South American Explorer – from Peru to Rio

Day 1: UK/Lima via Madrid or Amsterdam
You’ll depart on your scheduled flight from the UK via Madrid or Amsterdam, arriving in the early evening in Lima, where you’ll be transferred to your hotel for the next two nights.

Day 2: Lima
Today you’ll enjoy an included city tour of Lima, Peru’s ‘City of Kings’. You’ll visit the Plaza Mayor at the heart of the capital, where you’ll see the Government Palace and City Hall, while another highlight is the 17th century church and cloister of San Francisco. You’ll continue to the pre-Incan pyramid of Huaca Huallamarca in the suburb of San Isidro. Lastly you’ll call at the upmarket, clifftop district of Miraflores, perfect for some shopping and a chance to relax in the Park of Love, situated in an idyllic spot overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In the evening, you can explore at your own pace, or relax at your hotel.

Day 3: Lima/Cuzco
After breakfast, you’ll travel to Lima airport for your flight to Cuzco, and on arrival, transfer to your hotel for a two-night stay. Here you’ll have free time to acclimatise to the high altitude before the excitement of the days ahead.

Day 4: Cuzco
An included tour today will introduce you to this intriguing colonial city, once the capital of the Inca empire. You’ll see the town’s ancient glories and how it changed under the Spanish, who rebuilt the city using stone plundered from the Incas’ palaces. The Cathedral in the grand Plaza de Armas is a fine example of colonial architecture – a treasure trove of woodworks, altars and paintings. You’ll visit the Koricancha (the Temple of the Sun), once the Incas’ most important temple, which was later converted to a church, and visit other ruins including the underground temple of Kenko, the Baths of the Inca at Tambomachay, and Sacsayhuamán, a remarkable pre-Incan fortification high on the hill above the town. The vast blocks of stone making up the walls weigh up to 200 tons each and are carved so skillfully that they fit together without any need for mortar.

Day 5: Machu Picchu
Today you’ll visit the greatest attraction in Peru and, arguably, the whole of South America – the ‘Lost City’ of Machu Picchu. You’ll travel by train from Ollanta to Aguas Calientes, followed by a short minibus ride up to the citadel at the top of the mountains high above the Urubamba valley. The Spanish conquerors missed Machu Picchu during their time in Peru and it was soon abandoned and swallowed up by the jungle. For hundreds of years the site lay forgotten until the American archeologist Hiram Bingham rediscovered it in 1911. You’ll start your walking tour mid-morning, seeing the temples, parks, sanctuaries and houses, and after an included lunch there will be free time for you to explore further until mid-afternoon, long after most visitors have gone, or take the bus down to Aguas Calientes to see the markets and cafés. You’ll take the last train back to Ollanta, before checking into your hotel in the Sacred Valley for one night.

Day 6: Sacred Valley/Cuzco
You’ll be driven back to Cuzco, and the remainder of the day will be free for you to enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of the old town’s squares, cafés and artisan shops.

Day 7: Cuzco/Lima/Iguaçú
Today you’ll fly to Lima, then on to Iguaçú and its incredible waterfalls, arriving at your hotel in the evening for a two-night stay.

Day 8: Iguaçú
The spectacular Iguaçú Falls form a dramatic border between Argentina and Brazil and can be reached from either side. Opinion is divided as to which side offers the greatest views, but you’ll be able to decide for yourself, with excursions to both sides offered. Today you’ll have the option of a full-day tour, which crosses the border to visit the falls from the Argentinian side. Set amidst dense rainforest teeming with flora and fauna, much of it unique to the area, the falls are higher than Niagara and wider than Victoria, pouring millions of gallons of water every second into the river below. There are plenty of opportunities to see the falls close up from above and below.

Day 9: Iguaçú – half day Brazilian side/ Rio de Janeiro
You’ll enjoy an included morning trip to view the mesmerising Iguaçú falls from the Brazilian side, which offers panoramic views that give even better opportunities to take in their immense scale – there’s even a walkway that will take you virtually into the Devil’s Throat, the most famous of the individual falls. In the afternoon, you’ll transfer to the airport for your flight to Rio de Janeiro, where you’ll check into your hotel for two nights.

Day 10: Rio de Janeiro
Rio, beautifully situated beneath Sugarloaf Mountain and blessed with magnificent beaches such as Copacabana and Ipanema, is arguably South America’s most exciting city. You’ll enjoy a half-day included tour to the peak of Corcovado, where the famous statue of Christ stands overlooking the city, reaching it via a small cog railway which winds its way up the mountain. From the top, you should be able to enjoy breathtaking views of the city. The afternoon will be free for you to explore on your own, or to join an optional excursion to Sugarloaf Mountain. As a prelude to this exciting ascent you’ll enjoy a drive along the seashore avenues of the Flamengo and Botafogo beaches, before arriving at the Praia Vermelha cable-car for the breathtaking ride to the summit. From atop the huge rock, there are superb panoramas of Rio and its famous Favelas, as well as superb views to the ocean and world-renowned beaches. In the evening, you’ll be free to explore further, or perhaps relax in a local café with a caipirinha (the local cocktail).

Day 11: Rio de Janeiro
You’ll have a free morning to catch up on some last-minute souvenir shopping, or to enjoy a beach-front promenade, before checking out of our hotel and transferring to the airport for your overnight return flight to the UK.

Day 12: Rio de Janeiro/UK
You’ll arrive back in the UK, via Madrid or Amsterdam.

Please note
This holiday includes walking in areas of rough ground, gradients and steps.

Accommodation throughout is in hotels of a comfortable standard, typical of the hotels you will stay in are:

4-star Jose Antonio Hotel in Lima
4-star Eco Inn in the centre of Cuzco
3-star Inkallpa Hotel in the Sacred Valley
4-star Recanto Hotel on the Brazilian side of the Iguaçú Falls
4-star Windsor Excelsior in Rio de Janeiro
All rooms feature en suite facilities, TV and telephone.

Hotels will be confirmed in your final documentation.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Included excursions and visits

Machu Picchu tour (full day)
Lima tour (half day)
Cuzco tour (half day)
Iguaçú Falls tour, from Brazil (half day)
Rio de Janeiro tour, to Corcovado and the Statue of Christ (half day)

Optional excursions

Rio de Janeiro tour, with cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain (half day)
Iguaçú Falls tour, from Argentina (full day)

Your holiday includes

Scheduled flights, internal flights, overseas transfers & other transportation
10 nights’ accommodation with breakfast, plus 1 lunch
The services of a Travelsphere Tour Manager and Local Guides
Hotel porterage (one bag per person)
All airport taxes and security charges
UK Airline Passenger Duty
All state and local taxes

With 50 years’ experience in arranging escorted tours to exciting destinations across the globe, Travelsphere have built an excellent reputation founded on quality and value.

By choosing a Travelsphere escorted holiday you can travel with confidence, knowing that every aspect of your holiday has been carefully planned and arranged from start to finish. Further to this they are ATOL bonded and members of ABTA.

Travelsphere’s thorough planning of travel arrangements, itineraries and accommodation combined with the unique insight of their knowledgeable Tour Managers and Local Guides will enable you to experience the culture, traditions and hidden away places less accessible to other travellers.

Our Opinion
“Travelsphere are one of the biggest names in the Escorted Tour market. Finely tuned over the last 50 years their tours have been tried, tested and refined by thousands of customers.”