DAY 1 LIMA - TRUJILLO
Evening flight from Lima to Trujillo. Transfer from airport to hotel.
DAY 2 TRUJILLO
Breakfast.
Full day tour including: the main square, the Cathedral, El Carmen Church and Monastery, San Francisco Church, the Urquiaga and Emancipacion Colonial mansions and the Cassinelli Museum. Continue on to Chan Chan, the ancient capital of the Chimu Kingdom and the largest adobe citadel of Pre-Hispanic America, Huaca Tshudi, Huaca Dragon, and site museum. On to the fishing village of Huanchaco, well known for the "Caballitos de Totora"
boats made of bundles of "totoras" (reed), and the temples of the Sun and the Moon dating from the Moche period.
(B/L)
DAY 3 TRUJILLO - CHICLAYO
Breakfast.
Morning departure overland to Chiclayo. In the afternoon, excursion to explore the beautiful, little known, beaches, where fishermen bring in their daily catch. Visit the artisan village Monsefú, famous for its reed and cotton crafts.
DAY 4 CHICLAYO
Breakfast. Explore the archaeological complex of Tucume, where the ruins of 26 structures constructed from huge adobe blocks are known as Peru´s valley of the pyramids.
Visit to Tumbas Reales de Sipan Museum, located in Lambayeque, seven miles (12km) from Chiclayo. This ultra-modern museum
offers a great collection of objects in gold, silver and copper from the Lord of Sipan Tombs. Lunch. Then on to the Sicán archaeological complex and its site museum, located in the middle of a petrified forest.
(B/L)
DAY 5 CHICLAYO - CHACHAPOYAS
Breakfast.
Private transport to Chachapoyas (approximately 9 hours), passing through the petrified forest, climbing steadily into the mountains over the Porculla Pass at 6,600 feet above sea level (2,000m.a.s.l.), then descending into the Marañon Valley and jungle terrain renowned for exotic bird species, huge slipper orchids and cascading waterfalls. Late afternoon arrival in Chachapoyas and transfer to the hotel.
(B/BOX LUNCH)
DAY 6 KUELAP
Breakfast.
Full day excursion to Kuelap, considered one of the most important archaeological sites in northern Peru.
The fortress was built by the Chachapoya people in the 12th and 13th centuries and was rediscovered in 1843. Overnight at Choctamal Lodge. (B/BOX LUNCH/D)
DAY 7 KUELAP - LEYMEBAMBA
Breakfast.
Departure to Leymebamba, a small town where the site museum contains more than 200 mummies from cliffside burial tombs above the Laguna de los Condores (Lake of the Condors), which were saved from grave robbers in 1997. Overnight in local bed & breakfast. (B/ BOX LUNCH/D)
DAY 8 LEYMEBAMBA - CAJAMARCA
Breakfast.
Early departure to Cajamarca.
A series of picturesque traditional villages line this route, crossing a mountain pass, 13,200 feet above sea level (4000m.a.s.l.) before descending into a tropical valley.
Late afternoon/early evening arrival and transfer to the hotel.
(B/BOX LUNCH)
DAY 9 CAJAMARCA
Breakfast.
Visit to the main sites of the city: the central plaza, the Cathedral, San Francisco Church, the Monumental Complex of Belen, where the old hospital was built in the 18th century, the historic Cuarto de Rescate (Ransom Chamber) where Pizarro held Inca Atahuallpa prisoner, and the lookout on Santa Apolonia hilll. Traditional Peruvian lunch. In the afternoon, explore Llacanora and the caves of Callacpuma.
Then on to the Inca Baths, located four miles (6km) outside the city. (B/L)
DAY 10 CAJAMARCA
Breakfast.
Tour of Cumbemayo, eroded rock formations that resemble groups of shrouded people, where ancient inhabitants carved intricate irrigation canals into the rock some 1,500 years ago. (B)
DAY 11 CAJAMARCA - LIMA
Breakfast.
Departure by plane to Lima city. (B)
(B) Breakfast, (L) Lunch, (D) Dinner
