Itinerary of the Educational Tour 2011 - Virtuoso

PERU EDUCATIONAL TOUR SPECIALLY PREPARED FOR

VIRTUOSO JUNE 2011

ITINERARY

FRI 03 – LIMA

-/-/-

Upon your arrival in Lima, we will provide assistance at the airport and transfer you to the Country Club Lima Hotel www.hotelcountry.com

SAT 04 – LIMA

B/L/D

07:45 Perhaps one of the most unforgettable experiences you can have in Lima or anywhere else in the world. Visit one of the local markets which has treasures from the coast, highlands and the jungle. Continue to Casa Luna, where the owners welcome you to their home and show you their unique collection of Nativity scenes. Enjoy a Peruvian breakfast.

Afterwards, proceed to Museo Larco, housed in an 18th century colonial mansion that holds the most extensive collection of pre-Columbian art in Peru. It contains fine examples of textile work, one of which has a world record-breaking 398 threads per inch, as well as the tools ancient Peruvians used to make metals, huaco ceramics, and gold and silver pieces with semiprecious stones. A light lunch in a creole restaurant will enable you to taste some of the peruvian delights.

13:00 Lunch at Malabar restaurant.

Based on the concept that a restaurant is "the art of juggling concepts in order to dazzle the spectator" Pedro Miguel Schiaffino created a restaurant which offers a "very personal" contemporary flavor that blends the Peruvian roots of our chef, with the influence of his Cuban grandmother and his four years experience in Italy; the result in a very enjoyable and distinct Peruvian cuisine. Malabar is decorated in a modern style and contains one of the most extraordinary lists of Piscos and widest selection of wines in Peru.

16:30 Visit the most representative parts of Colonial Lima, which are included in UNESCO's "World Heritage"list. See the Jesuit convent of San Pedro, a jewel of the Peruvian baroque style. Continue to Casa Aliaga, America's best preserved colonial mansion, occupied by the same family since 1535. Cocktails will be served while visiting the mansion, then enjoy a gourmet dinner

SUN 05 – LIMA / PUERTO MALDONADO

B/L/D

Breakfast at the hotel We will transfer you from your hotel to the airport, and provide assistance on your departure flight.

Welcome in Puerto Maldonado. Begin to experience the enchantment of the rainforest, as you take a 45-minute boat ride along the Madre de Dios River to arrive at Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica lodge. After a short briefing, settle into your beautiful cabaña and enjoy your lunch in the dining room. Take a siesta, share a refreshing tea time and get ready for the afternoon excursion. After gathering with your inkaterra Interpreter, choose from the 14 different excursions available at the Inkaterra lodge.

On your first day, we recommend a guided walk along the Trail system, into the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica natural area, where you will discover the Amazon Basin.

This trail offers an excellent introduction to the forest environment, winding past impressive trees such as the staggeringly tall kapok, and the strangely beautiful strangler fig, offering excellent opportunities for bird watching and observing exotic insects. We also recommend on the first night our Twilight River excursion, a guided afternoon boat ride downriver from the Inkaterra lodge. Witness the transformation from a diurnal to a nocturnal world: animals and birds of the daytime give way to species specially adapted to the night.As you enjoy their paradise, you will learn about their habits, while you search for nightjars, owls, capybaras and big caiman.We will gather at The Eco Center and present all available excursions. Enjoy cocktails before dinner is served in the main dining room. After dinner, you may retire early to your own cabana, or join us to talk about the experience of life in the rainforest, as you listen to the intriguing sounds of the jungle at night.Rest in bed or rise early! the choice is yours.

MON 06 – PUERTO MALDONADO

B/L/D

Rest in bed or rise early the choice is yours. Breakfast begins at 5:30 a.m., for those who want to avoid the heat and enjoy nature at its fullest. This morning you may take a excursion to Sandoval Lake into the Tambopata National Reserve. Glide in a wooden canoe, across a beautiful, mirror-like oxbow lake that is home to the endangered giant river otter, as well as red howler monkeys, red-bellied macaws, anacondas, point-tailed palm creepers and side-neck turtles. Return to the Inkaterra lodge for lunch. After lunch, consider visiting the remarkable Inkaterra Canopy. Ascending the first tower, 29 meters above the forest ground, you begin your encounter with the treetop realm. For more than a quarter of a mile, you will literally walk through the rainforest canopy on a suspension bridge network linking eight observation platforms. During this hour-and-a-half expedition, be on the lookout for bright

toucans, woodpeckers, trogons, monkeys and the three-toed sloth. If you wish you may extend your excursion and appreciate the sunset from one of the towers. Once at the lodge, enjoy a cocktail in the main dining room or during the daily nature presentation in the Eco-media Center. Dinner starts at 7:30 p.m.

TUE 07 – PUERTO MALDONADO / CUSCO / SACRED VALLEY

B/L/D

08:00 Enjoy a full breakfast before departure. A 45-minute return trip by boat on the Madre de Dios River takes you to Puerto Maldonado, where you may visit Inkaterra Butterfly House. Peru boasts the greatest variety of butterflies in the world, with 3,700 known species. Many of these can be seen at the Butterfly House, a showcase for the variety, beauty and adaptability of these fascinating insects.

Continue to airport and board your fight to Cusco Upon your arrival you will be assisted at airport and will be taken to the Urubamba Valley, the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

You will begin visiting, on route, Awanakancha, where South American camelids are bred. Learn about the superb llama, alpaca and vicuna fibres as well as the ancient weaving techniques that are still in use.

13:00 Lunch at Wayra Ranch. Rich soil, ideal weather and millenary wisdom have combined to make the Sacred Valley arguably the most fertile in the world. You will probably become a believer as you indulge in its bounty. Delight yourself with a surprising gastronomic feast led by the prominent Chef, Pedro Miguel Schiaffino and Nacho Solis.

The Peruvian Paso horse, renowned for the smoothest gait in the world. Stunning equestrian demostrations, to the rhythm of marinera music will render the environment favorable for tasting the quality of their cuisine.

After lunch, continue to the Tambo del Inca Luxury Collection Hotel for registration 20:00 Dinner at Rio Sagrado Hotel

WED 08 – SACRED VALLEY

B/L/D

Breakfast at the hotel 08:30 This morning we will visit Huilloq, a community of 200 families and a total of 1,500 inhabitants. The principal activity of the men is farming, and in the dry season they work as porters on the Inca Trail. The women help with daily activities and preserve their unique and ancient tradition of weaving fabric of the highest quality, which they sell to travellers visiting their community. Huilloc is living culture. Their daily income is very low and not enough to cover their basic needs: food, education and health. So we are inviting them to eradicate the huge socioeconomic differences affecting this sector of the population, which, with their cultural wealth can participate directly in the development of tourism.

Continue to the fortress of Ollantaytambo The site was built just as the Spaniards arrived and evidence of how it was constructed is still visible. After admiring the site's magnificent past, stroll through the quaint streets of today's town.

After all these experiences, enjoy a picnic lunch and a beautiful scenery of the valley We will continue to Maras to visit the salt mines from colonial times; then visit the town on donkeys, the artisans will show you their skills on making hats, flowers made of maize leaves.

Relax at hotel spa and enjoy the water circuit Dinner at hotel THU 09 – SACRED VALLEY – MACHU PICCHU -

B/L/D

Breakfast at the hotel Board the train to Machu Picchu. Upon arrival to the station you will take a 25-minute motorcoach ride to "The Lost City of the Incas", which was discovered by American explorer Hiram Bingham in 1911. Guided tour of the marvelous citadel, a unique aweinspiring experience. Afterwards, stroll around the archaeological site.

Lunch at Café Inkaterra.

Check in at the Inkaterra Machu Picchu for overnight. Visit hotel’s facilities Dinner at hotel

FRI 10 – CUSCO

B/L/D

Breakfast at the hotel Morning departure by train to the Ollanta station, where a bus will be waiting for you to take you to the city of Cusco. Visit en route the cult centre of Sacsayhuaman, then proceed to the Santo Domingo convent monastery, a Colonial monastery built on the Koricancha temple, one of the most important temples devoted to worship of the sun during Inca times. According to the chronicles, it was covered in gold Leaf and filled with golden representations of nature. Also included in the tour are stops at the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral.

Afternoon at leisure to stroll around and go shopping 18:30 Dinner at Inkaterra La Casona

SAT 11 – CUSCO . LIMA

B/L/D

Breakfast at the hotel Transfer from the hotel to the airport. Assistance on departing flight.

Upon your arrival in Lima, we will provide assistance at the airport and transfer to the Country Club hotel 13:00 Lunch at Miraflores Park / Orient Express After lunch, visit some Peruvian designers, see their unique creations on gold, silver and Pyma Peruvian cotton and alpaca.

19:30 Dinner at Astrid & Gaston Restaurant Hidden discreetly on a busy side street leading to Parque Central in Miraflores district, is located this warm and chic modern colonial dining room. The restaurant has high white-peaked ceilings and orange walls decorated with colorful modern art, the products of local art students. At the back is an open kitchen where one of the owners, Gaston, can be seen cooking with his staff. The place is sophisticated but low-key, a

description that could fit most of its clients, who all seem to be regulars. might be called "criollo-Mediterranean" with a light peruvian touch.

After dinner, transfer to airport for your flight back B = Breakfast

L = Lunch

D = Dinner

The menu

EXTENSION TO COLCA

SAT 11 – CUSCO / AREQUIPA / COLCA

B/L/D

Breakfast at the hotel Upon arriving in Arequipa we will provide assistance at the airport.

Brief tour of the city of Arequipa, also known as "the White City" because of the white volcanic rock, sillar, used in its buildings. See the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral before visiting the Jesuit Church, where you will be impressed by the beauty of its facade, considered the best example of the mestizo baroque style in Arequipa. The ancient vestry is particularly beautiful with its cupola and walls covered in murals that recall the jungle. The ancient Jesuit seminary is famous for its beautiful principal cloister. Proceed to the Colca Valley. Drive across Pampa Cañahuas within the Aguada Blanca National Reserve, the habitat of vicuñas. Admire beautiful preColumbian terraces still being cultivated by native Collaguas.

Arrive at Las Casitas del Colca

SUN 12 – COLCA

B/L/D

Breakfast at the hotel Morning departure to visit the towns of Yanque, Maca, Achoma and Pinchollo. Proceed to the "Condors' Cross", observation point from where you can view these great Andean birds. Impressive panorama of the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest in the world (3,000 mts/9,800 ft). In the afternoon visit the lovely towns of Coporaque and Ichupampa. Return to the lodge for lunch.

MON 13 – COLCA / AREQUIPA / LIMA

B/L/D

Breakfast at the hotel The Convent of Santa Catalina de Sena, one of the most beautiful in Arequipa, was founded on October 2nd, 1580 and built during the second half of that century.

With an area of 20,000 square meters, the Convent is a city in miniature, a walled fortress with streets, passageways, stairways and plazas. Closed to the public until 1970, the Convent still houses a number of the closed order of nuns.

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima. Upon arrival, assistance on your international departure flight.

EXTENSION TO COLCA - Single basis

Min. 5 US$ 229.00