Machu Picchu & Bolivia's Salt Flats

Explore Lima old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site packed with fascinating historic buildings. Start with a scenic tour in the colonial downtown, which radiates from the Main Square, where you can appreciate the grandiose architecture of the Spanish Empire. Stroll over to the Cathedral, which was begun in the 16th century and took 80 years to build. Then visit the Casa Aliaga, a colonial mansion granted in 1535 by chief conquistador Francisco Pizarro to Jerónimo de Aliaga, one of his captains. This is the only house from that time that still belongs to the same family after all these centuries. Continue to the Larco Museum, located in the traditional Pueblo Libre district, which is housed in a beautifully restored viceregal mansion built on a seventh-century a pre-Columbian pyramid. The museum boasts the most complete pre-Hispanic collection of gold and silver artefacts, as well as pieces of erotic art. Finally, head to the 'Love Park' in the upscale coastal district of Miraflores, where you can admire the cliffs and a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. 

Morning free at leisure after breakfast at the hotel. In the afternoon, enjoy a guided tour of this charming city, which was the capital of the Inca Empire. The tour starts with a visit to Santo Domingo Convent, a large Renaissance-baroque complex, which was built over the Inca Qoricancha temple. It was one of the most important temples dedicated to the worship of the sun and its foundations are still prominent at the base of the convent. Continue to the Plaza de Armas to visit the cathedral. It features an elaborate Renaissance facade and, like other important monuments in the city, was built over a demolished Inca temple. Head to the hills above Cusco to visit the remains of the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, whose imposing ramparts offer a stunning panoramic view of Cusco, the ruins of temple and amphitheatre of Qenqo, where it is believed the Incas practised agricultural rituals. Finally, visit Puka Pukara (‘Red fortress’ in Quechua) an Inca military complex located on a prominent hill. Return to and drop off at your hotel. 

Enjoy breakfast before heading to Ollantaytambo Station to board the train to Aguas Calientes, the nearest town to Machu Picchu. Following a scenic three-and-a-half-hour journey through dramatic Andean landscapes, arrive at the station in Aguas Calientes. Here you board a coach for a 25-minute ride to Machu Picchu itself. The ‘Lost City of the Incas’ had lain abandoned in the heavens for four centuries until American explorer Hiram Bingham happened upon it in 1911. Machu Picchu is believed to have been built in the 1450s by Inca emperor Pachacuti as a holiday retreat yet within a century the city would be abandoned following the Spanish conquest. The Spaniards never found it so it was spared the destruction they wrought on other Inca sites. A guided tour explains the origins behind this awe-inspiring citadel and the most prominent landmarks among the 200 or so buildings such as the monumental Main Square, the Royal Quarters, the Temple of the Three Windows, the Circular Towers, the Sacred Sun Dial and the Burial Grounds. 

A tourist bus will take you from Cusco to Puno making stops in various places. First you will visit the districts of Andahuaylillas and Huaro with its beautiful baroque churches. Then go to Checacupe, and once the visit is over, you will be transferred to Raqchi to enjoy a delicious Andean buffet at a local restaurant. The next stop is at La Raya, the highest point on route (4,338 meters above sea level), and the last visit before reaching Puno.

Breakfast and morning at leisure; around noon, visit the Inca “Grand Stairs” and the Sacred Fountain; taste the water believed to give eternal youth and happiness. Lunch will be served at the Uma Kollu archaeological restaurant. Hydrofoil cruise to Copacabana and overland journey to Huatajata. On arrival, visit the Andean Roots Eco Village: The Altiplano Museum; handicrafts village, the Mud Igloos and the mortuary towers of the Urus Chipayas. See our elegant vicuñas, llamas, alpacas and the mythical Suri. Enjoy the overland journey to your hotel in La Paz, by a road running parallel to the mighty snow capped peaks of the Andes. 

Transfer to the airport of La Paz for you flight to Uyuni. Arrival to Uyuni and transfer to the hotel to leave the luggage and  immediately start an excursion to the Salt Lake and Isla Pescado. Uyuni is the largest salt flat on Earth, located on the Bolivian Andean Altiplano with 12.000 square km; the Bolivian Andes offer stunning scenery which can hardly be matched. The sound of silence makes the heart beats faster and the surreal pentagons of crystalline salt, the pure sky, the colour lagoons, the cacti and the flamingos, certainly makes you feel that there is no other place like this in the whole world. Lunch at Isla Pescado, also called “Incawasi”, an oasis with formations of algae and fossils. It is covered by thousands of giant columnar cacti, which can be more than a hundred years old, growing to a height of over 12 meters. The landscape against the background of the salt pans extending to the horizon makes it an ideal place for photography hunters.

After breakfast private transportation to visit Laguna Colorada. With an area of 60 km2, at an altitude of 4,278 mtrs, Laguna Colorada is characterised by the red tone of its waters. It is inhabited by flocks of flamingos of which there are three different species: tokoko -with red plumage-;chururu -with whitish plumage- and jututu, with pink plumage. The scenery is exceptionally beautiful at these heights, set off by the impressive redness of the Lagoon. Also vicuñas, llamas and vizcachas can be seen. Continue to “Sol de Mañana” Geysers, with fumaroles and volcanic craters of spectacular formation. The crater bottoms has boiling lava and the fumaroles emit spouts of mixed water and super heated steam reaching 80 to 100 meters in height; this phenomena displays a landscape dating from the beginning of the earth. This geothermal field is located at an altitude of 4.900 mtrs. Continue to green lagoon, looking as a giant emerald, from where there is an impressive view of Licancabur Volcano wiith a height of 5,865 meters. The intensely green colouring is due to high magnesium content. Also visit: Chalviri Salt Flats and The Stone tree. After the visit, transfer to Hito Cajon at the Chilean-Bolivian border. Change of vehicle and be transfer to San Pedro de Atacama.

Private transfer to the airport for your flight back to the UK.