July 10, 2009

Latin America | Peru | Cusco

The Inca Luxe Trail

By Nicole Cotroneo

Explore Peru on the Amazon’s first luxury cruiser.

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You could elbow your way through Machu Picchu or hoof the Inca Trail, but Aqua Expeditions has a new way to see Peru: onboard the Amazon’s first modern luxury cruiser. With only 12 suites, the M/V Aqua is small enough to reach the remote headwaters of the Amazon basin where rare pink dolphins play. Embarking Saturday on its maiden journey, the riverboat will make three, four and seven-day excursions from Iquitos –- the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest — to the outskirts of the five-million-acre Pacaya Samiria Reserve (that’s twice the size of Yellowstone). When you’re not watching the Amazon glide by your window-walled suite, you can fish for piranha, take guided jungle walks, or sample a menu by one of Lima’s premier chefs.

Of course, you don’t have to be on the water to experience all of Peru’s liquid beauty. Next month, eco-tourism specialist Inkaterra opens an upscale 18-suite refuge along Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake and the birthplace of the Incas. Guestrooms at Inkaterra Titilaka (and yes, we’ve tried saying it fast) all feature waterviews, infinity bathtubs and heated floors — not to mention portable oxygen tanks if 12,500 feet above sea level makes you a tad woozy. In addition to its lakeside retreat, Inkaterra also debuts a new boutique hotel in February in the southern colonial city of Cusco. La Casona is a 16th-century, frescoed mansion in the World Heritage historic quarter and offers 11 suites kitted with their own massage tables. And, if you insist on muscling through nearby Machu Picchu, private cars and guides are at your service.