January 19th to January 25th, 2011
6 nights  |  Limited to 10 participants

$2,888 USD per person, land only | Single supplement is $288
See discounts for repeat clients, early enrollment, room sharing, and back-to-back trips etcetera

10 places are available at this time  Ask a question via email: Click here  Updated Monday the 6th of September, 2010  Gateway airport: Lima, Peru [LIM]  Arrival window: 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.  Search Orbitz or your favorite airline for a fare  Machu Picchu Photo Gallery  The tour fee details are here

Also see  Galapagos Islands  |  Patagonia

OVERVIEW: Brought to the attention of the ‘civilized’ world in the early 1900’s, but dating to circa 1460, Machu Picchu is a unique time capsule of the Inca empire. When designated as a World Heritage Site in 1983, it was described as "An absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization". Photographically speaking you’ll just love it. Also included on this photo trip are old Cusco, the Sacsayhuaman Fortress, the Sacred Valley of the Incas, the Ollantaytambo Inca fortress, and Lima etcetera.

TRAVEL TO THE GATEWAY AIRPORT
o It is recommended that clients arrive a day early to be fresh for the trip, and to also counteract possible flight delays.
o Early arrival also enables you to explore the gateway city should you wish to do so.
o When booking flights, add a day for overnight travel or two days if also crossing the Pacific Ocean/International Dateline.
o The last day of the trip is the date you should arrange your flight home unless you plan to stay on. Thank you!

DAY 1  |  Arrive LIMA, PERU
You will be met at the airport by our bilingual transfer agent who will take you to our hotel, and the remainder of the day can be spent recuperating from your travels and adjusting to the 9,000 foot elevation, or ambling around the vicinity of the hotel in search of pictures.
LIMA, 1 night

DAY 2  |  LIMA to CUSCO
After breakfast we will be met at the hotel and taken to the airport for our short flight to Cusco. Here we will be met by our local guide who will take us to our hotel.
After a break and lunch we will take a guided tour of this magnificent city, once capital of the Inca empire, and you will be able to photograph many of the walls which the Incas built, and which now form the foundations of colonial buildings later built by the Spaniards. We'll explore the center of the Inca Empire, the Plaza de Armas. There one can find the cathedral built on the ruins of the Inca Palace. Next stop will be the old town with its magnificent renovated colonial buildings that are now being used as hotels and so on. Then to Sacsayhuaman which is a ruin located approximately 3 km above Cuzco. Sacsayhuaman also offers a fabulous view of the city. Next to Tampu Machay is the bath of the Inca and Kenko, the giant rock whose niches and gaps were carved in an unusual manner. Plus Puca Pucara, the ruin of a small fort.
CUSCO, 1 night

DAY 3  |  PISAC RUINS + OLLANTAYTAMBO
After breakfast we will depart for the Sacred Valley of the Incas, with its beautiful scenery, colorful Indian people and rich Inca heritage. We shall stop throughout the journey to take advantage of the dramatic vistas of the Andes. After lunch we will return through Ollantaytambo which is the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the Americas, complete with canals unchanged since Inca times. Below the fortress is an exquisite traditional community and a living Inca village that retains the stonework, narrow streets and family courtyards of its original Inca Plan.
SACRED VALLEY, 1 night

DAYS 4 + 5  |  MACHU PICCHU
Buffet breakfast at the hotel, and off to the Ollantaytambo train station to board the Vistadome train. The northbound train follows the lower lands towards to the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu and ends its service at the Aguas Calientes station. We'll check into our hotel, and then we'll head up the Hiram Brigham road that leads to the ruins of Machu Picchu. Known as the 'Lost city of the Incas', it's one of the most stunning archaeological sites in the world. John and our local guide and will take us through Machu Picchu telling the history of the area and answering any questions you may have about this spectacular wonder. We will stay here all afternoon after the majority of visitors leave, photographing until the site closes.
We will be away well before dawn on Day 5 so as to catch the first light at Machu Picchu, followed by a chance to explore the ruins with John's guidance or on your own. In late morning we'll return to Aguas Calientes, take lunch and some relaxation time, then finish the day with a photo-exploration of this rustic mountain town on the banks of the tumbling Urubamba River.
AGUAS CALIENTES, 2 nights

DAY 6  |  CUSCO
Morning light in Aguas Calientes which translates as 'warm water' in reference to the local hot springs, but a place often referred to as 'Machu Picchu Pueblo'. We'll then take a buffet breakfast, and take a return ride on the Vistadome train back to Cusco to relax until late in the day when we'll venture out on foot to explore Cusco. We'll take advantage of the array of photographic opportunities offered by this great city that once formed the center of the Inca Empire. Subjects will include the Inca stonework that forms the heart of this city, indigenous people selling their traditional weavings, a vegetable market and the Andean scenery etcetera.
CUSCO, 1 night

DAY 7  |  LIMA and flights home
Morning flight to Lima, and lunch with a view toward the Pacific Ocean. We'll then explore old and new Lima pointing cameras at photogenic spots such as the Plaza de Armas with the beautiful buildings of the government Palace; the town hall; the Palace of the Archbishop and Cathedral; the San Francisco and Santo Domingo convents, and the popular Plaza San Martín. If you have a late flight you'll also have time for the Olive Grove of San Isidro; Mifaflores and Larco Mar.
Late flights home from Lima, or onto Buenos Aires if you're also participating in the Patagonia photography tour.

Photographer/Leader John Baker and local guides

This above itinerary is copyrighted by John T. Baker Photographer LLC, and Travel Images.com,
and authorization is NOT granted to business entities for professional use of said material.  

ENROLLMENT