Sample the unique cultures of South America on this thrilling vacation, and experience an once-in-a-lifetime tour filled with spectacular scenery, sensuous dances and music, vibrant cities, fascinating history, and plenty of time to eat in local restaurants, shop for native wares, and sip local drinks. South America offers some spectacular scenery, including Iguassu Falls, located on the border of Brazil and Argentina. Experience the thunderous roar, torrential downpour, and brilliant rainbows. Everywhere you look, there is water pouring down! Or how about Bariloche, where you’ll take a chairlift ride to a lookout point at Cerro Campanario, rated one of the top 10 viewing spots by National Geographic. Experience breathtaking panoramic views as you breathe fresh mountain air. Of course, no trip to South America is complete without a visit to the Amazon Jungle. Take a jungle walk and discover the lush vegetation and native species that call the Amazon home. And don’t forget about Machu Picchu, one of the most amazing sights in South America, if not the world. Hear about the history of the site and see the spectacular ruins of this “lost city.” In addition to beautiful scenery, you’ll also experience the vibrant cities—Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Lima—and enjoy a guided sightseeing tour in each city. A highlight of any trip to Rio is the Christ the Redeemer statue, the 98-foot statue of Jesus that was elected a New Seven Wonders of the World. In Buenos Aires, stroll the streets of this friendly town and experience a Tango show—a passionate, sizzling dance. You’ll even get a chance to dance the Tango at your lesson! In Santiago, you’ll have an opportunity to take an optional excursion to Chile’s wine country. In Lima, your sightseeing tour focuses on the city’s colonial heritage. From the lakes and mountains to the towns and cities, this vacation through South America is like no other!
Itinerary:
Day #1 Arrive in Manaus, Brazil. After arriving at your hotel, meet for guided sightseeing of Manaus to view vestiges of its glory days during the rubber boom. Your first stop will be the famous OPERA HOUSE, built in 1896 with materials imported from Europe. Next, visit a bustling LOCAL MARKET, abundant with local foods and wares. (D)
Day #2 Manaus–Amazon Jungle. Today, your “Meeting of the Waters” tour passes by the impressive British-built Custom House and the floating port. CRUISE along the chocolate-colored Rio Negro to its confluence with the yellow-gray Rio Solimões, where the two rivers form the mighty Amazon. For four miles the differently colored bodies of water flow side by side and never mix! After lunch on the river, explore a JUNGLE ISLAND (if the water level is not too low) with fascinating native flora and fauna. Later this afternoon, arrive at the Ecopark Jungle Lodge, situated on the banks of the Rio Negro inside the Amazonian rainforest. (B,L,D)
Day #3 Amazon Jungle. Accompanied by a Naturalist, enjoy a guided WALK to see the flora and fauna that thrive in the Amazon. After lunch, depart the lodge and sail up the river to visit an AMAZON NATIVE CABOCLO VILLAGE to learn about their traditions, costumes, and culture. Also try your hand at piranha fishing! Later, visit the MONKEY JUNGLE RESERVE, where researchers work to rehabilitate primates like spider, squirrel, woolly, and capuchin monkeys and reintroduce them to the jungle. This evening, venture back out on canoe with your Naturalist to appreciate the sounds of the jungle at night, with the possibility to spot small alligators (or other night creatures). (B,L,D)
Day #4 Amazon Jungle–Rio de Janeiro. This morning, depart the Ecopark for a flight to Rio for an overnight. (B)
Day #5 Rio de Janeiro. Today is free in Rio to explore as you please. This afternoon, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions for a drive along famous Ipanema and Copacabana Beaches to the base of 1,300-foot-high SUGAR LOAF MOUNTAIN. Ascend by cable car to its summit, where you can savor spectacular vistas of the city. Next, toast the start of a memorable vacation at a local restaurant with caipirinhas, a favorite Brazilian cocktail. Cap off the evening with a welcome dinner. (B,D)
Day #6 Rio de Janeiro. Today, visit the statue of Christ the Redeemer crowning CORCOVADO MOUNTAIN, a rounded peak rising 2,300 feet from the bay below. Take the scenic cog railway ride to its top, where a 360-degree panorama affords sweeping views. Proceed to bustling downtown Rio. View the Sambodromo and visit the CATHEDRAL. This evening, it’s off to a CHURRASCARIA for a feast of barbecued meats marinated and roasted over charcoal in true Brazilian style. Later, experience a SAMBA SHOW, where the sheer vitality of this country explodes in a colorful extravaganza. (B,D)
Day #7 Rio de Janeiro. A day of leisure or you may wish to enjoy a Guanabara Bay cruise, offering spectacular views of Rio and its beaches. This afternoon, consider an optional trip to historic Petropolis, once the former summer palace of Emperor Dom Pedro II and now a mountain resort. (B)
Day #8 Rio de Janeiro–Iguassu Falls. A flight from Rio takes you to IGUASSU FALLS. Experience the clouds of spray, the incessant roar, and the surrounding luxuriant tropical growth that make this an unforgettable natural wonder. Spend the afternoon enjoying the magnificent panorama of waterfalls from the Brazilian side. Your Local Guide introduces the spectacle of this 2-mile-wide torrential downpour, with some cataracts as high as 250 feet, which is nothing short of hypnotic. (B,D)
Day #9 Iguassu Falls. Today, journey to the Argentine side of IGUASSU FALLS, where you will take the ECOLOGICAL JUNGLE TRAIN and enjoy a closer perspective on a walking tour of the falls. Meander along the walkways from atop the falls, and enjoy an exhilarating perspective looking over the precipice of the falls as the water plunges to the rocks below. You will also have the chance to walk through the rainforest on the lower falls trails that will bring you up close to some of the smaller cataracts. Return to the hotel, where the remainder of the day is at your leisure. (B)
Day #10 Iguassu Falls–Buenos Aires, Argentina. Today, fly to Buenos Aires. After arriving, an orientation walk acquaints you with the “Paris of South America” and its wide boulevards and outdoor cafés. (B)
Day #11 Buenos Aires. Your sightseeing starts in La Boca, a colorful district and site of the city’s first port. Take a short walking tour of this unique neighborhood and then on to San Telmo, famous for its late-colonial buildings and a popular gathering spot for artists. At Plaza de Mayo, see La Casa Rosada (the President’s Pink House) and the METROPOLITAN CATHEDRAL, housing San Martin’s Mausoleum. Drive past the ornate Colon Opera House before reaching the CEMETERY OF THE RECOLETA, burial site of Eva Peron. After an afternoon at leisure, top off the evening at a famous TANGO CLUB. Start with a [LF] DANCE LESSON followed by dinner of Argentine steaks and other local specialties and end with a show featuring flawless performances of Latin America’s most sensuous dance—the Tango! (B,D)
Day #12 Buenos Aires. Enjoy a full day at leisure, with an optional excursion to visit another South American country—Uruguay. Travel by catamaran to the World Heritage City of Colonia del Sacramento. Founded by Portuguese settlers from Brazil in 1680, this town held a strategic position as a smuggling outpost for transporting British goods across the Rio de la Plata into the Spanish colonies throughout the 17th century. Today, its charm lies in its narrow streets and colonial buildings. (B)
Day #13 Buenos Aires. Excursion to the Pampas. Today, head into the heart of the pampas (grasslands) and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of rural, country life at a working [LF] ARGENTINE ESTANCIA (ranch). After a traditional welcome with empanadas and local beverages, get acquainted with the lifestyle of real gauchos (cowboys) on a horseback ride or carriage ride through the pampas. Later, at lunch, enjoy a colorful feast, complete with world-renowned Argentine beef, salad, desserts, local wine, and live music and dance by the gauchos themselves. Top off the day with a horsemanship show by the gauchos before saying adios to the countryside and heading back to the city. (B,L)
Day #14 Buenos Aires–Bariloche. Fly south to Bariloche in Patagonia on the shores of fjord-like Lago Nahuel Huapi in the heart of Argentina’s Lake District. Arrive in the early evening, with time to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the picturesque town center. See the city hall, the clock tower in Municipality Square, and the famous chocolate factories. (B,D)
Day #15 Bariloche. This chic alpine resort boasts some of the most glorious scenery in the country. Cameras should be ready for today’s chairlift ride to a lookout point at CERRO CAMPANARIO. You’ll want to capture the vistas of surrounding lakes and Andes mountain peaks. The tour continues with a leisurely drive around the Llao Llao Peninsula, Lago Moreno, and Lopez Bay. (B,L)
Day #16 Bariloche–Puerto Varas, Chile. Set out today for your [LF] ANDES LAKE CROSSING! Board a boat for the CRUISE across Lago Nahuel Huapi to Puerto Blest. Proceed by motorcoach and see emerald lakes, thick pine forests, and the snowcapped peaks of the Andes Mountains. Look out for soaring Osorno Volcano as you cross Lago Todos los Santos by CATAMARAN. Skirt the southern shore of Lago Llanquihue on the way to Puerto Varas. Drive to your hotel along the rosebush-lined streets of this lakeside resort. (B,L,D)
Day #17 Puerto Varas–Puerto Montt–Santiago. Your morning tour of the nearby seaport of Puerto Montt in Chilean Patagonia takes you to the harbor brimming with fishing vessels and along a busy waterfront lined with seafood stalls. Transfer to the airport for your flight north to Santiago. Perched between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes, Santiago has evolved as the country’s political, commercial, and cultural capital. Tonight, dinner is at the hotel. (B,D)
Day #18 Santiago. Today, your Local Guide traces the city’s history and heritage on a guided city tour. Start at La Moneda, the official Government Palace, before heading to the Plaza de Armas, the main square, with a visit to the 18th-century CATHEDRAL. Your afternoon is at leisure. This evening, you may opt to join a Chilean Folkloric Dinner Show. (B)
Day #19 Santiago. The day is free for independent activities. You may want to take advantage of an optional excursion to the beautiful coastal region west of Santiago. Drive through the hills of Chile’s wine country to the historic port of Valparaiso, and continue along the coast to nearby Viña del Mar. Tonight, your Tour Director hosts a special farewell dinner to celebrate a great touring adventure. (B,D)
Day #20 Santiago–Cusco, Peru–Sacred Valley. Fly via Lima to Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire. Spend the day in the Sacred Valley of the Incas and visit the semi-circular KENKO Amphitheater with its stone altars and labyrinth of passages. See the ancient site of Puca Pucara before reaching the TEMPLE OF SACSAYHUAMAN, perched on a hillside overlooking Cusco. Continue to PISAC, an old mountain village where you will have free time to shop for local wares such as alpaca sweaters and blankets, jewelry, or hand-painted ornamental dishes and vases at the Indian Market. Stay in the Sacred Valley tonight, with dinner at the hotel. (B,L,D)
Day #21 Sacred Valley–Machu Picchu–Sacred Valley. Board a TRAIN through the lush Urubamba Valley. Then, ascend by motorcoach to legendary MACHU PICCHU, the “Lost City of the Incas.” Your Local Guide will bring you closer to the mysteries still hidden in these amazing structures. Later, return to the Sacred Valley by TRAIN. Dinner tonight is at the hotel. (B,L,D)
Day #22 Sacred Valley–Cusco. Visit the Inca Fortress of OLLANTAYTAMBO followed by the opportunity to visit a home, meet some of the locals, and experience their way of life. Return to Cusco, where you will learn more about the Incas on your guided tour, with visits to the imposing CATHEDRAL and the SANTO DOMINGO MONASTERY. Tonight, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant accompanied by ANDEAN FOLKLORIC MUSIC. (B,D)
Day #23 Cusco–Lima. This morning, visit a vibrant LOCAL MARKET for a firsthand look at how locals live, then a short morning flight returns you to Lima. (B)
Day #24 Lima. On today’s sightseeing, see the 18th-century SAN FRANCISCO MONASTERY with its unique cloisters, the Government Palace, and cathedral situated around the vast Plaza de Armas. Then, take a short drive to the seaside suburb of Miraflores. Later, tour the LARCO HERRERA MUSEUM with its dazzling collection of Peruvian artifacts. (B)
Day #25 Lima. Your tour ends with breakfast this morning. (B)