Machu Picchu - Lake
Titicaca
(11
days/10 nights)
Machu Picchu - Lake
Titicaca
(12 days/11 nights)
Machu Picchu - Lake
Titicaca
(14 days/13 nights)
Colca Canyon - Machu
Picchu
Lake Titicaca
(16 days/15 nights)
Archaeological & Ecological
Treasures
Galapagos - Machu Picchu
Lake Titicaca (or Amazon)
(18 days/17
nights)
Colca Canyon - Amazon
Machu Picchu - Lake Titicaca
(22 days/21 nights)
Machu Picchu
(10
days/9 nights)
Machu Picchu
(13 days/12 nights)
Machu Picchu - Galapagos
(15 days/14 nights)
Galapagos - Machu Picchu
(18 days/17 nights)
Manu National Park
(8 days/7 nights)
Enchanted Isles of the Galapagos
Galapagos
(11
days/10 nights)
Galapagos & the Kingdom of Quito
Galapagos - Andes
(16 days/15 nights)
Galapagos - Amazon
(16 days/15 nights)
Historic Haciendas of the Andes
Cotopaxi - Antisana
- Otavalo
(7 days/6 nights)
© 2008
Inka's Empire Corporation.
All rights reserved.
Luxury Peru Travel
Archaeological & Ecological Journeys
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Nazca Lines Travel |
 Northern Kingdoms Travel |
 Sacred Valley Travel |
This unique company offers a compilation
of masterfully designed, privately guided tours that jubilantly sing the praises
of South America's history, culture and natural beauty.
-- Kimberly Fay, LuxuryLink.com, January 2005
From its roots in southern Peru to its glory in the imperial city, the Inca Empire will unfold through panoramas of ancient civilizations. You'll discover the archaeological and ecological treasures of the Incas as private guides and chauffeurs escort you in delicious luxury through present-day Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Chile.
Since our tours are private, you may depart on any day you wish, and any tour can be modified to meet your needs. Most have longer and shorter versions, to which you'll find links at the top of each itinerary. If you have an extra day or two, consider What You Could Add in Peru and What You Could Add in Ecuador. All prices are per person based on two people sharing a guest room. Intra-tour air fares are additional. For a selection of archaeological and ecological journeys, see our Tour Portfolio.
Luxury Peru Travel
At ancient Peru's most exalted pilgrimage site, eroded adobe temples speak...
of the pre-Columbian cultures that flourished in the Lima Valley, worshipping the earth god Pachacamac ("he who gives life to the universe"). 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 whom they 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. The nearby city of Lima was founded by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1535 and reached its grandest splendor in the 17th and 18th centuries, when it came to be the capital of the New World for a period of three centuries. The principal attractions are the colonial quarter and the archaeological museums, whose vast collections display gold, ceramic and textile masterpieces of Peru's ancient civilizations.
Luxury Peru Travel
Cuzco, Machu Picchu & Sacred Valley
"... the most renowned of the Peruvian temples, the pride of the capital,
and the wonder of the empire, was at Cuzco,
where... it received the name of Coricancha, or the Place of Gold."
Thus wrote William H. Prescott of the Temple of the Sun, just one of the magnificent Inca temples, fortresses and palaces you'll explore in your leisurely, private tour of the imperial city, fabled Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
Luxury Peru Travel
A unique opportunity to travel back in time...
The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is a unique opportunity to travel back in time as you spend four days hiking stone roads, crossing hanging bridges and walking in the footsteps of the Incas to their sacred citadel. Every step of your journey is accompanied by a professional guide, and during your trek a personal porter will carry your pack, freeing you to fully appreciate the landscape, flora, fauna and archaeology. Your discoveries culminate with your arrival at the ancient entrance to Machu Picchu to witness the sun rising over this magnificent "lost city."
Luxury Peru Travel
Titicaca: Sacred Lake of the Incas
A scenic rail journey ascends through the awe-inspiring Andes
to the beatific Lake Titicaca...
On the banks and islands of this ancient inland sea, you'll explore not only the noble archaeological sites of Sillustani and Tiawanaku, whose monolithic architecture inspired the Incas a thousand years later, but also the living cultures of the Aymara Indians, the Incas and the Spaniards, an unequaled legacy that has resulted in this region being recognized as the folkloric capital of Peru. In addition to your land-based excursions, enjoy two cruises on Lake Titicaca -- a private yacht voyage to islands whose people retain their traditional way of life and a catamaran sailing to the Island of the Sun, the mystic cradle of the Inca Empire.
Luxury Peru Travel
I realized that we were witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime experience...
"Not only did we see the huge condors soaring past on their 9-foot wingspan, but two young birds decided to land about 10 meters from us and proceeded to perch and preen for our cameras." Your private, overland expedition sets out from the colonial city of Arequipa, under the inspiring Misti Volcano in southern Peru. As you pass through a remote terrain of vicuñas and volcanoes, you note pueblos all but forgotten since Spanish days and vestiges of a culture that dates back two millennia. At last, you reach the rim of one of the world's deepest canyons, the Colca, on whose sheer cliff face live the magnificent Andean Condors.
Luxury Peru Travel
One of the most baffling enigmas in all archaeology...
On the southern coast of Peru, Using as their canvas a plateau 37 miles long and 15 miles wide, Nazca artists etched works of monumental proportion: a montage of geometric designs and whimsical portrayals of plants and animals such as the hummingbird, fish, dog, lizard, puma, spider, condor and monkey. On this private chauffeured excursion, a longer-than-usual overflight of the Nazca Lines is complemented by a visit to the regional museum's collection of vivid polychrome ceramics and world-reknowned Paracas textiles, while a boat trip to see the amazing profusion of sea life on nearby islands reveals some of the animals that inspired the artistic motifs.
Luxury Peru Travel
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. Some of the important archaeological sites include the sprawling adobe city of Chan Chan, capital of the Chimu Empire; the Moche's frieze-covered Pyramids of the Sun and Moon; Sipan, the world-famous tomb of a Mochica ruler; their Tucume, also known as the Valley of the Twenty-Six Pyramids; and the Sican's Batan Grande.
To the east, in the Amazon, lies the realm of the Chachapoyas, which means "People of the Clouds", a civilization that fought from high forest strongholds in resistance to Inca expansion and Spanish invasion. One of the last kingdoms to succumb to the Inca, its legacy includes one of South America's archaeological wonders -- the defensive fortress of Kuelap. Perched on the shoulder of a 10,000-foot mountain, this 9th century citadel comprises an urban complex of more than 400 stone edifices -- homes, palaces and temples enclosed by a 70-foot-tall stone wall.
Luxury Peru & Ecuador Travel
One of the world's most dazzling wildlife spectacles...
On your Amazon rainforest expedition, riverboat to a remote jungle lodge built by one of South America's foremost conservation groups to protect endangered species and provide an authentic wilderness experience. As you explore the trails, clay licks, canopy, rivers and lakes with a native guide; you can observe macaws, monkeys, Tapirs, Giant Otters, Black Caimans and other animals in their natural habitat; investigate the medicinal properties of plants; and learn how the diverse flora and fauna form the most complex ecosystem on earth.
Luxury Galapagos Cruises
"The natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and well deserves attention."
Cruising the magnificent Galapagos archipelago with a naturalist, you'll land amid the volcanic landscapes, hike among Marine Iguanas and lava lizards, and have the rare opportunity to snorkel among penguins and marine tortoises. After his voyage to the islands in 1835, Charles Darwin stated: "... both in space and time, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact -- that mystery of mysteries -- the first appearance of new beings on this earth." As you sail to these enchanted isles, each with its unique wildlife, you can compare the adaptations of the species to their differing environments that inspired his theory of evolution.
Luxury Ecuador Travel
Epic landscapes of the Andes...
Hike in the moorland ecosystem surrounding Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano on earth, horseback ride in the mystical Otavalo Valley and recapture the spirit of old Spanish days in a trio of luxurious haciendas that includes San Agustin de Callo, the 15th century Inca palace from which Atahualpa administered the Kingdom of Quito, now called Ecuador. Returning to Quito, founded in 1534, and walking along the cobblestone streets through centuries-old parks and plazas to churches filled with gold; you'll 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. As if that weren't enough, there are the Galapagos Islands and the Amazon Rainforest.
Luxury Chile Travel
Untamed landscapes...
The extreme natural beauty of Chile ranges from the snow-covered Andean volcanoes of the Altiplano, or "Highlands," in the north of the country to legendary Easter Island. In between are other superlative attractions. The driest desert on earth, Atacama is a paradox of unusual manifestations of water, from the small but exquisite salt ponds in the eerily silent Valley of the Moon to the lagoons of the vast and ancient Atacama Salt Lake, the oasis of San Pedro and the geysers of El Tatio. In the Lake District, volcanoes shimmer beneath the water as you cross Lake Todos los Santos. Further south, in Patagonia, you'll drive through the pampas steppes of the Magellan province, travel back a few millennia at the Milodon Cave and navigate past icebergs to massive glaciers that reside beneath the snowy spires of the Torres del Paine.
Luxury Chile Travel
Ponder ancient idols and a lost civilization...
Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, is an open-air, archaeological museum of a fascinating but vanished culture, a stark lesson in what can happen when humans fail to live in harmony with nature. We still do not know for sure how or why the first inhabitants carved, transported and raised their monolithic stone statues, or why the "moai" gaze inland instead of out to sea. But as you walk with your private guide in the island's famed yet rarely visited sites such as the volcanic quarry where the figures were carved over a period of five centuries, you can contemplate the enigma of almost 900 mysterious idols and of the civilization that created but later tried to destroy them.
Luxury Brazil Travel
Marvels to be discovered...
In each of the Regions of Brazil, there are marvels to be discovered -- great cities, a turbulent but rich past, vibrant cultural displays and immense natural beauty. We invite you to explore them on one of our classic Brazilian journeys. Want to ride a buffalo through the Marajó marshes of the Amazon? We can arrange that, too.
Come to Peru, land of the Incas...
Luxury Link and LuxuryLink.com are trademarks of Luxury Link LLC. © 1997-2007 Luxury Link LLC.
© 2008 Inka's Empire Corporation, Luxury Peru Tours & Travel. All rights reserved.
El Yunque National Forest Hotels, Villas, Inns & Resorts
