The bus will pick you up from a central Lima accommodation between 5.30 and 7.00 am (depending on the day and hotel location - we will confirm the time depending on your requested hotel). Beginning in the capital of Lima, we first visit a place called El Morro Solar in Chorrillos. This was the scene of a famous battle during the Pacific war between Peru and Chile and here we can find statues dedicated to fallen Peruvian soldiers and citizens. At this site, we also have the huge Cristo del Pacifico statue that overlooks the whole of Lima and up here is arguable the best viewpoint of the whole of Lima city.
After that, the bus goes South through the desert and stops first outside of Pachacamac where we will have a Panoramic view of this extraordinary pre-Inca temple citadel that dates back almost 1,000 years. Travelling South we arrive at the small town of Chincha. From here we leave the highway and visit a small village called El Carmen. Here we are lucky enough to be able to visit Hacienda San José, one of the oldest and richest houses in the whole of Peru. At the hacienda, you will undertake a tour of the labyrinth of underground tunnels that were used 300 years ago to help bring slaves from Africa from the port to the hacienda illegally.
After the tour of the hacienda, we travel the final hour to Paracas arriving early afternoon to enjoy the rest of the day at this Pacific seaside town. Here we also find the 335,000 hectares of the Paracas Natural Reserve where the desert meets the Pacific Ocean and presents some stunning photo opportunities. A trip into the Natural Reserve is included with your pass the following morning. Paracas is also home to the Ballestas Islands which can be visited as an extra activity, a natural group of rocks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that home approximately 500,000 birds, sea lions and penguins all in their natural habitat. The abundant marine wildlife here, away from natural predators, has led to its nickname as the "Poor Man's Galapagos".
Just an hour and a half away we travel a little further South to Ica where we find the only desert oasis in South America, Huacachina. Sandboarding and dune-buggying on these incredible dunes can often be the highlight of many people's trip to Peru. Ica is also famous as being the best pisco (the national drink of Peru) producing region of the country. Our bus will take you to one of the oldest vineyards in Ica, where you will discover how pisco is made from grape to bottle, as well as trying some delicious free samples.
After Huacachina we continue South, first stopping at Nazca. Here hopsters can enjoy a free entrance to the Nazca Lines viewing tower which offers a good view of several of the Nazca lines. We stop in Nazca for about 2 hours so people can sample more Peruvian cuisine and fill up before our 10 hour journey to Arequipa aided by the odd classic English movie.
Once in Arequipa, the beautiful colonial "White City", arguably Peru's most beautiful city, and spend a couple of days in this magnificent city or even take a trip to the Colca Canyon, the world's 2nd deepest canyon, twice that of the Grand Canyon.
From Arequipa it is a roughly 7 hour drive to lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. Here you can head out onto the lake to visit the famous Floating Islands, home to the Uros community and made entirely of the lake reed, totora. With a whole day you can venture further afield to one of the community's on the mainland islands of Amantani or Taquile. Putting the lake behind us we travel north to the final destination of Cusco, the ex-Inca capital and launch pad to visit the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu!
This entire trip is supplemented by our friendly and fun Peruvian guides who will assist and advise you with everything as well as host onboard basic Spanish lessons. We will stop anywhere along the route for photos and really discover the hidden gems of Peru as well as stopping and eating at local restaurants where we will try local cuisine but pay local Peruvian prices.