Special 4: Cross the Andes to the Amazon

You will be picked up at the airport and taken to your comfortable hotel to relax and acclimatize to the altitude. In the afternoon you will be taken on an Arequipa city tour to view what is considered by many to be the most attractive city in Peru, where many of the colonial buildings are made of white ashler stone.

You will start out early to spend as much time as possible in the majestic Peruvian highlands arriving at the Colca Canyon lookout point "Cruz del Condor" in Chivay. Here you will have a panoramic view of the Canyon. During your journey you will not only see amazing panoramas but also typical Andean villages and animals -llamas, alpacas and vicuñas- whose wool the inhabitants use to make the finest of textiles. To fully enjoy the trip we have arranged an overnight stay in a lodge close to the canyon so that you will have every opportunity of photographing condors and grabbing up textile bargains. In the afternoon of day 3 you will return to your hotel in Arequipa- the White City.

Transfer to the Arequipa airport to take your flight to Cuzco. You will be picked up at the airport and taken to your comfortable hotel where you are advised to rest to acclimatize to the altitude. That evening, enjoy the night life of Cuzco at your leisure.

In the early afternoon you will be taken on a city tour and will visit a local archeological site returning in the later afternoon to relax and eat in one of the many restaurants where you can enjoy the local cuisine and hospitality of the local people.

After an early breakfast and early start you will be taken through the Sacred Valley of the Incas where life has remained almost unchanged for 500 years. You will visit the impressive ruin of Ollantaytambo and have the opportunity to visit a local artisan market in Pisac to enjoy the beautiful handicrafts on sale and observe the traditional dress worn by many, not just for tourists, but as part of their heritage of the local people. Before returning to your hotel in the late afternoon you will have the opportunity to eat typical Andean food in a local restaurant.

After breakfast at the hotel you will take a train to the hidden citadel of the Incas: Machu Picchu. You will have a guided tour of one of the most awe inspiring places in the world. As an option, you may stay overnight in this area (highly recommended) and visit the ruins early next day when the full magnificence of the site reveals itself in all its majesty. You can also relax at the nearby hot springs. Otherwise, you will return to your hotel in Cuzco in the late afternoon.

Take an early flight to Puerto Maldonado. Upon your arrival you will be immediately transferred to Posada Amazonas. The Posada Amazonas Lodge is located in the territory of the Ese'eja native community and is built with the same materials and architectural techniques as those used by the native communities throughout the Amazon. As you leave the traces of the city of Puerto Maldonado behind, sailing in a dugout canoe on the Tambopata River, the tranquility of the rainforest absorbs you.

At dawn a short hike takes you to the parrot clay lick a few minutes down-river from the lodge. Later, after breakfast, you can try to spot for giant river otters, turtles, hoatzin, and wading birds. In the afternoon you will go for a walk through the forest. Enthusiasts can go on a night walk.

At dawn you can go for an optional visit to the clay lick. After breakfast, you will go for a hike accompanied by an Ese'eja who will explain how the forest is used in their everyday life: for food, medicine, construction materials etc. In the afternoon you will hike a different trail that crosses a floodplain and a bamboo forest.

After an early breakfast at your lodge you will be transferred to Puerto Maldonado for your flight out, or you may continue on to another destination.

• 10 nights at comfortable hotels based on US standards.
• All meals at Posada Amazonas.
• Guided visits with English speaking tour guides.
• All transfers and entrance fees.
• All breakfasts. 4-star and up hotels offer breakfast buffets.

You will leave every trace of human inhabitation behind and enter virgin rainforest. You will immediately notice the difference in wildlife abundance: macaws, kingfishers and cormorants can be spotted more frequently and the chances of encountering capybaras, caimans and other wildlife improve significantly. When you arrive at TRC you will be greeted by the ‘chicos’, a flock of semi-wild, rescued macaws. TRC lies close to the world’s largest macaw clay lick. Daily, hundreds of parrots and different species of macaws gather around the fifty meters high cliff, quarrelling over choice branches to grab a beakful of clay, a vital but mysterious part of their diet. All meals are included.

There is still more to discover in this ecological paradise. More tous are available when you book extra days. All meals are included.

We recommend that you book more time in Cuzco . There is so much to see in and around the city and we would be pleased to book them for you. Otherwise you can simply stay and take in the sights and sounds of this magnificent city and its magnificent people.

Have an extra day to visit the ruins on your own, relax at the local hot springs, and walk around the orchid gardens. The enormous beauty of Machu Picchu certainly deserves an extra day!.

The sheer natural beauty of this area will revitalize any jaded soul and you may understand why it is called The Sacred Valley.

This tour takes not only shows you some of the beautiful things to see in Peru, but also allows you to see how many Peruvians get by from day to day. This tour explains many of the intricacies of daily Peruvian life that are not commonly observed by the typical tourist. On this reality tour you will visit a quarry where locals extract volcanic ashler stone in the traditional, artisan way to use to build their homes. You will also safely visit a shanty town where you will observe first hand the struggles and realities of daily life of the lower economic classes. In the shanty town you will visit a wawawasi- a public nursery school, and a local public cafeteria, where mothers come together to cook for their families. The next stop on the tour is a local market where you can try local fruits and vegetables. And finally, you will visit a local public elementary school.

NOTE: This tour is NOT FOR PROFIT. All money earned from this tour is used at the end of the year to buy necessary materials for the public cafeterias and the wawawasis. Some of the money is also destined to purchasing gifts for the children at the wawawasis.

With more than a thousand items from pre-Columbian cultures such as the Huari, Tiahuanuco, Chancay and Inca including ceramics, textiles, stone, wood and metal objects, the archeology museum’s most interesting attraction is arguably “Mummy Juanita” or the “Ice Maiden”. Discovered in 1995 by anthropologist Johan Reinhard in the summit crater of Mt. Ampato, Juanita is the Inca mummy of a girl who lived more than 500 years ago. The frozen state of the mummy permitted tests to be run on the organs that revealed new insights into Inca health and nutrition during the reign of the Sapa Inca Pachacuti. The discovery was heralded by Time magazine as one of the world’s top ten discoveries.

*Tour available April through December.

Horseback riding across the Sacred Valley to Maras Moray Salt Mines. This is our most recommended additional service. Price per person- private service (includes transfer to the Sacred Valley):

Located between Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, the campsite is at a height of 2800m and close to the Vilcanota River. From here you can see the archeological site of Ollantaytambo and walk about 30 minutes to get there. The following day, you can walk to the train station, only 15 minutes away, to take the train to Machu Picchu.
Campsite is accessible by road, by rafting on the river Vilcanota or by trekking.

• Stationary tents
• dining area
• bathrooms
• hot showers
• potable water
• campfire
• pachamanca lunch
• hammocks
• soccer field, badmitton court, volleyball court, petanque (a game similar to bowls)

Get on a boat and have a wet and wild rafting experience through the Sacred Valley. Our tour guides are fully trained and bilingual. Transfers and lunch included.

Take a horse-back ride through the valley from the Inca bridge to the Quarries of Cachicata and return to camp. This trip lasts about 4 hours.

Includes: First aid kit, walkie-talkie, guide service and horses completely equipped.
Not included: bottled water, food, tips.

Take a bike-ride through the valley where you will visit the Quarries of Cachicata as well as the villages on the banks of the river, such as Sillque, Chillca and others. We will return to our campsite during a pleasant 2 hour journey on the other side of the river, passing through the villages of Phiri Podra and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Includes: bicycles, helmets, gloves, first-aid kit and guide service

Not included: bottled water, food, tips.

Raft on the River Urubamba with category 2 and 3 currents, suitable for everyone, with or without experience. Trip lasts approximately 2 hours.

Includes: first-aid kit, guide service, canoeing kit, life- jackets, oars, waterproof pants, transportation from and to campsite
Not included: bottled water, food, tips.

This horseback riding tour will take you to the beautiful country side around the city of Cuzco. (minimum 2 people)

Watch professional Peruvian dancers and musicians amuse you with traditional Andean music and dancing.