Archaeological Peru

LIMA | TRUJILLO | CHICLAYO | CUZCO | SACRED VALLEY | MACHU PICCHU

Archaeological sites in Peru are numerous and diverse, representing different aspects of its rich history. During this 11-day journey, discover the temples and fortresses of the various cultures of ancient Peru, such as the Moche and Nazca. Travel from Lima to treasure-filled Trujillo, Chiclayo and its adobe complexes and finally on to Cuzco, the Sacred Valley and the epic Machu Picchu Citadel.

Highlights:

  • Private tours in Lima with visit to Larco Herrera Museum
  • Sun, Moon Pyramids & Chan Chan in Trujillo
  • El Brujo Archaeological Complex near Chiclayo
  • Koricancha, Tambomachay, Qenqo and Puca Pucara sites
  • Vistadome train to Machu Picchu

Package Includes:

  • Roundtrip international and domestic airfare from Toronto*
  • Welcome assistance upon arrival and departure at all airports
  • Private transfers and porterage between airport and hotel
  • 9 nights accommodation
    • 2 nights in Lima at Hotel Hilton Lima Miraflores, Standard Room ★★★★
    • 2 night in Trujillo at Hotel Hotel Libertador Trujillo, Standard Room ★★★★
    • 2 night in Chiclayo at Wyndham Costa del Sol Chiclayo, Standard Room ★★★★
    • 3 nights in Cuzco at Novotel Cusco, Colonial Room ★★★★
  • Breakfast daily and other meals as indicated
  • Hotel taxes and service charges
  • Airport & departure taxes**

*Add-ons from other cities available upon request.

Optional Add-On Tours

  • Tour of the Sacred Valley
  • Luxury Amazon journey aboard the Aria Amazon

Inquire for pricing. Itineraries are fully customizable.
**Airport and departure taxes are included, subject to change at any time. Pricing based on two passengers travelling together. Optional tours and activities not included. Blackout periods apply. For terms and conditions, click here. Ongoing monitoring of the Zika virus continues around the world including Central, South America and the Caribbean. Please evaluate your risks before travelling. 

Archaeological Peru

Travel itinerary

Day 1

TORONTO – LIMA Fly from Toronto to Lima. Welcome and transfer to your hotel. Check-in and overnight.

Hotel Hilton Lima Miraflores, Standard
★★★★
Day 2
Breakfast

LIMA of Peru. Founded in 1535, Lima was once the capital of Spain’s South American Empire for 300 years. Private morning tour featuring the Plaza Mayor, Government Palace, the 17thcentury Baroque Cathedral and Church of San Francisco and finally, the Palacio de Torre Tagle, Lima’s most elegant colonial mansion. Visit the Larco Herrera Museum, featuring gold and silver treasures from Ancient Peru. Enjoy the rest of your day at leisure. Overnight at hotel.

Hotel Hilton Lima Miraflores, Standard
★★★★
Day 3
Breakfast

LIMA – TRUJILLO Enjoy breakfast; transfer to the airport to board your flight to Trujillo, a coastal city located on the banks of the Moche River near the Pacific Ocean. Trujillo is also home to two major archaeological sites of pre-Colombian monuments, which you will discover tomorrow. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel for overnight.

Libertador Trujillo, Standard 
★★★★
Day 4
Breakfast / Lunch

TRUJILLO Breakfast. Today, visit the Sun and the Moon pyramids, the center of power in the Trujillo Valley during Moche ancient times. Be impressed by a stunning set of mud-brick friezes on the walls of the Temple of the Moon; visit a traditional family that descends from Mochica people. Drive to the seaside town of Huanchaco for lunch and to watch local fishermen on their traditional reed boats. Visit the ancient City of Chan Chan, once home to 100,000 habitants who stubbornly resisted the expansion of the Inca Empire. Overnight at hotel

Libertador Trujillo, Standard
★★★★
Day 5
Breakfast

TRUJILLO  – CHICLAYO Breakfast. En route to Chiclayo, visit El Brujo Archaeological Complex, a pyramid which rises about 98 feet above the surrounding desert. Built with tens of thousands of adobe bricks, its walls are covered with polychrome reliefs depicting war motifs, goods, animals, plants and net-fishing. A well-preserved tattooed mummy of a young woman was discovered deep inside the El Brujo pyramid, now exhibited in the Lady of Cao Museum. Overnight at Hotel.

Wyndham Costa del Sol Chiclayo, Standard 
★★★★
Day 6
Breakfast / Lunch

CHICLAYO After breakfast, visit the magnificent burial platform of Huaca Rajada, where the world famous Tomb of the Lord of Sipan was discovered. Admire fabulous gold artifacts, precious stones and the ancient Moche civilization’s history. Visit Túcume, an imposing 26 pyramid site of the Lambayeque culture; visit the brand new Tumbas Reales Museum. Overnight at Hotel

Wyndham Costa del Sol Chiclayo, Standard
★★★★
Day 7
Breakfast

CHICLAYO – CUZCO After breakfast, board your flight to Cusco with a stop in Lima. Begin at Koricancha, once the Inca’s sumptuous Temple of Sun before becoming the Spaniard’s Santo Domingo church. The Inca stonework here is the finest to be seen anywhere which remains standing despite many earthquakes. Visit the cavernous Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas. See three other nearby sites: Tambomachay, an Inca fountain and ritual bathing centre; Qenqo, a great stone carved with steps and pictures and a sacrificial table and finally Puca Pucara, meaning Red Rock. The order in which the ruins are visited will depend on local conditions as the guides will endeavour to visit each set of ruins at their quietest. Overnight at Hotel.

Novotel Cusco, Colonial 
★★★★
Day 8
Breakfast / Lunch

MACHU PICCHU  After breakfast, board the Vistadome Train to Machu Picchu Town, where you will board a bus that will take you to the citadel of Machu Picchu for a guided tour. Lunch at the Belmond Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge followed by a bus ride back down to town. In afternoon, board the train back to Cuzco. Overnight at Hotel.

Novotel Cusco, Colonial 
★★★★
Day 9
Breakfast

SACRED VALLEY  Breakfast. Visit the Písac Market and continue to the Ollantaytambo archaeological complex, including an Inca temple, agricultural terraces, and urban area. Ollantaytambo was an important administrative center with probable military functions considering the walls and towers. Return to Cuzco.

Novotel Cusco, Colonial
★★★★
Day 10
Breakfast

CUZCO – LIMA Breakfast at the hotel. Morning at leisure. Afternoon transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima. Your homebound flight departs later that evening.

Day 11

TORONTO Morning arrival in Toronto.

Archaeological Peru

General information & maps

Archaeological Peru

Not included

  • Gratuities to guides and drivers
  • Items of a personal nature
  • Travel insurance
  • Reciprocity and/or local taxes if applicable
  • Visas required for entry into the country as necessary. Please discuss this with your travel agent to determine your requirements prior to departure.
11 days

On Request

On their recent trip to Italy:

“We did a 28-day holiday in Italy from mid-September to mid-October with Gateways and I just want to let you know that it was a fabulous trip. We did provide input into what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go and then Gateways came up with an itinerary for us. We tweaked the schedule a couple of times, but were very happy with our plan before we left Canada.  I wanted to thank you for organizing a trip that didn’t have any glitches. Every hotel, transportation or tour that was booked occurred exactly as it should have. We were very happy with our guides, accommodations and train tickets/private rides.  We had a great dinner/wine-tasting/creating your own wine outing at a vineyard in Tuscany on our 40th anniversary. We got to walk up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, take a gondola in Venice, float into the Blue Grotto and so much more. Really enjoyed the trip to the lemon farm/pizza-making excursion in the hills outside of Sorrento. And I’m very glad that we had someone picking us up at the train station in Venice and getting us on a private water taxi to get to our hotel and back to the train station because it eliminated the chance of wasting a couple of hours trying to get on the right ferry with all those people getting off the train at one time…this thank you would have come a couple of months ago, [our travel agent] just responded to my original email to give me your name and email.”

Mr. & Mrs. C., Alberta
January 29, 2024