Itinerary

This itinerary is subject to change.

October 8th - 18th, 2023

DAY 1 - October 8th - Arrival in Lima

Evening: Flights arrive to Lima from USA

Transport to the hotel

Overnight in the Hotel Miraflores Colon

Flights from the USA typically arrive very late into Lima. The group will arrive and go directly to their hotel in the Miraflores District to get some sleep before their first busy day.

DAY 2 - October 9th - Museums and Pyramids

8-10am: Breakfast at hotel

10-12pm: Larco Herrera Museum

12-1pm: Lunch at the museum

1-3pm: Huaca Pucllana - a pyramid in downtown Lima

Evening: Free time

Overnight in the Hotel Miraflores Colon

After breakfast at the hotel, Dr. Koons will lead a tour of the Larco Herrera Museum, Peru's finest collection of Pre-Columbian artifacts. The museum's beautiful grounds include a gourmet restaurant where the group will have lunch. In the afternoon they'll explore the massive Huaca Pucllana complex, a set of 10th century pyramids still standing in the middle of Lima.

DAY 3 - October 10th - Arrival to Cusco

7-9am: Breakfast and hotel check out

9-10am: Transport to the airport

12-2pm: Flight to Cusco and transport to hotel

2-3pm: Lite lunch and rest

3-4pm: Walking tour of Inca walls

4-5pm: Lecture: Ancient Inca Civilization

Evening: Rest and acclimatize

Overnight at Hotel Ruinas

A noon flight will take the group up to Cusco at 11,500 ft asl. They'll take it slow that day and acclimatize to the altitude. A casual walking tour will show them the a few of the many remaining megalithic Inca walls. In the late afternoon Dr. Koons will present a lecture on the origins of the Inca civilization and how they grew to an empire of over 10 million people.

DAY 4 - October 11th - Inca Temples and Churches

6-8am: Breakfast at hotel

8-12pm: Coricancha and Sascayhuaman

12-2pm: Lunch break

2-4pm: Churches of the Plaza de Armas

5-6pm: Lecture: Inca Khipu Writing

Evening: Free time

Overnight at Hotel Ruinas

The day will begin with tours of the major Inca temples still standing in Cusco. In the afternoon, they'll explore the massive cathedrals lining the Plaza de Armas.

DAY 5 - October 12th - Train to Machu Picchu

6-7:30am: Breakfast and hotel check out

7:30-10am: Transport to Ollantaytambo

10-11am: Train to Aguas Calientes

11-2pm: Check in to Hotel Santuario Machupicchu and lunch

2-5pm: Tour of Machu Picchu

7-8pm: Dinner at Inca Wasi

Overnight at Hotel Santuario (in Aguas Calientes)

A morning bus will wind through the Sacred Valley for 2.5 hours and then a train will take the group on the final leg to the valley below Machu Picchu. After hotel check in and lunch, participants will take a bus up the mountainside to the site. Dr. Koons will give a complete tour of Machu Picchu explaining how and why it was built. That evening the group will enjoy dinner at restaurant Inca Wasi.

DAY 6 - Octover 13th - Machu Picchu

6-8am: Breakfast and bus up mountain

8-12pm: Climb Wayna Picchu (optional)

12-2pm: Lunch at ruinas cafeteria

2-5pm: Hike to the Sun Gate (optional)

Evening: Free time

Overnight in Hotel Santuario Machupicchu

The group will have the entire day to themselves to enjoy Machu Picchu. They can hike to the top of Wayna Picchu, the mountain that towers above the site, or to the Sun Gate, or just relax in a spot of their choosing. The day and evening is theirs to enjoy as they wish.

DAY 7 - October 14th - Sacred Valley

6-8am: Breakfast and hotel check out

9-10am: Train to Ollantaytambo

10-12pm: Tour of Ollantaytambo

1-2pm: Lunch in Urubamba

3-4pm: Awana Kancha - llamas and weaving

6pm: Return to Cusco

Overnight in Hotel Ruinas

A morning train will bring the group back into the Sacred Valley for the day. A bus will be waiting at the station to bring them to the ancient fortress of Ollantaytambo. Lunch will be a buffet at the Tunupa Restaurant along the Urubamba River. The last stop of the day before returning to Cusco will be Awana Kancha where participants can meet friendly llamas up close and learn about indigenous weaving traditions.

DAY 8 - October 15th - Pachachamac

6-7am: Breakfast, check out, airport

9-10am: Flights back to Lima

10-12pm: Transport to Pachacamac

12-3pm: Lunch and tour at Pachacamac

3-7pm: Transport to Huacachina Oasis

Overnight at Hotel Mossone in the Huacachina Oasis

Early morning from Cusco, the group will fly back down to Lima. A bus will meet us at the airport and head south to the ancient pilgrimage site of Pachacamac. Participants will eat lunch there and tour the site's amazing pyramids. Then it's a long drive through amazing barren desert punctuated by fertile river valleys to the Huacachina Oasis to spend the night.

DAY 9 - October 16th - Dune Buggies and Elongated Skulls

6-8am: Breakfast at the hotel

8-9am: Dune buggy rides from Huacachina

9-11am: Hotel check out and the Ica Museum

11-1pm: Lunch break in Ica

1-4pm: Transport to Parcas and Hotel Gran Palma

6-7pm: Lecture: The Nazca Lines

Overnight at Hotel Gran Palma in Paracas

Start the morning with a thrill - 10-person dune buggies will drive the group out across the hilly desert from the Oasis. Next on the schedule - the Ica Museum which holds dozens of the famous elongated skulls of the Paracas culture. That afternoon the group will arrive in Paracas, where Dr. Koons will deliver an evening lecture regarding the ancient Nazca civilization.

DAY 10 - October 17th - The Nazca Lines

6-8am: Breakfast at the hotel

9 am - 1 pm: From Paracs airport, flight over Nazca Lines

Rest of the dat: Free time in Paracas

Overnight at Hotel Gran Palma in Paracas

Depending on the number of participants, we may need to book two seperate flights over the Nazca Lines, one after the other. The hotel close to the airport as well as local seaside attractions. These will be available to you while you wait for your flight and after your flight.

DAY 11 - October 18th - Return to Lima

6-8am: Breakfast and hotel check out

Morning: Ballestas Islands Sightseeing boat ride from Paracas

9-12pm: Transport to Ica

12-2pm: Lunch at a Pisco Winery

2-7pm: Transport back to Lima

7pm: Drop off to Lima airport for late flights

End of Tour

Journey by boat from Paracas for a 2-hour trip to Peru's unspoiled Ballestas Islands, a marine sanctuary to view penguins, sea birds and other marine life. The group will make their way back to Lima, stopping at archaeological sites and a Pisco winery in Ica for lunch. Most flights back to the USA from Lima leave around midnight, so an arrival to the Lima airport around 7 pm is plenty of time to check in, have dinner and wait for the overnight flights home.

About

The Archaeology Channel Tours: Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines

An educational tour designed and organized by Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) and guided by Dr. Michele Koons of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.


This 10-day tour will lead you through historic Peru to see the remnants of ancient Andean civilizations such as the Inca, Nazca and Paracas. You will spend the days exploring and the nights resting in four-star hotels across Peru.

The tour begins in Lima, with a visit to the Larco Herrera Museum, which holds Peru's most impressive collection of Pre-Columbian art; and to Huaca Pucllana, an adobe pyramid in the Miraflores District.

From there, you will fly up to Cusco to explore ancient Inca sites, such as Coricancha and Sascayhuaman. Dr. Koons will lecture on the Inca tradition of Khipu (Quipu) writing and record-keeping, a mystery that has stymied archaeologists for decades. From there, it's off to Machu Picchu to spend two days at the ancient citadel. You'll also tour the Sacred Valley of the Incas, including the palace of an Inca emperor and a farm where you'll learn about indigenous weaving techniques and pet some friendly llamas. Leaving the Incas behind, you'll visit the pyramids and temples at pre-Inca administrative and religious site of Pachacamac and spend the night in the Huacachina Oasis, with its lagoon surrounded by sand dunes. You'll ride dune buggies over the dunes!

Next, we drive to the coast to Paracas, from which you'll have the unique experience of flying over the famous Nazca Lines. Finally, we journey by boat from Paracas for a 2-hour trip to Peru's unspoiled Ballestas Islands, a marine sanctuary to view penguins, sea birds and other marine life. From the boat you will see the Paracas Candelabra, an ancient geoglyph on the side of a mountain, about the same age as the Nazca Lines. The tour will end with lunch at a winery and then transport us back to Lima and flights home.


Total Price: $4000-4900, depending on number of participants. Single-supplement fee: $550.

Registration fee: $1400 to ALI by registration deadline of August 8, 2023.This amount is included in the total price above. Taking reservations now!

Costs not included: Air fare to Lima, transportation between the hotel and the Lima airport, and gratuities for service providers (guides, waiters, drivers, maids, etc.)

What is included: All lodging, all meals until the last evening, private ground transportation, dune buggy ride, flight between Lima and Cusco, flight over the Nazca Lines, sightseeing boat ride, all entry fees, archaeologist tour leader (Dr. Richard Pettigrew), archaeologist tour guide (Dr. Michele Koons), evening lectures, and local guides.

Date: October 8 - 18, 2023

No Longer Accepting Reservations!

Contact us directly at: tours@archaeologychannel.org