Machu Picchu, Quito and Galapagos Cruise

This morning our representative will transfer you to the airport for your domestic flight to Cusco, flight is approximately one hour. Upon arrival you will be transferred to your Hotel. Later continue with a City Tour of Cusco explore this famous Colonial City and World Heritage site. Start at the Central Square or Plaza de Armas also known as Huacaypata of great importance from the times of the Inca Empire to today. Visit the Cathedral home to the largest bell in South America that hangs from one of its towers; here you also will find an extensive collection of beautiful paintings from the 16th and 17th century and a cross from the times of the Spanish Conquistadores. Koricancha Temple of the Sun, Koricancha means "courtyard of Gold" in the Quechua language, named after the gold panels that once lined the Temple's walls. Tambomachay, known as the baths of the Inca, where crystal-clear waterfalls can be seen through the steps of the staircase. You will also visit nearby ruins: the amphitheater of Kencco, which was an Inca place of worship. The Red Fort of Puca Pucara, comprised of a complex of access ways, terraces, stairs, halls, towers, niches, and platforms; and the Temple of Sacsayhuaman, a few steps away from the center, consisting of huge walls built with massive stones fitted without mortar along three platforms. Overnight in Cusco.

Transfer to the train station of San Pedro to take the Vistadome train to the Town Aguas Calientes. The train ride is approximately four hours, Aguas Calientes is the town located at the bottom of the mountain where the Machu Picchu ruins are situated. Upon arrival you will be transferred by bus to Machu Picchu, the ride is about half an hour. Discover this ancient Citadel built some five hundred years ago on the eastern slopes of the Andes. This splendid archeological complex is still a mystery to modern historians. The ruins are located at the edge of a cliff surrounded by the Urubamba river below. This World Heritage City is one of the best known archeological Sites in the world not only because of its dramatic location but also the size of it. Blended perfectly with the mountainous terrain you find an extensive collection of agricultural terraces, Sacred Temples, Squares, Royal Tombs, Cemeteries, groups of buildings believe to be used as houses and various paths. Machu Picchu was abandoned in the early 16th century for reasons still unknown. Return to Cusco for Overnight.

This morning you will be taken to Cusco airport to board your flight Cusco - Lima connecting to Quito, Ecuador. Upon arrival in Quito our representative will transfer you to your Hotel. Overnight in Quito.

Breakfast at the Hotel then take a Colonial city tour: Quito displays the largest colonial town of the Americas and is the first Unesco's World Heritage Site. Enjoy the eclectic architecture ranging from the modern quarters to different colonial facades on churches and private residences with decorated balconies built along the last five centuries. The tour includes parks like El Ejido and Alameda, the monument of Simon Bolivar, the gothic Basilica of the Heart of Jesus, Independence Square developed during the past five centuries and flanked by the Presidential and the Archbishop's palaces dated back to XVII and XIX centuries and, the Metropolitan Cathedral with excellent samples of the Spanish Renaissance. Walk along the so-called street of the seven crosses and pass by the Jesuit convent, once headquarters of the first university in the country, and El Sagrario church with a unique orthodox cross that dates back to the seventeenth century. Continue approximately 11 miles (18 Km.) north of downtown Quito. We visit "Mitad del Mundo" (Middle of the World) and the Equator Monument situated at 0º0'0" latitude where the eighteenth century French Geodesic Expedition erected one of the three pyramids as landmarks for their planet calculations to deduct the shape of the planet in a complex which replicates colonial architecture, a typical central plaza, a church and bull-fighting ring. We also visit the Intiñan Solar Museum, where you'll find scientific and experimental aspects of being right at the Equator. Overnight in Quito.

Departure from Quito or Guayaquil to Baltra (2.5 hours flight). Passengers are picked up at the airport by our naturalist guides and taken on a ten-minute bus drive to the pier to board the M/V Galapagos Legend. PM - Highlands - Pit Craters (Santa Cruz) Dry landing. A 45-minute bus ride will take us to the Santa Cruz highlands, located to the northwest of Puerto Ayora, where we will find a natural reserve with giant tortoises*. These enormous and slow-moving reptiles are responsible for the island's name and therefore approaching them in their humid and forested abode is always an inspiring adventure. They can weigh between 250 and 300 kg and can live up to 150-200 years. Additionally, travelers can walk inside surprising lava tubes*; we also visit Pit Craters created from the collapse of surface materials into chamber fissures underground. It's a great place to spot Vermilion Flycatcher as we walk inside an endemic Scalesia forest. Overnight M/V Legend. Flight: Quito - Baltra - Embark Galapagos Cruise. Difficulty level: Easy.
Type of terrain: Flat & muddy sometimes (depending on season).
Duration: 45 minutes drive / 1h30 walk.

Egas Port (Santiago) Wet landing on a beach of black volcanic sand, visited by Darwin in 1835. The first section of the trail is comprised of volcanic ash (eroded tuff), and the other half of partially uneven terrain is composed of basaltic volcanic rock lounging the shoreline. The unique, indeed striking layered terrain of Santiago's shores is home to a variety of resident and migrant birds, including the bizarre Yellow-crowned Night Heron and an astounding array of marine wildlife including lobster, starfish and marine iguanas grazing on algae beds alongside Sally Lightfoot Crabs. Colonies of endemic fur seals swimming in cold water pools formed by volcanic rocks are also a highlight. Difficulty level: intermediate.
Type of terrain: the first part flat and then semi-rocky.
Duration: 1h30 walk. PM - Bartolome Dry or wet landing. We discover a fascinating moonscape* formed by different volcanic parasitic cones lava bombs, spatter, cinder cones as we hike to the summit for impressive views of the surrounding islands, including the eroded tuff cone Pinnacle Rock*. We also encounter marine iguanas, lava lizards, and blue-footed boobies. Beach time is a great opportunity to snorkel and see (perhaps swim with) Galapagos Penguins, sea turtles and White-tipped Reef Sharks among a great variety of colorful fish. For many visitors, this may turn out to be the best of snorkeling experiences; the water here is generally clear, without too much surf and full of marine life. Due to its geographical location, the lack of vegetation is immediately noticeable. Pioneer plants are observed, so called because they are the first to establish roots on new ground. They include Tiquilia nesiotica (which is endemic to the island) and Chamaesyce (known as sand mat or spurge in English), lava cactus, and Scalesia bushes. Behind the beach, we have dunes covered by mangroves. Overnight M/V Legend. Difficulty level: intermediate.
Type of terrain: trail made of steps (372 steps).
Duration: 1h30 walk / 1-hour snorkeling.

Dragon Hill (Santa Cruz): Dry landing. We walk by a brackish lagoon where feeding flamingos can occasionally be found. The trail leads across typical dry zone vegetation* up to Dragon Hill, an important nesting ground for endemic land iguanas*, offering lovely views of the anchorage and neighboring islands. The forest is home to mockingbirds, Darwin's finches, Yellow Warblers and Galapagos Doves. Difficulty level: intermediate.
Type of terrain: rocky.
Duration: 2 hours walk. PM - North Seymour Dry landing. This is perhaps one of the busiest tourist destinations on the archipelago. Off of Baltra Island (where the airport is located) and not far from Santa Cruz, North Seymour is the most accessible for day trips out of Santa Cruz's main port, Puerto Ayora. An approximately two hour walk amidst large nesting colonies of blue-footed boobies*, magnificent and great frigatebirds*, and swallow-tailed gulls for an in depth encounter with sea bird breeding cycles and as well as sea lions. You will also encounter sea lions, land iguanas, and on a lucky day, you might even come across a Galapagos Snake. Overnight M/V Legend. Difficulty level: intermediate.
Type of terrain: rocky.
Duration: 2 hours walk, 30-minute snorkeling.

Bachas Beach (Santa Cruz) Wet landing on the north side of Santa Cruz; behind the beach lie two small flamingo ponds with iguanas, coastal birds, Darwin finches, mockingbirds, and gulls, as well as interesting native and endemic vegetation, red and black mangroves, salt bushes, and much more. This beach is one of the main nesting sites of sea turtles* in the Galapagos. A female can lay eggs 3 or 4 times with an average of 70 eggs each, but then spend 3 or 5 years without breeding. At this paradisiacal site, we will also find the remains of barges that sank long ago, once the property of the United States Navy when they operated an airbase on Baltra Island during World War II. That is why the beach is called "Bachas" because the word "barges" in English was hard to pronounce for the local people. Difficulty level: easy.
Type of terrain: sandy.
Duration: 1 hour walk / 1 hour snorkeling/swimming. Transfer to Baltra airport for return flight to Quito Transfer and overnight at Hotel Quito.