You will be issued a personal Tourist
ticket which is valid for 10 days from the date of
your arrival. The ticket allows a once only entrance
into several museums, churches and cathedrals in and
around Cuzco. These include Santo Domingo, Koricancha,
San Blas, Santa Catalina, the Historical Museum, the
Religious Art Museum, Sacsayhuaman, Q’enko,
Puca Pucara, Tambo Machay, Pisac, Chinchero, Ollantaytambo
and Pikilacta.
The Cuzco Cathedral was begun in 1559 and took over
100 years to complete. It is Cuzco’s main ornate
church.
La Compañia
– Is Cuzco’s
second most important church, and is often lit up
at night and can be seen from the train as you arrive
in the city after dark from Machu Picchu.
The walls of Cuzco – are world famous for their
construction. Just walk southeast, away from the Plaza
de Armas and along the narrow alley of Loreto and
you will see these Inca walls on both sides. It’s
simply amazing to see these stones cut and ground
to fit perfectly
Plaza de San Blas
- the best area in the city centre to buy local handicrafts
Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Puca Pucara and Tambo Machay
- All archeological sites found around Cuzco, they
can be visited on day excursions.
Pisac -
Located
about 32 km from Cuzco, Pisac is noted for its bustling
Sunday market where traditionally dressed locals travel
from miles around to sell their products. Tuesday
and Thursday are also market days, although the, market
is much smaller. Aside from the market activity, there
is also many excellent little bakeries.
Puno & Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake
in the world. Located in a haunting landscape, rich
in birdlife and with interesting pre-inca cultures.
This includes the Uros Indians who live on their floating
reed islands, and the Aymara people of Taquile Island.
Peruvian Amazon
There are two readily accessible areas of
Amazonian rainforest where a series of simple lodges
have been established to give visitors a taste of
life in the jungle. In the north of the country, around
the city of Iquitos you can visit the Amazon River
and maybe even take a river cruise. In the south there
is the Tambopata Candamo near the town of Puerto Maldonado,
close to Cuzco.
Manu National Park is harder to access but is a very
rewarding rainforest destination albeit an expensive
destination choice.
Arequipa and the Colca Canyon
A visit to the beautifully maintained colonial
"white city" of Arequipa in the south is
often combined with a trip to the Colca Canyon (now
also accessible by a new road from Puno). Until quite
recently it was isolated from the outside world. Its
villagers cultivate an impressively engineered series
of terraces and still wear the intricate embroidered
costumes of centuries ago. The canyon is the second
deepest in the world and the sight of condors spiralling
up its cliffs is an incredible sight. Incidentally
the deepest canyon in the world, only recently confirmed
by NASA, is the Cotahuasi Canyon only a few kilometres
away.
Lima
Peru’s Pacific coast capital is a huge
cosmopolitan city, with pleasant suburbs and landscaped
cliff-top parks with a colonial centre that has been
declared a UNESCO world heritage site. With several
first-class hotels and hostels to choose from, Miraflores
is the safest and touristic centre of Lima.
Miraflores.
Parque Salazar
.-
Overlooks the bay and is a good place to visit during
the summer months when concerts are held.
Larco Mar –
Shopping and entertainment complex overlooking the
ocean. Restaurants, cinemas, shops etc.
Parque Kennedy
- A great place to wander
through the arts and crafts markets that open from
Thursday to Sunday. Excellent restaurants close by.
Lima Beaches -
Very
popular between December and April. Even though they
have been declared unsafe for swimming, the city’s
beaches have become a cultural hub for Limeños
who swarm to the area.
Central Lima
Plaza de Armas -
declared
a World Heritage site by UNESCO, this plaza is lined
on both sides with arcades and shops. In the centre
of the plaza is a bronze fountain dating back to 1650.
The Palacio de Gobierno (Government Plaza) - found
on the north side of the Plaza, the Palacio de Gobierno
is thought to have been built by Pizarro. Rebuilt
in 1937. Guided tours begin at 11:00 and feature the
changing of the guard.
The Cathedral houses the
remains of Francisco Pizarro.
Plaza Bolivar –
Believed to be where General Jose de San Martin proclaimed
Peru’s independence. At the centre, you will
find an equestrian statue of the mounted liberator
Palacio Torre Tagle - now the home of the Foreign
Ministry.
San Francisco church and
monastery
is famous for its remarkable library
and artwork. However the catacombs beneath the church
are the tomb of up to 70,000 skeletons.
Museo de la Nación - Located at Javier Rado
Oeste 2466, San Borja, and is the best museum to get
an overview of all Peruvian archaeology. You can see
Chavin stone carvings, Nazca ceramics and Paracas
weavings.
Museo de Oro del Peru
- Located at Alonso de Molina 100, Monterrico is also
worth a visit. It has two distinct sections. The Gold
Museum is housed in the basement vault, and there
are thousands of gold pieces to view. The Arms Museum
is at the top and is reputed to be one of the world’s
best, featuring firearms from Peru but also from all
over the world.
Hotels
All the hotels we recommend are clean, well
located and comfortable hotels varying in services
as according to their category. We rarely use hostels
as the price difference is negligible between a good
hostel and a hotel.
In places like Nazca and Pisco,
we do work with some very good hostels. It is important
to remember that Peru is a third world country and
three star hotels here will not necessarily be the
same as three star hotels in Europe or the US. We
do endeavour to choose the best hotels in line with
your budget. There are five star deluxe hotels we
offer that are among the best hotels in the world.
We will always quote you with good hotels on all our
programmes but upgrades or downgrades will be available
as per your request. However, as the price will decrease
with downgrades, this will ultimately reflect in the
services and standards of the hotel.
Flights
Unless otherwise stated, we provide all internal
flights in your programme, excluding the airport taxes.
We also provide international flights around South
America and can quote, upon request, your international
flight to Peru. We work directly with the best airlines
in South America but are not responsible for any changes
in flight schedules or cancellations made by the airlines.
This is the responsibility of the airline in question.
We will always endeavour to minimise any delays or
changes but cannot guarantee a successful
outcome.
Insurance
It is a mandatory requirement that all our
customers take out adequate travel insurance cover.
Once you have obtained your insurance, it is company
practice to check the validity and cover of your insurance
policy and we hold the right to refuse travel to anyone
whose insurance does not satisfy Amazing Peru's stringent
criteria. These include cancellation and curtailment,
death or injury, medical insurance, emergency repatriation,
delayed baggage, loss and theft etc.