ until about A.D. 600. After a visit to the site museum and lunch at a beachfront restaurant, we visit the ruins of Chan Chan, once the capital city of the Kingdom of Chimor and today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The huge archaeological site is dominated by several large ciudadelas (royal compounds) surrounded by high walls. Chan Chan covers several square miles and may have been home to more than 30,000 people – perhaps the largest pre-Hispanic site in all of Peru prior to its 15^th-century conquest by the Incas. Return to Trujillo, where dinner is on your own. (B,L)

Friday, October 13: Huaca Cao Viejo | San Jose de Moro | Chiclayo
This morning we drive north to Chiclayo, making several interesting stops along the way. First, visit Huaca Cao Viejo, another Moche period ceremonial center. One of the site museum’s highlights is the tomb of the Señora de Cao, the highest status female burial ever found in Peru. After touring the museum, walk a few hundred feet to visit the actual Moche pyramid. From the top, we can view several other Moche pyramids as well as the famous Huaca Prieta, a nearby pre-ceramic midden (refuse heap) excavated in the 1940s. After lunch, we visit briefly the site of San Jose de Moro, a major Moche period ceremonial center and cemetery. Among the most important discoveries at San Jose de Moro have been multiple tombs of high-status priestesses. Continue driving north to our hotel in Chiclayo. Settle in and then gather for dinner. Overnight at the 4-star Casa Andina Select Chiclayo for three nights. (B,L,D)

Saturday, October 14: Sicán Museum | Pomac Forest Historical Sanctuary | Tucume Pyramids | Chiclayo
Begin with a visit to the Sicán Museum, which focuses on the Sicán culture that dominated this region between the end of the Moche culture and the Chimu conquest of the Chiclayo area. Sicán culture is especially famous for its golden funerary masks and ceremonial knives (tumi) that we see at the museum. We head north to the Pomac Forest Historical Sanctuary, where Sicán city is located and your AIA lecturer works. We will see some of the Forest’s 36 pyramids (huacas), which produced the tombs of the lords of Sicán that we saw earlier at the museum. The Pomac dry forest is a special ecosystem and the largest dry forest in Peru. After lunch we visit Tucume, where there are more than twenty huacas built by the Lambayeque culture. We return to Chiclayo, where dinner is on your own. (B,L)

Sunday, October 15: Lambayeque: Museum of the Royal Tombs of Sipán | Sipán | Chiclayo
Drive to the town of Lambayeque to tour the fantastic Museum of the Royal Tombs of Sipán, which houses much of the material discovered during the first years of excavation at the site of Sipán (Huaca Rajada). Archaeologist Walter Alva’s excavation of the tomb of the Lord of Sipán in 1987 was one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20^th century. After lunch at a local restaurant, we drive to the actual site of Sipán, where we climb the huacas and put into context what we saw this morning, and then tour the site museum, where the results of the most recent excavations are displayed. Return to Chiclayo and gather this evening for dinner at a local restaurant. (B,L,D)

Monday, October 16: Fly to Cuzco | Urubamba
This morning we transfer to the Chiclayo airport for our flight to Cuzco, via Lima. Upon arrival, we enjoy lunch and then drive down into the Sacred Valley to our fabulous hotel. Enjoy the hotel’s property and amenities before gathering for dinner. Overnight at the 5-star Aranwa Sacred Valley Hotel and Wellness for three nights. (B,L,D)

Tuesday, October 17: Moray | Maras | Chinchero | Urubamba
Today we head into the hills above the Sacred Valley, stopping first at the archaeological site of Moray, where we find a series of circular terraces whose purpose has been the subject of much debate by archaeologists over the years. Our next stop is at the salt mines at Maras, which have been in use since pre-Hispanic times, where we learn how salt was produced in pre-Industrial times. Continue to the traditional weaving center of Chinchero, where we meet the center’s founder, Nilda Callañaupa; see demonstrations of traditional weaving; and have a typical Cusqueño lunch hosted by Nilda. Return to Urubamba, where dinner is at our hotel. (B,L,D)

Wednesday, October 18: Pisac | Wayra Ranch | Urubamba
Our destination this morning is the town of Pisac, located up the Urubamba Valley. In the hills above Pisac we visit the Inca archaeological site of the same name, which was most likely a royal estate of the Inca ruler Pachacutec. After a walk through the traditional market in Pisac’s plaza, where many of the vendors will have come down from the surrounding highland communities wearing their indigenous apparel, we will visit Wayra Ranch, home to the Peruvian Paso Horse. The horses and their riders will demonstrate their elegant gait to the rhythm of the “Marinera,” a traditional Peruvian dance. After a lunch of Peruvian Creole food we return to our hotel, where the balance of the afternoon is at leisure to relax and enjoy our luxurious hotel facilities. Gather for dinner at our hotel. (B,L,D)

Thursday, October 19: Ollantaytambo | Train to Machu Picchu Pueblo | Machu Picchu
Early this morning we visit the town of Ollantaytambo and its Inca temple/fortress. Many of the town’s houses date to the Inca period and are still occupied by local families. A local family will invite us into their home to learn about life in a typical indigenous residence. We then take the Vistadome train from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu Pueblo, where our hotel is only a short walk from the train station. After lunch at our hotel, take a short walk to the shuttle bus for legendary Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Spend the afternoon exploring the most important parts of the site, until it closes. (Note that most visitors leave by early afternoon, to catch the train back to Cuzco, so in the late afternoon we can enjoy the site with relative peace and quiet.) Return via shuttle bus to Machu Picchu Pueblo, and then gather for dinner at our hotel. Overnight at the 5-star Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel for two nights. (B,L,D)

Friday, October 20: Machu Picchu | PM at leisure
After breakfast we will take a short walk to the bus station of Machu Picchu Pueblo, to board the bus that will take us back to the sacred citadel of Machu Picchu for a second visit focusing on the most important sectors of this beautiful Inca citadel. Return to our hotel for lunch, and enjoy the balance of the afternoon at leisure. Gather for dinner at our hotel. (B,L,D)

Saturday, October 21: AM at leisure | Train to Ollantaytambo | Cuzco
Enjoy a morning at leisure, or join your guide for a strenuous hike (at additional cost and subject to availability) to the top of Huayna Picchu, overlooking Machu Picchu. After gathering for lunch, we take the Vistadome train back to Ollantaytambo and drive to Cuzco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dinner is on your own. Overnight at the 5-star Belmond Hotel Monasterio for three nights. (B,L)

Sunday, October 22: Cuzco: City tour, Casa Concha Museum | Sacsayhuaman | Cuzco | PM at leisure
Start the day with a city tour, beginning at the cathedral on the main plaza (which was, itself, part of the Inca central square). Cuzco’s cathedral is considered to be the best repository of colonial art in Peru. Continue on to the Qoricancha (“Temple of the Sun”), which was the most sacred space in Inca Cuzco. The Dominicans built their church atop the Qoricancha, and an earthquake in 1950 destroyed portions of that church, uncovering the Inca walls we see today. Visit the Casa Concha Museum, housing hundreds of artifacts from the 1912 excavations at Machu Picchu, and then drive to Sacsayhuaman, an Inca fortress in the hills overlooking the city. Its size and scope are amazing, particularly the huge stones (many weighing dozens of tons) that were used to build its walls. After a gourmet picnic lunch near Sacsayhuaman, we return to Cuzco for the balance of the day and dinner at leisure. (B,L)

Monday, October 23: Tipon | Piquillaqta | Andahuaylillas Church | Cuzco | Farewell dinner
This morning we visit Tipon, an Inca royal estate that is famous for its terraces, stone-lined canals, and fountains. Then visit Piquillaqta, a Middle Horizon center built by people of the Wari (Huari) culture. It is a huge site, with lots of standing walls of houses and storehouses, and it is the only major pre-Inca site near Cuzco. After lunch we visit the “the Sistine Chapel of the Andes,” the extraordinary church of San Pedro Apóstol de Andahuaylillas that was built by the Jesuits in the 16th century over a Pre-Columbian huaca. Return to Cuzco and gather this evening for our farewell dinner. (B,L,D)

Tuesday, October 24: Fly to Lima | Fly home
Transfer to the Cuzco airport in time for our group flight to Lima, connecting to independent flights homeward. (B)