Day 1 & 2 - Departing the hustle and bustle of Lima we head south to the town of Pisco, admired for its most famous export “Pisco Sour” where we spend the night. Next morning our travels take us by boat to the Ballestas Islands said to
be the Galapagos of Peru with its permanent population of seals and birdlife even the occasional penguin. Lunch is usually had before heading to Nazca. Over 2500 years have elapsed since the pre-Inca culture of the Nazca people
disappeared leaving what today is one of the wonders of South America. The lines left on the Plato’s have being studied by Archaeologists and mathematicians alike, without anyone being able to say without doubt what they symbolize.
Day 3 - Today we take the opportunity to see the Nazca lines from the air. Leaving the rest of the day free to visit the other attractions around town including ceramics and the Cemeterio de Chauchilla, were you will see mummified remains dating from the Nazca culture. Tonight we Leave Nazca on an overnight bus heading for our destination Arequipa which lies in the midst of three volcanos at an altitude of 2325m.
Day 4 - On arrival we check in to our hotel. Arequipa was nicknamed the white city due to the use of the white rock from near buy volcanos, and today this same stone is being used in housing around the area. Arequipa the second biggest city in Peru and is steeped with history. Must-sees are the MONASTERIO DE SANTA CATALINA. This little village all of its own holds an interesting and sordid history!! It takes up an area of around 20,000 square meters, and covers an entire city block. In its prime it is said to have had about 450 people living there, only about a third of these were nuns and the rest servants and slaves!! The doors were opened to the public in the 1970's and since then it has remained pretty much unchanged. Also take time to visit MUSEO SANTUARIOS ANDINOS. Where you will find the remains of
‘Juanita’ ice Maiden of Ampato.
Days 5 & 6 - Early rise today as we head for the second deepest ravine in the world some 3200m at its deepest point, out striping the might grand canyon in North America. Along the way we cross a pass at just under 5000m before
descending into the Colca valley. The valley itself is covered in step terracing that predates the Incas, we also visit some of the local villages before finishing the day in the hot springs (5 Soles entry) just out of the small village of Chivie, time permitting. Today’s an early start leaving Chivie so as to get us to the Cruz de cóndor to see the majestic flight of the condors as they glide on the warm thermals. We leave the Colca canyon and return to Arequipa for the night.
Day 7 - We depart Arequipa today and head for Cuzco on arrival we transfer to our hotel in the center of the main town. Founded in the 12th Century the city said to be shaped like a Puma with Rio Tullumayo forming the spine, Sacsayhuaman the head and the main city center the body. The city grew under descending leaders of the Inca Empire to one of the greatest civilization centers in the western hemisphere. Until the Spanish intervention which changed all that, including the name qosq’o, which means “the earth’s navel” in the Quechua language, to Cusco. Today Cusco is the centerpiece of
the Peruvian tourist industry and the gateway to Machu Picchu and the sacred valley before it. You are able to visit a lot of the old sites of the city and surroundings with a Cusco pass.
Day 8 to 11 - From Cuzco we begin our four-day excursion along the Inca trail, crossing spectacular passes and visiting more Inca ruins en-route to the lost city of the Incas, Machu Picchu. A local guide will lead this expedition to
ensure that you get all of the detailed information a visit to such an important site deserves. The trekking company also supplies porters to cook and carry the main equipment, leaving you free to enjoy the trail. The first day is relatively
easy, walking 4.5 hours and will get you limbered up for the highest pass at Warmiwañusca (dead woman’s pass, 4,200m), which you will reach before lunchtime on Day 2. This should take around 7 hours. After dead woman’s pass, it's all down hill as the trail winds it way along old Inca stairs to our campsite. On Day 3 we pass the ruins of Sayacmarca and Phuyupatamarca, walking today is around 7 hours. The last morning, after a stop at Wiñay-Wayna, we make our way very early passing the sun gate to the dramatic city of Machu Picchu. The ruins were only discovered by the outside
world in 1911, when American explorer Hiram Bingham found them while looking for another lost city called Vilcabamba. Due to their isolation and not being discovered by the Spaniards, most of the buildings are still quite intact. You can't help but admire Huayna Picchu (Young Mountain), which towers above the ruins, a good hard climb to the spectacular view from the top takes about 50 minutes. Before returning to Cuzco by train, you can soak your tired muscles in the hot springs at Aguas Calientes.
Day 12 - We spend today visiting the sacred valley; traveling over the mountains we drop 500m to sacred Urubamba River. We stop off at the village of Pisac were you get a chance in the traditional markets to maybe buy yourself some good quality souvenirs. We then visit the extensive ruins of Pisac with their stunning views over the valley. Before finishing our day back in Cuzco.
Day 13: Cuzco day or night is a city full of attractions use your time today to maybe stroll through its streets, visiting it’s churches, wandering about the artisan Quarter of San Blas or going to the towns archeological remains. Then at night when the city lights up, the discos and pubs become the main attractions for tourists to enjoy themselves.
Day 14, 15 & 16 - Time to leave the excitement of Cuzco, destination Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. On arrival we will have a meeting with our guides who will give you in-depth and up to date information about our visit the floating reed Islands of the Uros Indians. We tour makes its way to Amantani Island, to spend the night in the home of native families. The following morning we'll stopover at Taquile, where the men walk around knitting typical woollen hats, while the women tend the fields before returning to Puno for our final night in Peru.
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Day 17 - Leaving Puno we stay close to Lake Titicaca crossing into Bolivia next stop La Paz. The first thing you will notice about this city is that most buildings are sited on the hills around the city, the centre of which is at 3,636m above sea level. Our hotel is in a prime position with all the main attractions within walking distance, including the famous witches market. La Paz is a shopping mecca, the markets around this vibrant city will amaze you, Cheep llama and alpaca garments are to be found in abundance here but if you are after something that little bit different then looking through the small shops on the side streets is were you will find it.
Day 18 - La Paz will give you the full taste of a high Andean city. You can also take a day to do one of the most exciting downhill bike rides in the world, well worth it if you love biking. The ride will take you from heights of around 5000m down to 1300m along a narrow mountain road towards the town of Coroico; the gateway to the Bolivian Amazon, this ride is not for the faint hearted with sheer drops of over 1000m on the decent. Other not so intimidating ventures that you could do in La Paz include a visit to the valley of the moon with its strange rock formations shaped by the weather and the world's highest ski resort at 5,221 metres.
Day 19 - Leaving La Paz we make our way to Uyuni with its 12,000 sq km saltpan. This prehistoric salt lake in south western Bolivia is at an altitude of 3650m. Salt mining produces 19,700 tons of fine salt per year, largely using
traditional methods, it is estimated that reserves of salt in the lake are around 10 billion tons.
Days 20 & 22 - Uyuni is our departure point for Chile and the Altiplano. Our journey will take us past Isla de Pescadores, in the middle of the saltpan, with its spectacular stands of cactus and stranded colony of vizcachas (long-tailed rodents related to the chinchilla). Rare James’ flamingos inhabit our next stop the red lake of Laguna Colorado in the far southwest of Bolivia. Temperatures here can drop below -20°C (-4°F) so make sure you are rugged up. Fifty kilometres south of the lake is Sol de Mañana, with its bubbling mud pools and strong sulphurous fumes. Bolivia is in the process of trying to harness this energy to create power, but as most things it takes time! Laguna Verde is created from the high concentrations of minerals that give it a stunning blue-green colour, the lake at an elevation of 5000m and is situated at the base of Volcán Licancabur whose summit rises to 5930m. It’s said that Young Inca men were marched to the summit and forced to freeze to death as a sacrifice to the gods. From Laguna Verde it’s a short distance to our next stop San Pedro de Atacama a charming adobe desert village with 1000 inhabitants. The area has a long history, as the Inca ruins indicate, and was already inhabited when Pedro de Valdivia and his men came through 450 years ago. The entire region was part of Bolivia a little more than a hundred years ago, having been annexed by Chile after the War of the Pacific.
Day 23 - The charming village of San Pedro de Atacama is located in the driest desert of the world: the Atacama Desert, 2,450 meters above sea level in the foothills of the Andean cordillera, which reaches 6,100 meters high in this
area. Agriculture is still practiced here maintaining the same cultivation methods used thousands of years ago. The mysterious Valley of the Moon only 15 kilometers away, with its amazing rock forms and colors gives the landscape a distinctive lunar feel. Watching the sunset from here, you will see the far off volcanoes transform as the descending suns rays change their colors bringing out the reds of the surrounding countryside.
Days 24 & 25 - Chile's second-oldest city, La Serena features a wealth of historic architecture, including some 29 churches from the colonial era and 19th century. A splendid climate making La Serena one of Chile's top beach resorts.
The skies above the Andean foothills between La Serena and Copiap, due to highly favorable climatic conditions and the absence of light pollution are recognized as being the clearest in the southern hemisphere leading the world's great astronomical laboratories to construct giant observatories here. Tours are available on request to the observatories.
Day 26 & 27 - Departing La Serena we head south to the Chilean capital Santiago. Santiago has had a turbulent past being destroyed and rebuilt several times in its 458 years of existence. Six months after its foundation, the
Araucanians Indian people devastated it, and two earthquakes, in 1647 and 1730, only left a couple of buildings standing. These disastrous events, along with the consolidation have contributed to turn Santiago into a strong city
with a rich past and a promising future. Santiago has abundant attractions for the visitor from its well designed and laid out city to its surrounds; you won’t run out of things to see and do while here. Most people opt to do a city tour including wine tasting in the Maipo Valley, Chile's most traditional wine region and producer of the country's finest Cabernets and Merlots. In recent years, the world has begun to take notice of Chile's wines. In 1998 for example Chile exported $502 million in wines to some 85 countries. Still more telling are the results of the VinExpo 99, in which some 40 countries presented their finest export wines. Chilean wines as a group ranked second only to France, the host country.
See below for 2005 Departure dates |
