Tailor Made Holidays in Equador
Peru is an amazing country, it offers visitors such wealth and diversity as are rarely found in the world. Important ancient cultures have left their mark here: Inca, Moche, Chimu, Nasca and Paracas among many other civilizations followed one another, making the history of Peru one of the richest, and its archaeological legacy one of the most important. Pre-Inca temples are interspersed with colonial cities, sensual deserts and exuberant tropical forests, not to mention the imposing Andes mountains and contemporary cities mix with ancient cultures and ancestral traditions. Adventure, mysticism, culture, gastronomy, nature and much more in a single country.Our holiday specialists will carefully plan your itinerary for a truly individual tailor-made experience. Trips to Peru can be very busy with early mornings and long days, but we will ensure that you have time to rest, and also time to acclimatise to the altitude. Domestic flights are used where necessary and tend to depart in the mornings, hence the need for early starts, are used where necessary. Wherever possible we have made use of the spectacular road and rail journeys that link the main towns and sights.
Our Itineraries offer you the best selection of destinations, you decide how and where to start discovering each of them. But we can assure you that the experience will be more than satisfactory.
Peru's cultural and geographical variety has been fascinating tourists, anthropologists and zoologists for many years. Humans have been living in Peru for about 10,000 years, and by 3,000 years ago Peruvian civilization had emerged, featuring irrigation agriculture, fine pottery, and expertly woven textiles of striking design. The Incas, one of the many tribes that inhabited the highlands of Peru, established a great empire in the XIII Century that extended from Ecuador south to Central Chile. Accomplished engineers, the Incas built an extensive network of road and bridges, and many fine cities. The most famous of these is Machu Picchu, high above the Urubamba Valley. The Spanish came to Peru in 1532, lured by a “kingdom of gold” and rapidly destroyed Inca civilization.Peru is frequently referred to as the “land of Incas”. It is the third largest country in South America and can be cut into three geographical slices: coastal desert, highlands and jungle. Three-fifths of Peru is jungle, divided into the hot, steamy lower Amazon and the high jungle. The high jungle is the area where the mountains meet the Amazon – a subtropical expanse where Peru’s coffee and most of the world’s coca crop is grown. The way to get to Iquitos - an old Jesuits settlement, biggest city in the middle of the jungle with population of 400,000 people – is either by the plane or by the boat.
The last of Peru’s three diverse geographical regions is totally different from the Andes and the Amazon regions. The entire coastal strip of Peru is desert. Visitors going for a trip outside Lima on the bus notice that Lima is surrounded by bare rock and sand. Rivers from the Andes flow through this desert to the Pacific Ocean, creating small oases that have supported a variety of civilizations through the ages.
100% Tailor-made JourneysAt ICAN Holidays we pride ourselves in the fact that we offer clients what they want - our packages are all tailor made. Only you know what your ideal holiday should include. Whether you want to concentrate on culture or spend time wildlife watching, sample a city’s hustle and bustle or relax in a secluded beauty spot, ICAN Holidays will assist you discover the joy of designing a unique holiday just for you.
Throughout this website we have provided suggested itineraries for all the regions we visit, and you may wish to base your travels on these. After an initial consultation, one of our Specialists will create a unique itinerary for your holiday, complete with background information, historical notes, colour pictures, etc. We will not begin to book your holiday until you are completely satisfied with it.
Because our Specialists regularly travel to the regions you will be visiting, they can offer invaluable advice and suggestions for things to see and do while you are there and you can be confident that your unique itinerary has been created by someone who has extensive first-hand knowledge of the places and accommodation it contains.
Peru can be visited all year round.In Lima and on the coast in general, December to April are the hottest and sunniest months. June to August is more humid and a light drizzle may occur from June to October, though it never rains in Lima. You can wear lightweight clothing from October to May.
In contrast, the driest months in the highlands are June to October, though the weather in this area can vary considerably in a single day: very cold at night and in the early morning and hot at midday. It is advisable, here to use clothes that you can change easily. Sweaters / jumpers, jackets and long trousers are necessary. Daytime temperatures can vary between 60F/15C - 70F/20C and between 40F/4C - 50F/10C at night. If you are visiting the city of Cusco, for example, (3,400 mts. / 11,200 ft.) and go on an excursion to Machu Picchu (2,400 mts. / 8,000 ft.) you will leave in the early morning when it is very cold but the temperature when you arrive may be quite high, not only because of the time of day but because of the altitude. It rains from December to March so waterproof clothing is essential. In the jungle, at Iquitos or Puerto Maldonado the temperature is 80F / 27C. Rainfall is heaviest from June to November. The same type of clothes are suitable all year: tropical kit but always with long trousers and lightweight cotton shirts with long sleeves, which are not too hot but protect against jungle insects.
Don't forget waterproof boots or trainers for walking, absorbent socks, a hat, waterproof, swimming costume, sunglasses, sunblock, repellent, binoculars, torch and a water bottle or canteen.
All our holidays are unique travel experiences, and therefore tailor-made to suit individual requirements. We do not publish prices on our website as they can vary enormously for tailor-made travel.Prices are generally for private arrangements and are per person using economy class flights based on two people travelling together and sharing a room.
There are a number of factors which will influence the price of your travel arrangements, these include the standard of hotel (we offer a variety of standards from ‘three star’ to the super-luxurious), the season, the duration of your trip, the class of flights and the airline used, the level of private guiding and the complexity of the itinerary. Our specialists will be delighted to discuss the various options in more detail with you.
