North and South Peru highlights from 14 September to 5 October 2009 for

START:  14 September  2009

FINISH: 5 October  2009                

Our tours are with an English /Dutch speaking tour leader, he travel all the time with you and the group, he is no guide but after many years working in Peru/Bolivia he knows what a tourist need ! He arranges all the hotels, transport and excursions .He’s support and translate in any problem. He gives you general info in every place, enough info, so you can discover the beauty of this country by yourself, or with members of the group.

We promote a lot of freedom and flexibility in our tours, we call it alone in group, you do your thing with the comfort of a group while de tour leader arrange your excursion or bus ticket. Freedom is one of the big points in this tour!

Minima 1 month before departure we inform you if the tour have enough clients to start, yes or no .If not, than we can arrange the same tour for the same price all arranged, individual.

We Leave Brussels 14 sept in the evening and arrive early at Lima airport, someone from Peru planet pick you up from the airport and bring you to our first hotel in Lima or Miraflores. In the hotel you get the first information over Peru and meet the tour leader. The tour leader welcomes you all and give a general briefing over what you can aspect from this tour . First day free in Lima to visit Museo National de Arqueologia, in pueblo libre, one of the best museums in Peru, also the old centre is worth a visit, in the afternoon you can visit Colonial Barranco or walk on the seafront in Miraflores. You can do this on your own or as excursion in a city tour.

Early transfer to the airport of Chiclao to take the flight to Lima. In lima a private bus is waithing for us to bring us 4 h drive futher to Paracas where we have a hotel with swimmingpool.

After  the breakfast we walk to the harbour, for de excursion to Ballestas islands ,its 1 ½ H by speedboat ,the islands are full of sea lions  and birds .In the port we can relax with a cup coffee before we go with our private transport to “EL CATADOR “ the Pisco brewery. Here we can see the whole making process and taste the Pisco. After this tasting process we drive to our next relaxing destination,”HUACACHINA” this is an oasis in the desert, here you can do some excursion sand boarding on the big sand dunes. Later on we continue to Nasca , where we arrive in the late afternoon Hotel Nasca with swimming pool.

After breakfast, in the morning or afternoon (depending on the weather) you can take the excursion the flight over the amazing Nasca lines ,

Approximately 45 minutes, the mysterious Nasca Lines are on a flat land of 500 km2. They were made by the Nazca people (Nasca Culture) and there are several theories about their origin, none of them with enough proofs to take as real.After or before we can do the excursion to chauchilla cemetery, at night around 10 PM  we take the luxury local night bus  for around 10 h to Arequipa where we arrive around 7 AM.

Free day to visit this beautiful city, or to do some excursions.This is good to acclimatize before we start climbing to the colca canyon.

Hotel in Arequipa

Start of the 2 days 1night Colca canyon tour included in this tour .After breakfast we start the tour with our private bus .We have many photo stops to see this beautiful canyon, with his many vicuñas/Lamas /volcano’s .We arrive in the small Village of Chivay were we take lunch ,in the afternoon you can swim in the hot spring as an excursion, and in the evening its possible to take a meal with folkloristic dances . 1 night hostel in the small village of Chivay .

After early breakfast we leave to the condor cross to see this amazing bird “The CONDOR ,. Its still nature, so we cant promise you anything, but the Canyon is real worth a visit also without the condor. If you see one, just take it as some extra!! It’s the best place for a breathtaking view of the canyon with the Colca River flowing 1,200 meters below. We visit the hanging tombs at Choquetico before continuing to the towns of Maca, Achoma and Yanque with its lovely white church. We return back to Chivay for lunch, before driving further with our private bus to Puno.

After breakfast, as excursion you can go by boat for a visit to the Uros floating reed islands ,the guide explain everything over the Islands and the Titicaca lake ,after this we go toTaquile island , here they have there own way of live . Men’s are knitting the clothes, no animals or cars allowed on the island .Here we have some lunch, most of the time trout from the lake.

From here we take the boat back to Puno .Or you can visit as excursion the Sillustani Grave towers

Hotel in Puno

PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO WALK THE 4 DAYS INCATRAIL HAVE TO MAKE RESERVATION FAR IN ADVANCE

This morning you go on excursion very early to Machu Picchu by bus , this to see the sunrise over these  amazing ruins, here you go with a English speaking guide, in the afternoon we will take the train back to Ollantaytambo or Cusco ,transfer to our hotel in cusco

Today you  can visit as excursion  the ruins and market of village Pisaq /Ollantaytambo / Chinchero,

This takes a whole day in the late afternoon you return to Cusco

This day you have many choices, or you go excursion 1 day rafting on the Urubamba river with scenic views, or for the more active persons you can do some paragliding , 4 track , horse ride ,rock-climbing ,even hot air balloon or just visit one of the many museums in Cusco .If you like we can do an excursion to the beautiful salt pans of maras in the sacred valley ,we

Can do a walk for about 2 h in the beautiful surroundings/hotel in Cusco

Transfer to the airport and flight to Lima, depending on your flight back home, you can drop your luggage in the airport. People who’s flight home is some later, can take a taxi to by yourself Miraflores to finish this Peru adventure on a terrace near the seafront in Miraflores International flight. The tour leader stay in Cusco

Arrive at Home

People who like to do the very famous INCATRAIL , the 2 or 4 days  (look at this website for the program ) have to make reservation for this ,together with the reservation of this tour .This Inca trail is so popular that it need more than 60 days reservation in advance !

Its also possible to extend your stay with one of our jungle trips to Manu or Puerto Maldonado ,before you go home

Indication prices  for the excursions ,these are subject to change !

Lima city tour1/2 day: 20 Usd /Pisco ballestas 18 Usd Paracas 18 Usd /Huacachina jeep in the sand dunes: 19 Usd /Nasca flight over the Nasca lines 75 Usd tour Chauchilla 16 Usd /Arequipa rafting 35 USD, Arequipa tour 25 Usd  /Puno Silustani 15 USD/Cusco ,citytour 10 Usd, horsride 15 Usd, rafting 35 USD , guide in Machu picchu 15 Usd  /Incatrail in this tour 4 days

Indication of entree fee

Colca canyon 35 Sol  /Machu picchu 122 Sol  /cusco visitor ticket 130 sol /airporttax cusco 6 USD /airporttax Lima international 32 USD

What to bring with you

v    We advice to travel as light as possible, around 15kg a person ,we prefer a backpack or travel bag, we don’t like suitcases while they are hard to travel in local transport and buses  .

v    Clothes , in this tour we go from the coast to the highlands , in July /August its Winter ,so it can be cold at night and at high altitudes , so prepared for cold and warm , good walking shoes ,sunscreen, waterproof clothing ,alarm clock ,lip salve, personal medication, travel dictionary and don’t forget , if there is something you miss , you always can buy it cheaper in Peru !

Money and Passport 

v     We advice to bring with you around 600 EURO pocket  money, this in a combination of travel cheques/cash/and credit card. This money is for the cost of the excursions and the meals in the restaurants, not included your souvenirs, its just an indication to eat normal and do the indicated excursions, everybody spend different!

v     The money in Peru is the Nuevo sol ,EURO is widely accepted around Peru , you better bring around 150 USD to pay the excursions /airport tax and entrée fee ,the rest in Euro .(not included incatrail )

v     Credit cards like Master card /Visa are widely accepted , every place we go have ATM machines .

v     No visa is necessary for countries of Western Europe /Asia/North or South –America/Australia/New Zealand/South Africa. With a valid passport the tourist card allows you up to 90  days in Peru

Climate

The Andes mountains have a lot of influence at the climate in Peru .The coast is one big  dry desert ,the Andes have high temperatures in springtime/daytime if the sun shines ,In the evenings it can be cold .The best time to travel :dry season , from  may till October , The temperatures are some lower , but the sky is mostly clear with less rain . But be prepared ,showers of rain , can be all year around ! 

Medication

Altitude sickness can appear, but after 2 days you get used to the altitude, you feel some headache, but we climb slowly

PS: People who have hart or Long problems, better contact first a doctor before travelling to high altitudes .

Peru don’t ask officially vaccinations, exception for Manu:  for Manu  you have to take against yellow fever

We advice that you take some vaccinations like :

- Hepatitis-A

- DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, polio);

You have to start with these vaccinations about 6 weeks before departure .

Don’t drink tap water!

For more info ,look at  www.doh.gov.uk/traveladvice    www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk  

Travel information
This information makes part of the contract with Peruplanet .Read it well before booking ! Clients must be in possession of, and are responsible for arranging a valid passport. Information about these matters or related items (climate, clothing, baggage, etc) is given in good faith but PeruPlanet cannot be held responsible for any of this information.

How to make a reservation ?
The easiest way to reserve a Peruplanet tour is by sending us the booking form at this website. Some days after we received your reservation, we confirm if there are still some places available on the date of your choice .Than we ask 30 % deposit of the total amount , the other 70% , you can pay 5 weeks before departure .This payment you can do at our Belgian or Peruvian banc account . After payment you receive a paper with confirmation of your payment . After full payment you receive the address of the first hotel in Lima. A booking is accepted and becomes definite only from the date when Peruplanet sends out a confirmation invoice (once we have received your deposit) at which point a contract exists and the deposit becomes non-refundable and non-transferable. Give us also your telephone number to contact you if there are last minut changes.

Ones you find the tour of your choice, don’t wait to long to make a reservation! We only do 2 tourS a month, so there are not many spaces each month! Its also cheaper for yourself, as far in advance you buy your international flight ticket to Peru, as cheaper it gets !

Departure of the tour
A tour of Peruplanet in general always start, but its possible that we don’t get minima amount of clients for a tour , what is 8 bookings .In that case we contact you minima 4 weeks before departure to tell you . No message means automatically departure of the tour .If the tour don’t go , than Peru planet can make a special alternative program to your needs on individual base.

• It is possible to arrive earlier than the group, also to depart later than the group. This you have to tell us in advance together with your reservation, so we ca arrange something for you .
• We can arrange some extra nights, before or after the tour .Let us now your date, time ,flight number and carrier of arrival , so we can arrange the transfer in Lima to the hotel ,always included .
• You can extend your trip with a jungle arrangement in Manu or Puerto Maldonado /Tambopatta .

Insurance
Clients are obligated and responsible for ensuring that they have adequate cover for the full duration of the tour in respect of medical expenses, injury, death, repatriation, cancellation and curtailment. It is our policy to check the validity and cover of your insurance policy and we hold the right to refuse travel to anyone whose insurance does not satisfy these criteria..

WE HOPE THAT YOU ENJOY THIS COUNTRY JUST AS MUCH AS WE DO!