New Year’s Peruvian Amazon & Lima, Peru’s Capital City 

Optional flights: Wednesday, December 27, 2023 - Round-trip economy flights Phoenix-Los Angeles-Lima-Iquitos-Lima-Los Angeles-Phoenix for $1685* including taxes* (subject to availability and change). Delta flight departs Phoenix at 2:10 p.m. arrive Los Angeles at 2:40 p.m. Connect to Latam Airlines non-stop 8-hour wide-body Boeing 767 flight to Lima, Peru departs at 8:10 p.m. arrives Lima December 28 at 7:30 a.m. Connecting flight from Lima and Iquitos aboard Latam Airbus 320 flight departing Lima 11:55 a.m. and arriving Iquitos, Peru at 1:45 p.m. 

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Thursday, December 28, 2023 - Iquitos/Amazon. Brief orientation by LimaTours, Peru’s premier tour company, and transfer to the Explorama dock. Twenty-five-mile journey down the Amazon River to Ceiba Tops Lodge where private rooms with air conditioning provide Amazon adventure in comfort. Afternoon hike in the beautiful primary rainforest reserve (forests of native tree species, where there are no clearly visible indications of human activities and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed) surrounding Ceiba Tops that includes many huge trees festooned with epiphytes. After dinner enjoy local flute or guitar music at the "El Tucan" Bar where the guides are always ready to relate some of the many legends of the Amazon Forest.
    Accommodation Ceiba Tops
    Meals included: Lunch, dinner

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Friday, December 29, 2023 – Amazon Bushmaster Trail
Early morning birding excursion. After breakfast board boats to continue down the Amazon River to the rustic Explorama Lodge and hike the "Bushmaster Trail" where scientific studies by the Missouri Botanical Gardens have found the world's highest biodiversity of trees per square hectare. Continue to visit a small village of Yagua Indians where your guide will explain their culture and how it has been affected by the passing of time. There will be an opportunity to trade for or purchase some of their local crafts and for a demonstration of the use of the blowgun which some of the Yagua elders still use for hunting. After lunch walk along a local Amazon River trail stopping at a "ribereños" house, corner store and sugar cane rum factory. 
    Accommodation Ceiba Tops
    Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Saturday, December 30, 2023 – Amazon Birding/Monkey Island
Early morning birding. Morning boat excursion to “Monkey Island,” a private reserve where more than five species of tropical primates including small tamarins, saki, titi and large woolly monkeys are protected. Afternoon boating excursion in search of sloth, found in Cecropia trees at the water’s edge, and the two species of freshwater river dolphin, pink and grey. Weather permitting, enjoy a beautiful Amazonian sunset on the river.
    Accommodation Ceiba Tops
    Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Sunday, December 31, 2023 – Amazon ExplorNapo Lodge and Canopy Walk
Early morning departure from Ceiba Tops by boat to the narrow motorcar crossing connecting the Amazon and Napo Rivers to continue by boat to ExplorNapo Lodge for breakfast. Hike to the spectacular Canopy Walkway spanning over 500 meters (one-third of a mile), connected by tree platforms, and reaching a height of over 35 meters (115 feet) but accessible without any type of climbing skill or equipment. After lunch, visit the "ReNuPeRu" Ethnobotanical Garden where over 240 medicinal plants are cultivated by a local shaman who will explain the nature of Amazonian natural healing and the uses of some of the plants. Return to Ceiba Tops in time to enjoy the pool or hammocks before dinner. Tonight, we welcome 2024 with old and new friends in the amazing Amazon Rain Forest.
    Accommodation Ceiba Tops
    Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Monday, January 1m 2024 – Boat excursion to piranhas fishing & Franciscan Mission. Morning boat excursion to piranhas fishing. If lucky, you will be able to try your catch for dinner! Afternoon excursion to the neighboring town of Indiana. Originally a Franciscan mission, Indiana has grown into a large river community with its own market, high school and small hospital.
    Accommodation Ceiba Tops
    Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Tuesday, January 2, 2024 – Iquitos 1 ½ hour flight to Lima
Meet your local guide at airport. Transfer to your hotel in Lima. Arrive at Lima Airport. A transportation service and a guide will pick you up from the airport at the scheduled time to transfer you to your hotel in Lima the Iberostar Selection. In the Miraflores neighborhood, one of the most fascinating and dynamic areas of the city, you can walk along the promenade that passes along the edge of a cliff like no other. From this extraordinary vantage point, the 5-star Iberostar Selection Miraflores hotel offers you a rooftop terrace with a pool and a glass-enclosed lounge bar, allowing you to enjoy views of the Pacific Ocean from the first hotel in Lima to be free of single-use plastic. In addition to the fitness center and spa with a sauna, you can visit our Ortega & Huamán and 27 Tapas restaurants, which offer a fusion of Peruvian and Spanish gastronomy. The Peruvian capital is a modern metropolis full of history, currently undergoing an exciting process of cultural and economic changes. Dinner al hotel 
    Accommodation Iberostar Selection Miraflores 
    Meals included: Breakfast, dinner

Wednesday, January 3, 2024 – Lima Aliaga House tour
Your tour starts downtown, where you will visit the Aliaga House, an ancient viceregal house delivered by Francisco Pizarro to one of his captains (Jerónimo de Aliaga) after the foundation of the city. The construction of this house started in 1535. This genuine jewel of the colonial architecture is currently inhabited by his descendants. You will then get to know the Main Square, where Lima was first founded as "The City of Kings," in 1535, and it was already known by the name of Lima when Peru proclaimed its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821. There you can see (panoramic view) the Presidential Palace, the Archbishops Palace, and the Lima Cathedral. Next, you will go to Saint Francis Church, which has an enviable collection of old books and an authentic network of catacombs open to the public. Then you will go to the Pueblo Libre district to visit the Larco Museum, located in the same district, founded by Rafael Larco Hoyle in 1926. The visit to this museum allows understanding over five thousand years of the high degree of development achieved by the cultures that flourished before the Inca Empire. The museum, located inside a viceregal mansion built on a pre-Columbian pyramid of the 7th century, shows the most complete pre-Hispanic collection of gold and silver artifacts as well pieces of erotic art.
Lunch at Café del Museo Larco. Transfer back to hotel. Evening free.
    Accommodation Iberostar Selection Miraflores 
    Meals included: Breakfast, lunch

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Thursday, January 4, 2024 – Lima free day or optional Producer’s Market Culinary Experience
A free day for sightseeing on your own or shopping. The optional tour of the Producers’ Market of San Isidro for a Peruvian culinary experience (about $65 per person). There, you will discover its stands and main ingredients used in Peruvian cooking, accompanied by a Peruvian chef. Then you will be transferred to Urban Kitchen to be part of a participative cooking lesson where a chef will demonstrate dishes from their country. After this fun experience, you will enjoy the delicious dishes prepared in class. 
Accommodation Iberostar Selection Miraflores
Meals included: Breakfast

Friday, January 5. 2024 – Lima flights home. LimaTours will transfer you from your hotel to the airport. A representative will assist you along the way.

Optional flight back to Phoenix: Latam Boeing 767 wide-body, non-stop 8 ½-hour flight departs Lima at 12 noon and arrives Los Angeles at 5:55 p.m. After immigration and customs, Delta flight departs LAX at 8:30 p.m. arrives Phoenix around 11 p.m.