International arrival into Lima.

Welcome to Peru - you are in for the trip of a lifetime!

Pre-tour programs are available, if desired.

After going through immigrations and customs at Jorge Chavez International Airport (named after the the first Peruvian to fly over the Alps), you will meet your Wings Over Peru Guide and be escorted to your hotel (30 to 45 minute ride). Your guide remains at your service 24/7 until your departure from Peru.

Our hospitality suite will be open at the hotel, where you may help yourself to beverages and snacks, sign up for optional activities, or get expert travel advice.

[ 06:30 - 09:15 ]
Breakfast in the hotel restaurant or room service. Up to you, every morning while you are in Peru.

[ 08:00 - 09:15 ]
Hospitality suite open.

[ 09:30 - 12:30 ]
The Larco Museum, with its ceramic, gold and silver art collections, provides a revealing introduction to life in pre-Columbian, and pre-Inca, Peru. Andres Alvarez Calderon, Director of the museum and grandson of its founder, joins you for a private visit.
Tour of the Historical Center of Lima*, founded by Francisco Pizarro, in 1535.
*Unesco World Heritage Site

pm [ 12:30 - 15:00 ]
Your hosts for lunch are Enrique and Milagros Rizo Patron, at Hacienda Mamacona, south of Lima. For generations, the Rizo Patrons have proudly upheld the tradition of breeding the Peruvian Paso horse, renowned for the smoothest gait in the world. Paso riding and “marinera” dancing exhibitions are performed for you, together as is customary, by national category champions. Try the ride, and the dance!
Lunch features Lima’s classic Creole cuisine, a tasty fusion of Andean, Iberian, Mediterranean, east-Asian and west-African cooking.

[ 15:00 - 17:00 ]
Hospitality suite open.

[ 16:00 - 18:00 ]
Private visits with the owners at Peru’s finest stores for folk art, gold and silver.

[ 19:30 - 22:00 ]
Dine nearby. Lima is recognized as South America’s gourmet capital. Tonight you may choose from a selection of the best restaurants in town.

[ 06:30 - 07:45 ]
Breakfast at the hotel. Today you take three short flights, and although it’s all private air, you should do stretching exercises this morning and all day.

[ 07:00 - 07:45 ]
Hospitality suite open.

[ 08:00 - 08:30 ]
Transfer to the airport, to embark on your personal discovery of Peru’s pre-Inca kingdoms. The sun in the northern coast is strong, so bring sun-block and a hat.

[ 09:00 - 10:00 ]
Private air from Lima to Trujillo. En route and weather permitting, overfly the Sacred City of Caral and the Huascaran National Park*.
*Unesco World Heritage Site.

[ 10:15 - 11:30 ]
Visit Chan Chan*, the largest adobe city in the world - 20 sq.kms.- and home at its peak to some 100,000 subjects of the Chimu Kingdom, 10C to 15C AD.
*Unesco World Heritage Site.

[ 11:30 - 12:45 ]
The Pyramid of the Moon, with its layered murals showing the deity of “the Beheader” and other mythological iconography, opens the door to the surprising Moche Civilization, 2C to 8C AD. Dr. Luis Jaime Castillo, Peru’s foremost scholar on the subject, enriches the
experience for you today, as he unveils the latest findings in the site.

[ 12:45 - 13:15 ]
Drive through charming Trujillo, “the City of Eternal Spring”, to Huanchaco beach, where the Moches may have invented surfing. Local fishermen carry on the tradition, by riding the waves on “totora” reed boats.

[ 13:15 - 15:00 ]

The Moches may have also invented cebiche! And today at lunch you may learn how to make the best one, from this year’s champion of the national cebiche contest; in a casual beachfront restaurant, where rich seafood from Peru’s northern coast is brought to your table, fresh and cooked to order.

[ 15:00 - 15:15 ]

Transfer to the airport.

[ 15:45 - 16:30 ]
Private air from Trujillo to Chiclayo. En route and weather permitting, overfly Moche sites.

[ 16:45 - 18:30 ]
Visit The Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum, where the single richest cache of gold and jewelry ever excavated in Peru is exhibited, in a modern building modeled after the Moche pyramid where the tombs were found. Dr. Walter Alva, archaeologist in charge of the dig and now the Museum’s founder and director, conducts a private showing for you.

[ 18:30 - 19:00 ]
Transfer to the airport.

[ 19:30 - 21:00 ]
Private air from Chiclayo to Lima. Light dinner service on board, featuring popular Peruvian sandwiches and snacks.

[ 21:15 - 21:45 ]
Transfer to your hotel.

[ 06:30 - 07:15 ]
Breakfast at the hotel. Eat healthy this morning. Lots of fruit.

[ 06:45 - 07:15 ]
Hospitality suite open.

[ 07:30 - 08:00 ]
Transfer to the airport.

[ 08:30 - 09:45 ]
Private air from Lima to Arequipa. En route and weather permitting, overfly the Valley of the Volcanoes and Colca Canyon.

[ 10:15 - 11:45 ]
Walk through the Historic Center*, built mostly with local sillar, a pale volcanic rock, affording Arequipa its glorious architecture and its appropriate nickname, “the White City”. Visit the Convent of Santa Catalina, where the second-born daughters of the local elite were cloistered for life, since the mid-16th Century until 1970.
*Unesco World Heritage Site.

[ 11:45 - 13:30 ]
Lunch at Casa del Moral, Arequipa’s best preserved Colonial mansion. Taste regional specialties such as “Chupe”, sweet river shrimp soup and “Cuy”, grilled Andean guinea pig. Fashion show of fine Alpaca and Vicuña fabrics - coveted by international luxury designers - and Collagua embroidery from the Colca Valley.

[ 13:30 - 14:00 ]
Transfer to the airport.

[ 14:30 - 15:30 ]
Private air from Arequipa to Cusco.

[ 15:45 - 17:00 ]
Drive to the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
The Sol y Luna Hotel is your lovely country inn for the next two nights. European proprietors/innkeepers Petit-Pois and Franz migrated to Peru in the 1990’s, separately albeit with a common dream: to find a perfect spot in the Andes and create an idyllic place to rest, relax and renew. They are now actually living their dream, with their two kids, dogs, tennis court, full spa, pool, horse farm, sports outfitter, adventure club and wine cellar.

Sipping some Coca Tea should help you adjust to the altitude.

[ 17:30 - 18:30 ]
Hospitality desk open. You may wish to join one, some or all of the activities planned for tomorrow, or you may decide to go on your own adventure….

[ 19:00 - 21:00 ]
Rich soil, ideal weather and millenary wisdom have combined to make the Sacred Valley arguably the most fertile in the world. You’ll probably become a believer as you indulge in its bounty: giant multi-coloured maize, a wide variety of potatoes (over 3,000 in the Andes), lean meats, pink rainbow trout, the world’s most nutritious cereals, exotic fruits and spices, fresh greens and herbs. Tonight’s Pachamanca (Andean cook-out) starts the feasting!

Theater and folk arts group Yuyachkani, performs “The Apus of the Andes” for you this evening. Live vignette representations of Quechua lore and Inca mythology bring you into the realm of Andean spirituality.

Open skies permitting, tonight presents privileged stargazing opportunities. Several constellations can be seen clearly and the Sacred Vilcanota River is said to reflect the Milky Way, as it runs through the Valley.

[ 04:30 - 06:30 ]
Continental-style breakfast available for early risers.

[ 06:30 - 10:30 ]
Breakfast at the hotel. Be generous, your body will need it today.

[ 06:30 - 08:30 ]
Hospitality desk open.

[ 07:00 - 10:00 ]
Choose your outdoor activity: horse riding, mountain biking, hiking, or just relaxing under the sun...

Or visit Pisac, the Inca religious site, above the town, boasts Imperial architecture, terraced fields and a magnificent view of the Valley’s eastern tutelary mountains; walking around the town provides an insight into life in the Andes today.

[ 10:00 - 13:00 ]
White-water rafting on the Vilcanota River. The Incas did not do this, but the grade 3+ rapids are a lot of fun. Helmets, life-jackets, changing tents and hot tea are provided. You bring the adrenaline.

[ 13:00 - 15:30 ]
Lunch at the 1916 Hacienda Orihuela, where Jose Ignacio and Ana Maria Lambarri-Orihuela host you for a delicious home-made meal, with farm-grown ingredients, in their hill-top house overlooking the Sacred Valley and River. Their glazed Transition-period pottery collection is unique and their classical music collection includes rare Peruvian baroque ensembles. Enjoy both over lunch.

[ 15:30 - 17:30 ]
The Maras Salt Mine is a rare natural phenomenom. But perhaps more surprising is the multi-level network of canals and salt pools built and managed by the Pichingotos, an ancient community who organized a cooperative system to better administer their God-given resource. Walking tour.

[ 18:00 - 19:00 ]

Hospitality desk open.

[ 19:30 - 21:30 ]
Dinner at the hotel tonight is a-la-carte, with open seating. A local shaman is available this evening, for individual Coca leaf reading sessions.
 

[ 05:30 - 06:30 ]
Continental-style breakfast available for early risers.

[ 06:30 - 10:00 ]
Breakfast at the hotel. Prepare for an amazing day. Dress in layers. Hat, sun block, repellent, walking stick and umbrella may come in handy today.

Machu Picchu*, Inca Pachacutec’s 15C AD masterpiece of environmental architecture, is now a Historic and Natural - and some say spiritual - Sanctuary.
In 1911, local farmer Melchor Arteaga showed U.S. archaeologist Hiram Bingham, the only path to the fabled site, then covered by overgrown cloud forest. This morning you have a choice of five different ways to get to the “Lost City of the Incas”:
*Unesco World Heritage Site

[ 06:30 - 16:00 ]
Option 1: Hike the Qhapaq Ñan. Catch the early Vistadome train, to kilometer marker 104, where you enter the Royal Inca Road. A 10km trail climbs 150m on its way to the Intipunku - Sun Gate - original gateway to Machu Picchu. Tour of the citadel. Porters available. Box lunch.

[ 07:30 - 10:30 ]
Option 2: Visit Willoc. Drive to the remote highland community, where women are renowned for their red and black weavings and men for their physical prowess. You may bring a gift or make a donation for the school children, who perform a traditional ceremony for you today. Transfer to the train station.

[ 09:00 - 10:30 ]
Option 3: Tour Ollantaytambo. Walk through the ancient town and fortress to learn about urban design, agricultural planning, military strategy, astronomical knowledge and religious belief, during the Inca Empire, 14C to 16C AD. Proceed to the train station.

[ 10:15 - 10:30 ]
Option 4: Easy morning. Transfer from the hotel to the train station.

Option 5: Overnight in Machu Picchu. Choose any of the four options above and stay tonight at a hotel in the Sanctuary. This allows you to experience the cloud forest at sunrise, a must for the mystic, the birder and the orchid lover. Arrangements should be made well in advance.

[ 10:45 - 12:15 ]
For options 2 to 5. Private rail from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu. Orient Express’ Hiram Bingham train service includes brunch on board.

[ 12:30 - 13:00 ]
Transfer from the train station to the archaeological site.

[ 13:15 - 15:45 ]
Tour of Machu Picchu. An unforgettable afternoon of marvel and atonement, exploring one of man’s greatest creations. Visit the Royal Quarters, the Temple of the Three Windows, the Solstice Tower, the houses of Vigil and Prayer, the Sun Dial - Intihuatana. Tour content is available in three themes: active, historical, spiritual. Your choice.

[ 15:45 - 17:00 ]
Tea time at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge. Classic English fare with exotic infusions. Use of room for freshening up, occupancy permitting.

[ 17:00 - 17:30 ]
Transfer to the train station. You may pick up a souvenir or two at the government-sponsored artisans’ market, adjacent to the station.

[ 18:00 - 21:25 ]
Private rail from Machu Picchu to Poroy. Dinner aboard the Hiram Bingham train.

[ 21:35 - 22:00 ]
Transfer from Poroy station to Cusco.

Spend the next two nights at the award-winning Monasterio Hotel. Managed by Orient Express, the 16C AD property was voted the Best Hotel in South America 2005 by readers of Conde Nast Traveler. Lush beds with down pillows and comforters, in richly appointed oxygen-enhanced rooms, should provide ideal conditions for a good night’s sleep. Sweet dreams.

You may be awakened early both mornings in Cusco by a street celebration. Almost every day of the year, Cusqueneans have a festive reason to light fire crackers in the center of town, at dawn…

[ 06:30 - 10:30 ]
Breakfast at the hotel, renowned as the “best buffet breakfast in the Andes”.

[07:00 - 08:00 ]
Hospitality desk open.

You may choose from various options in and around Cusco’s Historic Center*, although today we would actually suggest a more personal and spontaneous discovery of the Inca and Colonial heritage, the cosmopolitan and the traditional life, of this city of contrasts, founded in the 14th Century by Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, the Children of the Sun.
*Unesco World Heritage Site

[ 08:00 - 09:00 ]
Go to the Cusco farmers’ market, for an inside view of the local diet. Your guide this morning is also your chef for lunch today!

[ 09:00 - 12:00 ]
Explore Sacsayhuaman, the Inca fortress and ceremonial center, an impressive site with walls made of giant boulders, guarding and overlooking Cusco. Drive trough the old city, visiting the Koricancha, Temple of the Sun.

[ 12:00 - 15:00 ]
Lunch, cooking lesson and art collection await you at the Pre-Columbian Art Museum, where its creative chef prepares a “novo-Andean” feast for you and re-introduces potatoes into your life in delicious ways.

The Museum is housed in a beautiful Colonial mansion. Ceramics, gold, silver, shell and wood artifacts form this collection, with pieces selected for their artistic value.

You are acquainted with Andean folklore through life music and dances.

[ 15:00 - 17:00 ]
Visit the Colonial landmarks of Cusco and learn about the role played by the Catholic Church in conquering the Incas and in developing the Cusco School of painting.

[ 17:00 - 18:00 ]
In the quaint district of San Blas, sculptor Octavio Mendivil, renowned for the disproportionate shapes of his figures, hosts a private visit of his workshop.

[ 17:30 - 18:30 ]
Hospitality suite open.

[ 19:00 - 21:30]
Tonight we have a secret surprise for you. You did not expect to know everything about this journey ahead of time now, did you?

[ 06:30 - 08:00 ]
Breakfast at the hotel. Eat lightly to prepare for the three flights today and remember your stretching exercises.

[ 08:15 - 08:30 ]
Transfer to the airport.

[ 09:00 - 10:00 ]
Private air from Cusco to Nasca.

[ 10:15 - 10:30 ]
Transfer to Cantayo Hacienda Hotel. Your very comfortable and relaxing headquarters for the day. Rooms are available for day use, and the infinity pool is very refreshing, so bring bathing suit!

[ 10:30 - 16:30 ]
The overflying of the mysterious giant figures* etched on the desert floor by the 3C BC to 8C AD Nasca culture, and visible only from the sky, is done from here by helicopter, in various turns during the day, so before and/or after your flight, you may enjoy the resort’s facilities.
*Unesco World Heritage Site

Lunch features a selection of fresh salads, in recognition of the region’s booming agricultural export business. A show of afro-Peruvian music and dance is performed for you by a local group, winners of this year’s regional folk festival.

The barman of Cantayo Hacienda Hotel will introduce you to the taste of Pisco, to compare the aromatic and non-aromatic, the pure and blended, as well as the young must varietals of Peru’s national grape brandy.

If you did not get enough adventure already, the Nasca desert is famous for its great dunes. Dune-buggy outings and sand boarding may be arranged.

[ 16:30 - 16:45 ]
Transfer to the airport.

[ 17:15 - 18:00 ]
Private air from Nasca to Lima.

[ 18:15 - 19:00 ]
Transfer to the Miraflores Park hotel.

[ 20:00 - 23:00 ]

Dress up tonight to meet Gonzalo and Ana Maria De Aliaga, Count and Countess of San Juan de Lurigancho, at their 1535 mansion in the heart of the city’s Historic Center*. Home to 16 generations, Casa De Aliaga is the oldest family household in continuous use in the Americas and the jewel of Colonial Lima.
*Unesco World Heritage Site

A home-made epicurean extravaganza delights you with the flavours of Peru’s new haute-cuisine, which is impressing the most sophisticated palates the world over.

[ 06:30 - 10:30 ]
Breakfast at the hotel.

International departure from Lima. You will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight.

[ 09:00 - 11:00 ]
Hospitality suite open.

Optional activities in Lima and surroundings are available for today, if desired. Post tours may be selected as well.