3cPlatform

We board our flight for Peru. We arrive in Lima late in the evening of the same day. After formalities, we are met by our driver and taken to our luxury hotel, a national monument and located in San Isidro, Lima's most prestigious area.

Since we arrived late the night before, we have allowed time for a late and leisurely breakfast; we have delayed any activities until mid-morning. At that time, our driver will be ready to take us to the Larco Herrera Museum where we are privileged to have a guided tour of the museum by the curator. Founded in 1926, the museum provides an excellent overview of 3,000 years of Peruvian history. Located in a unique 18th century mansion built over a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid, it is one of the few museums in the world where selected visitors can enter the storage area with its 45,000 classified archaeological objects. Following the tour we will have lunch within the museum accompanied by some fine Peruvian wine. After lunch, our driver will take us on a tour of the city including the Lima Cathedral and the Convento de San Francisco. Given the long day and the late lunch we have left dinner open although we suspect that a light dinner may be all that is required

After breakfast our driver will be waiting to take us to the airport for the flight to Cuzco. When we land we will have gone from sea level in Lima to over 11,000 feet in Cuzco making it one of the highest cities in the world. The altitude can make you sick and we recommend that you spend at least a couple of hours resting in your hotel room. To try to do too much too soon could spoil the exciting things to come. Once you have rested, we will embark on a private tour of this colonial gem but also offering some intriguing Incan sites nearby. This evening we have dinner in the Pre-Columbian Museum of Art

This morning we will go to the Urubamba Sacred Valley to learn more about the Incan culture. We will visit Chincero, twelve indigenous communities maintaining the old ways. We then visit Nilda Callanaupa's native Indian weaving school where young girls learn to make the complex styles and techniques of their Incan ancestors. We will have a "special" picnic lunch including wine before heading to Ollantaytambo a typical Incan town. We return to Cuzco to freshen up and then go to dinner at La Cicciolina, considered one of Cuzco's best restaurants and a lot of fun as well.

After breakfast at the hotel and a chance to relax, our driver will take us to Poroy station where we will board the Hiram Bingham train, operated by Orient-Express. As we taste our welcome flute of champagne we know that this will be a special trip and a special day. We have the chance to enjoy cocktails in the club car before entering the dining car where we enjoy a superb brunch, the kind of meal that only Orient-Express can provide. To many people's surprise we are actually traveling down to Machu Picchu since, while it is high in the Andes, it is about 3,000 feet lower in altitude than Cuzco. Upon our arrival we are met by our guide and taken on a tour of the citadel. The ruins of Machu Picchu, rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, are one of the most beautiful and enigmatic ancient sites in the world. While the Inca people certainly used the Andean mountain top, erecting many hundreds of stone structures from the early 1400's, legends and myths indicate that Machu Picchu (meaning 'Old Peak' in the Quechua language) was revered as a sacred place from a far earlier time. Whatever its origins, the Inca turned the site into a small, (five square miles) but extraordinary city. Invisible from below and completely self-contained, surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed the population, and watered by natural springs, Machu Picchu seems to have been utilized by the Inca as a ceremonial city. Two thousand feet above the rumbling Urubamba River, the cloud-shrouded ruins have palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and some 150 houses. After our exploration we return to our eco-hotel located near the site.

Today we have the opportunity to discover the fascinating yet fragile ecosystem of the Machu Picchu cloud forest and learn about its many endemic plants and animals. Early risers will be afforded the opportunity for some spectacular bird-watching including sixteen different varieties of hummingbirds. This area is also one of the Orchid Capitals of the world with over 372 different orchids in bloom. From the largest orchid flower in the world, the lady slipper ( Phragmipedium caudatum), to species new to science actually discovered in the grounds of our hotel and tiny flowering specimens that can be properly appreciated only through a magnifying glass; there are orchids to amaze both the novice and the expert. After a full day of exploring we are transferred to the station where the Hiram Bingham awaits. As we enjoy a superb dinner, we make our way to Cuzco where our driver awaits us to deliver us to our hotel

After breakfast, the morning is at leisure for shopping and further sightseeing in Cuzco before we head for the airport for the return trip to Lima. Upon arrival we are transferred to our hotel where we have a chance to relax and freshen up before going to dinner at Chala, one of our favorite Lima restaurants.

We have an early departure to the airport for a scheduled flight to Ica. Upon arrival we are transferred to our light aircraft for the flight over the plains. The geoglyphs carved on the desert sand were made between 300 and 900 AD, but were not discovered until 1939. They can only entirely be seen from the air so the mystery is how did they get created and why were they designed in such a way that only birds could see them until the airplane was created? The sand carvings cover between 70 and 120 square miles of the Nazca Plains and the Palpa Mountains and include drawings of animals such as a hummingbird, a monkey or a fish. Some scientists have suggested that large tethered balloons were used in the creation and some consider them as being an astronomical calendar. Others postulate that they were created by extraterrestrials but nobody knows anything for sure. After of "flightseeing" we return to Lima where dinner in the hotel's renowned restaurant awaits

Today is left free for you to enjoy some personal time on more sightseeing or shopping for colorful Peruvian textiles and handicrafts. You may want to head to the beach for some fresh seafood but don't eat too much because we have a special treat for this, our last night in Peru. Our driver will pick us up in the late afternoon for the trip to the heart of Lima and the Casa Aliaga. The President's Mansion is located next door. The Casa Aliaga was built in 1535, on a piece of land given by Francisco Pizzaro to Geronimo de Aliaga as recognition for his military service during the conquest of Peru. Since then, it has been continuously inhabited by members of the Aliaga family who are our hosts. Upon arrival we will have a tour of the mansion by a knowledgeable guide followed by cocktails and a private dinner. After dinner we return to the hotel for a little rest before heading to the airport where our flight to the US leaves early in the morning.

Our flight arrives back in the USA at breakfast time