DAY ONE (Monday, June 22nd): Fly from home to Lima (you purchase your own tickets, but Jim will help
with
reservations so that we all connect at the Lima airport at approximately the
same time). Most flights from the U.S. arrive in the late evening (around
midnight). After we clear customs and immigration, we'll drive across the city to suburban Miraflores, where we check into the Hacienda Hotel (formerly part
of the Best Western chain, now privately owned) for some well-deserved rest. Remember that
Lima clocks are the same as Eastern Standard or Central Daylight -- so for those of us from the West Coast, we'll be at the hotel before midnight Pacific time. Still a long day....
DAY TWO (Tuesday, June 23rd): We can sleep in
a bit this morning after our late night arrival, enjoy our hotel's buffet
breakfast (included in the tour package, as are all breakfasts on this trip),
and then we'll take a bus for a visit to historic downtown Lima (including the
San Francisco church, shown at left).
Lunch (included) will be at a tradtional Peruvian restaurant in one of
Lima's suburbs, and then will will head to the National Museum in suburban San Isidro, where Jim will spend
the afternoon reviewing the highlights of Peruvian pre-history as we tour the
museum's super displays of artifacts (photo at right shows Jim
lecturing about a photo he took that is part of one of the exhibits).
Dinner on your own this evening at the new Larcomar shopping center, overlooking
the Miraflores beach.
DAY THREE (Wednesday, June 24th):
After
breakfast (included) we'll head to the airport to catch our flight to Cuzco via LanPeru airline.
Upon arrival in Cuzco (see photo at right) we'll
board our private coach
and head off for the town
of Ollantaytambo in the
Sacred
Valley, with a stop at
Chinchero. The latter town is an
ancient Inca settlement -- the town's church, for example, is built on top of an
Inca temple. We'll be able to visit a traditional weaving
center (photo at left) before we continue on to the Sacred Valley.
Lunch will be a buffet at a
branch of Cuzco's wonderful Tuñupa
restaurant, which
recently opened in an old hacienda in the Sacred Valley (photo at right).
Then it will be on to
Ollantaytambo, an old Inca town (now listed as a
World Heritage Site) that will be our base exploring Inca culture.
Our hotel in Ollantaytambo will be one of
our favorites: the new Hotel Pakaritampu (three stars -- see photos at the right or you can check out their super website at
www.pakaritampu.com).
This small (30 room) country hotel is only six years old, but is already a
favorite for knowledgeable travelers.
Its rooms are simple (simply elegant!!), without some of the distractions of modern life (TV only in the central building), but the tranquility, wonderful food, and ambiance will enchant you. (Breakfasts
and our first dinner are included at this hotel )
DAY FOUR (Thursday, June 25th): We'll leave our hotel
after breakfast (included) and
walk a few hundred feet to the train
station in
Ollantaytambo for the
short trip to Aguas Caliente, near the entrance to Machu
Picchu. After less than an hour and a
half on the train, we will
arrive in Aguas Caliente, where
we will board a bus for the ride up a narrow road to
the archaeological site. Our hotel,
incidentally, will be the Machu Picchu Pueblo hotel, located at the outskirts of Aguas Caliente in the midst of a lush tropical forest (photos at right).
We'll spend about three
hours in a guided tour of the Machu Picchu ruins, led by Jim and our Naty, our Peruvian guide.
Most tourists stay only for the day, so
by 2:30 we'll have the site to ourselves. The photo at the far left gives
an overview of Machu Picchu (taken in 2000 on the top of Huayna Picchu mountain, this photo duplicates the shot of
Jim and Ananda, immediate left, taken at the exact same spot twenty years earlier).
(dinner today and breakfast tomorrow are included at the Machu Picchu Pueblo hotel)
DAY FIVE (Friday, June 26th):
You are encouraged to get up early for sunrise at the site (the gates to
Machu Picchu open before dawn).
Later in the morning, Jim will lead a hike to the Sungate, which will
take about two hours at a leisurely pace.
Or
you might consider
the challenging hike to the top of Huayna Picchu mountain, which
provides a wonderful overlook of the site (see photos on DAY FOUR, above), or an
even more difficult
climb to the top
of Machu Picchu mountain (that's Ananda enjoying the spectacular view from this high peak, at right).
Lunch is on your own.
Be
ready to descend back down to Aguas Caliente by 2:00 or so to catch
the afternoon express train to Ollantaytambo.
We’ll arrive at the Ollantaytambo station just before dark, with a short
walk from the station taking us back to the Hotel Pakaritampu. Dinner
tonight is on your own at one of the small restaurants in Ollanta (or you can
dine at the hotel).
DAY
SIX (Saturday, June 27th):
After breakfast (included every day at the Pakaritampu Hotel) we'll walk to
the major Inca ceremonial
center that was
under construction on a hill above Ollantaytambo (see photos at left).
After touring the site,
we'll
visit the home of Guillermina Sisa, an old friend of Ananda and Jim (her house is one of the original Inca buildings in the town -- this is also the home of our guide Naty
-- photos at right). Lunch
will be on your own at a restaurant in the
center of Ollanta (or you can walk back to our hotel). In the afternoon,
Jim and Naty will lead a hike to see hilltop ruins above Ollantaytambo.
Dinner on your own.
DAY SEVEN (Sunday, June 28th):
After
breakfast (included), we’ll be heading back to Cuzco via Pisac, located
at
the upper end of the
Sacred
Valley. We'll
first drive through a number of smaller towns,
stopping to briefly visit Inca ruins in Yucay, and then arrive at
the market in Pisac (see photos at left) in
time to spend an hour or two shopping, photographing, and just marveling at the
sight
s. Later in the afternoon we'll tour
the ruins of the royal estate at
Pisac, located high on
a hill overlooking the town. Before nightfall we'll be
back in
Cuzco, where we'll be staying at the Best Western Andes de America hotel
(a buffet dinner at the wonderful Tuñupa restaurant is included tonight,
with traditional music and dancing --
that's Linda from our 2002 group enjoying the dessert section in the
photo at lower right, and our table in 2006 at upper right).
DAY EIGHT (Monday, June 29th): After breakfast (included), we'll visit several Inc
a
sites in and around Cuzco. After
lunch, you will have a choice of two activities. Jim
will lead an optional trip out of Cuzco to visit to interesting places: the impressive Inca archaeological site of Tipon, located several
miles down the Cuzco Valley (see photo at right)
and the major center of Pikillacta, built by the Wari people who dominated this
region before the rise of the Inca state.
Alternatively,
Ananda will lead a visit to a special education school in Cuzco, or
this could be
time for shopping and checking out the museums in Cuzco.
Dinner tonig ht is on your own.
DAY
NINE (Tuesday, June 30th): (breakfast included) We
transfer to the Cuzco airport to catch LanPeru
Airline (flight #093) to Arequipa,
departing at 11:30 AM. After a very
short flight (30
minutes -- but over a day’s drive if we went
by land!!), we
arrive at Peru’s second largest city.
After a brief lunch, we'll drive north across high grasslands towards the Colca
Valley, one of the
deepest canyons
on the face of the earth. Along the way we will probably see wild vicunas running
free (photos on left) on the high puna grasslands. In the distance will be
snowcapped volcanic peaks. And we will glimpse llamas grazing along the road
(photo at
right) as we near the canyon. For the next two nights
our home will be the Colca Lodge, a rustic country inn, built on top of Inca
terraces. We absolutely love the peace and quiet of this place; the
thermal pools along the river are great, also, for a relaxing swim at the end of the day
(see photo of our 2003 group at right). (dinner included)
DAY TEN (Wednesday, July 1st): (breakfast included) We will make an early
morning excursion to the Condor
Lookout to see
condors
soaring on the day's first thermals (in past years we have seen as many as a
dozen or more condors flying at same time). From the lookout
point we can see the Colca River, almost 4000 feet below. As we head back to our
hotel, we
will see remarkable Inca and pre-Inca terracing -- much of it still in use.
On the
way, we
will visit the towns of Maca (where the church was
destroyed by an earthquake in 1991),
Yanque, and Chivay, where lunch will be on
your own at one of the small
restaurants. In
the
afternoon you may want to join Jim
and Ananda on a hike
to the nearby archaeological site of Uyi Uyi, or you can choose to just relax and enjoy the spectacular views.
(dinner
included)
DAY ELEVEN (Thursday, July 2nd): (breakfast included)
We'll depart the Colca Lodge
after breakfast
for the drive back to
Arequipa, with a stop at a major alpaca
factory outlet store as we drive through Arequipa's suburbs. Our afternoon
in Arequipa will be free, our night will be in the Sonesta
Posada
del Inca hotel, located
on the main plaza in downtown Arequipa. This
is a delightful modern hotel (formerly called the Hotel Portal, it has only
recently joined the prestigious Sonesta chain), with easy access to balconies overlooking the
plaza (the view at the right was taken from the hotel).
We've stayed here many times over the years (as recently as June 2007 -- and we
have used it eight times for our tours) -- we’re sure that you will really enjoy your
stay here while we are in Arequipa. There are some excellent shops for
alpaca sweaters located about a block from the hotel, and a great Argentine
steakhouse next door. (dinner on your own)
DAY TWELVE (Friday, July 3rd): (breakfast included)
In the
morning, we’ll tour the Santa Catalina convent
--
established
in 1579 and opened to the public in 1970. In the Seventeenth Century, many
of the nuns were the daughters of aristocratic Arequipa families; their quarters
were elaborately furnished and included space for servants. The convent
covers an entire city block and was a city unto itself (and it's a wonderful
spot for photos -- see view at left).
Our next stop will
be down the street
to visit the new "Ice Mummies" museum -- which houses several of the mummies recently
discovered by Johan Reinhard on mountains near Arequipa.
In the late morning we will leave for the
Arequipa airport to catch our Lan Peru Airlines flight to
Lima. Upon arrival in the capital, we'll head to the elegant suburb of
Miraflores, where we will be staying again at the Best Western Hacienda hotel.
Dinner is on your own -- we suggest one of the many restaurants at the nearby
LarcoMar shopping center.
DAY THIRTEEN (Saturday, July 4th): (breakfast included) You'll probably enjoy sleeping late this morning, or perhaps you will want to do some last minute shopping before packing your bags one last time. Lunch will be at a local seafood restaurant (included) followed by a visit to the private Larco Archaeological museum, where we will tour the exhibits and then wander through the storerooms that are often closed to the public. We'll end the day at the very elegant Rosa Nautica restaurant (included), which is located on a pier over the Pacific Ocean. After our dinner and one last "pisco sour," we'll head to the airport for our flight home.
DAY FOURTEEN (Sunday, July 5th): Arrive home.
PROGRAM COSTS:
PRICE: approximately $3200 -- final cost to be determined by March 1, 2009
The cost of this trip includes internal flights in Peru, private buses throughout the tour, hotels and meals as specified in the itinerary, tips on arrival and departure from each hotel and airport, site tours and admissions and transfers to and from hotels and airports. It DOES NOT include international airfare to/from Peru. There is a "single supplement" fee of $750 for anyone who insists on a single room.
These costs are based on group of at least 10 participants. There may be an additional per-person charge if the group is smaller than ten.
Not included are meals not specified in the itinerary,
personal expenses such as beverages (except coffee and tea at all included
meals), laundry, phone calls, tips to bus drivers and Peruvian tour guides,
trip/personal/health insurance, and
the international airport departure tax when leaving Lima (currently about $25).
CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS
OPTIONAL EXTENSION TO NORTH COAST PERU
SERENDIPITOUS MOMENTS ALONG THE ROAD