Day 1Cusco, Peru
Welcome to Cusco! We’ll meet you at 1pm for a traditional Peruvian meal at a local favourite restaurant. In the afternoon your guide will lead a relaxed walking tour around Cusco’s stunning historic centre – it’s important to take it easy if you’ve arrived from sea level today, as you need to acclimatise to Cusco’s 3,000m+ altitude.
- Accommodation: Comfortable Cusco hotel, Cusco (L,D)
Day 2Raqchi Raymi 2013
The tiny Quechua village of Raqchi is home to the world’s biggest celebration of Andean dance, with performers coming from as far away as Bolivia and Ecuador. This area was home to some of the oldest civilisations on Earth, and the music, costumes and dance and we’ll experience here are part of a tradition that’s been evolving for thousands of years. This festival is about as indigenous as it gets and is a powerful insight into a traditional culture that’s very much alive and kicking.
- Accommodation: Homestay in highland Peruvian village (B,L.D)
Day 3Raqchi
Even when Raqchi Raymi’s not on, there’s plenty to do in Raqchi. In between more dancing and merrymaking today, we’ll make time to explore the huge, alien-looking ruin that dominates the landscape and was one of the most important centres of the Inca Empire. We can also try our hand at pottery-making – the people of Raqchi are professional potters and will show us how to make a pot on a pedal-powered potter’s wheel. There are also some great short walks around Raqchi, with plenty of lookouts, breathtaking views and an extinct volcano nearby.
- Accommodation: Homestay in highland Peruvian village (B,L,D)
Day 4To Lampa
This morning we head off into the Altiplano. High, windy, cold, dry, this is one of the most inhospitable inhabited places on Earth. The natural hot springs at Marangani are the perfect introduction to the region, a surreal and improbable complex of five boiling-hot pools linked by steaming streams and populated by locals washing themselves and their children in the only hot water for miles around.
We’ll spend the night in Lampa – once one of the richest towns in Peru, it’s now a sleepy forgotten gem where llamas graze in the Plaza de Armas and the wind whistles through the arches of the bullfighting stadium.
- Accommodation: Casa Romero, Lampa (B,L,D)
Day 5Creepy catacombs and a steamship on Lake Titicaca
This morning a knowledgeable local will show us around Lampa’s cathedral – one of the most amazing things we’ve seen anywhere. Among many other marvels, it houses a collection of hundreds of artistically arranged skulls and skeletons – a jaw-dropping sight that inspired Katy to add Lampa to the Lonely Planet Guide to Peru.
In the afternoon we’ll take a 1.5 hour drive to Puno, Lake Titicaca’s bustling port town. Here we can visit the SS Yavari, a still-working relic of the age of steam moored enigmatically in landlocked Lake Titicaca, and the Museo Carlos Dreyer, one of the most interesting archaeological collections in Peru. Puno is also home to several brilliant novo-andino restaurants and tonight we’ll enjoy a cutting-edge fusion dinner.
- Accommodation: Cosy hotel in Puno (B,L,D)
Day 6Lake Titicaca tour begins
This morning we take to the waters of Lake Titicaca. Our first, brief stop is the very interesting but extremely touristic Uros Islands – the famous floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca. On Amantani Island we’ll head home with our homestay hosts them for a lunch including sopa de quinua (quinua and vegetable soup – so tasty it seems to be more than the sum of its parts). In the afternoon we’ll take on the locals in a game of soccer (which we will inevitably lose), and hike to the top of the island for what may be the most beautiful sunset you’ll ever see.
- Accommodation: Homestay on Amantani Island, Lake Titicaca (B,L,D)
Day 7Textiles and trout on Taquile Island, Lake Titicaca
After breakfast a short cruise across Lake Titicaca brings us to scenic Taquile Island. Here we’ll explore winding island paths across rolling green hills and through idyllic villages, and enjoy stunning views across the lake to the snow-capped peaks of Bolivia to the east. Taquile is the most famous textile centre in the Andes and we’ll learn about colourful, storytelling weavings, before enjoying a lunch of fresh-caught trout in the island’s co-operative restaurant. In the afternoon we return to Puno for a memorable dinner to mark our last night together.
- Accommodation: Cosy hotel in Puno (B,L,D)
Day 8Peru’s history in one day
The ride from Puno and Cusco is a trip through Peru’s incredibly long and varied human history, from pioneering prehistoric art, to Inca heartland, to colonial silver capital. The archaeological complex of Pukara gives us a sense of just how long ago human civilisation got started here, and the enormous adobe Templo de Wiracocha speaks to the scale and grandiosity of the Inca empire. The incredibly ornate colonial church at Andahuaylillas is living evidence of the wealth the conquistadores extracted from Peru.
- Accommodation: Back at our homebase hotel in Cusco (B,L,D)
Day 9Free day in Cusco
There are things to do in Cusco to suit every mood and personality: churches, museums, and art galleries; adventure activities like rafting and horse riding, and organised tours. This is also the perfect day to just wander around and enjoy the spectacular mountain views, traditionally dressed locals, excellent cafes and charming architecture that characterise the historic centre of Cusco.
- Accommodation: Comfortable Cusco hotel (B)
Day 10Inti Raymi 2013!
Inti Raymi was the annual day of tribute from all the subject peoples of the Incas, and today’s festivities are faithful re-enactments of the original. It starts with a huge, elaborate, colourful parade: ceremonially-dressed representatives from each of the four suyos (quarters) of the empire march and dance through central Cusco, on their way to the spectacular ruin of Sacsayhuaman that overlooks the town. Here, a large central parade ground is the scene of ceremonies and offerings for much of the afternoon.
- Accommodation: Comfortable Cusco hotel (B,L,D)
Choose Your Own Route To Machu Picchu
OPTION A: JUNGLE INCA TRAIL TO MACHU PICCHU
Day 11Chinchero, Moray and Salineras
Today starts with Chinchero, a quiet little town best known for its outdoor weaving studios, terraced Inca ruin, and intricately-frescoed colonial church. Next is Moray – three massive Inca amphitheatres of incredible engineering precision and stern, magnificent beauty.
After an al fresco lunch, an easy stroll (or ride in the bus if you prefer) through rolling farmland and views of the high Andes brings us to Salineras – a surreal and beautiful patchwork of pools and paths that still produces salt using Inca technology.
- Accommodation: Family-run hostal in Ollantaytambo (B,L,D)
Day 12Backdoor bike ride to Machu PIcchu
This morning we drive up to 4,350 metre (14,000 feet) Abra Malaga (Malaga Pass). Here we cross from the eastern to the western side of the Andes – we’re now on the upper slopes of the mighty Amazon Basin, and will lose nearly 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) of altitude over an incredibly scenic 71 kilometre descent into tropical cloud forest. We’ll provide a bike for you – use it as much or as little as you like. Many guests spend the whole day in the vehicle taking photos – of grazing llamas, waterfalls, sheer rock faces, tiny, isolated hamlets, misty jungle vistas, and constantly changing ecosystems – as we descend from the High Andes to the high jungle in one amazing day.
- Accommodation: Rustic eco-lodge, Santa Teresa (B,L,D)
Day 13Outdoor adventures on the jungle trail to Machu Picchu
Today you have a choice. You can experience Cola de Mono, South America’s highest zipline (flying fox), and one of the most exciting and scenic activities we’ve ever encountered, then relax in the Baños Termales de Cocalmayo, natural mountain hot springs beside a raging river. Or if you’re feeling energetic, you can undertake the taxing but rewarding mountain hike to Llactapata, a recently discovered Inca ruin. Late in the day we’ll take a short train ride to Machu Picchu pueblo, or Aguas Calientes.
- Accommodation: Hotel in Aguas Calientes (B,L,D)
OPTION B: STANDARD INCA TRAIL HIKE TO MACHU PICCHU
Day 11Start hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu!
We’ll get up very early this morning to take the bus to Kilometre 82, the start of the Standard Inca Trail. The hike begins in the Sacred Valley as we follow the Urubamba River, climbing ever higher and eventually heading off up the Cusicacha Valley, through semi-arid forest and farming villages, to Wayllabamba, where we’ll camp for the night.
- Accommodation: Luxury camping on the Inca Trail (B,L,D)
- Walking – 12 kilometres or 7.5 miles
- Minimum Altitude – 2,700 metres, 8,860 feet
- Maximum Altitude – 3,100 metres, 10,171 feet
- Altitude of camp – 3,100 metres, 10,171 feet
Day 12Over Dead Woman’s Pass
Most of our walking time today is taken up by a stiff 1200 metre climb up to Warmiwayñusca, or Dead Woman’s Pass, the high point of the Inca Trail. From here if it’s clear we’ll enjoy incredible views back the way we came, and onwards towards the distant, snowcapped Vilcabamba Range. Then we descend steeply into Pacaymayo, our campsite for the night with one of the best views in the Andes.
- Accommodation: Luxury camping on the Inca Trail (B,L,D)
- Walking – 11 kilometres or 6.8 miles
- Minimum Altitude – 3,100 metres, 10,171 feet
- Maximum Altitude – 4,200 metres, 13,780 feet
- Altitude of camp – 3,600 metres, 11,810 feet
Day 13Runkurakay, Sayacmarca and Wiñaywayna
Today’s hike takes us through some of the most stunning scenery in Peru, with cloud forest, orchids, hummingbirds and mountains on all sides, and to three gorgeous little ruins - Runkurakay, Sayacmarca, and Wiñaywayna, next to the evening’s campsite. Along the way we cross the watershed of the Andes – this is one of the best days trekking in the world.
- Accommodation: Luxury camping on the Inca Trail (B,L,D)
- Walking – 12 kilometres or 7.5 miles
- Minimum Altitude – 2,670 metres, 8,760 feet
- Maximum Altitude – 3,900 metres, 12,800 feet
- Altitude of camp – 2,670 metres, 8,760 feet
Day 14Machu Picchu tour
An early start rewards us with sunrise at Machu Picchu - a peak moment for anyone. A spectacular stone city surrounded by incredibly steep, incredibly green mountains, Machu Picchu needs no introduction and is deservedly one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. A guided tour is a necessary start to orient you in this massive site, then you’ll have plenty of time to explore the site and some of the surrounding peaks on your own before we catch the train back to Cusco for the night.
- Accommodation: Cusco hotel (B,L,D)
Day 15Departure Day
We’ll get you to Cusco airport in time for your flight out today.
(B)
