C R U I S E LATIN AMERICA Machu Picchu Iguaçu boat ride
Iguaçu Falls
Cruise ships operating in the Galapagos have to be small, with no more than 100 passengers. Silver Galapagos, one of Silversea’s expedition ships, is at the maximum. Celebrity Cruises is not far behind with Celebrity Xpedition, which holds 92 passengers. Most ships are smaller, but
all carry naturalists licensed by the Galapagos National Park to lead excursions ashore. Landings are made by inflatable zodiacs, often stepping into water or onto rocks so clients need a degree of mobility. They also need a sense of adventure as the islands are undeveloped, with uneven dusty paths. Swan Hellenic is offering a
four-night pre- or post-cruise trip to the Galapagos with two cruises to South America next winter. Passengers stay one night in Guayaquil and cruise for three nights on the
Galapagos Legend (pre- cruise trip from February 28 to March 3, 2016, or Coral (post- cruise from March 4-8. Prices from £2,249 per person.
MACHU PICCHU The ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu is high up in the Andes in Peru, almost 8,000 feet above sea level. Abandoned when the Spanish arrived in South America and undiscovered by the invading conquistadors, it lay hidden for centuries. It was rediscovered in 1911 by an America historian and, these days, a trip to the Lost City of the Incas is so popular that cruise lines visiting the port of Callao in Peru offer land tours at the start, end or even in the middle of a cruise so passengers don’t miss out. Intrepid explorers can hike the Inca Trail to the site but most people arrive by train and bus, have a guided tour
of the ruins – highlights include the Funery Rock Hut, Royal Tomb and Sacred Plaza – then return to Sacred Valley or Cuzco for the night. Swan Hellenic passengers
can tack a three-night Machu Picchu tour (one night in Lima, two nights in the Sacred Valley) to the start of a 15-day cruise from Callao to Valparaiso departing January 18, or a two-night stay in the Sacred Valley to the end of a 15-day Cartagena to Callao sailing from January 4-18. From £1,099 per person for two nights. Princess Cruises offers a
seven-night land tour from Lima to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu that connects with a voyage from Santiago to Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro, while Holland America passengers can break into a voyage for a two- night overland tour to Machu Picchu. They depart the ship in Callao, fly to Cuzco for a
tour and overnight stay, travel by bus, train and coach to Machu Picchu for a guided tour and return to Cuzco for a night and a flight back to Lima to rejoin the cruise. Prices from $2,999 per person sharing a standard double room.
IGUACU FALLS Less well-known than Niagara but far more spectacular, the Iguaçu Falls are in the rainforest on the borders of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay – and if the precipitation doesn’t get you, the spray from the water thundering over the edge of the Parana Plateau certainly will. There are between 150 and
300 waterfalls (the number depends on water levels) along the 1.7 mile-long plateau, each between 60 and 82 metres high. Some 6.5 million litres of water per second thunders over the plateau, compared with
42 | Travel Weekly Cruise | February 2015
travelweekly.co.uk/cruise
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