From the Atacama to the Machu Picchu

Arrival in Santiago and private transfer to your hotel.

An English-speaking guide will accompany you during the transfer.
Visit of Chile's capital, nestled at the foot of the Andes. Although Santiago has become over the years a modern and bustling city, some older neighbourhoods have preserved their atmosphere and a romantic charm.
You will visit the Plaza de Armas, San Francisco Church, the Bellavista area, Cerro San Cristobal, etc.
Night at the Rio Amazonas hotel **.
Included : transfer arrival, english speaking guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast
Included opts : International guide

Private transfer from your hotel to Santiago airport.

Domestic flight from Santiago to Calama (time to be confirmed, flight indicated in option).

Arrival at Calama airport and private transfer to San Pedro de Atacama, a small oasis in the middle of the driest desert on Earth.

An English-speaking guide will be with you during the transfer.
In the middle of the afternoon, departure to the Cordillera de Sal (salt mountains) and the Moon Valley to have a walk in a magnificent landscape made of sand dunes and sculpted calcareous mountains. Make sure you watch the sunset project amazing colors over the tortuous scenery before going back to San Pedro.

Night at the Dunas hotel **.
Included : transfer departure, domestic flight, airport tax, transfer arrival, english speaking guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, room & breakfast
Included opts : english speaking guide (tour leader).

Departure from your hotel in the morning. Day fully dedicated to the discovery of the Atacama salt flat and its surrounding. The Toconao and Socaire villages, the Quebrada de Jerez, the Chaxa, Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons with their volcanoes, are the “must” of this visit. Lunch in a restaurant at Socaire. Return to San Pedro at the end of the afternoon.

Night at the Dunas hotel **.
Included : lunch (no drinks), english speaking guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast

Departure between 4.30 and 6.00 (time depends on the vehicle, the number of passengers and the season) from the hotel towards the Tatio. You will arrive at the perfect time to admire the sunrise and the geysers roaring in the cold air of the Altiplano. The valley looks like a giant pot. Water spurts here and there. This geological curiosity mixes a ground still frozen with boiling hot clear water springs (70°C/160°F). Observation of numerous volcanic formations.
After a few hours, return to San Pedro via the Machuca Valley.

Night at the Dunas hotel **.
Included : english speaking guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, breakfast, excursion (private), room & breakfast

5-day expedition in a private vehicle with a Spanish-speaking driver
Descent towards Calama and Maria Elena. You will reach the famous Pan-American Highway, this road that connects Alaska with Tierra del Fuego. You will drive through the Pampa of Tamarugal. This desert area experienced in the late nineteenth century a rush, but not for gold, for saltpeter. Many abandoned "oficinas" reflect this ephemeral and tragic past. You can also admire stunning and monumental geoglyphs on the slopes of the hills around Cerros Pintados. Pre-Colombian civilizations drew nearly 350 figures, representing human, animal and abstract forms.
You will arrive at the end of the day in Pica, a charming oasis with orange, lemon and guava trees.
Night at the Hotel Santa Rosa ***.
Included : local guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast

After a good night sleep, you will go up towards the Andes to reach the Salar de Huasco. This basin surrounded by volcanoes, at 3,700 m above sea level, impresses with its solitude. The trail continues north. You will reach the Portezuelo pass (at 5,075 m!) and then drive around the Cariquima Volcano (5,390 m alt.) before arriving at the border village of Colchane.
The crossing of the Huasco Salt Flat will depend on the weather conditions.


Night at the hotel Isluga **.
Included : room & breakfast, local guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, dinner, box lunch

Head north, among the bogs with llamas in Volcán Isluga National Park, and cross the colonial villages of Isluga (3,980 m alt.) and Enquelga (3,850 m alt.). A narrow track that seems to play hide and seek with the border takes you to the Salar de Surire (4,245 m alt.), which takes its name from the ostrich (“suri” in Aymara). You can see three varieties of flamingos, as well as numerous llamas, alpacas, and vicunas. Lunch break near the hot springs. Then you will get back on the track, guided by the Guallatiri Volcano and its sulfuric fumes, through Las Vicuñas Natural Reserve, to reach the village of Putre in late afternoon.

Night at Hotel la Chakana **.
Included : local guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, box lunch, room & breakfast

Option 1: Start your day with the Chungará Lake and then walk down to the Cotacotani Lagoons (3h walk). The guide will show you the way and pick you up at the end of the walk. Then, you will drive down to Parinacota and its pretty church, and to Putre.
Option 2: Take a short walk (around 30 minutes) to get to Las Cuevas. In the village of Parinacota, the vehicle will pick you up and you will drive down to the Cotacotani Lagoons, without doing the hike. You will then continue to the Chungará Lake and Putre at the end of the day.

Night at Hotel la Chakana **.
Included : local guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast

Leave the Andes to drive down 3,500m in a little more than 150 km (about 6-hour drive with stops). The view on the Nevado de Putre (5,824 m alt.) is stunning. You will see candelabra cactuses on the edges of the canyon, the Pukará of Copaquilla, the church of San Geronimo in Poconchile, and many geoglyphs and petroglyphs.

Night at the boutique Hotel Casa Beltran***.
Included : local guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast

Private transfer to Arica airport.
International flight from Arica de Chile to Arequipa (time to be confirmed, flight indicated in option).
Included : private transport, airport tax, international flight

Arrival in Arequipa's airport and transfer to your hotel.

Half day dedicated to the discovery of Arequipa, the "white city". Enjoy a guided tour of the colonial downtown including the main square, the cathedral, the Jesuit church and convent as well as the Santa Catalina monastery, a small city hidden within the city full of beautiful lanes lined with colored houses. The remaining part of the tour will take us to the Yanahuara and Carmen Alto "miradors" (lookout points) where we can admire the panoramic views of the surrounding volcanoes (Misti and Chachani).
Night at the hotel La Hosteria.
Included : transfer arrival, english speaking guide, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast

Transfer to Arequipa bus terminal.
Departure by bus directly to Puno, located on the shores of the Lake Titicaca. This itinerary allows us to discover the rather unusual landscapes of the Altiplano.
Reception at the bus station and transfer to the hotel.
Night at the hotel Intiqa.
Included : transfer departure, bus ticket, transfer arrival, room & breakfast

At 7:30 in the morning, transfer to the port of Puno to embark for the islands of Uros and Taquile. After a 25-minute cruise, we visit of the floating islands. These islands are not natural; the Uros tribe, whose main activity is fishing, built them.
We then head for Taquile (around 2-hour cruise), an island of great cultural interest, where residents live in harmony with the ancestral traditions. Back to Puno in mid-afternoon. Transfer to the hotel.

NB: You also have the opportunity to make a two-day tour with overnight at the inhabitant.
Night at the hotel Intiqa.
Included : english speaking guide, private transport, room & breakfast

Transfer from the hotel to the bus station.
Around 7 AM departure by tourist bus to Cusco (ride non accompanied by a guide), navel of the Inca Empire.
This itinerary allows to enjoy beautiful landscapes along the route via the Col de la Raya, at 4320 meters above the sea level. Stop in the village of Pukara and small parade ground before continuing to Raqchi order to visit the temple of Wiracocha (the creator of the world), built with lava from volcano Quinchasata.
Discover the relics of the large administrative center which brings together more than 160 circular buildings which were used for storage a long time ago by the Empire.
The day will end with the visit of Anadhuaylillas knows as the Sistine Chapel especially for its inner wealth.

Arrival to Cusco in the late afternoon.

Reception at Cusco terminal bus and transfer to the hotel.
A guide will escort you from the airport to your hotel.
Night at the hotel Encantada.
Included : transfer departure, entrance fees, bus ticket, lunch, transfer arrival, reception with english-speaking guide, room & breakfast
Included opts : Assistance by a local guide during the transfer.

Departure at 8:00 am in the morning for a day spent visiting Cuzco and the surrounding areas. In the morning, visit of the archaeological sites overlooking the city: Tambomachay, Q’enko, Pukapucara and Sacsayhuaman. We then walk down to the San Blas district (the artists’ district). We pass by the famous 12 angles stone and continue to the San Pedro market to familiarize ourselves with local products. In the afternoon, visits of the Koricancha (Temple of the Sun) and of the Cathedral where some paintings from the Cuzco School are displayed as well as many gold and silversmithery pieces and precious stone treasures. Return to the hotel at the end of the afternoon.

Night at the hotel Encantada.
Included : entrance fees, private transport, english speaking guide, room & breakfast
Included opts : Entrance fees

Departure at 7am in a private vehicle on a day-trip exploring the Sacred Valley. The first stop will be at the ruins of Pisac, one of the main Inca sites, where the different areas (administrative, religious, military) are scattered on the mountainside. Also observable are the large terraces that were used for agriculture but also protected from the effects of erosion. Then we will take a walk around the colorful handicraft market before taking to the road again, this time in the direction of the salt flats of Maras that, since Inca times, have collected salt water from a local source. This is then transformed into salt through the evaporative effect of the sun. We then walk down to the Urumbamba River where the vehicle awaits to take us on to Ollantaytambo, the last Inca architecture village to still be inhabited. Visit of the monumental stone fortress.
Transfer and check-in to the hotel at the end of the afternoon.
Night at the hotel Villa Urubamba.
Included : private transport, guide expenses, english speaking guide, entrance fees, room & breakfast
Included opts : Guide's accommodation, English-speaking guide, Entrance fee Maras

Transfer in private vehicule to Ollantaytambo's train station.
Departure by Ejecutive train for a two hours journey to Aguas Calientes.
In the early morning, direct connection to the shuttle service that will drive you to the citadel of Machu Picchu.
Arrival to Machu Picchu, wonder of the world.

Machu Picchu is an ancient Inca city of the fifteenth century in Peru. Abandoned during the collapse of the Inca Empire, Machu Picchu sacred city, forgotten for centuries, is considered as a masterpiece of Inca architecture. It was unveiled in 1911 by the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham.

Together with your english speaking guide, you will start to discover the archaeological complex, still covered by the morning mist, built on top of a ridge and surrounded by precipices. A stunning view that evolves with the progression of the sun! After the guided tour (around 3 hours for the visit), you have the opportunity to discover on your own.

Train back to Ollantaytambo.
Reception at the train station and transfer to the hotel in Cusco.
Night at the hotel Encantada.
Included : private transport, train ticket, guide expenses, bus ticket, entrance fees, english speaking guide, room & breakfast
Included opts : Guide's train ticket., Bus guide, Guide's meals, English speaking guide , Guide's train ticket.

Transfer to Cusco's airport.

English speaking assistance from your hotel to the airport.

Flight to Lima.

Reception at the airport and transfer to the hotel.
Night at the hotel El Tambo.
Included : private transport, departure transfer with english speaking guide, domestic flight, airport tax, transfer arrival, room & breakfast
Included opts : Assistance by a local guide during the transfer.

Three hours before take-off, transfer to Jorge Chavez airport in Lima. Connection with the international return flight.
Included : private transport, transfer departure