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Through the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu
In 1911 American explorer Hiram Bingham discovered the stone terraces of Machu Picchu on an expedition sponsored by Yale University and the National Geographic Society. Follow in his footsteps. Explore this archaeological wonder for yourself. See daybreak from the Sun Gate. Descend into the city to walk through the ruins. And discover so much more in the land of the Inca: Ollantaytambo, the vast Sacsayhuamán Fortress, and Cusco, the oldest inhabited city in the Americas, with a rich heritage of Pre-Inca, Inca, colonial, and Republican cultures.
Book by October 31, 2022, for FREE ROUND-TRIP economy group airfare from Miami to Galápagos/Lima to Cusco on select 2022-23 departures. Upgrade to Business Class to Guayaquil starting at $750, subject to availability. All offers are valid for new bookings only, must be ticketed by Lindblad Expeditions and are subject to availability at time of booking. In the case that offered Miami flights are no longer available, Lindblad reserves the right to issue a credit. Baggage fees may be additional.
Free round-trip air from Ecuador to Galápagos on select 2022 departures. Book by October 31, 2022. New bookings only and subject to availability. All air offers are based on economy group flights that must be ticketed by Lindblad Expeditions. Baggage fees may be additional.
FREE AIR IN 2023
Free Round-Trip Air from Miami/Galápagos on all 2023 departures aboard National Geographic Islander II. Book by October 31, 2022. New bookings and subject to availability. All air offers are based on economy group flights that must be ticketed by Lindblad Expeditions. Baggage fees may be additional.
Explore iconic Machu Picchu with a full day to explore the extensive archaeological site with hand-picked guides
Sail the headwaters of the mighty Amazon River aboard the splendid Delfin II, venturing out daily in narrow, nimble skiffs that are able to explore the tributaries rife with wildlife
Explore the Sacred Valley of the Inca, including the Temple of the Sun, as well as Cusco’s magnificently ornate 17th-century cathedral on the Plaza de Armas
For two nights, use the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo as your base camp. Its Andean-style casitas are set along a reserve with 300 species of orchid
Book by October 31, 2022, to save 10% when traveling as a group of 6 or more people on select departures. Take advantage of these great savings while enjoying traveling with your friends and family. Valid for new bookings only, subject to availability, not applicable on extensions, and may not be combined with other offers. Call for details.
Embark on a sweeping adventure that encapsulates all the wildness of Galápagos balanced with the cultural and historic experiences of Machu Picchu & Peru's Land of the Inca. Explore Galápagos in depth aboard the 96-guest National Geographic Endeavour II, then discover the culture and history of Peru and the iconic ruins of Machu Picchu.
Expedition Highlights
Venture to the Sun Gate, the final checkpoint on the way to the archeological wonder, and watch daybreak before descending into the mountaintop city—a peak travel experience. It is the culmination of a perfectly paced week. You’ll explore an extraordinary melting pot of Peruvian history and culture, firmly rooted in Amerindian and Spanish traditions, with influences from Africa, Asia, and Europe as well. See the architectural achievements of the Incan empire. And the decorative arts: pottery, textiles, jewelry, and sculpture that reveal the sophistication of their artisans. Discover firsthand how the past echoes through contemporary life. Expert guides are personable, engaging travel companions. They introduce you to the art, music, and cuisine of this remarkable country. And each night your active days end at a succession of gracious and elegant hotels.
See, do, and learn more by going with engaging experts who have been exploring this region for decades.
Expedition Leader
Your expedition leader is the orchestrator of your experience. They have achieved expedition leader status because they possess the skills, experience, and the depth of knowledge necessary to continually craft the best expedition possible for our guests.
Our local guides have deep knowledge of the places we explore. They’ll share the stories and theories and put the lives of the people and places we explore into context. Their colorful personalities and passion for history, from the minutiae to the big picture, make them engaging travel tour guides and companions.
This was our last full day on the Galapagos Islands, and we visited one of the most beautiful sites to spot seabirds. We landed very early in the morning in Darwin’s Bay. Here, red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, and many other seabirds surrounded us. We headed off for snorkeling, kayaking, and paddleboarding with sea lions and manta rays! During the afternoon, we went to Prince Philip’s Steps for a chance to spot the short-eared owl, and guess what? We saw three of them, each closer to us than the other. To end this amazing day, we had a wine tasting at sunset.
We came back to the center of the Galapagos archipelago to see James Island and Chinese Hat. Our goal was to find a few Galapagos penguins. We went on a Zodiac ride along the bay in search of penguins. We found a few of them in the water and one just sunbathing on a very black basaltic rock. It is unique to see penguins right on the equator, an area with fierce sun and warm waters. It only happens here, in Galapagos. We also spotted seabirds, including pelicans and terns. Galapagos hawks suddenly appeared in the air. They are the most majestic birds in the islands, located at the top of the food chain. These incredible raptors became endemic to Galapagos and prefer a diet of marine iguanas and various small creatures, such as lizards, snakes, and seabirds. After the Zodiac expeditions, we returned to our ship and got ready for snorkeling. This experience was spectacular. Our astonished guests were so happy to see penguins swimming nearby. We also observed sharks, multicolored fish, sea urchins, sea stars of many colors and sizes, and Pacific turtles. What a journey in the water. It was a super experience. After our captain lifted anchor to move to the next destination, we gathered on the sundeck to observe the Bainbridge Islets. We observed flamingos in a lagoon. We thought the morning was spectacular, but the frosting on the cake came a few minutes later when expedition leader Jonathan Aguas spotted a few orcas feeding on fish and marine turtles. Wow! What a moment! One of the orcas jumped just alongside the bow of our ship. While they were eating, hundreds of shearwaters and frigates showed up to enjoy the leftovers. Yummy! A few frigates even competed for food up in the air! An amazing sight! In the afternoon, we anchored in Sullivan Bay near Bartolome Island. This is a pahoehoe lava field full of nature’s art. It is black everywhere and devoid of life. It occurred just two hundred years ago. The area looks how our planet might have looked at the beginning of its formation. So dramatic, inhospitable, and desertic. We walked for couple of hours to appreciate all the formations and rocks. Finally, we spotted more penguins on the rocks and many sea lions. We also observed Pinnacle Rock, an iconic formation of the islands. Our day was memorable! Incredible! Another day in paradise.
Today was a wonderful day in the Galapagos Islands. We started early morning so we could enjoy the wildlife activity. After a delicious breakfast, we boarded the Zodiacs. Our first landing spot was a very small islet with many surprises. Yellow land iguanas were waiting for us at the landing area. We enjoyed discussing the habitat, behaviors, and interesting facts about the incredible reptiles, and we learned about their ecology. Swallow-tailed gulls were another highlight this morning. We spotted many breeding couples and enjoyed their friendly and tame behavior. We also observed sea lions and tropicbirds on our morning walk, and we enjoyed their sounds and colors. After our walk, we came back to the ship and set sail to a new island, Santa Fe. Our guests explored the island by kayak, and they also enjoyed the opportunity to snorkel. We observed many different species, including blue-footed boobies and playful sea lions, the stars of the show as they played in the water. For the rest of the afternoon, we went exploring by foot on a hike that took us through a prickly pear cactus and palo santo tree forest. Our goal was to find one of the unique species on this island: the Santa Fe land iguana. This species only lives here and is seen nowhere else in the world. The experience was complete after we saw their incredible feeding behavior. They mainly eat cactus on this island. We also observed a big colony of sea lions. They greeted us right at our landing! Finally, fast-moving lava lizards and even a Galapagos hawk were added to our list of wonders today!
We woke up to the sound of birds and the spouts of pink dolphins around the ship. Yarapa is one of the tributaries surrounded by small fishermen settlements in a few areas along the river. We decided that it was best to go on an early pre-breakfast outing to spot a few species of birds and monkeys. A few minutes into the exploration, we encountered a couple monk saki monkeys, which are considered species of “new world monkeys.” Recovering from near extinction, these monkeys are often found in patches of mature forest. They feed on fruit and move along the canopy in small family troops of five to seven individuals. Their presence in a forest patch is an indicator of the health of a specific area. Due to their diets, these monkeys are important seed dispersers. We explored farther to encounter a family of squirrel monkeys jumping among the canopy and being highly vocal. These omnivorous monkeys have around 20-25 different types of calls registered. They live in interesting social structures from small to large numbers of individuals. Squirrel monkeys live up to twenty-five years. After breakfast, we landed near a small riverside community known as Amazonas. This small community is a partner in sustainability with Lindblad Expeditions. In a joint venture program, we teach local women about leadership and empowerment, running long-term projects like fish farms through local organizations, such as “Minga Peru.” Amazonas community welcomed us with an incredible display on producing sugarcane juice, a presentation on local community projects, and a colorful display of handmade souvenirs. During our afternoon exploration, we put on our rubber boots to explore a non-flooded forest trail known as Casual. This exploration site offered the opportunity to encounter an adult green anaconda. Green anacondas are the heaviest of the species and the second longest. Their bodies our adapted to an aquatic lifestyle, so their eyes and nostrils are on top of their heads and their patterns are camouflaged in the water’s vegetation. We found one of the small reptiles in a small rainwater pond. We were extremely lucky to find a couple of poison dart frogs, which were red and blue. We also found a monkey frog that was well-camouflaged in the green foliage. This species of poison dart frog (Dendrobates reticulata) is native to tropical Central and South America, and it is often seen under dried leaves at ground level here in the Amazon. Farther into the forest, we found one pink-toed tarantula hiding among the buttresses of an old strangler fig. These tarantulas are one of over a thousand arboreal tarantula species. They have the ability to eject hairs from their abdomen, causing irritation to predators. It’s incredible to learn that these tarantulas can live up to ten years! We finished an incredible trip that we will remember for the rest of our lives! We chose one of the prime locations to visit while here in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. What a life changing experience!
Early in the morning, we woke up as the ship navigated along the northeastern corner of the Galápagos Archipelago. Slowly, the sun appeared above the clouds that surrounded the majestic caldera of Genovesa, the Island of the Birds. We had reached the final full day in the Galápagos Islands. After six hours of navigation, our first activity of the day took place as we dropped anchor. The morning opened with kayaking and paddleboard outings along the cliff of an old collapsed caldera. After breakfast, the Zodiacs, our best tools for exploration, were lowered, and off we went to explore Darwin Bay. We had the opportunity to take magical pictures of different species of marine birds. The morning activities ended with a great snorkeling. As we swam, plenty of colorful fish and Galapagos sea lions surrounded us. It was a phenomenal experience! In the afternoon, our excursion took place at Prince Philip’s Steps. We walked through green incense trees and the yellow cordia forest that led us to a lava field. During our walk, we sighted red-footed boobies by the hundreds. The largest population of the world lives on the island. We also found many frigatebirds and the endemic Nazca boobies with their chicks. We ended our walk as the sun was setting, and we returned to the ship with great memories. It was a fantastic day in the northeastern part of the archipelago.
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