Luxury Machu Picchu Tours & Travel

Privately guided tours that jubilantly sing the praises of South America's

history, culture and natural beauty...

-- Kimberly Fay, LuxuryLink.com

 

From its roots in southern Peru to its glory in the imperial city, the Inca Empire will unfold through panoramas of ancient civilizations. Discover the archaeological and ecological treasures of the Incas as expert guides and chauffeurs escort you in utmost luxury through present-day Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Brazil and Argentina. If the journey of your dreams isn't in our Tour Portfolio, choose the destinations you prefer, and Inka's Empire Tours will create an itinerary just for you.

 

 

Wooden balcony of the Torre Tagle Palace, Lima, Peru.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.

 

Lima

 

At ancient Peru's most exalted pilgrimage site, eroded temples speak

of the pre-Columbian cultures that worshipped the earth god Pachacamac...

 

When the Incas arrived, they respected the temples and religion of those people, allowing them to worship that god alongside the Incas' own god, the Sun. For their deity, the Incas erected a great stone temple on a cliff above the sea. When the Spaniards arrived, they destroyed the holiest place in their lust for gold but found that the only treasure it contained was spiritual. Nearby Lima, founded by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1535, came to be the capital of the New World for a period of three hundred years. It reached its grandest splendor in the 17th and 18th centuries. The city has two principal attractions: the colonial quarter, where a visit to La Casa de Aliaga is to go back in time to the earliest years of the Spanish conquest, and the archaeological museums, which display gold, ceramic and textile masterpieces of Peru's pre-Inca and Inca civilizations.

 

 

The Stone of Twelve Angles, Cuzco, Peru.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.

 

Cuzco, Machu Picchu & the Sacred Valley

 

The most renowned of the Peruvian temples,

the pride of the capital, and the wonder of the empire, was at Cuzco,

where, under the munificence of successive sovereigns,

it had become so enriched, that it received the name of Coricancha,

or "the Place of Gold."

 

-- William H. Prescott, The History of the Conquest of Peru, 1847

 

Thus wrote William H. Prescott about the Temple of the Sun as it was in Inca times: "The interior of the temple was the most worthy of admiration. It was literally a mine of gold. On the western wall was emblazoned a representation of the deity, consisting of a human countenance, looking forth from amidst innumerable rays of light, which emanated from it in every direction, in the same manner as the sun is often personified with us. The figure was engraved on a massive plate of gold of enormous dimensions, thickly powdered with emeralds and precious stones. It was so situated in front of the great eastern portal, that the rays of the morning sun fell directly upon it at its rising, lighting up the whole apartment with an effulgence that seemed more than natural, and which was reflected back from the golden ornaments with which the walls and ceiling were everywhere incrusted." The Temple of the Sun is just one of the splendid Inca temples, fortresses and palaces to be explored in your leisurely, private tour of the Imperial City, fabled Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

 

 

Before Phuyupatamarca, Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.

 

Inca Trail

 

The Inca Trail, now a massive buttressed structure of granite paving stones,

continues along the steep upper fringes of the cloud forest

through a colorful riot of orchids, bromeliads, mosses and ferns...

 

Travel back in time on the Inca Trail as you spend four days hiking stone roads, crossing hanging bridges and walking in the footsteps of the Incas to their sacred citadel. A professional guide and a personal porter will accompany you on every step of the journey, allowing you to fully appreciate the landscape, flora, fauna and archaeology along the way. Upon your arrival at the Sun Gate, the ancient entrance to Machu Picchu, witness the sun rising over this magnificent "Lost City."

 

 

Flamingo on the Uros Islands, Lake Titicaca, Peru.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.

Titicaca: Sacred Lake of the Incas

 

The worship of the Sun constituted the peculiar care of the Incas,

and was the object of their lavish expenditure.

The most ancient of the many temples dedicated to this divinity

was in the Island of Titicaca,

whence the royal founders of the Peruvian line

were said to have proceeded...

 

Near the shores of this ancient inland sea, explore the noble archaeological sites of Sillustani and Pukara, whose monolithic architecture inspired the Incas a thousand years later. In addition to your land-based excursions, enjoy a private yacht voyage on Lake Titicaca, the mystic cradle of the Inca Empire, to islands whose people maintain the customs of their past. The living cultures of the Aymara, Quechua and Spanish are an unequaled legacy that has resulted in this region being recognized as the folkloric capital of Peru.

 

 

Chachani Volcano as seen from the terraces of Yumina, Arequipa, Peru.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.

 

Colca Canyon

 

I realized that we were witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Not only did we see the huge birds soaring past on their 9 foot wingspan,

but two young condors decided to land about 10 meters from us

and proceeded to perch and preen for our cameras.

 

-- Marcia Brandes

 

This private, overland expedition sets out from the colonial city of Arequipa, under the inspiring Misti Volcano in southern Peru. While passing through a remote terrain of volcanoes and vicuñas, you note immense stone terraces of a culture dating back two millennia and pueblos all but forgotten since Spanish days. At last, you reach the rim of the Colca Canyon. Twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, it is the second deepest canyon in the world (the deepest is the Cotahuasi Canyon, just to the northwest).

 

 

Geoglyph of a monkey, Nazca Lines, Peru.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.

 

Nazca Lines

 

One of the most baffling enigmas in all of archaeology...

 

On the southern coast of Peru, Nazca artists etched works of monumental proportion. Using as their canvas a plateau 37 miles long and 15 miles wide, they created a montage of geometric designs and whimsical portrayals of plants and animals, such as the hummingbird, fish, dog, lizard, puma, spider, condor and monkey. This privately guided and chauffeured excursion features an overflight of the Nazca Lines, complemented by a visit to the regional museum's collection of vivid polychrome ceramics and world-reknowned Paracas textiles. A boat trip to see the amazing profusion of sea life on nearby islands will reveal some of the animals that inspired the artistic motifs.

 

 

Frieze of Chan Chan, Trujillo, Peru.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.

 

Northern Kingdoms

 

Temples and palaces adorned with geometric friezes in brilliant hues of color,

elaborate ceremonies captured forever on painted ceramics,

and gold masterpieces that later became the treasures of the Incas...

 

The north coast of Peru boasts a rich archaeological legacy of pre-Inca civilizations that occupied its valleys from the 1st to the 14th century AD. Among the important archaeological sites is the sprawling adobe city of Chan Chan, capital of the Chimu Empire. Others include the Moche's frieze-covered Pyramids of the Sun and Moon; Sipan, the world-famous tomb of a Mochica ruler; and Tucume, also known as the Valley of the Twenty-Six Pyramids. Near Tucume are the ruins of the Sican capital, Batan Grande.

 

 

Golden Lion Tamarin, lowland forest north of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Photo: Mariana Munnl.

 

Amazon Rainforest

 

If your quest is to experience nature's rarest wildlife,

Arcana Mundi is the place to begin.

 

A vast sinkhole falls precipitously into the Earth, holding within it a galaxy of Red-and-Green Macaws that live in the cavities of the pink sandstone walls. High in the Andes, a lost world of volcanos, lagoons and grasslands gives sanctuary to the endangered Andean Condor and the rarest species of flamingos. In the Atlantic coastal forest near Rio, the amazing Golden Lion Tamarins have been rescued from near extinction. Normally it is hard to get the conservation biologists to open the site even to scientists, but we know how to get it open for you -- and you will observe these rare creatures face to face. Our expeditions to nature's secret places only are possible thanks to the lifelong research and exclusive access of Dr. Charles A. Munn, noted ornithologist and pioneer of conservation through ecotourism. Our extreme nature experiences are reserved for just a few scientists, special film crews, professional photographers and you. If your quest is to experience nature's rarest wildlife, Arcana Mundi is the place to begin.

 

 

Land iguana and opuntia cacti, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.

 

Galapagos Islands

 

From so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful

have been, and are being evolved...

 

-- Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, 1859

 

If you cruise the extraordinary Galapagos archipelago, you can go ashore amid volcanic landscapes, hike among Marine Iguanas and lava lizards, and have the singular opportunity of snorkeling among penguins, marine tortoises and sea lions. On these enchanted isles, each with its unique habitat, you will learn how the adaptations of the species to their differing environments inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

 

 

Iglesia de San Pablo and the Imbabura Volcano, Otavalo Valley, Ecuador.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.

 

Ecuador

 

Admire the magnificent landscape that inspired Frederic Edwin Church's

epic paintings of the Andes...

 

Hike in the moorlands surrounding the highest active volcano on earth, ride a horse in the mystical Otavalo Valley and recapture the spirit of old Spanish days in a trio of colonial haciendas. One is San Agustin de Callo, the 15th century Inca palace from which Atahualpa ruled the Kingdom of Quito, now called Ecuador. Returning to Quito, founded in 1534, walk along the cobblestone streets through centuries-old parks and plazas to churches filled with gold. Contemplate Gothic, Baroque, Moorish and Neo-Classical architecture, all blended with the mestizo sentiment, and imagine you've gone back in time to the astonishing colonial world. Beyond the Andes are the Galapagos Islands and the Amazon Rainforest.

 

 

Navigation to Grey Glacier, with boat in distance, Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile.
Photo: Radek Tezaur.