Day 1 (Sat 21, 08) - LIMA

Welcome to Lima , the 'City of Kings '. You will be met at the airport and privately escorted to your hotel. Meals:

Day 2 (Sun 22, 08) - LIMA (B, L)

Morning city tour of Lima. The city has always been one of the most important cities in South America since it was founded by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1535. Your sightseeing tour explores the historic quarter and modern districts of the city: the main square with beautiful buildings. The Government Palace, the City Hall, the Palace of the Archbishop and the Cathedral are still the most important places in town. You continue on to the San Francisco Monastery and then the most popular place, Plaza San Martin. Your tour ends in the residential districts of San Isidro and Miraflores.

Lunch at 'Rosa Nautica'. This unique restaurant in Victorian-style is set on the water with views of the Pacific cliffs and ocean and provides the scenic location to drink a toast for a memorable trip in Peru. A typical Peruvian 'Pisco sour' will be served before dinner. The restaurant's four dining areas, and its sophisticated bar 'El Espigón', rising from the midst of the ocean, allow the visitor to enjoy a magical experience, which can only be possible in a place of fantasy, capriciously constructed in the middle of the sea. The menu features both Peruvian and international cuisine; still it's its refined seafood cuisine this restaurant is famous for.

Afterward visit the Larco Herrera Museum. The museum is housed in an elegant 18th century mansion built over a pre-Inca pyramid from the 7th century. It displays the most extensive collection of pre-Columbian art in Peru (45,000 pieces) and boasts the finest gold and silver collection of ancient Peruvian cultures as well as the only collection of erotic ceramics in the world. The museum's didactic galleries, full of highlights, make easier the understanding of 3,000 years of the Peruvian pre-Columbian history.

Its masterpieces are considered worldwide icons of pre-Columbian art and have been displayed in the world's most renowned museums.

Day 3 (Mon 23, 08) - LIMA – CUSCO (B, D)

An early morning flight brings you to the Inca capital of Cusco. Upon arrival, proceed to the hotel to have a welcome coca tea. This should help us to relieve altitude sickness. The remaining of the morning is free to relax, and slowly acclimatize.

Our comprehensive afternoon tour includes the beautiful church of Santo Domingo, the Cathedral and Quenqo, believed to have been an important sanctuary during the Inca period. This is followed by a visit to Puca Pucara, a strategically located “red fortress” that dominates the entire area before visiting Tambomachay, with its two distinctive aqueducts. Afterwards, we head off to the hillside above Cusco to visit the mighty Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman. When the Spaniards first arrived in the 16th century they were overawed by its monumental walls. Return to Cusco.

Dinner at La Cava San Rafael Restaurant. La Cava is set in a colonial house. The bright colors of the walls and the stone arches make of La Cava a restaurant with a cozy atmosphere. The menu offers some original dishes of ‘Novoandina’ fare combining traditional Andean ingredients prepared with innovating techniques. A small group of musicians play contemporary music with Andean instruments every evening.

Day 4 (Tue 24, 08) - CUSCO (B, BL)

Every year on the 24th of June Cusco celebrates the festival of Inti Raymi, the winter solstice, in the southern hemisphere. Inti Raymi was the most majestic and greatest festival of the Inca empire to honor the sun god. Today, the Inti Raymi evokes the splendid Inca ritual of yore, being carefully scripted by Cusco professors, archaeologists and historians.

For more than half a century the festival takes place at the fortress of Sacsayhuaman ( 2 km outside Cusco ). There, step by step, thousands of actors proudly bring the past alive, giving thanks to sun god. The Inti Raymi starts in the square in front of the Qorikancha,also known as the Santo Domingo . The Sapa Inca honors, with an eloquently strong voice, the blessings of the Sun and this most sacred day. After this initiation the procession moves with imperial dignity to the Sacsayhuaman. At the top the Inca is carried on a royal litter. At the fortress the high priest performed the llama sacrifice offering a black and white llama. With a sharp ceremonial golden knife called "Tumi" he had to open the animal's chest. With his hands pulled out its throbbing heart, lungs and viscera, so that observing those elements he could predict the future. Later, the animal and its parts were completely incinerated. After the sacrifice, the High Priest had to produce the "Sacred Fire". Staying in front of the Sun he had to get its rays in a concave gold medallion that contained some soft or oily material in order to produce the fire that had to be kept during next year in the Qorikancha and Aqllawasi. Once that all ritual stages of the Inti Raymi were finished, all the attendants were located in the southwestern Plaza's sector named "Kusipata" (Plaza del Regocijo) where after being nourished, people were entertained with music, dances and abundant chicha.

Day 5 (Wed 25, 08) - CUSCO – SACRED VALLEY – CUSCO (B,L) (only Wed)

In the morning we drive towards Urubamba to visit its local market (1 hour from Cusco). Every Wednesday hundreds of farmers from the surrounding communities congregate here to exchange their products. Unlike in the touristy market in Pisaq there are not souvenirs on sale in this colorful market, but the market rewards the visitor with a genuine insight of life in the Andean countryside. Lunch will be served in a typical "hacienda". Afterwards, we drive along the valley to Ollantaytambo, where the Temple of the Sun (formed of six gigantic monoliths, whose total weight exceeds 50 tons) and the Terrace of the Ten Niches stand out. Ollantaytambo was the site of the only successful Inca battle against the Spanish conquerors and the only town in the area to still retain its original Inca layout.

Day 6 (Thus 26, 08) - CUSCO – MACHU PICCHU (B,L, D)

Morning transfer to the train station. A 3 ½ -hour train ride train takes you through the Sacred Valley of the Incas up to Machu Picchu. On arrival a small coach take you up the steep roads to the entrance of the citadel. Machu Picchu remained for centuries undiscovered by the Spaniards, only to be found in 1911 by Hiram Bingham. The uniqueness of its location and the genius that went into its construction make this Inca archaeological site truly one of the great wonders of the world.

Lunch at Sanctuary Lodge Hotel. Dinner at the hotel.

Day 7 (Fri 27, 08) - AGUAS CALIENTES – CUSCO (B,L)

After breakfast we have the remainder of the morning free to roam around the majestic site of Machu Picchu , climb the Huayna Picchu or to explore the interesting town of Aguas Calientes . Other optional activities in Machu Picchu include bird watching, searching for orchids, trekking among nature and Inca ruins or a restorative session of aroma therapy. In the afternoon we will board the train back to Cusco , where we are met and transferred to the hotel. .

Day 8 (Sat 28, 08) - CUSCO – LIMA (B)

At a proper hour transfer to the airport at Cusco to board the flight back to Lima . A Setours staff member will join you at the airport to assist you with the check-in procedure.