Begin your journey to Peru's vibrant capital city. These flights almost always arrive at night. You will be met by Van Evans or his associate. Be certain to wear your Southern Cross Expeditions cap as you exit customs so we can recognize you. We will probably check in for our flight the next day and then transfer to the Holiday Inn hotel less than 3 minutes from the airport parking lot. No need to buy water or exchange money yet.

Drive up to Caral and walk through the site of pyramids and temples. Then continue on to Casma to spend the night.

In the morning we will visit the Temple of Sechin, which is considered to be the oldest temple in the New World (Early Formative Period, 2000 B.C. – 1200 B.C.). This temple remained hidden until 1937 when the Peruvian archaeologist Julio Tello discovered and recorded its existence. Tello sensed there was something special about this temple and wrote that its discovery was “one of the most important events in recent times in the history of archaeological research.” It was only uncovered in 1985. This temple has a holy of holies and the signs and tokens are engraven on bas-relief stelas that form the exterior walls. After lunch we will drive along the coast to Trujillo.

Visit Nephite- and Lamanite-era ruins of Chan Chan, La Huaca del Sol, La Huaca de la Luna. After a long day, we will take a night flight from Trujillo to Lima, spent the night at the Holiday Inn.

We will drive just south of Lima to visit the Temples of Pachacamac and Punchaucancha. Designed with the Holy Path in mind, this temple on the coast had places that required a recommend to attend. The Southern Sanctuary, consisted of five rooms. The temple patrons gathered in the chapel of the half-covered patio and from there passed through each of the five rooms before arriving at the sacred red chamber of nine niches, possibly a “holy of holies.” There was so much wealth in this temple that even though the Spaniards claimed that most of the wealth was hidden before they arrived, what they (the Spaniards) took was so great that it was impossible to calculate and required more than 10,000 men to carry the loot to Cajamarca.

Early morning flight to Huaraz, the Switzerland of Peru. We will leave the luggage at the hotel and take the car to the distant ruins of Chavin de Huantar. These mysterious temples have great underground passages. Seven stories below the surface you can find ceremonial rooms. Finally, after going through the maze, we can see the Lanzón (at left), the large diety the culture worshipped. The Lanzón is a figure displaying the sign of Ayni. See the video here. Spend the night in Huaraz and free time to roam the main street.

Free time to roam Huaraz and we can visit a laguna for those inclined to hike a little.

Early flight back to Lima. This morning we will visit the colonial sector of Lima, including the presidential palace and main plaza de armas. We’ll walk to the colonial San Francisco church and tour the underground catacombs to see the bones of thousands. Then we can head over to Miraflores for last minute shopping or on to Larco Mar to have our final tour dinner on the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. After dinner, the bus will take us to the airport for our late night flight back to the USA.

But if you don't think 9 days is enough adventure and you crave more, try one of our Add On’s.