GALAPAGOS AND MACHU PICCHU

Explore the best of South America...Galapagos and Machu Picchu!

Start your journey in Peru, where you will uncover an inviting country with friendly people, culture, sparkling rivers and archaeological remains waiting for you to explore. Peru is a fascinating land with thousands of years of history waiting to be discovered.

The highlight of any visit to Peru is the celebrated land of the Incas and the ruins at Machu Picchu. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish the mighty Inca Kingdom once covered much of what is now western South America. Spectacular architects and engineers the Inca people erected huge stone cities, terraced the mountainside for farming and built aqueducts to control the rivers.

Your journey begins in Cusco a beautiful terra cotta roofed city and home to centuries of history. Today Cusco remains a well-preserved colonial city with its classic Spanish main square, cathedral and radiating streets. Yet, you only need to visit here to discover it is so much more. Cusco was once the proud capital of the Incan Empire. Its Inca origins can be seen as you travel throughout the city in the stone foundations of buildings like the Santo Domingo - a Spanish Church built directly on top of the Inca Sun Temple, the Incan Walls surrounding the main plaza, the nearby archaeological sites of Puka Pukara, Kenko, Tambo Machay or the breathtaking complex of Sacsayhuaman with its massive boulders and panoramic vista of Cusco.

Traveling beyond Cusco the story of the Incas takes shape. As you travel to the Sacred Valley you will see terraced hillsides where Inca engineers cut step-like ledges into the mountainside, so they could be used as field. By expanding the usable land they were able to produce crops to feed the entire kingdom. The Sacred Valley is also home to impressive ruins like Ollantaytambo and Moray as well as small villages with colorful markets like Pisac where modern day descendants of the Incas come to sell and barter their produce and handicrafts.

The final leg of your journey takes you on board a spectacular train ride through the mountains to the mystical Lost City of the Inca, Machu Picchu. Lost for centuries in the jungles, Machu Picchu was discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham - a real life Indian Jones explorer. Today, Machu Picchu is one of the most famous and spectacular archeological sites on earth and was named one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

The history and mountains of Peru provide the perfect contrast the natural beauty of the Galapagos Islands. This modern day Garden of Eden is a Mecca for nature lovers from around the world. The incredible interactions with the Galapagos wildlife make it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Discover the best of South America ? discover Galapagos and Machu Picchu!

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