HIGHLIGHTS OF SOUTH AMERICA
A cultural tour of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina & Brazil

Day 01: Arrive Lima, PERU
Arrival in Lima and transfer from the airport to the hotel. Check in time starts from 1400 hrs.
Overnight: Hotel Posada Del Inca El Olivar (2 nights)

Day 02: Lima
Today you will explore the city on a sightseeing tour through Lima. The Plaza de Armas with the beautiful buildings of the government Palace, the town hall, the Palace of the archbishop and the cathedral are still the most important places in town. After that you will visit the beautiful San Francisco monastery. Proceed through the modern districts of San Isidro and Miraflores and to the Coastline enjoying the view over the beaches of Lima and the Pacific ocean. (B)

Day 03: Lima / Cuzco (Flight)
Transfer to the airport for the flight to Cuzco. Upon arrival transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon the half-day city tour begins. It will be shown the exact centre of the Inca Empire, the Plaza de Armas. There one can find the cathedral built on the ruins of the ancient Inca Palace. The cathedral borders on other churches on both sides. Next stop will be the old town with its magnificent renovated colonial buildings; some of them are being used as hotels.
Proceed to Sacsayhuaman, a ruin located approx. 3 km above Cuzco. Sacsayhuaman also offers a fabulous view of the city. Stop in Tambo Machay, the bath of the Inca, Kenko, the giant rock whose niches and gaps were carved in a strange way, and Puca Pucara, the ruin of a small fort.
Overnight: Hoel Libertador Cuzco (3 nights) (B)

Day 04: Cuzco
Full day excursion to visit the Pisac Indian Market and the ruins of Ollantaytambo including lunch. Pisac is located about 30 kilometres from Cuzco in the Sacred Valley on the shore of the river Urubamba, a source river of the Amazon. Here the famous Indian market takes place. Lunch will be served in a typical restaurant in the Urubamba valley. In the afternoon the tour proceeds to Ollantaytambo, where you will visit the massive remains of an Incan fortress.
Return to your hotel in Cuzco. (B, L)

Day 05: Cuzco
Transfer by bus to the train station of Ollantaytambo where the tour starts in a train that takes you through a changing landscape, the Sacred Valley, passing by lush, green fields and colourful villages in the foothills of the Andes until Aguas Calientes. From there, small busses drive up the steep mountain to the ruin town Machu Picchu. Called the Lost City of the Incas, this cultural heritage of mankind is a beautifully located impressive stone city constructed with a technique incredible for its era and even for present times. Stone upon stone, fitted together perfectly without any cement, with impressive delicacy, exquisite detail and discrimination worthy of the world’s greatest palaces. There are many theories about Machu Picchu, but one thing is for sure - it is one of the most impressive sites in the world. Extensive guided visit of the site. Return to Ollantaytambo by train, transfer to the hotel in Cuzco. (B)

Day 06: Cuzco / Puno (Drive)
A full day bus tour from Cuzco to Puno leads through the Peruvian highland along snow-covered peaks, passes up to 4.300 m above sea level and then goes down to Puno, which is right on Lake Titicaca. On route you will visit the town of Andahuaylillas, the ruins of Racchi, the small town of Pucara besides another Inca remains. Lunch in a typical restaurant en route is included. Upon arrival in Puno transfer to your hotel.
Overnight: Hotel Libertador Isla Esteves (1 night) (B, L)

Day 07: Puno / Lake Titicaca / La Paz, BOLIVIA (Drive)
Early in the morning you will visit the Uros Indians, famous for living on their floating islands made out of reeds. Afterwards bus transfer and border crossing to Bolivia and proceed to Copacabana, probably the most important place of pilgrimage in Latin America, which also gave name to the famous beach in Rio de Janeiro. Visit of the famous pilgrim’s church, then you will board a Catamaran, which will take you over Lake Titicaca to the Island of the Sun. According to the legend this was the home of the Sun God. Lunch will be served on board. In the afternoon the tour continues by Catamaran until Chua and from there by bus to La Paz, the highest metropolis on earth (ca. 3.600 meters).
Overnight: Hotel Europa (2 nights) (B, L)

Day 08: La Paz
In the morning city tour through La Paz which was founded in 1548. Today the city is the seat of the government. The city has a lot of very well kept buildings from colonial times and in the narrow streets of the old town the picturesque Indian market still takes place.
A nice visit to a geological scurrility takes you through the chic suburbs of La Paz to the Moon Valley in the valley of the La Paz River. Wind and rain have formed in millions of years a moon landscape that one just has to visit. (B)

Day 09: La Paz / Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA (Flight)
Transfer to the airport for the flight to Buenos Aires. Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, transfer to the hotel. Check in starts from 1400 hrs. the rest of the day is free.
Overnight: Hotel Americas Towers (2 nights) (B)

Day 10: Buenos Aires
After breakfast you will visit the most important sites during a city tour. You will drive to the Plaza de Mayo, with the Casa Rosada, the pink house, seat of the government, the Cabildo (town hall) and the Metropolitan Cathedral. The tour goes onto the district San Telmo. Until 1888 this part of the city was a river port, today San Telmo is one of the most modern and desired places to live in Buenos Aires. The worker district La Boca is famous for its colourful tin-houses and its history as living district of Italian seamen and dock workers in the 19th century. The Barrio Norte called Recoleta is the quarter of the rich of Buenos Aires. On the cemetery of Recoleta one will find the grave of Eva Duarte who became famous as Evita Perón. Continue along the widest avenue in the world, the Avenida 9 de Julio, and continue to the Plaza Lavalle with the Federal Court of Justice and the Teatro Colón, to Palermo with its parks and gardens. Return to the hotel. (B)

Day 11: Buenos Aires / Iguazu – BRAZIL (Flight)
Transfer to the domestic airport for the flight to Iguazu. Upon arrival in Iguazu pick-up at the airport and transfer to the Argentinean National Park towards the Argentinean Falls in order to start your visit. You will make a short stop at the Visitor’s Centre and proceed from there along the Inferior Circuit, the down-river falls, to the Superior Circuit, the up-river cascades. The Ecological Jungle Train leads you to the most impressive observation point of the falls – The Devil´s Throat. After visit transfer to the hotel on the Brazilian side of the falls.
Overnight: Hotel Mabu Foz (2 nights) (B)

Day 12: Iguazu
You will leave your hotel on the Brazilian side by motor coach and cross the Iguassu National Park towards the Brazilian Falls. You walk along the paths following the cascades and then along the catwalk which leads you very close to the bottom of the Devil’s Throat. You will enjoy magnificent views. Afterwards you take an elevator to go up back to the road, and there you will board the motor coach which will take you to back to the hotel. The afternoon is free at leisure. (B)

Day 13: Iguazu / Rio de Janeiro (Flight)
Transfer from the hotel to the airport for the flight to Rio de Janeiro. Arrival in Rio and transfer to the hotel, Check In and time for a first stroll along Copacabana Beach. This afternoon starts a half day city tour including visit of Sugarloaf. Downtown is the business heart of Rio. It is a part of the city where colonial Rio meets modern skyscrapers. Passing through Rio Branco Avenue, you will see the Candelaria Church, which was started being built in the late 18th century and was completed in 1898. The headquarter of major Brazilian banks and commercial enterprises is located on this avenue. You will also see the Opera House (Teatro Municipal) and the Carioca Square, the church of Santo Antonio built in the 17th century as well as the contrast of the modern buildings such as Petrobras and the Cathedral. Moreover you will get to know Rio's aqueduct built in the 18th century which is nowadays connecting downtown to Santa Teresa district, an old residential area. Afterwards you will drive through one of the highlights of this tour: the Flamengo Park from where you have the chance to see already the top highlight of this tour, the Sugar Loaf. This famous mountain reached by a cable car 1,200 feet high, will give you an experience you will never forget: looking down at Rio from top of the Sugar Loaf is one of the most spectacular views in the world.
Overnight: Hotel Excelsior Copacabana (2 nights) (B)

Day 14: Rio de Janeiro
Half day Corcovado & beaches. Enjoy a half day beach tour including a visit to the Corcovado statue. Leaving the hotel you proceed as far as Cosme Velho Station to board a cog-train for the ride through Tijuca Forest up to Corcovado Mountain.
The train ride takes 20 minutes and is a wonderful opportunity for a closer look at the forest’s lush tropical vegetation and to enjoy scenic landscapes of the beaches and the city. Disembarking at the top of Corcovado and then proceeding up the steps will lead to the top lookout where the towering statue of Christ the Redeemer stands. After appreciating the breathtaking view unfolding below descend by train and continue passing by some of Rio’s beaches. (B)

Day 15: Depart Rio de Janeiro
Transfer to the airport for your departure flight . Check out time is by 1100 hrs (B)

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Departure Dates
2010 English Speaking Departures Jan 11 & 25, Feb 15 & 22, Mar 01 & 15, Apr 05, 12 & 26, May 10 & 24, June 14, July 12 & 26, Aug 09 & 23, Sep 06 & 20, Oct 04 & 18 & Nov 01, 15 & 22
Inclusions
Tour Price Includes Tour Price Does Not Include Hotels as mentioned (or similar) Any airfares Meals as mentioned B=Breakfast L=Lunch D=Dinner Insurances & Visa Fees All Sightseeing and Transfers Drinks/Beverages with meals Services of local multilingual speaking guides Tips/Gratuities to Drivers & Guides Entrance fees
Tour Price
We accept payment in US $ (US Dollars), CA $ (Canadian Dollars) or equivalent EURO (for clients outside North America). Bestway Tours & Safaris offers conversion rate protection. Once full payment has been received, and no modification has been made to the tour itinerary, we will honour that rate. For complete payment procedures, please download Bestway_Payment_Info.pdf Note: to read this file you must have Adobe Acrobat.
Departure Double Occupancy Single Room Supplement 2010 US $ 2995 US $ 995
Estimated International Airfare - International airfare is NOT included in this tour
Canada - West Coast N/A USA - West Coast US $ 1400 Canada - East Coast N/A USA - East Coast US $ 1200
Participants
This tour operates on a minimum of 02 participants.
Notes
Customised Itinerary If you would like to have a tour on dates other than the above ones or with a customised itinerary, please contact us and we will be happy to work out an exclusive program for you. Foreign Language Departures Please contact us for information on French, German, Italian and Spanish speaking departures. You may e-mail us at bestway@bestway.com or call us at 604.264.7378. Residents of U.S.A./Canada may call us toll free at 1.800.663.0844.