The Karikuy Adventure • 11 Day Peru Itinerary

You can schedule to arrive in Lima at any time on day one, note that you will have more free time in Lima the earlier you arrive in the day. Our guides will await you at the airport to greet you and take you to your lodging in Miraflores. Here you have the day free to explore Miraflores.

Today we begin the Karikuy Adventure in the morning your guides will pick you up from your lodging and take you to the airport to board your flight to Cusco, the capital city of the ancient Inca Empire. Upon arrival our guides will greet you and transfer you to your lodging where you have some free time before your City Tour of Cusco. The Cusco City Tour visits the most important sites in and around Cusco.

The Tour Begins at 1:45pm with it’s first stop being Koricancha, the temple of the Sun, the most important building in Cusco during Incan rule. Today a church sits atop the foundations of the magnificent temple, but you can make out the differences in architecture between the two buildings. The massive earthquake resistant rocks built by the Incas make up the temples walls while the Spanish church sits lazily atop the structure, having been rebuilt twice due to powerful earthquakes that brought down the Church.

You then head outside Cusco to the fortress of Sacsayhuaman overlooking the city. Here you have the opportunity to take some great pictures of the city and and valley below. The stones that make up the Sacsayhuaman complex are huge in scale and very impressive. From here you go on to visit the smaller sites of Tambomachay, Qenq’o and Puka Pukara. 

At the end of the tour it is common for your group to be taken to an artisans shop to explore and perhaps buy a piece of artwork or hand made sweaters, blankets and souvenirs outside of Cusco. The tour ends around 7PM, you have the evening free in Cusco where you will overnight, this ends day two of an incredible 11 day Peru itinerary.

Todays tour begins at 8:45AM as you begin to drive out of Cusco and into the fertile Sacred Valley. You will reach lookout points where the tour bus will stop and you will have the opportunity to snap some photos. Your first stop is the town of Pisac, a small colonial town where on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays there is an extensive market where you can barter for souvenirs and other goods. Surrounding Pisac there is also extensive Inca ruins, elaborate terracing and housing, it is said that Pisac was used for agricultural experiments.

You then continue to Urubamba where you will have lunch with the beautiful scenery surrounding you. It is then on to the town of Ollantaytambo and the fortress that overlooks the small Inca town. Ollantaytambo in fact was the only place where the Incas were actually able to repel Spanish attacks. The vast fortress ruins are an incredible sight too see and the valley itself is unique, making the recounting of its story come to life. The last stop is the small market town of Chinchero where you will get to purchase some souvenirs as well as visit ruins on your way back to Cusco. You arrive in Cusco at approximately six in the evening. You overnight in Cusco.

Our Inca Jungle tour starts early in the morning (approx. 6:00 a.m.) Where you are picked up at your hotel/hostel. Our guides visit you the day before to answer any last minute questions you may have and confirm your location. On route to the starting point of the trek we will pass through the towns of Chinchero, Urubamba, and Ollantaytambo which are all part of the Sacred Valley.

As we arrive at Malaga Pass 4316 m. (14160ft.) you will take in the beautiful scenery and the majestic snow capped Huacay Willca (Verona) Mountains, here we will begin our cycling adventure as we descend through different ecological zones including high Puna area and cloud forests which include a wide variety of flora and fauna. Ending at the archaeological remains of Huaman Marq’a before reaching the town of Santa Maria where we will stay overnight, have dinner and breakfast the next day.

White Water Rafting

For the adventurous travelers, we recommend adding the rafting tour for an additional 40 US dollars. The Warm jungle climate makes conditions for rafting ideal in the high Amazon Jungle of Peru. Before the rafting, there is a briefing about the commands, secure lines, safety kayak etc, this will be followed by a practice in the water, once passengers and guides feel comfortable, we will start going down the river. During the first hours, we will be in the water running rapids class II, III and IV, in this section there is a lot of water, nice big waves and holes, scenery is also spectacular with nice big trees and mountains that surround the river.

After breakfast we begin the hike, about one hour into the climb we reach the Santa Rosa Village were start our walk along the Inca trail (Qapaq ñan) viewing a wide variety of birds including parrots, Calibri’s and eagles. We will observe crops of Coca plant (sacred leaf of the Incas), coffee, cassava, banana, orange, and mango trees. We will have a brief rest in the village of Pispitayuc where you can relax in the hammocks. 

We resume our hike through the beautiful landscapes of the Vilcabamba mountains. We have lunch in the village of Qellomayo, here we will rest before beginning the last part of the walk. The Cocalmayo hot springs are on route, the visit here is optional and gives you the opportunity to take a break and enjoy the medicinal waters . From the hot springs there is 45 minute hike until Santa Teresa. We will finish our day in the town of Santa Teresa where we will stay for the night, dinner and breakfast the next day.

Following the path taken by the first expeditions into the area, we will hike for about two hours, we will have a chance to see water falls and local coffee and coca plantations, arriving at the Hydroelectric station where we will have lunch. Afterwards we will continue walking from Hydroelectric to Aguas Calientes following the rail lines. Upon arrival at Aguas Calientes you will be taken to your hostel. We’ll get together in the evening for dinner and brief the group on the following days climb to Machu Picchu.

​Zip Lines
​
If you choose to add Zip Lines to your Jungle Inca Trail then you will begin the day by taking a taxi to the Vertikal Flyer Zip Lines where there will be a short hike to the platforms where the Zip Line activity begins. These Zip Lines are among the longest and highest in South America. This activity is for all ages, your guides along with the Inca Flyer professional staff will give you a short orientation regarding the Zip Lines before beginning the activity.

You are woken up early in the morning for breakfast at 5:00AM to visit Machu Picchu, the new wonder of the world. The hike itself lasts about an hour and a half as you climb up 500 meters to the entrance of the ruins.

Upon entering the site you will have plenty of time to take pictures during sunrise, you are then treated to a 2 hour guided tour of the famous ruins. Afterwards you have free time to explore the ruins and even climb up Huayna Picchu (subject to availability), the large mountain overlooking the ruins.

Your guide will have informed you of what time you need to begin going down the mountain to Aguas Calientes, where you can enjoy the small town. Your Expedition train departs at 6:20 PM to Ollantaytambo where you board the tourist bus back to Cusco (included) arriving at approximately 10 PM in the Main Plaza where you then make your way to your hotel where you spend the night.

In the morning you depart Cusco and fly back to Lima. We then catch an afternoon bus to Ica, about a four hour bus ride through the colorful desert. We arrive in the late afternoon at the Huacachina Oasis, about 10 minutes from Ica. Here you will lodge for the night. You have the option of climbing the massive dunes to catch sunset or you could rent dune buggies and head out for some sand boarding (Not Included, $25). You overnight in Huacachina.

It’s only another 2 hours to Nazca, our next destination. We arrive in the early afternoon and set off for your tour of Chauchilla Cemetery in Nazca. This 3 hour tour visits the ancient cemetery of the Nazca people. ​For many years Chauchilla cemetery was looted by treasure hunters, who destroyed the place completely, taking away all the treasures the mummies kept in their tombs for centuries. Grave robbers just left behind the corpses, which can be seen today all over the ground.

In addition to skulls and bones, visitors also can see several tombs centuries’ old, as well as long human hairs, ceramic fragments and others remains scattered on the dessert surface. It is the only archaeological site in Peru, in which ancient mummies are seen in their original graves, along with ancient artifacts, dating back to 1000 AD. Our excursion also includes the visits to the Nazca ceramic workshop and the gold extraction process center.

Today we’ll have a light breakfast and meet your pilot at the Nazca Aerodrome. The flight over the famous Nazca lines only takes about 40 minutes, but is unforgettable. Make sure you take any motion medication before boarding as the small plane maneuvers can make you a bit queasy. After the flight we head back to Lima via Cruz del Sur bus, here you are dropped off at your hotel where you have the evening free to explore Miraflores.

Today is your final day in Lima, you can choose to schedule your transfer to the airport or bus station at any time, the tour ends with a transfer in which our guides will say their farewell on behalf of Karikuy Tours. This concludes your Karikuy Adventure and 11 day Peru itinerary.

​​*You can schedule your departing international flight for any time on Day 11. We can also take you to the bus station if you choose to travel onward. This tour can be personalized further upon request or please fill out our custom tour form to indicate any changes to the itinerary you want made*