6-day Arequipa and Puno Travel Package

Arrival in Arequipa and transfer to the hotel located in the historic center. The panoramic city tour of Arequipa starts at the traditional district of Yanahuara, located 2 kilometers from the Historic Center, at the right side of River Chili. Admire the beautiful narrow streets with Spanish style, lovely houses and interesting tourist attractions such as the Mirador of Yanahuara. This place has amazing views of the volcanoes Misti, Pichu Pichu and Chachani. This wonderful viewpoint was built in the eighteenth century and it is located next to the Church San Juan Bautista, in front of a nice small square. These are arches made of ashlar with phrases of important characters of the city. The Arequipa city tour continues toward the Valley of Chilin to visit another incredible viewpoint known as Mirador de Carmen Alto. Here, you will admire beautiful landscapes of green fields and impressive volcanoes around. This place was used as an Astronomical Observatory, between 1899 and 1927. You will have privilege views to pre Inca and Inca’s platforms that are still being used for farming. Admire fruit trees and orchards. The next stop will be at Incalpaca outlet and zoo, a store with high quality clothes made of Alpaca, with excellent prices. The Alpaca’s fiber is soft, light and very resistant. Incalpaca exports their products to more than 50 countries worldwide, working hard with sustainability. Also, you can visit the small zoo with South American camelids such as alpacas, vicuñas, llamas and guanacos. We are going to pass through the district of Sachaca. Enjoy a panoramic view to a 18th century colonial mansion known as Goyeneche Palace. Also, you will see the aquatic park of Tingo, the summer place with pools for locals. Then, we are going to visit the Founder’s Mansion located 12 miles from the historic center. This house was the home of the city’s founder Don Garcí Manuel de Carbajal in 1540. The city tour will take you to explore the Molino de Sabandia, a beautiful mill built in 1621 and it still working. Going back to the city you will see the platforms of Paucarpata. The panoramic tour continues to Plaza de Armas and to Santa Catalina Monastery. Rest of the afternoon at leisure. Overnight at hotel.

After picking you up from the hotel in the morning, we are going to begin a very special tour: The Silllar Route. We will take the road towards the district of Cerro Colorado until reach the “Canteras de Añashuayco”, located at the bottom of the Volcano Chachani, next to the River Chili. This place has a wonderful natural, and cultural, landscape. Walking through the master cutters area, we are going to admire handmade art work, such as colonial facades and carvings. Also, we will visit artisan workshops to learn about the work done with ashlar, and we will see how they work on it with ancestral instruments. You will have the opportunity to purchase local handicraft (optional). Continuing with this amazing tour, we are going to visit the “Cantera de Culebrillas”, and we will explore this impressive natural ravine formed by the erosion of the water and wind. The ashlar (sillar) has been used for the constructions of important buildings in the city of Arequipa, declares a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the end of the tour, we will return to the city center. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight at hotel.

We will depart at 8:30 am from Arequipa, driving 160 km to Chivay Town. On the route, we will pass through the town of Yura, a place with historical monuments for its streets and squares. Then, we will visit Pampa de Arrieros and Pampa Cañahuas, where it is located the National Reserve Salinas and Aguada Blanca, home of vicuñas and we are going to have the opportunity to see these beautiful camelids. We will continue the tour visiting more small towns, and have wonderful views of the volcanoes from the viewpoint. We will reach Chivay, and you will have free time for lunch and rest. Then, we will visit this amazing Andean town, located in highest part of the Colca Canyon. We will return to your hotel and overnight.

After breakfast very early in the morning, we will start at 06:15 am to go to the famous point "Cruz del Cóndor". We are going to arrive on time to have a pleasant view of the canyon depth and if time allows, majestic images of the Condors flight. These impressive scavenger birds are one of the largest flying birds in the world. It’s a magic spectacle admire them overflying the beautiful valley and the canyon. On the way back to Chivay we will visit the traditional town of Pinchollo and the "Antahuilque viewpoint", where you can see wonderful 1,500-year-old terraces, built by the Collaguas, a culture before the time of the Incas. After your visit to the Colca Valley, 320 km will be traveled with beautiful landscapes in the route. We will pass through diverse and small Andean villages, until we reach Puno. We will transfer you to the hotel.

After breakfast at your hotel located in the city of Puno, you will be transferred to the lake port, where a speedboat or a regular boat (depending on your choice) will take you to the floating islands of the Uros. The Uros Islands are located 4 miles northwest of the city and they are an ancestral society that populate a series of artificial islands built on the basis of the totora reed, which grows in the same lake. The reed islands are made by weaving these material in the places where it grows thicker and forming a natural layer. The Uros people built their houses of totora too and cook outdoors to prevent possible fires. The Lake Titicaca is located between Peru and Bolivia at 3,812 meters above sea level within the Andean highlands or Collao Plateau, and it is the highest navigable lake in the world and the second one in South America. We are going to spend an amazing time with the local people. They will show to us their lifestyle and traditions, with more than 200 families living here. At this point, the half day tour at the Uros Islands ends. If you chose the full day tour, we will take the boat for a travel of one hour and a half, to the island of Taquile. This is Quechua, unlike the other Aymara speaking islands on the lake. It was part of the Inca empire and vestiges of this culture can still be seen in its constructions. This is the second largest island located in the Lake Titicaca with an extension of 3.4 miles. Their textiles are amazing and they are being considered as a heritage by UNESCO. The highest point gets 4,050 meters above sea level. Later, we will enjoy a delicious Andean lunch, and then, we will return to the port of Puno, where our transport will be waiting to take you to your hotel. Overnight.

We will pick you up from your hotel located in the city of Puno to go towards the archaeological site of Sillustani Puno. This amazing complex is located on the top of a peninsula on the shores of Lake Umayo, 22.3 miles from the city of Puno and Lake Titicaca. This place has circa 90 funerary towers built by the Kolla culture, an Aymara community developed before the Inca Empire. A lot of mummies have been found inside these towers, including important people as priests, leaders and nobles. They were previously mummified and were places as fetal position, along with all their belongings such as gold, silver and ceramics. The state of conservation of these burial towers is impressive, all of them were made with stones with varying shapes that fix each other perfectly. The architecture and engineering used by the Kolla culture was quite advance for its time. Some of them are 12 meters’ high, where the Lagarto Chullpa is the tallest and most representative tower. The Sillustani tour continues with the visit to a local family that breeds Alpacas and they will show us how they process and cook their own food, their lifestyle, their looms and how they maintain ancestral customs. At the end of the visit, you will be taken to the airport of Juliaca.