10 days - 9 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 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 & evening is yours to enjoy at your leisure.
   

Day 3. Buenos Aires at leisure
(B) A day to discover Buenos Aires at your own pace. For camera buffs, there are wonderful photo opportunities with the many monuments, wonderful 19th century buildings & ornate doorways of Buenos Aires being especially enticing.

For shoppers, head to Calle Florida or Av. Sante Fe. Here you are bound to see plenty of signs that say 'Liqidacion 'a & there's no better time for bargains than at a 'Sale'.

If you are into people watching, head for Plaza de Mayo, Plaza San Martin or Plaza de Los Dos Congresos. The choice of how you spend this time is yours alone to make .


Day 4. 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 5. 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 6. 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 7. 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 8. 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 9. 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 10. Cuzco & departure
(B) After breakfast you will be transferred to Cuzco airport for your onward flight.



Included Features
· All airport to city hotel & v.v transfers
· Meals as specified in the itinerary ( B - breakfast at hotel, B* - breakfast inflight, L - lunch)
· 9 nights hotel accommodation - rooms with private facilities
· City tours of Buenos Aires, Lima & Cuzco
· Full day guided excursion to Pisac markets & Ollantaytambo Inca ruins
· Full day guided excursion to Machu Picchu