20 days - 19 nights

Day 1. Arrival Buenos Aires
On arrival at Buenos Aires you will be met at the airport by an English speaking driver & transfered by private vehicle to your city hotel. The remainder of this day is at leisure.


Day 2. Buenos Aires city sightseeing
(B) After breakfast you will be picked up at your hotel for a morning city sightseeing tour.

The tour travels through Buenos Aires many Parks, past the Botanical Gardens; historic buildings that house branches of Government; many monuments & famous landmarks; mansions of Palermo & Belgrano; San telmo & the Boca districts & the Recoleta cemetery within which lie gentry, statesmen, military heroes & perhaps the most revered of all, Argentina's one & only 'Evita'.

The afternoon is yours to enjoy, at leisure.

Whatever you decide to do, 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 - Iguazu Falls
(B) After breakfast you will be picked up & taken to AeroParque Jorge Newbery airport for the approx 1hr 40min flight to Iguazu. ( IGR )

On arrival you will be transferred to your hotel overlooking the falls. After checking in, you will be met by a representative of Jungle Explorer & given a briefing on the variety of adventures you have in store tomorrow.


Day 4. Iguazu Falls Jungle Explorer Adventures
( B) After breakfast you will be met by your Jungle Explorer representative to commence a full day of guided walking & water based Iguazu Falls activities. The exact order of events will vary depending upon the day, weather & river water levels. At certain times & specifically after heavy rains, some water based activities are restricted.

You will have the opportunity to walk the upper trails on the Argentine side of the Falls; experience the tranquillity of the river in a rubber raft which is piloted by a professional oarsman-guide; transported to the Devils Throat Balcony & finally, the Grand Adventure where you will traverse the Rio Iguazu up & in close proximity to the San Martin & Tres Mosqueteros cataracts in a high powered vessel.
   

Day 5. Iguazu Falls - Rio de Janeiro
(B) After breakfast you have the morning to yourself to perhaps revisit one of the special places on either the upper or lower walking trails of the Argentine side or perhaps, take a remis across to the Brasilian side of the Falls.

An early afternoon transfer to the Brasilian Iguassu ( IGU) airport is scheduled to connect with a direct 2hr 40min flight to Rio D Janeiro. On arrival you will be met & transferred to your hotel.


Day 6. Rio de Janeiro city sightseeing
(B) After breakfast you will be picked up & taken on a morning sightseeing tour of Rio De Janeiro which is highlighted by the views to be had from the top of Mount Corcovado. It is here, after a 20 minute, 800 metre climb by way of the Swiss engineered red cog-wheeled train that you alight to find the statue of "Christ on the Mountain" dominating the skyline.

The statue stands 40 metres high & weighs over 40 tons & from the top of the mountain, 360 degree views of Rio's beaches, mountains, bays, the city & the sea are all truly Kodak moments awaiting you.
   

Day 7. Rio de Janeiro at leisure
(B) After breakfast you will be picked up for a mornings sightseeing highlights of the city of Rio. The excursion begins with a ride along world famous Copacabana & Ipanema beaches, circling the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon & continuing to the 'Maracana'. Visit the city center, Flamengo Park & the memorial to WWII.

The finale this morning is a ride up Sugar Loaf mountain in the aerial cable-car 395 metres above the city offering spectacular views of Guanabara Bay.

The afternoon is yours at leisure.


Day 8. Rio de Janeiro - Lima
( B, L*,D*) After breakfast in your hotel, transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima, via Sao Paulo. An in-flight light snack on the first sector & a meal on the second sector will be served. On arrival in Lima & after clearing Peruvian Immigration & Customs formalities, you will be met & transferred to your hotel.


Day 9. Lima
( 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 10. Lima - Ica - Nazca Lines
(B) After breakfast travel from Lima by coach to Ica where you will be treated to a light aircraft flight over the Nazca Lines. These amazing unexplained & time-warped Inca etchings cover miles & miles of the desert floor. Why are they here ; what do they represent & most importantly, at a time no human had flown why on earth would they have been created ?

From ground level do not seem as if they have any rhyme or reason to their meanderings. From the air however, the story becomes crystal clear & it is very easy to see the monkey, birds, spider & fish etchings. We suggest you take photos for latter reference as to what the Lines represent.

Tonight , your hotel accommodation is at the Las Dunas.


Day 11. Nazca Lines - Ballestas Island - Arequipa
(B) Travel on to Paracas, stopping for a short cruise to the Ballestas Islands known for their abundance of marine mammals & birds. Late afternoon return to Ica, where you will board an overnight coach bound for Aerquipa.


Day 12. Arequipa city
An early morning arrival into Arequipa - the 'White City' - & transfer to your hotel. The remainder of the morning is at your leisure. This afternoon join a city sightseeing tour that will take in the main Square, Cathedral, Church & Cloisters of Jesus, colonial mansions, the Santa Catalina Convent, San Francisco complex & the Yanahuara Belvedere.


Day 13. Arequipa - Cuzco & City tour
( B) An early breakfast followed by a short flight to Cuzco in the Andes. On arrival Cuzco you will be met & transferred to your hotel accommodation. ( see 'tips for altitude acclimatization') Cuzco is situated 11151 feet above sea level & at this altitude the air is much thinner thereby necessitating your taking things easily rather than attempting to do things at the same pace you would at sea level.

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 14. Cuzco at leisure
(B) It is not unusual for travellers to feel tired or just 'slow' at these rarefied 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 15. 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 16. Cuzco - Lima - Iquitos
(B*) Leaving Cuzco on an early flight down to Lima, you here will connect to Iquitos the north of Peru & on the western side of the Andes. On arrival you will be met & transferred toyour 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 17. 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 18. 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 19. 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 20. 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; L - lunch; D - dinner; note: B* - D* represent breakfast, snack or dinner in-flight)
· 16 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 & two half days sightseeing in Rio de Janeiro
· Señor Tango dinner & tango show including beverages, in Buenos Aires
· Flightseeing over the Nazca Lines
· Excursion to Ballestas Islands
· Coach travel overnight from Ica to Arequipa in Peru ( no meals included )
· Full day guided excursion to Machu Picchu - Lost City of the Incas including coach & rail transport
· Amazon River cruise & sightseeing / canoe excursions as detailed in itinerary
· Float plane transfer from Amazon River cruise returning to Iquitos