ANDES TRIO Visiting Quito, Itavalo & the Galapagos Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu Lake Titicaca and La Paz 21 Days

Locally Hosted Independent Tour Suggested Departure Day: Tuesday

ITINERARY (Subject to change without notice):

Tuesday - Miami - Quito: Afternoon flight south to Quito. Upon arrival, meeting and transfer to Hotel Hilton Colon in the heart of the city for  two night stay.

Wednesday - Quito: Today you will spend the day exploring the main points of interest in Quito, including the Plaza de Independencia, La Compania and San Francisco churches before driving out to the Equatorial Monument for a visit to the Ethnographic Museum and a chance to stand in two hemispheres at once. Enjoy lunch en route. (B/L)

Thursday - Quito-Otavalo area: This morning you will drive north of Quito to the area of Otavalo.  En route you will visit Calderon, well known for its figures made from bread dough, San Antonio de Ibarra wood carving center and Cotacachi village lined with leather stores.  Arrive at the La Mirage Garden Hotel and Spa  in time for a relaxing afternoon.   Tonight you'll enjoy dinner at the Hosteria's cozy restaurant. (B/D)

Friday - Otavalo-Quito: This morning visit the famed Otavalo Indian market. The Otavalo Indians are the most ambitious and prosperous craftsmen/merchants of Ecuador. Here you will have plenty of time to explore the market and bargain for textiles, weavings, handicrafts and the Panama hat, actually made in Ecuador. This is considered South America's best shopping market. This afternoon make the return drive to Quito and the Hilton Colon  for overnight. (B)

Saturday - Quito - Galapagos:   Morning transfer for flight via Guayaquil to the Galapagos Islands and transfer to the M/V Galapagos Explorer II for 7-night cruise of these Enchanted Isles. Accommodation on board is in a Deluxe Suite on Erickson Deck. Once aboard, briefing on the islands, the upcoming itinerary and hints for behavior while ashore. This afternoon you'll make your first visit ashore at Cerro Dragon, with boobies, frigates, pelicans, marine turtles, rays and sharks and a nesting site of a fairly large number of land iguanas B/L/D)

SPECIAL NOTE: If you don't like animals and you don't like being an active ingredient in the wildlife experience, don't visit the Galapagos. The sole reason to go to the islands is the flora and fauna, and you have to go ashore and exert energy to experience it. The guides teach you a motto the first day you arrive: "Take nothing from the islands but memories and leave nothing behind but footprints."

Sunday - Galapagos: Morning at Bartolome, off the west coast of Santiago, for hike to the summit of the island for spectacular vistas of the islands, and time at the beach for swimming and snorkeling among multi-colored fish and an occasional penguin. Afternoon ashore at Puerto Egas, James Island, for walk to the fur seal grottos and ample opportunity to see the Galapagos Hawks, Galapagos Doves and finches in addition to sea lions. (B/L/D)

Monday - Galapagos: Morning ashore at Punta Espinosa, a narrow spit of sand and lava rock renowned for its large colonies of marine iguanas and home to numerous other species including the flightless cormorant, penguin, sea lion and marine turtle. Afternoon ashore at Punta Vicente Roca, Isabela Island. Afternoon at Punta Vicente Roca, Isabela Island, which offers the highest probabilities to observe whales all year round, as well as blue footed and nazca boobies and pelicans. (B/L/D)

Tuesday - Galapagos: Morning visit North Seymour, a low, flat island with the largest colony of magnificent frigate birds, blue footed boobies, sea lions and endemic palo santo trees. Afternoon through the highlands of Santa Cruz Island, with an opportunity to see tortoises in their natural habitat in the highlands, pit craters and the largest lava tunnels found in Galapagos. (B/L/D)

Wednesday  Galapagos-Guayaquil-Lima:   Morning at the port of San Cristobal with a chance to visit the Interpretation Center and transfer to the airport for your return flight to Guayaquil, where you make conenctions to your flight south to Lima. Upon arrival meeting and transfer to the Miraflores Park Plaza for two night stay. (B)

Thursday - Lima: Spend the day exploring the main points of interest in Lima, often called "The City of Kings" and once the seat of the Vice Royalty of Spain, including the Plaza de Armas with government palace and cathedral, the San Francisco or Santo Domingo Convent and the new suburbs of the city. Also visit either the well known Gold Museum or the excellent Archaeology Museum. Lunch en route. (B/L)

Friday - Lima - Cuzco: Morning transfer to the airport for flight over the Andes to Cuzco, ancient capital of the Inca empire. Meeting and transfer to your hotel, the lovely Monasterio, just a block off the main Plaza, for two night stay. Balance of the morning to adjust to the altitude. This afternoon you'll visit the main points of interest in Cuzco, considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Western Hemisphere, and to the nearby ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Kenkko and Tambo Machay. (B)

Saturday - Cuzco:  Day at leisure to explore Cuzco at your own pace. You may want to arrange an optiona visit to Andahuaylillas with beautiful frescoes in the colonial church, or just explore historic Cuzco and shop in San Blas. (B)

Sunday - Cuzco - Urubamba: Morning drive to the Sacred Valley of the Incas (Urubamba Valley) to visit the colorful Indian market at the town of Pisac. Plenty of time to shop for handicrafts and textiles before visiting the ruins of Pisac, high above the town and cascading down the mountainside.  Enjoy lunch and then transfer to the charming Sol y Luna in the valley for overnight stay. (B/L)

Monday - Urubamba - Machu Picchu: Morning transfer to the train station in Ollantaytambo to catch the VistaDome train to Machu Picchu, fabled "Lost City of the Incas", for guided tour, lunch and time to re-enter the ruins to explore at your own pace. Your guide returns to Cuzco on the afternoon train, but you'll overnight at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge at the ruins, affording you plenty of time to explore at your own pace. (B/L/D)

Tuesday - Machu Picchu - Cuzco: Day at leisure to re-enter the ruins to explore at your own pace. Plenty of time to climb Huayna Picchu or trek to the Sun Gate, the entrance of the Inca trail. Lunch is included today at the hotel. Afternoon return train to Cuzco, arriving in the evening. Meeting and transfer from the station to your hotel, the Monasterio, for overnight stay. (B/L)

Wednesday - Cuzco - Puno: Morning transfer to the train station to board the Andean Express for a full day of riding the rails! Cross the scenic Altiplano and pass through many villages, with a scenic stop at La Raya, the highest point of the train journey. Lunch is served on board.  Arrive in Juliaca in the afternoon and transfer to Puno and your hotel on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the Hotel Esteves., for a two night stay. (B/L)

Thursday - Puno: Morning visit to the Uros Indians, living on floating islands made from the tortura reeds of the lake. You'll have time to explore and shop for handicrafts. In the afternoon, visit the nearby Sillustani's "chullpas", ancient graves from a civilization pre-dating the Incas. (B)

Friday - Puno - Lake Titicaca - Inca Utama: Morning transfer to the port to board your modern hydrofoil for your "flight" across the highest navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca, and  "fly" to Copacabana where you will have time to visit the historic cathedral. Then re-board your hydrofoil for "flight" to Sun Island.  Walk up ancient Inca steps, visit the Fountain of Youth and have spectacular views of Moon Island and the lake the Uma Kollu restaurant where you will have lunch. Continue by hydrofoil to Moon Island to visit the Sun Virgin's Temple and then finally "fly" through the narrow Tiquina Strait and to the Inca Utama Hotel and Spa for two night stay.  This evening you'll enjoy a briefing on the magical, mystical world of the Kallawayas, the medicine men of the high Altiplano, and a visit to the Kallawayas Museum. (B)

ABOUT THE INCA UTAMA: A five star hotel right on the shores of Lake Titicaca, there are 60 rooms and suites, each with private facilities, space heater, electric blanket and lots of of water. There is a new Choza Nautica over-the-water restaurant, a cozy bar with over-stuffed couches and roaring fireplace, "Suma Utavi" restaurant, a complete spa, and elevators in both the original hotel building and the new Colonial Towers. The Inca Utama has a complete cultural complex consisting of the Altiplano Museum; Andean Eco Village complete with handicraft center, Eco Museum, Limachi brothers and their full size replica of the RA II, stone fisherman village, mud igloos and floating islands of the Urus Chipayas, Tikanas agricultural terraces and the famous Sukakollos; Kallawayas Museum and the Alajpacha native observatory.

Saturday - Lake Titicaca - La Paz: This morning you will drive towards La Paz and then off the main road to the ruins of Tiahuanaco where the remains of five civilizations, one on top of the other, have been found - the last one disappearing 100 years before the first Inca arrived. After your visit, continue driving to La Paz for overnight stay at the Hotel Europa  in the heart of the town and just blocks from the famed Witch Doctor's Market. 

Sunday - La Paz: This morning visit the main points of interest in La Paz, the highest capital in the world, lying in a natural basin some 13,000 feet high. Founded in 1548 by the Spaniards, little of the colonial influence remains. Visit the city, including the open-air archaeological museum, Witch Doctors Market, residential areas & the Moon Valley where clay formations give you a unique panorama. Afternoon atleisure to explore at your own pace. (B)

Monday - La Paz - Miami: Early morning transfer for return flight to Miami. Clear customs and immigrations and make connections to your home city. (B)

RATES and DETAILS: