Central America with Cuba

• We will arrive in Mexico City via Amsterdam on a KLM airways flight. • On arrival, we will head to the Roma neighborhood of the city for checking into our hotel. • Dinner and overnight in the hotel.

• We will start our day with a visit to the historic centre of CDMX with the Palacio Bellas Artes, which is in Zocalo, the main square of the city. • Before we stop for lunch we would have visited some of the most important parts of the historic centre including the Templo Mayor Museum, where the Aztecs of ancient Mexico had their capital.

• We will take the domestic flight to the city of Cancun in the peninsula Yucatan. • On arrival, we will drive to the colonial town of Valladolid. • Evening would be at ease to enjoy the town and to sink in some Yucatan culture.

• Today, we will start early with pack breakfast boxes with the purpose of avoiding the crowds at the Chichen Itza, the most popular Mayan site and the new wonder of the world. A local guide will explain to us the details of this site. • We will then drive to the other wonder of Yucatan, the Pink Lake to the north. • In the evening we will arrive in Merida, the capital of the Yucatan province.

• We will further explore the beautiful landscape of Yucatan with our first stop being the 3 Cenotes at Cuzama. The ancient Mayan people used the fresh water from these cave ponds of Yucatan as there is no river here. Each Cenote has clear water and if you wish to swim it would be a wonder experience. • Later, we will drive to the yellow city of Izamal, where most of the houses are as the name suggests, painted yellow. • Lunch would be in a local restaurant. • We will then proceed to drive back to Merida where before going back to the hotel we will visit the Grand Museum of Mayan civilization. • Enjoy a post dinner walk in this city to enjoy its feel.

• Yet another day of Yucatan wonders as we drive to a sleepy beach town of Celestun to experience the Celestun Biosphere reserve, home to thousands of Flamingos and other birds of the sea. • We will enjoy a two hour boating in the reserve to witness the birds, later after lunch we will continue our drive to Campeche, the most charming town on the sea in the Yucatan peninsula. • In the evening, in Campeche we will enjoy a tour of the corniche (sea front) and other beautiful sights of the fortified colonial town.

• We will spend the day driving as we move from the state of Campeche to Chiapas. • Some part of the drive would be on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. • We would enter a very different landscape as we start ascending to enter the mountainous Chiapas. The forests around Palenque is home to howler monkeys and other tropical birds.

• The Mayan ruins of Palenque are not only famous for their architecture but also their wild setting in the forest. • Early in the morning as the fog rises and you are woken up by the call of the howler monkey and birds the ruins of Palenque would enchant you with their appeal. The ruins which are from 600 – 900 AD depict the various facets of Mayan kingdom in the classical period before the Aztecs from the north of Mexico came and merged with the Mayan civilization. • After visiting the ruins, we will set of on the mountainous road to the waterfalls of Misol’ha, ‘ha’ in Mayan means water, and ‘misol’ means a stream. • Enjoy the experience of walking behind the waterfall. Our next stop is the turquoise waters or Aqua Azul. • You could enjoy a nice dip in the waters before lunch. • We will then have a straight three hour drive up to San Cristobal, a unique mountain town.

• The Sumidero Canyon is the deepest in Mexico and taking a boat trip in the river is an unforgettable experience. • Later, we will make photo stops on top of the Canyon to enjoy the scenery. • On our way back to San Cristobal we will visit the village of Chamula for its unique church which has a wonderful mix of Mayan and Catholic culture. • In the evening enjoy walking in the old town with charming cafes.

• The drive to the border of Mexico with Guatemala is easier on the Mexican side. The crossing can be a little time consuming. • On the other side of the border and in Guatemala we would be picked up by the Guatemalan coach. • We would drive to Quetzaltenango, the second biggest city in Guatemala but not touristy. Xela, as it is known is set against the beautiful backdrop volcanoes.

• In the morning, we will visit the hot water springs and enjoy a dip along with the views of the beautiful surroundings. • We will drive to the most beautiful lake in Central America, Lake Atitlan with the two volcanoes, Santiago and Atitlan in its backdrop. Our stay would be on the banks of the lake. In the evening, enjoy a beautiful sunset from the lawns of the hotel.

• Today is dedicated to enjoying the lake and the various activities around it. • We will visit a local weaving community to observe the traditional Mayan weaving art. Guatemalan coffee is famous for its flavor so is the chocolate, which we would be tasting today. The villages around the lake like Santa Catarina and San Antonio also will be covered in the day trip. • Evening is spent relaxing in the hotel by the open spaces.

• After breakfast on the lake and enjoying the last views of Atitlan we will depart for the most beautiful town in Guatemala, Antigua. • We will arrive in this beautiful colonial town to enjoy an evening walking around its cobbled stone streets. Spending some time in the Plaza Mayor is a lovely way to observe the local life.

• In the morning, we will walk up to the view point to enjoy the view from the Cerro de la Cruz. • Later we will visit the most well preserved baroque church in the city, the Iglesia de la Merced and the Church of San Francisco. • For lunch we will visit a local Guatemalan restaurant and enjoy the last lunch in Guatemela. Much of the evening is free for you to enjoy on your own. • Dinner would be early as the next day is an early morning flight

• We will board an early morning flight to Mexico City and further to Havana, the capital of Cuba. In Havana we will enter a very different world and travel back perhaps 30 – 40 years in time. Havana is a place so distinctly different than any other city that you have seen in Latin America. • On arrival, we will check into our hotel. • Evening is free to enjoy the streets of old Havana as the hotel is handpicked to be in the centre.

• In the morning after a leisurely breakfast we will enjoy full day tour of Havana covering the most important sights of the city. The museum of Revolution and the National Capital building are some of the most important sights of this city. • In the afternoon we will enjoy lunch in a local restaurant. • The evening would be touring the Malecon of Havana to experience the Caribbean Sea.

• As we leave Havana behind and drive towards Vinales we will be seeing some of Cuba’s best countryside. Vinales is the home of the Cuban Cigar and amongst its tobacco plantations with lush green fields are the Mogotes. They are steep sided lime stone hills and their presence seems quite remarkable in the surrounding flats. • After lunch in the plantation we will take a tour of a tobacco farm and learn how to roll a Cuban cigar. • Return back to Havana in the evening. • Day18Havana • For our last day in Havana we will experience visiting some more local sights, this time in an old America style car. • We will learn more about Havana’s culture and have time for some last minute shopping before heading back to the airport for our flight back to India via Amsterdam.