"The heart of America" a Peru Travel Page by SirRichard

OK, Peru is much more than this, but how would you resume Peru in an image? Machu Picchu, Peru's icon and probably the best known image of South America.

In Peru you can find Andean landscapes and people with interesting customs, Titicaca lake, a wonderful coast with beaches, natural parks, mysterious lines written for the stars, amazing ruins, humid tropical jungles, the Amazon river, trekking scenaries with snowed mountains and volcanos, colonial past and a very rich history...

Ufff... too much to see in too little time! I had only 17 days and this is what I did:

Saturday 16: arrival at Lima at 18:30. Pick up arranged and stay at "Hotel Espaņa" in the old part of the city.
Sunday 17: leaving for Cuzco early in the morning (5:45), arrival and day to visit the city.
Monday 18: Visit the ruins around Cuzco. Acclimatization to the altitude.
Tuesday 19-Friday 22: Leaving for the Inca Trail hiking: 4 days / 3 nights of hiking along the Sacred Valley, followinf the ancient route used by the Incas to reach Machu Picchu. On friday, a swim in the termal waters of Aguas Calientes and return to Cuzco by train.
Saturday 23: Cuzco-Puno by bus. A first approach to Lake Titicaca.
Sunday 24: Bus to Copacabana in Bolivia, still by the shore of Titicaca, to visit the Sun & Moon islands.
Monday 25: Bus to the aymara ruins of Tiahuanaco, still in Bolivia.
Tuesday 26: return to Puno and from there to Cuzco by train.
Wednesday 27: Plane Cuzco-Lima and from there plane Lima-Iquitos. Arrival to the Peruvian Amazon jungle.
Thursday 28-Saturday 30: Stay at a jungle lodge down the Amazon and trek through the jungle. Return to Lima on Saturday 30.
Sunday 1: Visit to Lima.
Monday 2: Return to Spain.