13 days - 12 nights

Day 1. Welcome to Buenos Aires
On your arrival to Buenos Aires you will be met by an English speaking driver & transferred to your city hotel in a private vehicle. The remainder of the day is yours to relax, unpack & take time out to get acquainted to your surroundings.
Buenos Aires is laid out in a grid style with many one way streets. For those who are inclined, Calle Florida is one of the main pedestrian only shopping thoroughfares & is adorned with shops specializing in leather wear, shoes, clothing etc., & always good for bargain hunting.


Day 2. City Sightseeing
( B) After breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel & taken on a half day city sightseeing tour to include the many Parks, past the Botanical Gardens, the historical buildings that house branches of Government; many monuments & fountains that adorn the city & the mansions of Palermo & Belgrano.

You will pause at San Telmo, with its collection famous antique shops specializing in everything from the finest of baroque, to exquisite European furniture, crockery & glass, before heading to the Boca district where the brightly colored corregated-iron homes make for wonderful photos. Onto the Recoleta, where both the historic chapel 'Basilica del Pilar ' & the many family crypts for Presidents, Military heroes & gentry from bygone Argentine eras, lie at rest.

Perhaps the most sought after crypt to be found in the Recoleta, is that of the family Duarte. It is in a quiet unassuming corner you will come across the final resting place for the one & only 'Evita, worshipped by the populace in both her life & in death. 'Evita' remains not only legendary to the Argentine people, but her storybook romance with the late President Juan Peron is the subject of worldwide screen & theatre.

After you are returned to your hotel, the afternoon is yours to enjoy at your leisure.

Whatever you decide, be sure to be back at your hotel in time to be picked up shortly before 8.00pm for an evening of charm, romance & the exotic. Tango is the trademark dance & rhythm of Argentina & there is no better place to be exposed to this sensational pulse that at Señor Tango.

This is an evening that will captivate & live on with you as the essence of not only Tango, but Buenos Aires itself. After the performance & dinner, you will be transferred back to your hotel.
   

Day 3. Buenos Aires - Lima
(B*) You will picked up & transferred to Buenos Aires airport for your flight to Lima, Peru. On arrival & after clearing Customs & Immigration formalities, you will be met & transferred to your hotel. The remainder of this day is yours to acquaint yourself with your surroundings at your leisure.


Day 4. Lima city sightseeing
(B) After breakfast you are off on a Lima city tour. You'll visit the Convent San Francisco to view the unique cloisters & artistic jewels it contains, then to the Place de Armes where the Government Palace is located. You will be taken to Casa Aliaga, one of the best examples of preserved colonial mansions & finally, through the districts of Miraflores & San Isidro before returning to your hotel. This afternoon you have at leisure.
   

Day 5. Lima - Cuzco
(B) After breakfast, you will be transferred to Lima airport for the short flight to Cuzco, high in the Andes mountains at 11151 feet above sea level. On arrival Cuzco you will be met & transferred to your hotel accommodation. (* see 'tips for altitude acclimatization')

Latter in the afternoon, you will be taken on a city tour to acquaint you with this ancient citadel of an amazing Inca civilization.

Highlights include Plaza Del Regocijo, Plaza de Armas, Santo Domingo Monastery, the Cathedral, legendry Korikancha & the ancient town with extremely narrow streets . Then you will be taken outside of the city to archeological sites to view the Inca remains of Tembomachay, Kinko, Pica Pucara & the fortress of Sacsayhuaman which casts an ever watchful presence over Cuzco.
   

Day 6. Cuzco at leisure
(B) It is not unusual for travellers to feel tired or just 'slow' at these rarified altitudes as there just isn't the same amount of oxygen you would have at sea level & it takes a while for your body to acclimatize. So in recognition of your likely needing some time to take things easy. Today is a day at leisure.

Cuzco is a wonderful town to wander. There are lots of small craft places, neat little cafes & certainly if you wish to catch up with world news or friends by e.mail, internet cafes provide an easy method to send off some 'greetings'.


Day 7. Pisac Markets & the ruins of Ollantaytambo
(B) After breakfast, start out today with a visit to small Andean village of Pisac & its local craft markets. Time for you to wander & hunt for handicrafts that typify this region. Then, off to Ollantaytambo Fortress & village. This equally impressive Inca site allows you a hands on experience of dynasties past. Climb the terraces to explore this site originally intended as a temple, but modified to serve as a fort to protect the locals against the Spanish invaders.

The village adjacent to Ollantaytambo provides an insight into the 'living' world of the Inca. It contains dwellings & original unaltered streets constructed centuries ago. You will return to Cuzco in the afternoon with your guide.


Day 8. Machu Picchu - 'The lost city of the Incas'
(B, L ) Today you are in for a cultural, historical & archeological highlight unsurpassed in the world - a full day & guided excursion of Machu Picchu.

You will transfer to the railway station for the first part of the journey, continuing on by coach to the Lost city of the Incas. Machu Picchu is actually lower in altitude, being located 2300 metres or 7546 feet above sea level & some 112kms from Cuzco.

You will have many hours to explore & wander this unique testimony of the Inca civilization that was way advanced of its time.

It the afternoon, you return to Cuzco by coach & then, by rail.
   


Day 9. Cuzco - Lima - Iquitos
(B*) Leaving Cuzco on an early flight down to Lima, you here will connect to Iquitos in the north of Peru & on the western side of the Andes. On arrival you will be met & transferred to your hotel & the remainder of the day is yours to get acquainted with your surroundings in this once booming rubber town that is built on the banks of the mighty Amazon River.


Day 10. Amazon River Cruise aboard M/V Amazonas
(B) You will have breakfast in your hotel & then late morning, be transferred to dockside for boarding & a short briefing by the cruise director, then check into your cabin. Lunch will be served aboard as we set off downriver passing Iquitos' industrial center. After sunset, dinner will be served & there is ample time to relax & meet your fellow traveling companions.
   

Day 11. Cruising
As the sun rises above the eastern horizon it is ideal for early morning bird watching. As the many species of aquatic birds & parrots take flight from their overnight roosts in search of their breakfast. Your breakfast is served , followed by a visit to 'Bora'& 'Huitoto' Indian villages for a cultural visit & blow gun demonstration by these expert hunters.

Late morning, stop at the town of Pevas which is the oldest Peruvian town on the Amazon.

This afternoon, a jungle hike through dense rainforest of the Shishita river area. After dinner, take a canoe spotlight adventure, trying to find those elusive nocturnal creatures that sleep during the day & hunt or forage in darkness.


Day 12. Cruising
After breakfast a morning jungle walk to view Victoria Regina water lilies, followed by a Piranah fishing expedition. The it is off to the missionary village at Lake Caballococha. This evening after the sun has set, head out in canoes again with spotlights to find the elusive caiman crocodiles by way of their red eyes shining in the light as they hide in the marshy shallows.


Day 13. Disembark M/V Amazonas & fly to Iquitos
After breakfast aboard, disembark opposite the town of Leticia & transfer back to Iquitos by float plane at 1300hrs arriving Iquitos 1430hrs & if traveling onward this day, transfer to Iquitos airport.



Included Features
· Airport to hotel transfers & v.v
· All meals as specified in the itinerary ( B - breakfast, B* - breakfast in-flight, L - lunch, D - dinner )
· 9 nights hotel accommodation - all rooms have private facilities
· 3 nights aboard M/V Amazonas - cabins are air-conditioned with private facilities
· City sightseeing tours of Buenos Aires, Lima & Cuzco
· 'Señor Tango' dinner & tango show including beverages & transfers from hotel in Buenos Aires
· Full day guided Pisac markets & Ollantaytambo Inca Ruins excursion
· Full day guided Machu Picchu - Lost City of the Incas - excursion
· Amazon River cruise & sightseeing / canoe excursions as detailed in itinerary
· Float plane transfer from Amazon River cruise returning to Iquitos