Peru & Galapagos by Yacht

Pisac is a small town in the Sacred Valley, known for its markets held several days per week. Villagers from the area come here to barter and sell their wares, varying from foods to woven goods to ceramics. There are also many handicraft shops near the market. Bargaining is possible with the vendors and it is a great place to see an authentic market. The symbol of the market used to be a huge spreading pisonary tree in the main square, but it was struck by lightning in 2003 and destroyed.

Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of an Inca ruler in the 15th century and is still inhabited today. During the Spanish conquest, it was an Incan stronghold, partly defended by steep terraces below the main Temple Hill site. These terraces were also used to farm the steep hillside. Most of the ruins on the Temple Hill are incomplete, so it is believed that the site was still under construction by the Incas when it was abandoned, possibly due to a conflict among Incan groups. Ollantaytambo is the starting point for the Inca Trail hike.

Learn to cook Peruvian favorites at a cooking class, hosted in a local restaurant in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Try your hand at concocting a quintessential dish and cocktail, and taste the fruits of your labor.

This is a ceramics workshop and studio in the Urumbamba Valley opened by artist Pablo Seminario who has studied ancient Peruvian pottery techniques for almost 30 years. His current works are combinations of traditional and modern styles, and he has pieces displayed in the Field Museum in Chicago. He makes pieces that range from utilitarian, such as bowls and plates, to decorative, such as Peruvian masks and jewelry pieces.

This is an Inca ruin dating from the 15th century, located in the Andes in Peru above the Sacred Valley of the Incas. It was thought to have been built as an estate for an Inca ruler and was abandoned after only about 100 years when many inhabitants died from diseases such as smallpox brought by the Spaniards, and transmitted to the site by travelers. The site was discovered by Hiram Bingham, a lecturer at Yale, in 1911 and National Geographic Magazine devoted a whole edition to it in 1913. It is now Peru’s most visited tourist attraction, and numbers have to be carefully controlled to minimize negative impacts on the site by too many people.

This is a park located on the Equator about 16 miles from the center of Quito (Ciudad Mitad del Mundo in Spanish). It contains a 30 meter high stone monument which commemorates a mission by the French Academy of Sciences to investigate the shape of the Earth, and there is a small museum inside the monument of articles of Ecuadorian culture. The park also contains a planetarium, a miniature model of Quito and several restaurants.

Spend 4 nights aboard a new, privately-chartered luxury yacht. Take in the beautiful views as this elegant ship takes you through the waters of Peru and the Galápagos islands. The ship is intimate and modern, including a comfortable lounge with large windows that look out across the ocean scenery.