Tailor-made Trip "The Treasures of Northern Peru"

Around midday, departure by premium-class bus to Huaraz. Arrival in Huaraz in the evening and transfer to the El Patio de Monterrey hotel. Overnight at the hotel.

It is also possible to take a flight on this route.

Departure for the first excursion of your trip. You head up into the Cordillera Blanca toward Nevado Pastoruri. You will make stops along the way to discover the "Puya Raimondi", an enormous high-altitude cactus, and naturally sparkling mineral water springs. The vehicle will take you to an altitude of nearly 4,700 meters. You will hike up to a viewpoint at 5,000 meters, from where you will enjoy a splendid view over Nevado Pastoruri and its glacier. You then head back down into the valley and return to Huaraz in the late afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.

Departure in the morning through the "callejón de Huaylas", the valley separating the Cordillera Negra from the Cordillera Blanca. You will make several stops in the main villages of the valley, such as Carhuaz. The road offers some superb viewpoints over Nevado Huascarán, the highest peak in Peru (6,778 meters), and Nevado Huandoy. You then climb into the Cordillera Blanca and enter Huascarán National Park to reach Llanganuco Lagoon, its turquoise waters set amid a magnificent mountain landscape. After lunch in Caraz (not included), visit the village of Yungay, which was buried under a mudslide in 1970. Return to Huaraz in the late afternoon. Transfer to the bus terminal to take a premium-class night bus to Trujillo.

Arrival in Trujillo very early in the morning and transfer to the Los Conquistadores hotel, where a room will be available for you. After breakfast, departure to visit the main archaeological sites of the Mochica and Chimu civilizations, the most important on Peru's northern coast. The Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol were pyramids formed by several platforms built with hundreds of millions of adobes (sun-dried mud bricks), decorated with polychrome earthen bas-relief murals. Departure then to the seaside resort of Huanchaco for lunch (not included). In the afternoon, visit the ruins of Chan-Chan, an immense site also built of mud brick. Return to Trujillo in the late afternoon.

Free day to take a break from your trip and enjoy the colonial charm of Trujillo and the pleasant eternal-spring climate found along Peru's northern coast. In the evening, departure by premium-class night bus to Chachapoyas.

Arrival in the morning in Chachapoyas and transfer to the Casa Vieja hotel to drop off your luggage, then departure for Kuelap. Perched on a rocky outcrop, this pre-Inca fortress, 700 meters long with surrounding walls over 12 meters high, represents a colossal undertaking. The beauty of the site and the extraordinary 360-degree view spanning over 50 kilometers make Kuelap a major archaeological site in Peru, comparable to Machu Picchu. For many, this will be one of the highlights of this trip to northern Peru. Return to Chachapoyas in the late afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.

In the morning, departure for Coca Chimba, a village from where you can see the Gocta waterfall, 771 meters high, one of the tallest in Peru and in the world. Departure for a hike of about 2 hours 30 minutes through tropical undergrowth to the foot of the waterfall, where you will have lunch. After a rest, you head back. Arrival in Chachapoyas in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

In the morning, transfer to the bus terminal to take a premium-class bus to Chiclayo, a journey across two sharply contrasting regions of northern Peru, between the Amazonian slope of the mountain range and the coastal desert. In between, the road passes through the Porculla pass, the lowest pass in the Andes. Arrival in Chiclayo in the late afternoon, transfer and overnight at the Costa del Sol hotel.

In the morning, departure to visit the pyramid complex of Túcume and the museum of the royal tombs of the Señor de Sipán in Lambayeque. The discovery of the tomb of the Señor de Sipán and its gold treasures is considered the most important of the last 50 years in Peru. Overnight at the hotel.

After breakfast, transfer to the bus terminal for a bus journey to the beaches at the far north of Peru. Arrival in Mancora in the afternoon and check-in at the Casa de Playa hotel. Free time in the late afternoon and overnight at the hotel.

Free day to enjoy the beaches of Mancora, the most beautiful in Peru, and its warm waters in a tropical atmosphere. Overnight at the hotel.

To end the trip, what could be more enjoyable than a few days at the beach, savoring the pleasures of lazing around and the gentle climate of this part of Peru? Overnight at the hotel.

Last swim in the morning, then transfer to the small town of Tumbes, at the far northern tip of Peru, near the Ecuadorian border, from where you will take a flight to Lima. Arrival in Lima in the afternoon, transfer and overnight at the Hotel Britania.

Transfer to Lima airport. End of your "Treasures of Northern Peru" trip.