Magic of the Andes and Inca traditions - 15 to 17 days in Peru
2024
This trip in the heart of the Andes, allows the discovery of the country and its diversity. The rhythm allows a good acclimatization, and an immersion in the Andean world where you will share the daily life of the inhabitants. The traditions are alive and we privilege an accommodation in small communities
In addition to the human aspect of this trip, you will not miss to visit the major sites of the country the colonial city of Arequipa, the Colca Canyon, kingdom of the condor, and the Altiplano. After the Titicaca and its islands, you will continue towards the Rainbow Mountain before entering the Sacred Valley of the Incas and its pre-Columbian sites. Finally, you will visit the citadel of Machu Picchu as well as Cusco, the ancient Inca capital.
It is possible to complete the trip with an extension to the Amazon.
Highlights of the trip
During your stay you can enjoy the following highlights: Culture / Heritage, Discovery, Off the beaten track, Nature travel, Travelling alone and travelling in a group.
Best months to go
The best time(s) to go is/are : Mai, Juin.
How to get there?
You can get there by Plane.
DESTINATIONS LATINES
From 2100€ / person
Travel suitable for :
Detail of the stay : Magic of the Andes and Inca traditions - 15 to 17 days in Peru - 16 days
Arrival in Peru
Steps: Lima
Welcome at the Jorge Chavez international airport and transfer to your hotel located in the Miraflores district on the Pacific coast.
End of the day free and night at the hotel.
- Accommodation : Hotel type 2/3*
Arrival in Lima - Flight to Arequipa and visit of the city (2350m.)
Steps: Lima
Early in the morning, a private vehicle comes to pick us up at our hotel and drives us to the airport.
Flight Lima-Arequipa
Welcome by our team and private transfer to the hotel located in the city center where we will leave our luggage.
We go through the city with our guide. We start our visit with the Plaza de Armas, lined with arcades, and then the cloister of the Companía, one of the oldest Jesuit churches in the city dating from 1739. The tour continues with a visit to the Convent of Santa Catalina, built in the 16th century. It is a true religious city today totally integrated in the urban fabric of Arequipa.
- Breakfast on your own or in flight, lunch included, dinner on your own.
- English speaking guide for the visit of Arequipa (approx. 4h)
- Interior flight and transfer in private vehicle
- Hotel type 2/3*
Free day in Arequipa (2350m.)
Steps: Arequipa
Free day in Arequipa to perfect your acclimatization and enjoy this beautiful city with a sunny climate and classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
This day will also serve as a security day depending on the fluctuations of flight schedules.
- Breakfast included, lunch and dinner on your own
- Hotel type 2/3*
Arequipa - Colca Valley and Canyon - Cabanaconde (3290m.)
Steps: Arequipa
Early departure in direction of the Colca Canyon. The road climbs towards the volcanoes and reaches the Puna at more than 4 000 m of altitude. We observe our first vicuñas and also some llamas and alpacas and pass the pass of Patapampa at 4 910 m: the Mirador of the volcanoes. at the bend in the road, we distinguish a huge valley below where we can see the course of the Colca river.
Descent in the valley until Chivay (3640m.) then the valley narrows and the road in balcony borders an immense canyon. Arrival in the small village of Cabanaconde located in edge of canyon.
Installation in the hotel, then discovery of the envions of the village during a small stroll between the terraces of cultures.
- Meals included
- English speaking guide
- Private vehicle (215 km / approx. 4h30) / Collective transportation for 3 participants or less
- 2* hotel
Colca Canyon - Condor Cross - Yanque - Coporaque Community (3540m.)
After breakfast, we walk to a viewpoint on the canyon where the view of the canyon is impressive. There, we observe the birds of prey that play with the ascending currents above the 1200m. of emptiness. We can continue on foot to the condor's cross with a nice walk in balcony on the sides of the canyon (approx. 1h optional walk).
At the end of the morning, we leave Cabanaconde to join Chivay, higher in the Colca valley. After a short trip, we reach the small village of Coporaque where we are welcomed by the inhabitants. we will spend thenight in a local's house.
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
- English speaking guide
- Walking time : about 1 hour / Elevation gain : -200 m. + 200 m.
- Private vehicle (60 km / approx. 1h30 min) / Collective transport for 3 participants or less
- Night at the inhabitant's house in Coporaque (basic comfort)
Colca Valley - Ruins of Uyo Uyo - Yanque - Crossing the Altiplano - Puno (3840m.)
Steps: Yanque
In the morning, we leave on foot through the terraces of cultures to reach the Inca ruins of Uyo Uyo located nearby. Then we cross the Colca river by taking a suspension bridge that allows us to reach the village of Yanque and its typical church.
Then, we take again our vehicle in direction of Puno. During the journey through the mountain range and the Altiplano, we cross lakes where some camelids graze and where many birds live, among them pink flamingos. Finally, we reach the small city of Puno, the main Peruvian port on the famous Lake Titicaca.
Installation in the hotel.
- Breakfast and lunch included, dinner on your own.
- English speaking guide. Unaccompanied trip between Chivay and Puno for 3 participants or less
- Private vehicle (300 km / approx. 6h) for 4 or more participants. Collective transport Chivay-Puno for 3 participants or less
- Hotel type 2/3*
Puno - Chullpas de Sillustani - Lac Titicaca : Péninsule de Capachica (3860m.)
Steps: Puno
In the morning, we leave Puno to join the pre-Inca site of Sillustani. In border of the lake Umayo, ancient funeral towers ("chullpas") dominate the landscape. After the visit of the site, we take back our vehicle towards the peninsula of Capachica. It is here that our peasant hosts are waiting for us and will accommodate us for two nights.
After lunch, we leave to discover the surroundings on foot. The atmosphere is bucolic with the small houses in adobe, the terraces of cultures that border the lake Titicaca.
Typical dinner prepared by our hosts with local products: quinoa, beans, corn, potatoes..
Overnight stay in the community.
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
- French speaking guide
- private vehicle with driver (approx. 2 hours drive - 100 km).
- Overnight stay on the Capachica peninsula (basic comfort)
Lake Titicaca: Taquile Island - Floating Islands of the Uros of Titino - Capachica Peninsula (3860m.)
Steps: Llachon
Day dedicated to the discovery of the lake Titicaca.
After the breakfast, we join the pontoon of the village and embark towards the island of Taquile, extension of our peninsula. The inhabitants knew how to preserve a way of life very close to that of the Incas. Discovery of the island on foot with its terraces of cultures, its traditional houses, the main village and especially thepeaceful atmosphere which emerges from it. Traditional lunch.
After lunch, we embark this time to the floating islands of the Uros of Titino. This communitý of fishermen lives on the waters of the lake in the middle of the reeds which they use to make their islands, their houses and their boats. Return to the Capachica Peninsula where we meet our hosts in the late afternoon.
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
- English speaking guide
- Boat on the lake Titicaca
- Overnight stay in a local house on the Capachica peninsula (basic comfort)
Lac Titicaca - Col de la Raya (4335m) - Village de Raqchi (3450m)
Steps: La Raya
We leave the peninsula of Capachica and the banks of the lake Titicaca and take the road through the Altiplano, vast desolate plain, marked by the cold and the aridity. On our way, we cross some herds of alpacas. After about 4 hours, we reach the La Raya pass (4335m.), on the watershed between the Pacific and the Atlantic.
We arrive at the small potter's village of Raqchi where we are welcomed by the inhabitants who reveal us their culture and traditions.
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
- French speaking guide (from 5 participants)
- Private vehicle
- Overnight stay in Raqchi (basic comfort)
RAQCHI: Mirador de Tucallana - Wiracocha archaeological complex - Ceramic workshop (3450m.)
Steps: Raqchi
In the morning, we leave to foot until the mirador of Tucallana from where we admire the whole valley of the Vilcanota, ancient passage of a very important Inca road. We also see the archaeological complex and the village. We descend towards the temple of Wiracocha and the enormous colcas (Inca granaries). Visit of the archaeological site. Back in the community, we visit theceramic workshop and we observe the Andean techniques of pottery.
Evening in the community with the members of the association Raíces Incas.
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
- Local English speaking guide
- Overnight stay in Raqchi (basic comfort)
Raqchi - Vilcanota Mountain Range: Rainbow Mountain - Andahuaylillas - Amaru Community (3840m.)
Steps: Raqchi
In the morning we leave for the colorful mountain Vinicunca. Transfer to the starting point of a 4 hours hike with splendid landscapes on the Vilcanota mountain range.
In the afternoon, we head north again. After a last stop in the small village of Andahuaylillas which shelters the "Sistine Chapel of the Andes", we arrive to Pisaq, door of entry of the sacred valley of the Incas. After a last and short transfer we reach the small Andean community of Amaru. The inhabitants prepare us a Pachamanca: traditional and festive meal cooked in a hole dug in the ground and covered with stones heated in a big fire. Night in the community.
- Meals included
- Local English speaking guide
- Walking time : about 4h / Elevation gain : + 430m. - 430 m.
- Private vehicle (170 km approx. 3h30 drive)
- Overnight stay in Amaru (basic comfort)
Sacred Valley of the Incas: Inca site of Pisaq - Market of Pisaq - Community of Chichubamba - Urubamba (2880m.)
Steps: Písaq
In the morning, after having thanked our hosts, we leave towards the archaeological site of Pisaq, perched on a magnificent hill and surrounded by numerous terraces of cultures. Ancient Inca city, there are two distinct zones: the residential zone composed of buildings destined to the farmers and the ceremonial zone destined to the nobility.
A beautiful hike leads us from the site to the village of Pisaq located below. After the visit of the market, we take again our road and go up the valley towards the community of Chichubamba (or Husmabamba) in the heart of the sacred valley. There, a traditional activity like the confection of chocolate or chicha (kind of local beer) is proposed to us.
- Breakfast and lunch included, dinner on your own
- English speaking guide
- Walking time : about 3h / Elevation gain : - 480m. (optional)
- Private vehicle (60 km / approx. 1h30)
- 2/3* hotel
Sacred Valley of the Incas: Amphitheater of Moray - Saltworks of Maras - Ollantaytambo (2800m.)
Steps: Písaq
Departure in direction of the archaeological site of Moray. At first sight, it looks like an amphitheater. It is in reality an ancient place of agronomic experiments where the Incas tested techniques to optimize their cultures.
After the visit, a hike in balcony allows to join the salt mines of Maras. These offer a magnificent landscape thanks to its basins of sedimentation exploited since the pre-Columbian time.
We find our vehicle and continue until Ollantaytambo. This small village dominated by its fortress is one of the last Inca villages still inhabited by the populations Visit of the archaeological site. This fortress probably protected the sacred valley from the tribes coming from Amazonia.
- Meals included
- Local English speaking guide
- Walking time : about 4h / Elevation gain : + 80m. - 700m. (optional)
- Private vehicle with driver (40 km / approx. 1h15)
- Lomada Lodge (or similar)
Visit to Machu Picchu - Train and bus to Cusco (3400m.)
Steps: Cusco
This is the big day..
We take the train in the station of Ollantaytambo. The railroad follows the course of the río which flows towards the Amazonian basin. The valley narrows and the vegetation thickens. Finally, the train stops at the station of Aguascalientes, a small village stuck at the bottom of the gorges of the Urubamba at the doors of the Amazon. There, we get off the train and take a collective shuttle to join the citadel perched on a rocky spur (about 15 minutes): the lost city of the Incas, the Machu Picchu!
The citadel fascinates all the visitors, as much by the mysteries that surround it as by the beauty of the site and its natural environment.
During the guided tour (2h30 to 3h), the guide enlightens us on the function of the city and on the different hypothesis surrounding the Inca enigma.
After the visit, we go back down by bus to Aguascalientes and take the train back to Ollantaytambo. From there, we take a bus that brings us back to Cusco
- Breakfast included, lunch and dinner on your own
- Local English speaking guide
- Collective train and bus
- 2/3* hotel
Cusco, the Inca capital: visit to the local (3400m.)
Steps: Cusco
Discovery on foot of the historical center of the city of Cusco which preserves an exceptional wealth of Inca and colonial monuments. Visit of the monastery of Santo Domingo built on the ancient Inca temple of Qoricancha: the Temple of the Sun. We will walk through the Inca streets where we will find the stone with twelve angles.
Then we go shopping at the market with our guide. We buy the necessary ingredients to prepare a Peruvian dish. We are then welcomed at the guide's house where we cook the products bought.
Afternoon and evening free to enjoy the city and the San Blas neighborhood, home of bohemian artists whose sloping streets are reminiscent of the Albaicín neighborhood in Granada
- Breakfast and lunch included, dinner on your own
- English speaking guide
- Hotel Amaru (or similar)
Flight Cusco-Lima and departure to Europe
Steps: Lima
Depending on the flight schedule, free time then transfer to the airport where we board our return flight to Lima (1h30).
Domestic flight to the capital
Connection with your return flight (not included).
