P08 - THE BEST OF SOUTHERN PERU 20 days / 19 nights -- from US$ 2800.-- / EUR 1960.-- A journey through the very best of southern Peru, from one of the world’s driest deserts and the country’s only marine national park, across the Andes and down into the Amazon basin. We begin in the Ballestas Islands, where the meeting of the warm El Niño ocean current with the cold Humboldt current has created the world’s most fertile seas – rich in marine fauna. From there to the Nasca Lines, mammoth geometric and zoomorphic designs etched onto the desert floor by pre-Inca cultures. From the coast to the land of the condor and one of the world’s deepest canyons at Colca, and on to the highest navigable lake in the world – Lake Titicaca, still home to the descendants of the ancient peoples who first inhabited its fertile shores thousands of years ago. From the sacred lake we travel north to the hub of the greatest empire the Americas have ever seen – Cusco, the Inca capital. The city we see today is the result of the imposition of one culture on another, with the remains of Inca palaces and temples forming the foundations of Spanish churches and mansions. Beyond the Sacred Valley of the Incas we hike the famous Inca Trail on our pilgrimage to the Lost City of Machu Picchu. Our journey ends with four days in one of the most biodiverse areas on Earth, as we explore the rain forest in search of macaws, giant otters and other exotic fauna. ITINERARY DAY 1: LIMA DAY 2: LIMA – PISCO-NAZCA (Ballestas Islands) DAY 3: NAZCA - AREQUIPA (Nazca Lines) DAY 4: AREQUIPA (Free Day) DAY 5: AREQUIPA – COLCA CANYON DAY 6: COLCA CANYON - AREQUIPA DAY 7: LAKE TITIKAKA- Uros and Amantani Islands DAY 8: LAKE TITIKAKA- Amantani/Taquile/Puno DAY 9: PUNO - CUSCO DAY 10: CUSCO (Free Day) DAY 11: SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS DAY 12: INCA TRAIL: KM 82 - HUAYLLABAMBA DAY 13: INCA TRAIL: HUAYLLABAMBA - PACASMAYO DAY 14: INCA TRAIL: PACASMAYO - WIÑAYWAYNA DAY 15: INCA TRAIL: WIÑAYWAYNA – MACHUPICCHU DAY 16: MACHUPICCHU – CUSCO DAY 17: CUSCO - PUERTO MALDONADO - POSADA AMAZONAS DAY 18: POSADA AMAZONAS DAY 19: POSADA AMAZONAS DAY 20: POSADA AMAZONAS – PUERTO MALDONADO-LIMA OUR SERVICE INCLUDES: Bilingual Tour Conductor from/to Lima Accommodation: 11 nights hotel (3-4*, double rooms), 1 night bus ride (reclinable seats), 1 night island stay (basic, with the locals), 3 nights camping (double tents) and 3 nights lodge (double rooms) Transportation: All national flights, buses and trains Inca Trail: Private transport Cusco-Km 82, bilingual guide, cook, porters, camping equipment (double-, dining- and kitchen-tents, mats, etc.), entrance fees to national park & Sanctuary of Machupicchu, bus ticket Machupicchu-Aguas Calientes, train ticket Aguas Calientes-Cusco and transfers Cusco Included meals: All breakfasts, 2 lunches and full board on the tours: Lake Titicaca, Inca Trail and Rainforest