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Machu Picchu

 

The Seven Wonders Tour

Starting at USD $5950 per person in double occupancy, additional fees for single occupancy may apply


Ready for the ultimate adventure? Try this 21-day comprehensive tour of South America.

Start with Machu Picchu in Peru, one of the world’s most mysterious and magical destinations. Continue onto Buenos Aires for some tango and great wine, and then visit Glaciers National Park in southern Patagonia, an irreplaceable source of inspiration. See places as unique and diverse as the Amazon rainforest, and the incredible beauty of the Iguazu waterfalls. Celebrate African heritage to the rhythm of the drums in Pelourinho, Salvador, and conclude the trip in the sensual Rio de Janeiro.

Available to start Saturdays in Buenos Aires, or customize your itinerary.

Tour Features

  • 1 Night in Lima, Peru
  • 3 Nights in Cusco, Peru
  • 3 Nights in Buenos Aires
  • 2 Nights in El Calafate
  • 2 Nights in Foz do Iguassu
  • 3 Nights in the Amazon
  • 2 Nights in Salvador
  • 3 Nights in Rio de Janeiro
  • 20 Buffet Breakfasts
  • 5 Lunches and 4 Dinners
  • All national park entrance fees
  • All Sightseeings and transfers with English speaking guides
  • 10 Flights with Aerolineas Argentinas, LAN and TAM airlines

* Price includes all tour features and is subject to change before tour confirmation due to seasonal variations


Day 1 – Arrival in Lima

Welcome to Peru! Your 1stClassArgentina local host will greet you at the airport and escort you to your hotel accommodations in Miraflores at the Hotel Boulevard, in the modern center of the city, near restaurants, the commercial center, Indian markets and city parks. You will receive a briefing about your travel program and given all of the documents needed for your trip.

That afternoon, we invite you on a panoramic sightseeing of Lima. Discover the country's history with a guided tour through its parks and museums, considered to be among the world's oldest, and admire the beauty of the Pacific Ocean, with its magnificent beaches and unforgettable sunsets.

Visit the Plaza Mayor (Main Square), founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro, conqueror of Peru, as well as Government Palace, City Hall, the Cathedral and the House of El Oidor. Continuing the tour, you will also see other jewels of colonial architecture, such as Torre Tagle Palace and Osambela House.

Day 2 – Cusco, the archaeological capital of the Americas

After check-out, your guide will escort you back to the airport for a 50-minute flight to Cusco and your accommodations at Hotel Jose Antonio. Recognized as "the Archaeological Capital of the Americas," Cusco exists both in the present and past, a living example of two unique cultural ages. The whole of Cusco is covered by archaeological remains, both Inca and Colonial, and many of the buildings present today were built on the bases of ancient Inca streets and structures.

The rest of the afternoon is spent at leisure, in order to get accustomed to the altitude.

Day 3 – Korikancha, Sacsayhuaman, Tambomachay and Qenqo

Sart the afternoon with a sightseeing tour of Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, including the Catedral de Cusco, built in 1560. Marvel at Koricancha, the Temple of the Sun; the impressive palace was practically covered with gold during the Inca era. See the Church of La Merced, which has a gorgeous jeweled monstrance worked in gold and adorned by over 1500 diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and one enormous pearl.

Much Incan heritage still remains around Cusco; we have the Fortress of Sacsahuaman, where the Inti Raymi festival is held annually; Tambomachay, the Inca baths where the Cult of Water is held; the Kenko amphitheater; and Puca Pucara (the Red Fortress).

Day 4 – Machu Picchu on the Vistadome Train

Due to the large quantity of women's skeletons found here, it is thought that it may have been a place where the Incas' wives lived, or a refuge for women during the time of the Conquest. There is no doubt, however, that Machu Picchu represents an extraordinary example of architecture and engineering. The tour of Machu Picchu takes a full day. Starting early, you take a three-hour train trip from Cusco to Aguas Calientes. The citadel of Machu Picchu is on a mountaintop, reached by small vans from the riverside station below. Our tour includes transfers, train tickets for Vistadome train with panoramic windows, entry fees to the sacred valley, and lunch. The guided tour begins at the ruins, ending in lunch, after which there is time to take photographs or to go for a brief stroll on your own. Time permitting, we recommend spending the night, thus having Machu Picchu practically to yourself, so that you can climb the neighboring mountains by Inca trails, take photographs and appreciate the beauty of the sunset — and the sunrise next day. If you decide on this option, please let us know immediately, since the hotels have limited availability.

Day 5 – Arrival in Buenos Aires

Welcome to Argentina! Your 1stClassArgentina local host will greet you at Ezeiza International Airport, and introduce you to Buenos Aires, known as "the Paris of the Southern Hemisphere." Downtown accommodations at Hotel Pestana Buenos Aires.

Later in the afternoon, we invite you to a panoramic Buenos Aires City tour. At first glimpse, we arrive at a typical postcard view of Buenos Aires: the Obelisco on 9 de Julio boulevard. We then proceed to Plaza de Mayo, the city’s founding center, with its sites and buildings bearing the greatest historical relevance. Taking a walk around the square you will observe: the Cabildo of Buenos Aires, the old municipal authority and building; the Metropolitan Cathedral; the Casa Rosada (pink house) Presidential headquarters; and the Palacio de Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (City Hall building). Continuing south, we enter San Telmo and La Boca, the oldest neighborhoods of the city and its centuries-old churches, markets and museums.

Heading north, we drive through a more recent borough, Puerto Madero, a newly revitalized historic city port which has become known for its gastronomic delights, offering numerous options for buffet and a-la-carte dining: typical Argentinean cuisine as well as Asian, Italian, Brazilian, and American comfort food. Lastly we visit elegant the neighborhood of Recoleta and a walking tour of the Cemetery, where you can see, among others, the tombs of Eva Perón, Adolfo Bioy Casares and Facundo Quiroga.

Day 6 – Leisure Time

A full day to take advantage of Latin America's cultural capital! Explore the lergest city in Argentina and discover your own hidden treasures. Optional sightseeing Fiesta Gaucha available. Tonight, enjoy a gourmet dinner and 1st Class tango show at Señor Tango.

Day 7 – Shopping in Buenos Aires

Time to stock up on souvenirs and exotic goods for everyone back home. Or, try the optional sightseeing on the Riverside train to Tigre Delta.

Day 8 – Buenos Aires / El Calafate

Transfer to the airport for your flight to El Calafate, a nice touristy village with just over ten thousand inhabitants, and next to Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the world’s largest active continental glaciers. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for its breathtaking beauty and unusual activity, El Calafate is nestled at the base of the cliff on the shore of vast Lake Argentino. It is surrounded by several small farms that grow produce and fruit trees, forming a belt around the small urban centre. Your local guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your accommodations at Posada Los Alamos.

Day 9 – Full day sightseeing at Perito Moreno Glacier

The glacier offers an astonishing ice river, two miles wide and 300 feet high along its front wall, with a 5 km glacial tongue descending onto the lake. This creates a unique phenomenon, when after periods of four to eight years the tongue of the glacier advances down enough to block the lake and reach the opposite margin. After resisting the pressure of the lake’s currents, it breaks and falls, which is truly a most spectacular natural phenomena. The tour includes an hour’s navigation and national park fees.

Medium- to high-intensity minitrekking excursions over the glacier are also available for an additional fee. After a delicious breakfast, we head to Bajo de las Sombras pier, and sail through the south wall, then walking through the woods and finally over the glacier itself. Finally, we will have a picnic in the woods, in front of the glacier. In the afternoon, after a snack, we still have time to enjoy the natural beauty. Transportation and equipment will be provided, though we suggest you do not forget water-proof shoes and your sunglasses!

Day 10 – Upsala Explorer and Estancia Cristina

Depart from your hotel at 7:45 am towards Puerto Bandera, the pier at Glaciers National Park, where we board a catamaran to enjoy a full-day lake excursion to Upsala Glacier, including breakfast on board. Sail among icebergs and marvel at the breathtaking views of the Glacier, arriving at the port of Estancia Cristina at 11:30 am. The estancia can only be reached by lake transportation. Select one activity from the the “Excursions Menu:" 4x4 auto tour, hiking, horseback riding, and much more. Lunch with beverages and  Patagonian wine included.

Day 11 – Buenos Aires / Iguassu Falls

Depart today to Foz do Iguassu. Upon your approach to Iguazu airport, your pilot may tip the wings to give you your first view of the magnificent Iguassu Falls and the surrounding national parks in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Your local representative will escort you to your downtown accommodations, the Internacional Foz Hotel.

This afternoon, we shall take an excursion to see Iguassu Falls from the Brazilian side of the national park, with an escorted walk above the Falls (wider and more powerful than Niagara), and conclude amid the mist at the bottom, as you walk out onto a platform and into the "Devil's Throat."

Day 12 – Iguassu Falls

Today, we take you to the Argentinean side of the park. About three times larger, there is a choice of two trails, one basic-level and the other more challenging, as well as an eco-friendly tourist train. This is a magical place, where the jungle and wild tropics combine, giving way to an immense display of color and light. See thousands of plant species and animal life, and listen to the thundering roar of the Falls in the background. In just over a mile, you can appreciate more than 275 falls about 80 meters high. The falls fill the jungle with magnificent rainbows, overwhelming the onlooker with a sensation of fascination and respect for the perfection of nature. No matter how many times you see them, you always stand in awe!

Day 13 – 1700 miles to Ariau in the Heart of the Amazon Rainforest

Depart on an early flight to Manaus. Arrive in the early afternoon and immediately transfer to the pier for a 2-hour cruise up the Rio Negro, then arrive in Ariau.

Ariaú Amazon Towers is the only hotel complex at treetop level in the Amazon rainforest. Located 35 miles (60 km) northwest from Manaus, you will be situated on the bank of the Negro River, at the beginning of the Anavilhanas Archipelago, the largest fresh-water archipelago in the world. Here you will begin your Amazon adventure!

Day 14 – Ariaú Towers

After breakfast, you will have a Jungle Trek. Return to the lodge for lunch, and afternoon reconnaissance tour by motorized canoe visiting native dwellings. After dinner, you will have an alligator spotting excursion.

Day 15 – Ariau Towers

Early morning breakfast followed by visit to Acajatuba Village. After lunch, piranha fishing. After dinner, free time for optional excursions. Check with your travel consultant for fishing packages.

Day 16 – From the Amazon to Salvador

After a sunrise tour, we return to Manaus by boat and take an afternoon flight to Salvador. Accommodations at Hotel Mercure in Rio Vermelho.

Day 17 – Pelourinho

Start in the modern suburb of Barra with its famous lighthouse, and make your way slowly through the old historical section of town, the Pelourinho area, the largest and best preserved complex of colonial architecture in the Americas. Visit the church of Sao Francisco with its exuberant gold-leafed baroque interior. Stroll through the narrow, bustling streets lined with buildings in the pastel shades of a bygone era. See how native Indian, African and European bloodlines and cultures mixed here to form the unique Brazilian culture of today.

Afterwards, enjoy the rhythms of Salvador at Solar do Unhao. Operating in a beautiful 18th-century architectural complex, comprising a main house, a chapel, and outlying slave quarters, this locale is one of the most traditional entertainment spots in Salvador. A self-service restaurant serving traditional Bahian cuisine provides the backdrop for a folklore show, which showcases Afro-Brazilian cultural expressions such as maculelê, the fishermen’s dance, candomblé, a special capoeira performance, and a host of others.

Day 18 – Salvador to Rio

Transfer to the local airport for your flight to Rio de Janeiro. Arrive in this marvelous city that is a perfect combination of sea, mountains, climate and people. It offers a nice mixture of the Indian, white and African cultures, fermented in magnificent natural scenery. Your local representative will escort you to your 1st Class accommodations at Hotel Pestana Rio Atlantica on the Copacabana Beach.

Afternoon at leisure to explore Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches. The restaurants here offer many options, from international cuisine to typical dishes from all Brazilian regions. Very few cities in the world are able to concentrate, in Rio’s very special way, all the small details that can make life a party: beach, sun, samba, frozen beer, delicious food, football, beautiful people, and boulevards with gentle curves that lead to little tropical forests, the beach, or the mountains.

Day 19 – Sugar Loaf and Corcovado Mountain

A full-day tour that shows you the "must-see" sights and places that make Rio such a fascinating city! First, travel by van to the base of the Pão de Açúcar, Rio’s most famous postcard view, where you can see the Sugar Loaf, a prominent hill in the entrance of Guanabara Bay. Board the first of two cable cars to the smaller of these two mountains off the coast of Rio. Then continue up on yet another cable car to the summit of the second mountain. From this peak, the view of the city of Rio, the bay, and the ocean is breathtaking. Take your time admiring the gardens, walkways and magnificent panoramas.

Next you will descend to the mountain base at Urca Beach and proceed to a driving tour towards downtown, where we will enjoy a delicious BBQ lunch at a local churascaria, a barbecue restaurant where waiters bring choice meats on skewers and cut slices of your choice. Beef, chicken, and pork are served. A buffet of vegetables, salads and even sushi rounds out your meal.

After lunch, we continue towards Rio’s signature, the Corcovado Mountain with the imposing Statue of Christ with arms outstretched over all of Rio, perhaps the most recognized icon of South America. The views of the ocean, city, and lagoon are spectacular from this vantage point.

Day 20 – Farewell with Samba Show

Today, there is time to enjoy the beach, people, scenery, and weather, some last caipirinhas, and perhaps some shopping as well.

In the evening, we invite you on your farewell to samba, a rousing show of exotic music and dancing from the various districts of Brazil, featuring elaborately costumed mulatas, singers and dancers presenting Brazil's folklore and capturing Carnival rhythms. Unforgettable!

Day 21 – Departure

Check-out and transfer to the international airport. We will miss you too!