Day #1 Arrive in Lima. Your hotel is ready for early check-in for time to relax and refresh before an afternoon city tour. Your Local Guide focuses on the city’s colonial heritage during today’s walking tour. Start at the Plaza de Armas to see the Government Palace and the Cathedral, where the remains of Francisco Pizarro, founder of Lima, are housed. From here, stroll to the venerable SAN FRANCISCO MONASTERY with its splendid 17th-century cloister murals. Also visit the LARCO HERRERA MUSEUM, housing an impressive collection of Peruvian pre-Columbian artifacts. This evening, meet your Tour Director and enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant with your fellow traveling companions. (B,D)

Day #2 Lima–Cuzco–Sacred Valley. Fly to Cuzco, the impressive Andean city that was once the capital of the Inca Empire. Continue into the Sacred Valley and visit the semi-circular KENKO Amphitheater with its stone altars and labyrinth of passages. See the ancient site of PUCA PUCARA before reaching the TEMPLE OF SACSAYHUAMAN, perched on a hillside overlooking Cuzco. It remains unfathomable how and when this fortress of gigantic stones—with some blocks weighing more than 350 tons—was built. Next, visit PISAC, an old mountain village where you will have the chance to visit a local home, meet some locals, and experience their way of life. Enjoy free time in the town center to browse the colorful stalls where vendors sell their handicrafts, ranging from fine alpaca sweaters and blankets to hand-painted ornamental dishes and vases. Enjoy a relaxing dinner at your hotel. (B,L,D)

Day #3 Sacred Valley–Machu Picchu. Begin the morning with a visit to the Inca fortress of OLLANTAYTAMBO. Next, board your TRAIN for a short journey through the lush Urubamba Valley, then ascend to legendary MACHU PICCHU, the “Lost City of the Incas,” high above the steep valley overlaid with dense tropical jungle. Your Local Guide will bring you closer to the lives and mysteries still hidden in these amazing structures built by the pre-Columbian masters of this sacred land. (B,L,D)

Day #4 Machu Picchu–Cuzco. Your entrance to Machu Picchu is included for a second day. Enjoy the tranquility of the morning while wandering the ruins at your own pace and experiencing the magic that is Machu Picchu. After lunch, return to Ollantaytambo by train and continue to Cuzco. (B,L)

Day #5 Cuzco. Today, learn more about the Incas and their struggle against the invading Spaniards. Visit the imposing CATHEDRAL and the SANTO DOMINGO MONASTERY on your guided tour. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant accompanied by ANDEAN FOLKLORIC MUSIC. (B,D)

Day #6 Cuzco–Quito, Ecuador. Today, fly to Quito, the capital of Ecuador and a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, and begin the Ecuadorian portion of your vacation. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant tonight. (B,D)

Day #7 Quito. Your Local Host will show you this city on an included sightseeing tour that showcases its treasures: the historic stone murals of the LEGISLATIVE PALACE, Independence Plaza and the 16th-century SAN FRANCISCO MONASTERY, the Jesuit’s LA COMPANIA CHURCH with its stunning golden altars, and the impressive paintings at the WORKSHOP & MUSEUM of Oswaldo Guayasamin. Be sure to have your photo taken in front of the EQUATORIAL MONUMENT, the “Center of the World.” (B)

Day #8 Quito. Excursion to Otavalo. An in-depth experience into the traditional ways of the Otavalo people is in store for you today. First, visit OTAVALO’S famous INDIAN MARKET full of textiles, clothes, vegetables, and much more. Next, in Peguche, famous for its exquisite weavings, you have the opportunity to visit homes and observe handicrafts being made. Finally, enjoy Andean delicacies prepared the traditional way at a HOME-HOSTED LUNCH before returning to Quito. (B,L)

Day #9 Quito–San Cristobal–Galápagos Islands (Embarkation)–Cruising. A morning flight to San Cristobal, one of the remote Galápagos Islands. Board the sleek Santa Cruz and enjoy four days of CRUISING among various Galápagos Islands. Each day, travel ashore to the remote islands with your expert naturalist who introduces you to the unique fauna living free and fearless of man. Giant tortoises, Galápagos fur sea lions, marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, frigates, and finches are just some of the many endemic species you will find on land. You will also have the chance to snorkel in the turquoise blue waters with colorful tropical fish, playful sea lions, and maybe even an equatorial penguin or shark! Today, visit San Cristobal Island, where Charles Darwin first set foot in the Galápagos back in 1835. This island is home to seabirds like blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, herons, frigatebirds, and various shore birds. Also watch for the Chatham (San Cristobal) Mockingbird and Chatham Lava Lizard—both species are endemic to this island and seen nowhere else in the Galápagos. (B,L,D)

NOTE:
The ship’s itinerary may vary according to Galápagos National Park policies and regulations, weather conditions, and seasonal changes to create the perfect cross-section of sites visited.

Day #10 Cruising: Galápagos Islands. Your exploration continues on Española (Hood Island) to see the famous blowhole as well as unique seabird colonies, including the waved albatrosses (April-December), Nazca and blue-footed boobies, and Darwin’s finches. Look for red, green, and black marine iguanas and a rookery of sea lions right at the landing site. On Floreana, visit a brackish-water lagoon where greater flamingos, pintail ducks, common stilts, herons, sandpipers, and others may be observed. The Floreana beach is a great place for marine enthusiasts to spend time snorkeling! (B,L,D)

Day #11 Cruising: Galápagos Islands. This morning brings you to the youngest island, Fernandina. Having no introduced mammals, Fernandina has a very unique environment with the highest density of marine iguanas, sharing their island habitat with sea lions, Sally Lightfoot crabs, and hawks. In the afternoon, enjoy a coastal exploration by panga boat along the cliffs of sunken Ecuador Volcano, where Naturalist guides explain the dramatic geology of the area with remains of lava flows and tuff stone layers. This is the nesting place for flightless cormorants, the only birds in the world that have changed from flying birds to diving birds. Wildlife here includes sea lions, Galápagos penguins, blue-footed and Nazca boobies, and noddy terns. (B,L,D)

Day #12 Galápagos (Disembarkation)–Quito. This morning, visit the CHARLES DARWIN RESEARCH STATION, established to help conserve the Islands’ natural habitats and protect the area’s famous giant tortoises. Depart the Galápagos today and return to Quito. This evening, gather with your fellow traveling companions as your Tour Director hosts a special farewell dinner to celebrate an unforgettable experience. (B,D)

Day #13 Quito. Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. (B)