Gay Peru

Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu
November 20-27, 2010
8 days from only $4699*

ZOOM VACATIONS PERU ITINERARY
Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu

Day 1, Saturday: CITY OF LIMA
Arrival and transfer to the Orient Express Miraflores Park Plaza Hotel. Day at Leisure. Today, a very special welcome dinner will be held at Lima's oldest manor that, uniquely has been inhabited since 1535. Seventeen generations from the original owner still live in the house. The original owner was among the first Spanish conquerors to arrive in Peru. Evening free to enjoy Lima's nightlife.

Accommodations: Orient Express Miraflores Park Plaza Hotel
Included Meals: Welcome Dinner and cocktails

Day 2, Sunday: CITY OF LIMA
We depart promptly for a tour of the Historic Center of Lima, the City of Kings, including a visit to the main city square, the Cathedral, Plaza de Armas, the ancient catacombs and San Pedro Convent.  Lima’s magnificent colonial architecture led UNESCO to declare the Historic Center of Lima a World Heritage Site. Baroque and Neoclassical churches and convents, balconies dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries, colonial town houses and beautiful public spaces speak of a past in which Lima was Spain's richest vice regal capital in the Americas.

Lima once ranked as the richest and most important city in the Americas and was considered to be the most beautiful colonial settlement in the region. Founded in 1535 by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish Crown's "City of Kings" quickly became the center of power and trade for the entire American viceregency that stretched from Quito to Santiago. Lima was home to some of the Americas' finest Baroque and Renaissance churches, palaces, and mansions, as well as the continent's first university, founded in 1551. For two centuries, the capital also served as the headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition.

LUNCH –
Gourmet lunch will be served at an old Lima hacienda which is now a restaurant.  The hacienda Moreyra is a colonial house that stood in what is now the heart of San Isidro, Lima’s most elegant district, since it was constructed in the 1700s. 

Accommodations: Orient Express Miraflores Park Plaza Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Day 3, Monday: CUSCO / THE SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS
Morning flight to Cusco. Upon arrival, transfer to The Sacred Valley of the Incas. Registration at Casa Andina.
In the afternoon, visit Maras, which is the name of a place and of an indigenous community. The soil of Maras is rich in salt, and its people have always made a living by extracting this resource using terraced salt pools. The salt pans are a magical sight, gleaming white in the sun. Today we will visit Maras and see the salt being extracted in the traditional way. If time permits we will go to Moray, another Inca site, where different crops were planted on circular terraces built to create microclimates and for researching different species.

Accommodations: Casa Andina
Included Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Day 4, Tuesday: THE SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS
Enjoy a late morning excursion to Ollantaytambo, and visit the archaelogical remains and its typical market. Ollantaytambo contains a fortress built to defend it against the invading Chankas. Ollantaytambo is also an Inca village whose stone houses are still inhabited by the descendants of those ancient Peruvians. The people of this area are characterized by their woolen costumes dyed in red and black.

LUNCH –
Today's lunch will be unforgettable. At noon we will arrive at an hacienda, located on high ground in the valley which provides a unique view of this green and fertile land. The house was built as a place to keep and exhibit their valuable collection of art from the pre-Columbian and vice regal periods. The family of the estate waits with a buffet lunch based on the valley's culinary traditions.

Accommodations: Casa Andina
Included Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Day 5, Wednesday: THE SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS / MACHU PICCHU
We'll transfer you to the station to board the Hiram Bingham Orient-Express train that will take us to the Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu.  You will arrive early enough to be able to enjoy the stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site before the masses arrive.    Our expert guide will explain all the pertinent aspects of this magical citadel, an awe-inspiring experience.  Following the visit, we retire for afternoon tea at the Orient-Express Sanctuary Lodge overlooking Machu Picchu.  Thereafter, we descend to Aguas Calientes to register at the beautiful boutique Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, rated the 8th best hotel in South America by the Reader’s of Conde Nast (2nd in Peru, after the Hotel Monasterio)!  The Readers of Travel and Leisure rated it the 4th best resort in Central and South America, and the best in Peru.

Relax in one of the world's most appealing boutique hotels; a fusion of calmness, comfort, Andean style and architecture, and natural beauty which spreads over 12 acres of low-rise cottages, streams, waterfalls, plantations and wild forest interspersed by stone pathways. The hotel boasts rooms beautifully furnished with regional timber and styled with local handcrafted Andean architecture nestled in one or two-storey whitewash cottages.

Accommodations: Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel
Included Meals: Breakfast, brunch and dinner

Day 6, Thursday: MACHU PICCHU / CUSCO
Opportunity to visit Machu Picchu again, all entrance fees included.
In the afternoon, optional orchid tour on the private grounds of the Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel

Late afternoon departure for Cusco on the Hiram Bingham Orient-Express train where cocktails and a gourmet dinner will be served. On board you will receive the royal treatment.  Relax and enjoy a cocktail accompanied by the sounds of a guitar trio, before retreating to the dining car for a specially prepared gourmet Thanksgiving dinner as you glide along the Andes Mountains and Urubamba Valley.  Upon arrival just outside Cusco, in Poroy, private transfer to the stunning Orient-Express Hotel Monasterio, a 16th century monastery named by Conde Nast Traveler Gold List as the best hotel in South America.  Furthermore, the Readers of Travel and Leisure rated it the 4th best city hotel in Central and South America, and the best in Peru.                   

Accommodations: Orient-Express Hotel Monasterio
Included Meals: Breakfast and Gourmet Dinner on the Hiram Bingham Orient-Express train

Day 7, Friday: CITY OF CUSCO
Roam the older quarters of the city, which date back to the 16th and 17th centuries.  We will Pass by the Hatunrumiyoc Street with its famous twelve angle stone and visit the impressive Cathedral at the Plaza de Armas. We also visit Koricancha, the most important Inca temple, dedicated to the worship of the sun.  The Spanish built a church and Dominican monastery on top of this temple, which reveals the two cultures existing together.  In the late afternoon you are free to walk around this marvelous city or join our optional tour. The most enjoyable way to spend the day can simply be to walk around the city and enjoy its immense vitality. Cusco is a very cosmopolitan city for its size and this is evident by day, but especially at night, in its infinite number of bars, discos and restaurants.

Accommodations: Orient-Express Hotel Monasterio
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 8, Saturday: LIMA/ USA
Optional dinner at one of the best restaurants in Lima (and in South America, for that matter).
Transfer to airport for your departure flight.

Accommodations: Orient-Express Hotel Monasterio
Included Meals: Breakfast

Luxury Accommodations:

• Orient Express Miraflores Park Plaza, 5 star, 2 nights
• Rio Sagrado, Sacred Valley of the Incas, Boutique, 1 night
• Machu Picchu Pueblo, deluxe boutique, 2 nights
• Orient Express Hotel Monasterio, Cusco, Orient-Express, 5 star, 2 nights

Air: International and domestic airfare not included. Zoom Vacations has negotiated a 5% off your fare with American Airlines on this trip.  Go to aa.com/rainbow, type in your departure city and arrival city and don’t forget to enter the Promotion Code: 49N0AB. Click " Get Fare".

*Land only Introductory rate, based on double occupancy. Prices are subject to change. Need a roommate? Zoom Vacations is happy to match you with someone, at no additional charge. Or, you may pay a single supplement and go as a single.

Please read Terms and Conditions prior to booking.

Lake Titicaca Add-on Trip

November 27-29, 2010
Three days from $1,299

Based on popular demand we have created a Peru post trip extension to Lake Titicaca; one of the most culturally and architecturally stunning areas of Peru that does not disappoint.

We fly to Lake Titicaca where we will take a motor boat trip to some of the more unique islands of Lake Titicaca, starting with the utterly fascinating  Uros Islands.  These islands are completely man made, and its inhabitants continue to maintain them as they have since pre-Columbian times, using Totora reeds from the lake.

Also, we will visit to the awe-inspiring Chullpas of Sillustani, where the ancient Aymaras used to bury their high priests in cylinder-shaped rock tombs. 

View photos from our trips to Peru.

Package Highlights:

• Services of a Zoom Concierge throughout your trip.

• All breakfasts and land transfers.

• Full Day Tour of Lake Titicaca, and it's floating inhabited islands.

• Tour the mystic, mysterious, awe-inspiring Chullpas of Sillustani.

• Lunch on Taquile Island, which is inhabited by Quechua speaking natives who have developed both an efficient and original social system and a fine hand weaving technique over several generations.

• As with all Zoom Vacations, several trip-enhancing surprises

Luxury Accommodations:

• Casa Andina Private Collection, 5 stars, 2 nights