SIU World Uro-oncology Update

Arrival in Lima. Transfer from the airport to the hotel. Dinner will be served at a local restaurant. Accommodation at 4* hotel in Lima.

After breakfast, depart by coach and English speaking guide for a city tour of Lima.

This half day tour visits both the colonial and modern sections of the "City of Kings". This excursion offers the best combination of the different attractions in Lima and its three historical periods: pre-hispanic, colonial and contemporary. In Lima, there were several different pre-columbian cultures which are dated thousands of years back. Lima was part of the Inca Empire until was founded by Francisco Pizarro on January the 18^th, 1535. During our guided tour we will travel along its millenary history. At the Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological precint built in the IV century A.C., we will have a panoramic view of this magnificent ceremonial and administrative centre which was considered by the Incas a holy village. We stop for a vist at: Paseo de la Republica (Promenade of the Republic), Plaza San Martin (San Martin Square) and Plaza Mayor (Main Square). The most important attractions of the city are: Palacio de Gobierno (Government Palace), Palacio Arzobispal (Archibishop's Palace), Basilica Catedral (Cathedral Basilica) and i(Municipal Palace). In its historic centre we shall visit one of its most beautiful buildings, the Larco Herrera Museum. The 18th century colonial-style museum houses the largest and most impressive ceramic collection in the world, with about 55,000 pre-Colombian clay pots. The collection concentrates on the refined ceramics of the Moche Dynasty, the people who lived along the northern coast of Peru between 200 and 700 AD. The Moche are also renowned for their fascinating erotic pottery and the famous collection is on display in the separate 'Erotic Hall', depicting sexual practices of several Peruvian cultures. We continue our tour with the monumental Convento de San Francisco (St Francis Monastery), which displays the biggest collection of religious art in South America. We will admire the Choir Room, the Monks’ Library, the Sacristy - with its collection of Zurbaran and Rivera paintings. From the historical Lima we drive among the exclusive residential areas of Miraflores and San Isidro. Transfer back to the hotel. In the evening, dinner will be served at a local and traditional restaurant called Rosa Nautica. Accommodation at 4* hotel in Lima.

After breakfast, transfer from the hotel to the Airport for the flight to Cusco. Arrival in Cusco and transfer to the hotel. A traditional tea will be served upon arrival. It is said that the tea will relax your muscles and your body will accept the high altitude much better. In the afternoon we depart by coach and English speaking guide for the city tour in Cusco. The tour includes the most significant sites in and around Cusco City, such as: the Qoricancha (temple of the Sun) which displays the best Inca stonework in the city and the Cathedral in the Cusco Main Square with its magnificent colonial art. The tour drives along the Circumvalacion Road up to the ancient Indian sanctuary of Sacsayhuaman with magnificent Inca walls of massive rocks weighing up to 130 tons fitted together with absolute perfection, Amphitheatre of Qenqo, the fortress of Pukapukara, built to protect the city. Our last stop will be the shrines of Qenqo and Tambomachay. Qenqo is a vast rocky hilltop carved into staircases, holes and channels, probably built to store the chicha (fermented maize beer) used in Inca rituals. The site features a semi-circular patio studded with several large niches surrounding a stone figure embedded within a chamber, rather like an idol inside its own shrine. Tambomachay is another fine example of Inca architecture made up of platforms, niches and fountains which still function today, as water flows down through them from a spring higher up in the hills. In Inca times, this was a sacred site used for worship of the water deity, one of the shrines that made up the Cusco ceque, the system of imaginary grid lines that irradiated out to sacred spots or indicated the time and place of the ceremonies. Tambomachay was a relaxing lodge for Incan nobility. Baths could be taken, possibly of a religious significance as water was an important male deity. There is some evidence that it was used as a hunting lodge, there being abundant wildlife in the surrounding hills. Transfer back to the hotel. In the evening, dinner will be served at a local restaurant. Accommodation at 4* hotel in Cusco.

After breakfast, depart by coach and English speaking guide to the train station in Cusco. We will travel by train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes. Here, we will meet our local guide and depart by coach to Machu-Picchu. Machu Picchu was probably built around the year 1450 AD, and it only thrived for approximately 100 years.Hiram Bingham, a Yale archaeologist and academic, was exploring the area in 1911, when he found the ruins with the help of a local farmer. Coincidently, Bingham also found thousands of Inca artifacts upon his discovery of the ruins, over 4,000 of which he exported. Conflict as to who should have the rights to the Inca artifacts have led Yale and Peru to agree for their return home, where they will eventually be housed at a museum in Cusco. Due to the fact that it had remained in obscurity for hundreds of years, Machu Picchu has been preserved and appears today much like it would have during its heyday. Among the most impressive characteristics of Machu Picchu is the technique that was employed to build it. It is still a general mystery as to how the Inca managed to move the large rocks that they used to construct the city, especially when you consider how it is perched almost precariously over the Urubamba River valley.The sanctuary of Machu Picchu is divided into two large sectors - one the agricultural sector and the other the urban or the citadel - of which the first surrounds the second. The sanctuary properly speaking is a citadel made up of palaces and temples, dwellings and storehouses, but above all for buildings which clearly fulfill ceremonial religious functions, the more luxurious and spectacular components of which are the mausoleums carved in the rock. The buildings as well as the plazas and the platforms that constitute the urban sector are connected among themselves by a system of narrow lanes or paths, mostly in the form of flights of steps, which cross the terraces which follow a flat longitudinal axis. The main platform of the urban sector is an extensive plaza - the main plaza - which in turn divides the buildings into hanan ("above" or "upper") and urin ("below" or "lower"). The urban sector was surrounded by impediments to gaining access to the sanctuary such as a defense wall and the deep and wide ditch, or dry moat, which surrounded the whole complex, not as part of a military fortification rather as a form of restricted ceremonial isolation. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. After lunch, transfer to the Aguas Calientes station. We take the train to return to Cusco. Dinner will be served at a local restaurant in Cusco. Accommodation at 4* hotel in Cusco.

After breakfast we depart by coach and English speaking guide to Puno.

During our trip you will get a chance to admire a variety of sites: archeological sites, nature sites, artistic sites as well as the fauna and flora. On the way we will visit: Andahuaylillas Church, oftenreferred to as the Andean Sistine Chapel because of its magnificent frescoes, the church is one example of the mestizo baroque architecture typical of the Cuzco School which was prominent in the 17th century. The ceiling of carved panels is covered with gold leaf; Raqchi- also named The Temple of the God Wiracocha, an Inca Temple. This monumental architecture measures100 meters in length, 26 meters in width and 14 meters in height and it is divided in two naves. The base of the walls consists of Imperial Inca stonework with a top section of adobe. Adjacent to the temple, we can see many storehouses, used for various purposes: social, religious and military. We arrive in Sicuani, where we will take a break to enjoy a delicious lunch buffet and also to buy handicrafts. After lunch we continue our trip to Puno, passing through La Raya - the highest pass on the route between Cuzco and Puno, La Raya is 4,335 meters above sea level. Beautiful landscapes await you, as well as the animals that are symbolic of the Andes: llamas, alpacas and vicunas. This is a region situated between two cultures, Quechua and Aymara, as well as a composite of two terrains: the dry and arid Altiplano and the more verdant Quechua valleys and rivers. Our last stop will be in Pucara- the most important and oldest ceremonial site this side of Tiahuanaco. Characterized by a series of satire platforms, the ruins also reveal some lito-sculptures and tombstones, all witnesses of a pre-Inca civilization, possibly one at the origin of the Andean culture of the Altiplano.Arrival in Puno and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation and dinner at 4* hotel in Puno.

After breakfast, depart by coach and English speaking guide to Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is a beautiful and much-venerated sacred lake that lies on the border between Peru and Bolivia, near Copacabana. According to Incan mythology, it was from Lake Titicaca that the creator god Viracoca rose up to create the Sun, Moon, stars, and first human beings and also the place where the Incas spirits return to their origin in the lake upon death.At 3,200 square miles in size and up to 1,000 feet in depth, Titicaca is one of the largest, highest, and deepest lakes in the world, also renowned for its deep blue beauty. We sail through Lake Titicaca and arrive at Uros Islands, in translation: The Floating Islands, man-made islands of reeds in the Peru side of Lake Titicaca. They are home to the descendents of the ancient Uros culture (contemporary with the now-extinct Incas), who still live a simple, traditional life. Their religion is a mixture of traditional Indian and Catholic, and they bury their dead on the mainland. These islands are made of local bulrush (totora). It seams that the Uros tribe in order to escape from the Inca invasions have built these islands in the middle of Lake Titicaca and for over 600 years every week a new layer of bulrush is added to compensate for the layers underneath that are rotting. There are at least 30 floating islands some smaller and some larger, there is even a floating school. Everything is made out of bulrush, from the houses in which the Uros locals leave, to the boats with which they go from island to island. At noon, we return to Puno. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, we depart by coach and English speaking guide to Sullustani Tombs. This archaeological place is located at a 30 minutes drive from Puno. Quite simply a massive cemetery used by the native peolpe since well before christ until the arrival of the spanish. The type of burial varied throughout the years from under ground chambers to half raised chambers to fully raised chambers then amazing show off chambers built by the Incas as a symbol of their superiority of the other tribes. In Sullustani, you will have the chance of visiting the famous “chullpas”, the funeral towers built of stone that reach 12 meters high. These towers were used by the Collas (native people from Peru) and also by the Inca people. Transfer back to the hotel. Accommodation at 4* hotel in Puno.

After breakfast, depart by coach and English speaking guide to Copacabana. We will arrive at Copacabana after about 3 hours of driving. Copacabana is the most important religious sanctuary of Bolivia, thousands of pilgrims visit every year the virgin of Copacabana also known as Native Madonna. We will visit the main square and the impressive Cathedral. You will arrive into the Sun Island after about 1 hour of a spectacular catamaran cruise. Lunch will be served on board. The island has been identified as the birthplace of several revered entities, including the sun itself. A source of magnetic energy, the vertex of the earth and the cradle of the Inca Empire, the Inca couple Manco Kapac and Mama Ocllo appeared here and founded the Sun Empire. During the tour we will visit : The Inca Garden, The Inca Stairs - was built by the Incas in order to reach the Inca Water spring – a source of eternal youth ( a natural water spring with 3 different openings of different tastes), The Sun Island Inti Wata Complex, that contains the largest amount of archaeological items founded in the island and the largest demo variety of Andean flora and fauna available in Bolivia, The Complex includes the Underground Museum Ekako, a center for traditional medicine the center for the construction of the totora boats from the Lake Titicaca. You can also see the agricultural terraces Pachamama, a handicraft center, the Intica Salon and from the “Manco Kapac” observation center you can admire the great diversity of camelides from the Alps. You will have the opportunity to go on a traditional boat on Lake Titicaca and see the Pilkokaina Palace. After the tour we travel by Catamaran to Chua port. We continue by coach to La Paz. Dinner will be served at a local restaurant. Accommodation at 4* hotel in La Paz.

After breakfast, depart by coach and local guide to Tiwanaku. The prehistoric city of Tiwanaku is located on the southern shore of the famous Lake Titicaca along the border between Bolivia and Peru. During the heyday of this city was between A.D. 500 and 950, religious artifacts from the city spread across the southern Andes, but when the conquering Inka arrived in the mid-fifteenth century, the site had been mysteriously abandoned for half a millennium. Even after its abandonment, Tiwanaku continued to be an important religious site for the local people. It later became incorporated into Inka mythology as the birthplace of mankind as the Inka built their own structures alongside the ruins. Tiwanaku remains an integral locale in the religious lives of Andean people in the turbulent present of modern Bolivia. Although dozens of national and international projects began to unlock Tiwanaku's secrets during the last century, we are only recently beginning to piece together the puzzle behind the origin of this architectural marvel and the people who built it. At noon, return to La Paz. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. After lunch, we depart by coach and English speaking guide for a panoramic tour of the La Paz. We will visit the colonial streets, the Murillo Square, the Cathedral, the Government Palace, the Colonial Church San Francisco and the Moon Valley. Transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon, free time for leisure, visiting or shopping. Dinner will be served at the hotel. Accommodation at 4* hotel in La Paz.

After breakfast, transfer by coach to the airport for the flight to Santiago de Chile. Arrival in Santiago de Chile and transfer by coach to the hotel. In the afternoon, attend the Welcome Ceremony at the Congress. In the evening, dinner will be served at the hotel. Accommodation at 4* hotel in Santiago de Chile.

Day10 (Friday, November 21):

After breakfast, attend the Congress. In the afternoon, we depart by coach and English speaking guide for the city tour of Santiago de Chile. The city tour begins in the heart of Santiago, the Plaza de Armas where we will walk and you will find out about the historic significance of the location and the importance of the surrounding buildings. We then continue our tour, passing the ex-National Congress to arrive at the Plaza de la Constitucion and the infamous Palacio La Moneda. We then continue through the cobble-stoned streets of Barrio Paris-Londres and arrive at Iglesia San Francisco, the oldest church in Santiago, dating back to the early 1600s. We will wander through the interior of the church and learn about its history. Driving down the Alameda we will observe many additional historic sights in Santiago on our way to the artistic and colorful barrio of Bellavista. Here we will ride the funicular to the top of Cerro San Cristobal for a scenic vista of Santiago. Leaving the top, we will drive down through Parque Metropolitana, Santiago’s largest and most interesting park. Transfer to the hotel. Dinner will be served at the hotel. Accommodation at 4* hotel in Santiago de Chile.

Day 11 (Saturday, 22 November):

After breakfast, attent the Congress. In the afternoon, free time for leisure and shopping. Accommodation at 4* hotel in Santiago de Chile.

OPTIONAL, at noon, Half day tour to Valparaiso by coach and English speaking guide. At lunch you can go along with the coach and guide to Valparaiso. Valparaíso was recently designated World wide patrimony and holds beautiful sights of houses clinging to steep hills overlooking the sea and beautiful XIX century architecture. It has magic, picturesque elevators, colorful quarters, and unique and unforgettable sceneries. We will visit La Sebastiana, the House Museum of Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda, located in one of the city's 45 hills. We continue driving until we reach Viña Del Mar, Chile's most luxurious resort town. People come for Viña Del Mar's languorous tropical ambiance, its grand avenues lined with palms and banana trees, its vast, soft stretches of white sand beach, and its sybaritic plenitude of gourmet restaurants. While Viña's celebrity has brought it any number of sleek, modern buildings, the character of the town is set by its many charming colonial houses. Perhaps the most romantic way to tour Viña Del Mar's tranquil streets is via Victoria, the region's traditional horse-drawn carriage. The resort is also known for its beautiful parks, including the Quinta Vergara. In the midst of the Quinta's carefully-landscaped grounds is the Museo de Bellas Artes, housed in a turn-of-the-century mansion. Also we will visit the 61-hectacre Jardìn Botànico Nacional, home to an enormous variety of native and exotic plants and flowers. Transfer to the hotel. Dinner and accommodation at 4* hotel in Santiago de Chile.

After breakfast, we depart by coach and English speaking guide for the Wine Tour. We arrive at Colchagua Valley, the best Wine Region of the World by Wine Enthusiast in 2005. The valley produces excellent Malbec, Syrah, Cabernet and Carmenere wines and is home to two of Chile's most famous wineries - Casa Lapostolle and Montes. In addition to the thirty five wineries in the valley there are many options to combine wine tourism with gastronomy, trekking, horseback riding and a world class museum. Free time to enjoy some of the attractions the winery offers. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. After lunch, we continue visiting the winery, tasting wine and enjoying the walks in the valley. Late afternoon, transfer back to Santiago de Chile. Accommodation at 4* hotel in Santiago de Chile.

Transfer from the hotel to the airport in Santiagofor your flight home.

Quotations inclusions:

• Return transfer by coach and English speaking guide from the airport to the hotel in Lima;
• 2 nights accommodation in twin rooms with halfboard at a 4* hotel in Lima;
• Half day city tour in Lima by coach and English speaking guide;
• Flight from Lima to Cusco;
• Transfer by coach and English speaking guide from the airport to the hotel in Cusco;
• 2 nights accommodation in twin rooms with halfboard at a 4* hotel in Cusco;
• Half day city tour in Cusco by coach and English speaking guide;
• Full day tour by private coach, train and English speaking guide to Machu Picchu (lunch included);
• Full day tour while traveling from Cusco to Puno by private coach and English speaking guide (lunch included);
• Full day private tour by coach & boat to Lake Titicaca & Sullustani Tombs (lunch included);
• 2 nights accommodation in twin rooms with halfboard at a 4* hotel in Puno;
• Transfer by coach and English speaking guide from Puno to La Paz;
• 2 nights accommodation in twin rooms with halfboard at a 4* hotel in La Paz;
• Full day private tour by coach & catamaran to Copacabana (lunch included);
• Half day private tour by coach and English speaking guide to Tiwanaku (lunch included);
• Flight from La Paz to Santiago de Chile;
• Transfer by coach and English speaking guide from the hotel to the airport in Santiago de Chile;
• 4 nights accommodation in twin rooms with halfboard at a 4* hotel in Santiago de Chile;
• Half day city tour in Santiago de Chile by private coach and English speaking guide;
• Full day tour by private coach and English speaking guide to Colchagua Valley (lunch included);
• English speaking local guides for the transfers and tours;
• Bolivia visa assistance;
• Eurolink Tours escort during the tour;

Quotations exclusions:

• Medical Insurance;
• Visa entry fees;
• Meals not listed in the itinerary;
• Sightseeing not listed in the itinerary;
• Optional half day tour to Valparaiso (lunch included): GBP 50 / person;
• Personal expenses, such as laundry, drinks, fax, telephone calls, optional activities etc;
• Gratuities, tips to drivers, guides, bell boys;
• Excess baggage charge.