Arrive To: Road Scholar group flights arrive in Lima.

Proceed through Immigrations, Baggage Claim, and Customs. After completing Customs formalities and exiting the restricted arrivals area, please take a moment to look for the Road Scholar representative who will be holding a Road Scholar sign (only applies to group flights).

The hotel is located adjacent to the international airport, on Avenida Elmer Faucett, and can be accessed from the airport via a pedestrian crossing.

**Please note that this is an international travel day; no meals or program activities are scheduled on this day. Hotel check-in usually begins at 3 p.m.

Lodging: Ramada Airport Costa del Sol Hotel

Flight to Puerto Maldonado/Boat Ride to Lodge/Wildlife Observation at Canopy Tower.

Breakfast: At hotel restaurant.


Morning: Check-out of the hotel. Walk across the street to the airport in order to catch a flight to Puerto Maldonado (approx. 2:55 hours/with one stop). Upon arrival in Puerto Maldonado, transfer by bus to the Infierno River Port (approximately 12 miles).

Board a boat at the Infierno River Port for a scenic boat ride to the lodge (approx. 1 hour).


Lunch: Boxed lunch on the boat.

Afternoon: Arrive at the lodge and check-in.
Orientation and welcome to the lodge.

This afternoon, enjoy a field trip to the Canopy Tower.

A twenty minute walk from the lodge leads to the 100 ft scaffolding canopy tower. Platforms are located at different heights, so that visitors can view the various levels of the rainforest and study the differences in flora and fauna. There are approximately 200 steps to get from the base of the tower to the very top. From the top platform there are spectacular views of the vast expanses of forest and the course of the Tambopata River. Toucans, parrots or macaws can often be seen silhouetted against the horizon and mixed species of canopy flocks frequent the treetops around the tower.

Walk back to the lodge.


Dinner: In the lodge's dining room.


Evening: Enjoy a presentation on a local ecotourism project conducted with the local community.

Lodging: Posada Amazonas

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Wildlife Boat Ride at Tres Chimbadas Oxbow Lake/Ethnobotanical Visit with Local Community/Guided Night Walk.

Breakfast: In the lodge's dining room.

Morning: Field trip to Tres Chimbadas Oxbow Lake.

To reach the lake, we will take a 30 minute boat ride and then hike on trails for approximately 45 minutes. Once at the lake, we will board a catamaran and paddle the calm waters in search of a resident family of giant river otters as well as caimans, hoatzins, and horned screamers the live in the area.

Return to the lodge.


Lunch: In the lodge's dining room.

Afternoon: After lunch, enjoy an ethnobotanical activity during a visit to a local community.

Kayak down the river to a local community. After meeting the shaman and going through the required introductions (translated by local guides), accompany residents on an exploratory walk to learn about medicinal plants. Learn how to identify and use rainforest plants to treat all nature of ailments.

Kayak back to the lodge.


Dinner: In the lodge's dining room.

Evening: This evening, enjoy a guided night walk in search of nocturnal wildlife. Bring your flashlights and join an expert guide in identifying forest animals that are rarely seen during the day.

Lodging: Posada Amazonas

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: In the lodge's dining room.

Morning: Early morning field trip to a parrot clay lick.

After a 20 minute walk on forest trails, take cover behind an observation blind positioned approximately 50 ft from the clay lick. Marvel at the dozens of chattering parrots and parakeets that congregate along the river bank to eat clay. Commonly seen species include Mealy and Yellow- headed Amazons, Blue-headed Parrots and Dusky-headed Parakeets.

After visiting the clay lick, take part in a two-hour guided forest hike. Pay homage to the region's largest tree--a giant Ceiba tree. Learn about the layers of the rainforest and its unique flora along the way.

Return to the lodge.


Lunch: In the lodge's dining room.


Afternoon: Afternoon visit to a local farm.

A short, 30 minute, boat ride takes us downriver to a local farm. Accompany the farmer on a walk around several crops, some familiar and some not so familiar, to learn about agricultural practices in the area. Discover the important part each plant and tree plays in the survival of people living in this remote jungle region.

Return to the lodge.


Dinner: In the lodge's dining room.

Lodging: Posada Amazonas

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Boat Transfer to Puerto Maldonado/Flight to Cusco/Awanakancha Alpaca Center/Evening Discussion.

Breakfast: In the lodge's dining room.

Morning: Say farewell to the Tambopata region and board a boat to Puerto Maldonado. Transfer to the airport to catch a flight to Cusco (approx. 1 hour flight).

Arrive in Cusco and transfer from the airport to the Sacred Valley.


Lunch: Boxed lunch en route.

Afternoon: Visit Awanakancha Alpaca Center and learn about the four different camelids (vicuña, llama, alpaca, and guanaco) found in Peru. While viewing the animals up close, try to take note of the differences in size, fur, head shape, etc. so that you can tell them apart during your travels in the highlands.

Arrive at the hotel and check-in, followed by time at leisure to rest or enjoy hotel amenities.


Dinner: At the hotel restaurant.


Evening: Discussion about life in the Sacred Valley during the time of the Incas.

Lodging: Posada del Inca Yucay

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Local Produce Market Visit/Cultural Interaction at Local Community/Music and Food of the Andes.

Breakfast: At the hotel restaurant.


Morning: Morning visit to a local market and on-site discussion on the importance of the Sacred Valley as the ‘farmer’s market’ for the Inca Empire. Identify and learn about the fruits and vegetables that are unique to this region. Select items from the market to be cooked and sampled at dinner.

Learn which ancient traditions are still practiced by modern day descendents of the Inca during a visit to a local weaving community at Chinchero.

Weaving is a way of life in Chinchero—as important for preserving ancient traditions as it is for earning a livelihood. The town, located on the Inca road between Cusco and Machu Picchu, was an early Inca center built by Emperor Tupa Inca as his country estate. During Inca reign, textiles were woven and offered to mark special occasions, from peace treaties and sacrifices to marriage ceremonies and puberty rites. In Chinchero, local children grow up playing with their mother’s spindle and loom; by age six or seven most children learn to weave by watching their elders. They begin by weaving jakimas, or narrow ribbons, before moving on to more complicated pieces.


Lunch: Enjoy a traditional lunch with members of the local community.


Afternoon: Transfer to the Moray archaeological site to learn about Inca agriculture.

Researchers and archaeologists theorize that the Inca site at Moray was once used for agricultural studies and experiments. The unique terraces at this site are laid out in concentric circles within three large pits measuring as much as 100 feet in depth.

Return to the hotel.
Time at leisure to rest, catch up on your reading, or enjoy the hotel's amenities.

Participate in a cooking session at the hotel and learn to prepare the fresh foods purchased at the market in the morning.


Dinner: At the hotel restaurant.

Evening: Introduction to the music of the Andes.

Lodging: Posada del Inca Yucay

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: At the hotel restaurant.

Morning: This morning, embark on an exhilarating rafting adventure on the Urubamba River.

Lunch: Picnic lunch.

Afternoon: Return to the hotel.

Enjoy some time at leisure at the hotel before continuing with afternoon activities.

Field trip to Ollantaytambo town and ruins. Enjoy a guided walk through the town and examine remnants of Inca construction still in use today. Running water still flows through the town in aqueducts built hundreds of years ago during the reign of Emperor Pachacuti. Continue to the ruins of Ollantaytambo where the Incas made their last stand against the Spanish.

Return to the hotel.


Dinner: Early dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Lodging: Posada del Inca Yucay

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Participants should try and get plenty of rest the night before in preparation for the very early start on this day.

Breakfast: Early breakfast at the hotel restaurant.

Morning: Transfer to the Ollantaytambo Station to catch a train to Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu.

Disembark at Aguas Calientes Station. Board a bus for the transfer up the mountain, on a series of switchbacks, that will take us to the Machu Picchu complex.

Field trip to Machu Picchu.

Hiram Bingham found Machu Picchu in 1911, with the help of a local farmer who knew about the ruins, while searching for Vilcabamba and Vitcos. He hypothesized that the site was a "citadel," existing for strategic and defense purposes. He also speculated that the site was a refuge for Cusco's Virgins of the Sun, based upon the finding of skulls there, although not scientifically classified as female. Breakthroughs in archaeology since 1985 have, taken as a whole, supported the emerging view of Machu Picchu as a ceremonial and administrative center for a very populous region. Machu Picchu was built, flourished, and fell into demise within a period of 100 years.


Lunch: At a local restaurant in the vicinity of the ruins.

Afternoon: Board a bus and transfer back to Aguas Calientes. Catch a train back to Ollantaytambo Station and transfer to the hotel.


Dinner: At the hotel restaurant.

Lodging: Posada del Inca Yucay

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Transfer to Cusco/Sacsayhuaman Ruins/Orientation to Cusco/Music of the Inca.

Breakfast: At the hotel restaurant.

Morning: Say farewell to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and begin your journey to Cusco.

Before reaching Cusco, visit the impressive Sacsayhuaman ruins and enjoy a discussion on the religious rituals of the Inca.

The fortress of Sacsayhuaman forms the head of the Puma design of old Cusco. It is a wonder of technical achievement and a testament to human will. It is a mystery how it was constructed, since the stones are not found in the region, and most of the blocks weigh more than a ton. The largest rock weighs more than 300 tons. Sacsayhuaman is constructed of huge polygonal blocks which interlock with one another. The stones are so precisely placed that a knife blade cannot be inserted between them.


Lunch: At a local restaurant in Cusco.

Afternoon: Orientation to the city of Cusco with a hands on art session which incorporates the religious symbols of the Inca and the Spanish.

Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the western hemisphere. The Inca considered Cusco to be the center of not only their empire, but the center of the world. After its conquest, the Spanish looted the city and began to build a new city on the original Inca foundations. Present day Cusco is a cultural center for colonial South America.

Interactive session with a musician who discusses and demonstrates the musical instruments of the Inca and the importance of music to their religious ceremonies.


Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Lodging: Royal Inka I Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: At the hotel restaurant.

Morning: Transfer to the airport to board a flight to Lima (approx. 1:25 hours)
Arrive in Lima and begin transfer to Paracas.

The small fishing village of Paracas is located on the edge of the Paracas National Reserve-- 160 miles south of Lima. Sweeping up from the Antarctic, the Humboldt Current causes upwellings of plankton-rich water-- the foundation of an ecological pyramid crowned by thousands of breeding cormorants, boobies, gulls and terns, and mammals such as whales, dolphins and sea lions. In addition, during the southern winter, many shearwaters, petrels, and even albatrosses migrate from Antarctica to the Pacific coast of Peru. The Humboldt Current is home to the most productive fisheries in the world, and this area is reputed to be the largest producer of fishmeal on earth.


Lunch: At local restaurant, en route to Paracas.

Afternoon: Field trip to the Paracas National Reserve.


Dinner: At the hotel restaurant.

Lodging: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Paracas

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: At the hotel restaurant.

Morning: Enjoy a boat ride to the Ballestas islands. On the way to the small archipelago, take a moment to admire views of "El Candelabro" on a hillside overlooking the bay. The mysterious drawing, reminiscent of a candelabra, dates back to pre-Inca times. While navigating around the islands (visitors are not allowed to disembark), look for fur seals, sea lions, and penguins. The prolific birdlife will be incorporated into a discussion on the abundance of the Humboldt Current as a food source.

Return to the mainland.


Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Participate in a unique desert sport practiced in the region--sand boarding! Lie down, sit or stand (similar to snowboarding) on specially designed sand boards and ride the golden dunes! The area near Paracas is home to the annual Peru Sand Boarding Cup.

Return to the hotel.


Dinner: Farewell dinner. Celebrate with a barbecue dinner alfresco, under the southern skies.

Lodging: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Paracas

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Transfer to Lima/Cultural Interaction at Local Afro-Peruvian Community.

Breakfast: At the hotel restaurant.

Morning: Begin transfer back to Lima.

En route, visit a local Afro-Peruvian community to learn about their culture and dance traditions.


Lunch: At a local restaurant.


Afternoon: Arrive at the hotel and check-in.

Time at leisure to rest, do some packing, or enjoy hotel amenities.


Dinner: At the hotel restaurant.

Lodging: Casa Andina Select

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Depart From: Transfer to airport for international flight to the U.S.

Note: Participants with independent travel arrangements and/or scheduled on later flights can keep their hotel rooms until check-out time on this day. Except for breakfast, all other meals are on your own on this day.


Breakfast: At the local restaurant (dependent on flight times).

Meals Included: Breakfast