One of Lima’s major travel agencies would offer full time support to foreign participants before, during and after AMCIS 2010 conference. Peru is a country that provides a very rich variety of opportunities to visitors, from local museums and ruins located only a few blocks from the proposed conference site to the country’s best known sightseeing attraction Cusco and Machu Picchu. Following are alternative tours organized according to the amount of time involved in each case.
A special program for companions would also be prepared, based on two basic criteria: the selection of most important sites in Lima and also reasonable costs. The objective would be to provide fulfilling sightseeing, shopping and luncheon options at economic rates.
Visits of Lima - Half day and one day tours
Historical Center of Lima: During Colonial times, the city of Lima, headquarters of the Viceroy, was walled and within this area the main Spanish constructions were built constituting invaluable historical monuments. Among these the cathedral, San Francisco's Convent, also declared "World Heritage Site" for the artistic jewels that it possesses and for its beautiful architecture, Torre Tagle Palace and several others.
Archaeological places in Lima: Before the Spanish foundation in 1535 the geographical area of Lima was inhabited by diverse pre-Inca cultures that have bequeathed constructions and temples, preserved and restored, like Pachacamac, Puruchuco, Cajamarquilla, Huaca Pucllana, among others.
Museums in Lima: To come closer to the millennial Peruvian culture, Lima has diverse museums that display rich collections. Among these, Museum of the Nation, National Anthropologic, Archeological and Natural History Museum, Gold of Peru Museum, Larco Herrera Museum, Amano Museum.
Rimac: Urban center located in the north bank of the Rimac river, well known by its colonial constructions, museums and the famous "Plaza de Toros de Acho" (bullfight ring).
Barranco: District of Lima called "The city of the Mills", a place visited by poets, artists and bohemians. At nights it offers amusement shows and is also well known for its bars and restaurants.
San Isidro and Miraflores: These are two districts of Lima that are characterized by the modernity of their constructions and services. Today they concentrate most of the best hotel establishments, restaurants, shopping centers, show centers and the banking, commercial and managerial systems.
Visits outside of Lima - One day tours
The Sacred City of Caral: Located 182 Km. North of Lima is, because of its size and architectural complexity the most important settlement of one of the earliest civilizations in the world, as old as those of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China. The 42 radiocarbon dating tests performed at Caral confirm the prolonged occupation of the city, which was continually remodeled between 3000 and 2000 B.C.
Nasca: A unique place, full of mystery and mysticism, displays wonderful forms of immense figures and lines, of spectacular perfection, work of the very old Peruvian civilization that occupied that location. The Nasca Lines are also considered part of the Cultural World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Paracas: An excellent ecological destination for nature lovers and birdwatchers, the Paracas National Reserve declared Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO, also offers cultural historical sites and a good alternative to relax.
Post conference tours (two or more days)
A very special program of post conference tours will be scheduled to give AMCIS attendees and their families the opportunity to enjoy the top Peruvian tourists destinations at special rates. Following are some samples:
Chiclayo and Lord of Sipan: Three days/two nights
from $400.00
Chiclayo was a simple village of Indians and Mestizos on the road between Lambayeque and Zaña. It had the good fortune, however, of being in the center of an important pre-Inca archeological zone, the site of recent spectacular archaeological discoveries such as The Lord of Sipan, in Huaca Rajada, The Lord of Sican, in Batan Grande, and the pyramids of Tucume. The recently inaugurated Museo de Tumbas Reales de Sipan (Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum) and Sican National Museum, housing a collection of incalculable worth, has made these discoveries accessible to visitors.
Chiclayo has thus become Peru’s second tourist destination, after Cusco, in terms of archaeological and historical interest. Chiclayo, also known for its highly-regarded sorcerers and healers, is located on Peru’s northern coast at 97 ft above sea level. The city tour includes: visit to Cathedral, Elías Aguirre Park, Dos de Mayo Theather, and Herbolario Market. During the 2 nd day: Sican and the Tucume Pyramides, also the National Museum of Sican and Pimentel Beach. Dinner is included. On the third day: visit to the tomb of the Master of Sipan, of the cultures Moche and Chimu, Huaca Rajada, and the Museum of the Real Tombs. Cost includes air ticket, transfer to and from airport, and visitors tickets to the ruins.
Cusco-Machu Picchu: Four days/three nights from $470.00
"The Archeological Capital of America"; it constitutes the most important tourist attractiveness in Peru, and the most visited one. Cuzco, was the biggest city and capital of the Inca Empire; today it has an architecture that fuses the Inca with the Spanish styles.
Its towns preserve with pride customs and traditions. It is also the forced step to the understanding of the mystic and enigmatic sacred citadel of the Incas, Machu Picchu, that was discovered in 1911. Cuzco and Machu Picchu are considered Cultural World Heritage Sites, for their historical value, and for their beauty.
The price shown above covers: transfer to and from the airport, train ticket to Machu Picchu; visitors tickets to the ruins, accommodation at selected hotel, meals included in the itinerary.
Other tourist destinations that take two or more days are:
Arequipa: Widely known as the "Ciudad Blanca" ( White City) for its beautiful colonial homes, churches and monasteries constructed of a white volcanic stone - sillar - that is unique to the area.
The city center, which was recently recognized by the United Nations as a World Cultural Heritage Site, is surrounded by a beautiful countryside.
You may also visit the nearby Colca Valley and Colca Canyon, one of the deepest in the world (two-times deeper than the Gran Canyon),
Callejon de Huaylas – Huaraz: The Callejón de (Corridor of) Huaylas - sometimes called “the Switzerland of South America” - offers spectacular Andean landscapes, snow-capped summits and turquoise blue lagoons in the beautiful Cordillera Blanca (White Mountain Range). Both the nearby Chavin de Huantar - the cradle of Peru’s oldest civilization - and the magnificent Huascaran National Park have been named World Heritage Sites. This gorgeous region is also a paradise for adventure sports.
Iquitos - Amazon River: An ideal place for lovers of nature and biodiversity tourism and for those who want to feel an intimate contact with the Amazon forests; from the city one can go into housings located in full jungle, and for the most adventurous and fearless it is possible to arrive to the reservations and national parks as Pacaya Samiria or Allpahuayo Mishana, with exuberant flora and fauna.
Manu - National Park: Intangible area, devoted to protect the fauna and flora, and the Andean oriental and Amazon scenic beauties, it embraces territories from the Andean puna and yunga in the department of Cusco to the low jungle in the department of Madre de Dios, furrowed by the Manu river, high part of Madre de Dios river and affluent.
Puno and Titicaca Lake: Located in the Andean highland next to the Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, inhabited by the Uros, it is earth of the legendary Aymara people, and the Tiahuanaco Culture. It is the folkloric capital of Peru.
Trujillo: The capital of the spring, city of old colonial lineage, very near Chan Chan, capital of the Chimu nation (XII Century), one of the largest cities built with mud in the world, declared Cultural World Heritage Site by UNESCO, another archaeological pre-Inca location. An excellent destination for the archaeological historical tourism.