Arrive Guayaquil by late evening. Upon arrival, it’s a short drive to the Hotel del Parque.

After the 1 1⁄2-hour flight to the Galápagos, you’ll immediately board the ship. Over the course of the week, our exact routing depends on the National Park Service. 

While your exact routing depends on the National Park Service, you may visit the following islands: - Bartolomé - Santiago - Santa Cruz - Isabela - Fernandina - Floreana - Española 

Depart Galápagos this morning and fly to Lima, Peru. Overnight at the conveniently located Wyndham Costa del Sol Lima Airport Hotel. 

This morning you board your flight over the Andes to Cusco. Upon arrival, drive through the fabled and fertile Urubamba Valley to Moray—a visually stunning Inca site known for its agricultural terraces. After lunch and an opportunity to experience a local market, check-in at Sol y Luna for two nights. This serene Relais & Chateaux hotel entices with individual adobe casitas set in a verdant garden. 

Spend the day exploring the archaeological sites and culture of the Sacred Valley in the company of National Geographic expert Peter Frost, who has lived and worked in Peru for decades. He (or occasionally a colleague, if he is in the field) joins us for a talk at the hotel and continues with us to Ollantaytambo, where massive stone walls stand sentry over a thriving Inca community. Lunch is nearby at a working, family-owned hacienda. Here you are also treated to a show of Peruvian Paso horses, and National Geographic grantee Nilda Callañaupa, founder of El Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco, joins us to demonstrate Inca weaving traditions. Dinner tonight it at the hotel. 

This morning marvel at the tropical Andean scenery and life along the river from the panoramic windows on the train to Machu Picchu—the Inca royal retreat famously introduced to the world by Hiram Bingham in the April 1913 issue of National Geographic magazine. Set at less than 8,000 feet, the sanctuary is set in tropical mountain forest with diverse birds and orchids. Check-in at the historic 31-room Belmond Sanctuary Lodge, adjacent to the World Heritage site, with the leisure to explore over the two days in the company of our hand-picked tour director and local guides. Linger after day-visitors are long gone. Lunch and dinner is at the Hotel's private Tampu Restaurant. 

Awaken this morning at Machu Picchu, where your options include an early hike to the Sun Gate, the ancient final checkpoint to the Machu Picchu on the Inca Trail. After lunch, return through the valley to Cusco, center of the Inca universe and a burgeoning Andean cultural capital. Check-in at the Belmond Hotel Monasterio for two nights in the ancient heart of Cusco. Like many colonial-era buildings, our hotel—founded as a monastery in 1592—stands atop a fountain in the Inca-carved stone. 

Explore the magnificently ornate 17th-century cathedral and Plaza de Armas, the sacred Inca Temple of the Sun and other treasures of Cusco this morning. Visit nearby Sacsayhuaman, where impressive terrace walls, some of the finest stonework we've seen yet, command views over the city. Relax, shop, or visit Cusco's many churches and museums this afternoon. Dinner is on your own tonight. 

Return to vibrant, coastal Lima this morning, where on a tour you stroll the Plaza Mayor and delight in a private farewell lunch with a special musical presentation at Casa Aliaga—in the same family for 17 generations. After a visit to the extraordinary Larco Museum, dedicated to pre-Columbian art, check-in at Belmond Miraflores Park, set along a fashionable seaside promenade. Dinner is on your own. 

This morning fly home – or anywhere else you might have decided to go.