Amazon, Inca Trail & Machu Picchu

This morning, fly to Puerto Maldonado, the gateway to the Southern Amazon. You'll be met at the airport by a representative from your lodge and board a motorized canoe with a few fellow guests. You may wish to rest and relax on arrival at the lodge, but if there's time, you may start on the lodge's program of activities that evening.

Today, take part in different activities with your lodge guides. You may explore one of the trails through the rainforest, seeing a cacao plantation, breadfruit trees, and rubber trees. After lunch back at the lodge and some time spent relaxing, you take a canoe trip on the river at dusk, learning about its ecosystems and the local nocturnal wildlife.

This morning might see you visiting the oxbow Sandoval Lake, canoeing around it while your guide explains about its formation, the water palms and other vegetation that grows there, and the animals that live there. Keep an eye out for giant river otters and black caiman. In the afternoon, you may explore the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway, climbing towers into the canopy and crossing hanging bridges connecting the treetops.

Take a shared transfer by motorized canoe and road back to the airport at Puerto Maldonado in time to catch your onward flight to Cuzco. You'll be met at the airport by your private guide and taken to your hotel by private transfer. Spend the rest of the day relaxing and acclimatizing to the altitude.

Enjoy a half-day guided tour of Cuzco's historic central district and some nearby Inca ruins. Your private guide and driver pick you up at your hotel and take you to Koricancha, an Inca Temple of the Sun turned conquistador church. You will also visit the cathedral on Plaza de Armas before heading out to the hills surrounding the city to see the many Inca sites that overlook Cuzco.

Embark on a full-day tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Your first stop will be the ruins and market of Písac. Continue on to the agricultural terraced of Moray, before finishing the tour at the impressive Maras salt pans.

Today you start the Inca Trail. You're collected from your hotel and taken to the trailhead where you're given a briefing before starting the trek. Today is relatively gentle and should ease you into the trek. The trail follows the river through the valley before developing into an undulating path.

Today is often considered the hardest day on the trail: much of the day is spent climbing. But the views and the terrain are exciting. After traversing woodland and a small plateau, you reach treeless grasslands. As you climb to Dead Woman's Pass, the highest point on the trail at 4,200 m (13,779 ft), you can look across to the snow-covered peaks of the Huayanay Massif. Camp tonight in a clearing in the Pacaymayo Valley.

Your third full day on the Inca Trail brings more thrilling views today, and you also pass several small ruins as you walk down Inca staircases and through Inca tunnels. There's a fair amount of downhill today, which some people find harder than the climbs. You camp near Wiñay Wayna, a complex with numerous terraces. Sleep for the last time in your tent tonight.

The final day of the Inca trail. After an (extremely) early morning wake-up call, you climb to the Sun Gate and hike along a trail of flat paving before arriving at Machu Picchu. You then tour the ruins with the group and your guide. You have entrance tickets included for tomorrow, too, so you may wish to spend the afternoon relaxing in your hotel after the trek.

Today you have a free morning to further explore Machu Picchu at your own pace. Included are entrance tickets to hike Huayna Picchu, the mountain shaped like a witch's hat that overlooks the citadel. Alternatively, you could take a short walk to visit the Inca Bridge. This afternoon, take the train back to Cuzco where you're met by your private guide and driver and transferred to your hotel.

From your hotel, take a private transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima, in time for your onward international connection.