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.
Lima - Trujillo - Lambayeque
Frieze of Chan Chan, Trujillo.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Land Price (6 days/5 nights)
Royal US$ 2,110 Imperial US$ 1,975 De Luxe US$ 1,940
The land price includes escorted transfers, private excursions with professional guides and chauffeurs, entrance fees, indicated category of accommodations, all meals except beverages, all transportation except air flights, and travel insurance for guests through the age of 59 years. Over that age, there is a supplementary fee. All prices are per person based on two people sharing a guest room. For a detailed description of our services, see About Our Tours.
To complete your exploration of the Northern Kingdoms, we recommend either our 4-night Kuelap Discoverer or our 6-night Chachapoyas Explorer.
Intra-Tour Air Flights & Fares
Air fares are in addition to the land price.
Intra-Tour Air Flights & Fares shows South American air flights needed for this tour and the fares.
Mochica "huaco" depicting a "soldier" duck, Pyramid of the Moon, Trujillo.
Museo Nacional de Arqueologia, Antropologia e Historia del Peru.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
The north coast of Peru features spectacular contrasts between fertile valleys and stark deserts, in a thin coastal strip between the cold waters of the world's richest fishing grounds and the highest tropical mountains. This region boasts a rich archaeological legacy of pre-Inca civilizations that occupied these valleys from the 1st to the 14th century AD. The most prominent were the Moche, Sican and Chimu, who demonstrated great sophistication in agriculture, ceramics and metallurgy. The ruins of these civilizations grace the outskirts of the two principal cities, Trujillo and Chiclayo.
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. This archaeological adventure journeys to the monuments of those ancient civilizations.
Mochica "orejera" depicting a duck, Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum, Lambayeque.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
The Chimus' ten adobe citadels of Chan Chan in ancient times dazzled the spectator with temples and palaces adorned with geometric friezes in brilliant hues of color, elaborate ceremonies captured forever on their painted ceramics, and gold masterpieces that later became the treasures of the Incas. The ruins of the Emerald Temple and the restored Rainbow Temple bring to life a vision of the kingdom at the height of that greatness, when it offered fierce resistence to the expansion of the Inca Empire.
At Sipan, the Mochica culture, preceding the Incas by a thousand years, gained world attention upon the discovery of the rich and undisturbed royal tomb of "The Lord of Sipan" at the Huaca Rajada. It is the richest tomb discovered in the Americas -- the New World's "King Tut". The gold and silver works show an exquisite artistic sensitivity, heretofore noted in the superb "portrait" ceramics. Fine gold artifacts and ceramics from these sites are on display at the Casinelli, Royal Tombs of Sipan and Brüning museums.
Sipan necklace of Spondylus
shell, Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum, Lambayeque.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Highlights
Trujillo
Day 1: Lima - Trujillo. Afternoon transfer to the airport. Flight to Trujillo. Reception and transfer to your hotel. Tour the mansion and dine in the 19th century, neoclassical Palacio Iturregui. Overnight in the Hotel Libertador Trujillo -- Suite.
Day 2: Colonial Quarter - Chan Chan. Morning walking tour of the colonial city. Begin at the Plaza de Armas, La Casa Bracamonte, La Casa Orbegoso, La Casa Mayorazgo and El Templo de la Compañia de Jesús. Enter the Cathedral, La Casa Urquiaga and La Casa de la Emancipación. Among Trujillo's sublime churches, visit La Iglesia La Merced, La Iglesia y Monasterio El Carmen. Returning to the Plaza de Armas, see discoveries from the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon at the Museum of Archaeology. Typical lunch in Huanchaco. Afternoon at the Chimu's adobe citadel of Chan Chan, Esmeralda Temple and Arco Iris Temple. Dinner of Peruvian or international cuisine at Chelsea. Overnight in the Hotel Libertador Trujillo -- Suite.
Chiclayo
Day 3: Pyramids of the Sun & Moon - El Brujo - Hacienda Paijan - Tucume. Morning excursion to the Moche's Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. Snacks. Noon departure north to El Brujo archaeological complex. Typical lunch and an exhibition of Peruvian Paso horses at Hacienda Paijan, a reknowned horse-breeding ranch. Arrival at your rural lodge in Tucume. Dinner and overnight in Los Horcones de Tucume.
Day 4: Sipan - Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum - Tucume. Morning excursion to Sipan and the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum. On the way to the museum, visit Chiclayo's witch doctors' market. Typical lunch at chef Hector Solis Cruz' Fiesta. Afternoon at Tucume. Return to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Los Horcones de Tucume.
Day 5: Batan Grande - Sican Museum - Bruning Museum - Lima. Morning excursion to Batan Grande and the Sican Museum. Typical lunch at El Huaralino. Afternoon at the Brüning Museum. Dinner of fusion cuisine at chef Rosy Montenegro de Mavila's Entre Aromas y Sabores. Continue to the airport. Flight to Lima. Reception and transfer to your hotel. Day Room in Los Horcones de Tucume and overnight in the Country Club Lima Hotel.
Optionally, further your exploration of the Northern Kingdoms by staying overnight in Tucume and continuing the next morning on our 4-night Kuelap Discoverer or our 6-night Chachapoyas Explorer tour.
Day 6: Lima - Your next destination. Transfer to the airport for the flight to your next destination.
Casa Bracamonte, Trujillo.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Day 1: Lima - Trujillo
Afteroon transfer to the airport for the flight to sunny Trujillo, the "City of Eternal Spring". Arrival, reception and transfer to your hotel. Tour the mansion and dine in the 19th century, neoclassical Palacio Iturregui, home to the exclusive Club Central, Trujillo's traditional social club. Overnight in the Hotel Libertador Trujillo -- Suite.
Note: The Club Central requires that gentlemen wear a dress shirt with a tie, dress pants and dress shoes. Women can go as they wish, but usually wear a dress, pants and a blouse, or a suit; dress shoes; makeup and jewelry.
Casa Mayorazgo de Facalá, Trujillo.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Day 2: Colonial Quarter - Chan Chan
Breakfast. Morning walking tour of the colonial city, founded in 1534 by Diego de Almagro, Francisco Pizarro's one-time partner in the conquest of Peru. Taking its name from the city in Spain where Pizarro was born, Trujillo is notable for the Renaissance style of its urban plan and its colonial and republican-era architecture, expressed in its churches and mansions. The exquisite ensemble of colonial structures surrounding the Plaza de Armas, such as the 18th century La Casa Bracamonte, La Casa Orbegoso, La Casa Mayorazgo and El Templo de la Compañia de Jesús (begun in 1632), is an artistic masterpiece. Their joyous architecture creates an unparalleled impression of the city's glory under the Spanish kings, three to five centuries ago.
Enter the Cathedral (begun in 1647) and the 18th century mansions La Casa Urquiaga, which housed Simon Bolivar during the War of Independence, and La Casa de la Emancipación, where the Marquis of Torre Tagle proclaimed the city's independence from Spain in 1820. Among Trujillo's sublime churches, visit La Iglesia La Merced (begun in 1636), La Iglesia y Monasterio El Carmen (rebuilt in 1759, after the earthquake in that year). For the lover of colonial architecture, an extra day exploring the exceptionally-fine examples in this city will bring a cornucopia of rewards.
Returning to the Plaza de Armas, see discoveries from the Moche's Pyramids of the Sun and Moon at the Museum of Archaeology of the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, which is supervising the excavations.
Caballitos (traditional tortora-reed boats) at Huanchaco, Trujillo.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Drive to Huanchaco, an immaculate sand beach where fishermen still surf in totora-reed boats like their ancestors did thousands of years ago. Typical lunch. After the Mochica, the Chimu culture emerged, whose capital of Chan Chan, the largest pre-Hispanic city in Peru, housed at its zenith more than 60,000 inhabitants and whose kingdom offered fierce resistence to the expansion of the Inca Empire. Proceed to Chan Chan, located near the ocean, where ten adobe citadels are enclosed by a massive adobe wall. The nearby ruins of the Huaca La Esmeralda (Emerald Temple) and the restored Huaca Arco Iris (Rainbow Temple) will give you an idea of the city's original appearance, when its high-relief friezes were painted in vivid colors and glowed brightly in the Equatorial sun. Depictions of sea life and fishing activities reveal their importance in the life of the Chimu. Dinner of Peruvian or international cuisine at Chelsea. Overnight in the Hotel Libertador Trujillo -- Suite.
Frieze of El Dragón, Trujillo.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Day 3: Pyramids of the Sun & Moon - El Brujo - Hacienda Paijan - Tucume
Breakfast. Long before the Spanish arrived, this coastal strip was the scene for the rise of diverse cultures, among them the pre-ceramic Huaca Prieta civilization of c. 3000 BC and the Cupisnique of c. 1000 BC. The first to extend itself beyond its original river valley was the Mochica culture, c. 1200 AD, for whom this area became their principal seat of government. With a base of agriculture and warfare, the Moches constructed innumerable palaces and temples, called "huacas" (holy places), such as the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna (Pyramids of the Sun and Moon).
Morning excursion to the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon in the fertile Moche Valley, where archaeologists are uncovering polychrome friezes with mask-like reliefs of mythological beings. Built of millions of adobe blocks, the pyramids are the largest pre-Columbian structures in South America. Snacks.
Newly uncovered friezes at the Pyramid of the Moon, Trujillo.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Noon departure north along the coast to El Brujo archaeological complex, dating back 500 years and one of the best-preserved sites in the area. The name comes from the fact that the site was used by the local "brujos" (shamen) -- and even to this day, the region's reknowned shamen use natural cures and invoke the ghosts of their ancestors to treat illness and ward off evil spirits. The site is composed of three Mochica and pre-Mochica huacas and many minor mounds. Huaca Prieta is the oldest on the Peruvian coast and Huaca Cao has magnificent polychrome, high-relief figural friezes, unique among known Mochica artifacts. Typical lunch and an exhibition of Peruvian Paso horses at Hacienda Paijan, a reknowned horse-breeding ranch. Arrival at your rural lodge in Tucume. Dinner and overnight in Los Horcones de Tucume.
Polychrome, high-relief frieze, Huaca Cao, El Brujo, Trujillo.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Day 4: Sipan - Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum - Tucume
Breakfast. The Lambayeque Valley, in archaeological terms, is the richest in the northern coast of Peru. It is a fertile agricultural region that for the past two millennia has been the nucleus of ancient pre-Columbian cultures, notably the Mochica, which built important temples, such as Huaca Rajada, the pyramids of Tucume, Batan Grande and others of world-wide importance.
Private car this morning to the Mochica archaeological complex of Sipan, located in the site called Huaca Rajada. It comprises two pyramids and one platform dating back a thousand years before the Incas, where two of the most famous pre-Columbian tombs were found undisturbed by Peruvian archaeologist Dr. Walter Alva in 1987 and 1988 -- the tombs of "The Lord of Sipan" and his ancestor, "The Old Lord". They ruled the valley's fate during the second and third centuries AD. The treasure of pure gold artifacts discovered in the tombs revealed their culture's surprising command of metallurgy and its exquisite artistry in gold and silver, in addition to its known excellence in ceramics.
Sipan mask, Royal Tombs
of Sipan Museum, Lambayeque.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Luxury
Trujillo, Chan Chan, Sipan, Tucume & Batan Grande Tours &
Travel.
After visiting the archaeological site and its museum, view the artifacts unearthed there and now exhibited at the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum. With an architecture inspired by the Moche's pyramids, subdued lighting and traditional music played on pre-Hispanic instruments, the museum creates a meditative mood for contemplating the past as revealed by the richest collection ever discovered in Peru. On the way to the museum, visit Chiclayo's witch doctors' market.
Typical lunch of northern Peruvian cuisine at chef Hector Solis Cruz' Fiesta before an afternoon at Tucume. Within the 81-acre Tucume archaeological complex, rise 26 adobe pyramids, the oldest dating back to 700 AD. One of the most awe-inspiring is similar in volume to the great Egyptian pyramids. The archaeology reveals that the valley was occupied by the Moches in a very early stage, developing a complex culture based in maritime trade, fishing and agriculture. The late stages reveal an ample contact of this valley with the Chimu kingdom of Chan Chan, located about 200 miles south. Return to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Los Horcones de Tucume.
Sican gold mask, Sican Museum, Lambayeque.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Luxury Trujillo, Chan Chan, Sipan, Tucume & Batan Grande Tours & Travel.
Day 5: Batan Grande - Sican Museum - Bruning Museum - Lima
Breakfast. Morning departure to Batan Grande, an archaeological and ecological reserve. The Sican culture developed here and, according to archaeologists, was one of Peru's most important metallurgical centers in ancient times, evidence of which is on display in the newly-opened Sican Museum. Among the 20 pre-Inca structures, Las Ventanas is famous for the discovery of a large golden "tumi", or sacrificial knife. The site is fascinating in that the ruins are within a carob tree forest, believed to be the largest in Peru.
Typical lunch at El Huaralino. Afternoon excursion to the Brüning Museum, in Lambayeque, noted for its spectacular collection of 1,500 gold, textile and ceramic objects of the regional cultures. Dinner at Entre Aromas y Sabores, where chef Rosy Montenegro de Mavila maintains Chiclayan seasoning and style as she combines elements of Criollo and international cuisine. Continue to the airport for the flight to Lima. Reception and transfer to your hotel. Day Room in Los Horcones de Tucume and overnight in the Country Club Lima Hotel.
Optionally, further your exploration of the Northern Kingdoms by staying overnight in Tucume and continuing the next morning on our 4-night Kuelap Discoverer or our 6-night Chachapoyas Explorer tour.
Sipan mask of a feline
face, Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum, Lambayeque.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel.
Luxury Trujillo, Chan Chan, Sipan, Tucume & Batan
Grande Tours & Travel.
Day 6: Lima - Your next destination
Breakfast. Early transfer to the airport for the flight to your next destination.
Thank you for choosing Inka's Empire Tours.
© 2008 Inka's Empire Corporation, Luxury Peru Tours & Travel. All rights reserved.
