Places covered: | ARGENTINA , BUENOS AIRES, SALTA, PURMAMARCA, SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA, GREEN LAGOON, OJO DE PERDIZ, UYUNI SALT FLAT, COLCHANIm, UYUNI, LA PAZ, CUSCO, SACRED VALLEY, MACHU PICCHU, CUSCO , LIMA |
---|---|
Duration: | 16 Nights / 17 Days |
Category: | POPULAR VACATION |
Argentina, the second largest country in South America, is a vast, diverse and stunning nation known best for its romantic tango and political heroine Eva Perón. Argentina today offers a wealth of rich experiences imbued with the same spirit of generous hospitality that has characterized its people. From the Spanish and Latin immigrants who brought their customs and music to Buenos Aires, to the native Wichi and Toba communities in the North or the Welsh villages in Patagonia.
The country’s capital, Buenos Aires, is one of the world’s most sophisticated cities with excellent theatre
and art, fine restaurants and wide, elegant boulevards that give the city a decidedly European feel.
Arrival in Buenos Aires, meet and greet by local staff and transfer to the hotel.
Overnight, in Buenos Aires
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Full day Buenos Aires City tour
In the morning, you will discover Buenos Aires most traditional neighbourhoods through a comprehensive BUENOS AIRES CITY TOUR. The first stop will be the May Square, historical scenery of the main political events of our country. We will continue towards San Telmo, a picturesque area that still preserves its cobbled streets, as well as some colonial constructions and of the turn of the century; nowadays there are many antique shops and artist’s ateliers. You will continue the tour, to southern La Boca, where you will visit the famous Caminito street open air museum and characteristic colourful tin houses. Then, you will experience the contrast with Puerto Madero, once the port of Buenos Aires and nowadays a very sophisticated area, housing the most elegant and chic restaurants in town. Continuing to the northern districts, you will head towards Recoleta, to discover the Parisian air of Alvear Avenue, the most exclusive fashion shops, luxurious French palaces and the legendary Recoleta Cemetery. And finally, visit Palermo district, the green area of Buenos Aires, housing beautiful French style palaces. During the City tour, take a guided tour inside the Colon Theatre (shared tour), which sublime architecture stands out in every single detail, amazing and captivating its visitors with its flight of stairs, sculptures and stained-glass windows. Visiting the Colon Theatre and feeling the magic of its mystical atmosphere in every step is an extraordinary experience that makes visitors feel privileged.
In the afternoon, enjoy a Wine tasting of fine Argentinean wines.
Guests will enjoy a wide selection of Argentine wines accompanied by a selected food pairing. Limited production wines from boutique Argentine wineries are paired with locally produced tapas especially prepared to bring out the flavors of the wine. Each wine is unique, originating from a different vineyard and region of Argentina. The event host guides participants through the details of each wine and their wineries, as well has an overview the Argentine wine industry. The tasting lasts around 2 hours. At the end of the event, guests have the option of purchasing the wines they tasted on site. Overnight, in Buenos Aires
Half Day excursion to San Isidro & Tigre Delta
Not far from Buenos Aires, we will find the outskirts residential neighbourhoods in the north area, near the River Plate and surrounded by spectacular vegetation. You will arrive to Tigre in the Delta, to board a typical motorboat and sail for 1 hour along the Delta (private service), among beautiful green islands, leafy vegetation and characteristic fauna. This section of the delta is characterized for its natural semi- wild condition and the beauty of this natural environment.
Evening program: Dinner & Tango Show at Rojo tango, the most exclusive tango house in Buenos Aires, housed at Faena Hotel.
Enjoy a dinner and tango show in Rojo Tango where you will be able to see a top-quality show, with professional tango singers and dancers together with an excellent cuisine in one of the most exclusive atmospheres of Buenos Aires’ nightlife. It is one of the most exclusive tango shows in Buenos Aires. It takes place in the exclusive Faena Hotel where four couples of dancers and a live orchestra are the main attraction of the show but the first-level menu and the excellent service also have to be taken into account. Upon arrival, you will be surprised by the remake of a cabaret from the 30s, with a touch of Philippe Stark. The first level gastronomic offer pays special attention to the combination of flavors and perfumes. In each step you will have three dishes to choose from. You can join them with first-quality wine or champagne. The live orchestra leads a different show in which the bodies are guided as if they were in a trance by what the bandoneon plays.
Overnight in Buenos Aires
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Pick up at the hotel and transfer to the airport in order to take the flight that will take you to Salta (1:50 hours) Upon arrival to Salta, met by your guide, and transfer to the hotel
Half Day Salta City tour
Met upon arrival, take a Salta City Tour, admiring its colonial past, reflected in its traditions and architecture. We will visit its most remarkable historical monuments and colonial houses that shape the identity of the city: the Cathedral, the Historic Cabildo (City Hall), the San Francisco Church and San Bernardo Convent. We will be able to walk down the streets around the main square; the cobbled streets are a tribute to older times.
Time allowing, visit the MAAM Museum (Museum High Altitude Archaeology)
Modern and avant-garde, the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology (MAAM) gives you the chance to travel through Inca history in its splendid halls equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Using new and innovative methods, a respectful environment of the Andean world is recreated, offering visitors laboratories, research areas and exhibit rooms.
The museum offers a display of ritual, textile and religious objects. The most remarkable rooms are the Mountain Archaeology Hall and the Inca World Hall, which exhibit the expedition tour and the discovery of the items which had remained frozen over five centuries at the top of the Llullaillaco Volcano: the three Llullaillaco Children, buried 500 years ago at an altitude of 6,730 meters, as a religious sacrifice, together with one hundred and forty-six grave goods.
Overnight at Hotel, in Salta
Transfer from Salta to Purmamarca and the Humahuaca Gorge
You will cover a 320km on an asphalted road with an altitude at final destination 2300m. Estimated driving time is 4 hours. The Quebrada of Humahuaca is a long valley that ends near the border with Bolivia, located in the Jujuy Province, the most Andean territory of Argentina. It is famous for its coloured mountains, its geological formations and its historical villages.
Purmamarca is a small pre-Hispanic town, settled at the foot of the imposing Cerro de los Siete Colores. Its picturesque urban layout was centred in the main church, which is surrounded by the Santa Rosa de Lima church, which doo dates from 1648 and which interior is decorated with ornaments and paintings made by indigenous artists, the art crafts market, offering vicuna wool ponchos, scarves and knitted caps, carpets, necklaces and bracelets of alpaca and silver.
Los Colorados Circuit
This trail of about 3 km (1.8 miles) follows part of the Tumbaya river bed (tributary to the Purmamarca River), behind the Seven Colors Mountain.
Although rocky, the trail is easily passable and the circuit ends at the west side of the village at the foot of El Porito Lookout point from which you can get a panoramic view of the area and its surroundings. This easy-to-access mountain got this name due to its squash shape (“poro” means squash in the Spanish variety of this region).
The color contrast, the sculptural shapes that cover the surrounding mountainsides, the brightness of the
light and its clear skies, make this trail unique and worth of being captured in visitors’ memory and
hundreds of pictures.
You can enjoy the landscape; make a picnic o simply meditate following strict hygiene and protection measures because the area is of private ownership.
Over time, Los Colorados has become a representative icon of the Purmamarca village, a must visit in every tourist journey and a wonderful space that deserves to be shared and enjoyed with family and friends.
Overnight , in Purmamarca
Breakfast at the Hotel, Visit Tilcara, central area and the pucara ruins (fortress), and Humahuaca
Tilcara is considered the archeological capital of Northern Argentina, both due to the large number of objects still lying on the ground and due to all those archeological materials that were recovered and revealed to the public in general. The most eloquent example of this was the recovery of the Pucará (a kind of fortress) that enables to understand and get in contact with the world of our ancestors.
Return to Purmamarca in the afternoon
Overnight, in Purmamarca
Scenic drive from Purmamarca to San Pedro de Atacama, in Chile
(You will corss the border from Argentina to Chile)
A fantastic drive on a perfectly paved road will guide us across the Andes, through dry salted lakes,
volcanoes, groups of wild Vicunas and the infinity of the Puna Plateau. Visit Salinas Grandes and the old capital of the Puna, Susques and its church dating from 1598.
Picnic lunch at the Salinas Grandes
Arrive at San Pedro de Atacama after a 50 km straight downhill descent with a view over the Atacama
Desert and the perfect cone-shaped Licancabur Volcano, the real master of the Region. Dinner at Hotel
Overnight at Hotel, in San pedro de Atacama
Half Day excursion to Tulor & Quitor archaeological ruins
A landscape without history loses the richness that time and people have brought to it. Therefore, on this excursion, we invite you to discover the richness of the Atacama, or Likan Antai, culture. We will gather fascinating information about who lived in the area and how they did it, from pre-Columbian to colonial times. We will learn about the customs and traditions of the different cultures that lived in the area by visiting the most notable archaeological sites such as Tulor and Pukará de Quitor. The miraculously preserved village of Tulor is the oldest remaining ancient dwelling place in the Atacama Basin, and the first human settlement, called "Cuna de los Likan Antai (Cradle of the Likan Antai people)".Pukará de Quitor, a construction from the twelfth century, was a witness to decisive historic events that are part of the local culture. We ended our trip in San Pedro de Atacama, with a visit to the church before the return to hotels.
In the afternoon, Excursion to Moon valley
19 km from San Pedro, in the Salt Mountain Range, is the Moon Valley, declared a nature sanctuary and monument and protected by the uniqueness of its beauty. It consists of a depression surrounded by small hills with impressively sharp peaks. The tour is an imaginary trip to landscapes that do not belong in our world, but to other planets. We will see Dinosaur Valley and Death Valley, where there is a spectacular panoramic view of the area. We continue to Moon Valley, where we will find geological formations that are the result of successive foldings of the earth's crust. In the valley is possible to appreciate the salt sculptures known as Las Tres Marias, formed by wind erosion
Continuing with the tour we will walk through the interior of the caves that remain from the old deposits,
to get closer to valley where is the Big Dune. After a break, we will climb this dune, which impresses with its size and is used for extreme sports as snowboarding. Towards dusk, a bold palette of golds and reds appear, touching the soul and sensibilities of the visitor. Enjoy snacks and cocktails at sunset at Kari Lookout (includes non-alcoholic beverages and beer) Return to the Hotel
Overnight at Hotel, in San Pedro de Atacama
Half Day excursion to Tatio Geysers
The excursion will take you to know the Tatio Geysers, geothermal field located in the Andes, the highest in the world (4,200 mts) and is located 89 kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama.
We leave at dawn from San Pedro de Atacama Hotel to go to the Tatio Geysers, a geothermal center with geysers that can only be seen very early in the morning. After seeing this spectacular sight in a magnificent natural setting, we eat breakfast. On the way back, we see the majestic Andes mountain range, whose peaks seem close enough to touch. We then arrive at Machuca, a small llama herder settlement. You will enjoy a Picnic Lunch, beverages included (Soft drinks and beer)
Half day excursion to Atacama Salt and Toconao
We travel to Toconao in the Atacama Salt Flat. Toconao is a small Atacama town, with a church and bell tower built out of only adobe and straw, and handicraft workshops full of items like alpaca wool and cactus crafts. The protected beauty of the National Reserves will captivate us. The park contains many species of flora and fauna, some in danger of extinction. The Atacama Salt Flat is part of the reserve, and a large number of flamingo colonies have chosen Chaxa Lake as their favorite place for nesting. The geomorphology of the Salt Flat makes for a unique landscape, and with its rugged surface and difficult access, it becomes the perfect location for many species of birds. Overnight at Hotel, in San Pedro de Atacama
Depart from Atacama, and cross the border between Chile and Bolivia through Hito Cajon. Enter to the National Reserve of Andean Fauna Eduardo Avaroa and visit the Green Lagoon, an impressive aquatic mirror that resembles a giant emerald with a particular brightness in the mornings and afternoons; its color is due to the high magnesium content in the water. In the proximities of this lagoon is the Licancahur Volcano (5,868 m). Continue to Sol de Mañana (Morning Sun) a place where it is possible to appreciate fumes, geysers and volcanic holes. This landscape remains us the origins of the earth. The next stop will be the Red Lagoon, populated by 3 species of flamencos (among them the famous James) this lagoon is very impressive because of its red color, that is due to the fine sediment accumulation of the same color on the surface, as well as the pigmentation of a certain type of seaweed. Box lunch. Continue the journey crossing the Siloli desert where you will be able to appreciate an interesting rock formation well-known as Stone Tree, and observe the llamas, vicuñas and particular rodent denominated Viscacha. Arrive to Ojo de Perdiz. Overnight at Hotel, in Ojo de Perdiz, Bolivia
The trip continues to the Uyuni Salt Flat and Incahuasi Island, this island is located in the heart of the salt flat and is the greatest of a group of islands that represents an isolated ecosystem. The island is populated with a cacti species that measures up to 12 meters high (26, 25 feet), providing an impressive panoramic view. Box lunch.
In rainy season from November to March, the salt flat could be flooded, and in that case passengers will
visit the train cemetery and the Colchani village, where it is possible to observe the extracting salt process by hand.
Visit the salt eyes, impressive for its geology and cross the salt flat as much as possible to enjoy a beautiful landscape. The entire salt flat is completely covered with water and it becomes in a white giant mirror where the sky is reflected perfectly and everything seems to be floating in the air.
This scenery is a paradise for photography lovers because of the effects that can be achieved. Box lunch is served in the middle of the salt flat. In the afternoon return to hotel. Overnight at Hotel, in Colchani, Uyuni, Bolivia
Transfer to the Uyuni Airport, to board your flight to La Paz (45 minutes) Met upon arrival, to be transferred to the hotel for check in In the afternoon: Half Day La Paz City tour & Moon valley Pick up passengers from the hotel to visit the famous Witch Doctor's Market, San Francisco Colonial Church and the typical handicrafts of the Sagarnaga Street. The tour continues to Plaza Murillo where the Cathedral, the Government Palace and the National Congress buildings are located. Then, visit the famous colonial street Jaen where interesting museums are clustered together, followed by a visit to the replica of the semi-subterranean temple of the Tiwanaku Culture. To change scenery the tour continues to the residential areas of Obrajes, Calacoto and La Florida. The tour ends with a visit to the unique Moon Valley, where passengers will have the opportunity to walk around, and visit a ceramic workshop with a demonstration of the art of pottery. The Valley of the Moon, or Valle de la Luna, is located about 10 kilometers from downtown La Paz. The "lunar" landscape of the Valley can be attributed to the erosion of the soft soil in this area. Overnight in La Paz
In the morning, met at the Hotel to be transferred to the La Paz Airport, to take your flight to Cusco (1 hour). Met upon arrival, to be transferred to the Hotel. n the afternoon, take a Half Day Cusco City tour Former capital city of the Inca Empire, the center of Cusco City keeps many buildings, plazas and streets of pre-Columbian times as well as colonial buildings, which led it to become a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1983. Among the main sights of the city, we will visit San Blas Neighborhood, San Pedro Market, Cusco's Cathedral, Sacsayhuaman, Temple and Convent of La Merced. We will visit Korikancha (Temple of Sun) where we will find one of the best samples of the ability of the Incas working the stone. We will continue to the Cathedral that shelters priceless pieces of colonial art. Afterwards, we will head to the monuments that surround the city, like Sacsayhuaman which is an impressive fortress built using rocks of extraordinary measures that were taken from a nearby quarry. We will continue to Qenqo, PucaPucara and the Inca bath of Tambomachay. Overnight in Cusco.
Full Day excursion to Sacred valley of the Incas You will visit the famous market located in the town of Pisac, where the color and flavor of its products is perfectly combined with the happiness of its people avid to share their culture with all visitors. The archaeological complex of Pisac is hidden among the mountains of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Here, you will walk around its different sectors among which stand temples, towers, spectacular terraces and the Intihuatana or Solar clock finely carved in stone. After a deserved lunch, you will head to the farthest town located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas: Ollantaytambo, which is considered as the oldest continuously occupied town in America. You will walk around its narrow streets while you amaze yourself with the beauty of the its houses made of adobe and where you will find its famous fortress which remains as silent witness of the battle between the troops lead by Manco Inca in his attempt to avoid the Spanish invasion commanded by Hernando Pizarro in 1537. Overnight, in the Sacred Valley
Full Day excursion to Machu Picchu Early in the morning, you will be transferred to the station to board the train that will take you to the Lost City of the Incas. Along the route, you will be able to delight yourself with amazing views of the Andean Range. You will first arrive in Aguas Calientes where you will take a bus that will transfer you to the Citadel of Machu Picchu, without doubts, the best proof of the perfection of the Inca ability working the stone and one of the New 7 Wonders. It has different sectors among you can find the urban, religious and farming areas. You will find temples and houses as well as its famous Intihuatana or Solar Clock which was finely carved on stone. At the end of the tour, you will enjoy deserved lunch before taking the train back to the city. Overnight in Cusco
Breakfast at the Hotel Transfer to Cusco Airport, to board your flight to Lima (1:20 hours). Upon, arrival, transfer to the Hotel Overnight, in Lima
Half Day Lima City tour Visit downtown Lima and its most important architectural constructions from the viceroyalty period, including the Government Palace and the Cathedral. During the tour, we will visit the Convent of San Francisco where we will appreciate its priceless pieces of art and its famous catacombs. Afterwards, we will head to modern Lima starting visiting San Isidro, the financial and commercial heart of the city and where it is also located the pre-Hispanic remains of Huallamarca. We will continue our tour heading to Miraflores, the perfect point to enjoy views of the bay and the Pacific Ocean and where it is perfectly combined the modernity of its constructions with the legacy of ancient Peruvian like the pre-Hispanic site of Pucllana.