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PERU’S SACRED VALLEY, MACHU PICCHU, & CUSCO
September 14 - 21, 2007
optional pre- or post-tour add-on: PERUVIAN
AMAZON RAINFOREST
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The heart and soul of Peru is the Cusco area, which was the Inca homeland for two centuries before the Spaniards built Peru’s first capital here in the 16th century. The Incas were a people every bit as advanced as the ancient Egyptians, with the most intricate stone construction in the history of the world and an abundance of what the Spaniards most wanted: gold. Despite the conquistadors’ toll, Peru’s people and their connection to the land have remained remarkably intact over the centuries. On this tour we will journey back in time to the stone huts, the fields of quinoa, and the brightly clothed Quechuan people first encountered by the Spaniards. |
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We initially avoid the heights of Cusco (11,150 feet) by acclimatizing first in the Sacred Valley, which the Incas considered paradise on Earth for its sunny weather, rolling rivers, and fertile earth. This Inca breadbasket produced food for over 100,000 people. Visiting the Sacred Valley first makes sense from a chronological perspective as well. The Incas built a string of sacred temples and fortresses up and down the valley, including Pisac and Ollantaytambo, Peru’s best-preserved Inca village. Seeing these ruins are a good introduction to Machu Picchu. The valley is cut by the Río Urubamba, which tumbles from here through steep gorges and toward the most fabled achievement of the Incas: Machu Picchu. |
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Staying in the town of Aguas Calientes just below Machu Picchu grants us the opportunity to arrive at the ruins early in the morning or linger late in the afternoon, thus minimizing the overlap with the hundreds of day-trippers coming from Cusco. It’s hard to resist the magnetic pull of Machu Picchu,“discovered” by American explorer Hiram Bingham in 1911, and which he thought was the lost city of the Incas. Nearly nine out of ten foreign visitors make it to this citadel of sculpted stone, cloaked in clouds high on a jungle ridge. It is the clearest example of how the Incas built in harmony with extraordinary natural settings. |
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We are then primed for Cusco,
an imperial city that is still caught in a tug of war between the New
World and European mindset. Atop the flawless stone walls the Incas had
built, the Spaniards erected more than a dozen baroque churches and filled
them with religious paintings and gold-plated altars. Here we can admire
Inca stonework and colonial architecture, tour museums, and enjoy great
food and lodging. Join us for this fascinating cultural adventure! |
Please refer to the descriptions further
on for background information about the amazing sites we’ll encounter
in this itinerary. |
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Days 2, 3 - After breakfast
in our hotel, we’ll transfer to the airport and take a morning flight
from Lima to Cusco — about one hour. Upon arrival in Cusco we’ll
head down to the Sacred Valley to help acclimatize to the altitude. This
is our base for two nights and paradise on earth for the Incas. While
here we will visit the town and ruins at Ollantaytambo, the depressions
of Moray, and the salt pools at Salinas. Optional activities include river
rafting on the Río Urubamba, hiking, and mountain biking. Dinner
on Day 3 will be the traditional pachamanca of highland cooking: it means
“earth oven” in the Quechua language and consists of a variety
of meats, tubers, corn, beans, and native herbs roasted underground with
re-hot rocks. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner on Day 2; Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner on Day 3 |
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Days 4 - Prior to leaving
the Sacred Valley we will take in the lively Pisac market and the Inca
ruins above town. From here we make our way for Aguas Calientes, the town
that sits beneath Machu Picchu. The only way to get to Machu Picchu is
by train or by hiking the multi-day Inca Trail. We opt for the train.
We’ll arrive in Aguas Calientes in the late afternoon and get settled
in our elegant lodging nearby, followed by dinner. Meals: Breakfast, Dinner |
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Day 5 - We have a full
day to appreciate the stunning Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, most visitors’
primary reason for coming to Peru. Since our lodging is in Agua Calientes
we can rise early, go up to the site, and take advantage of beginning
our Machu Picchu visit in the calm early-morning hours before the day
trippers arrive en masse from Cusco around 10:00am. These visitors start
leaving around 2:00pm to catch their Cusco-bound train, therefore we also
have the privilege of lingering at Machu Picchu in the late afternoon
into sunset. There are some beautiful hikes away from the main grounds
depending on your interests and energy level, including the one to Huayna
Picchu (the peak towering over the citadel) and the Temple of the Moon. Meals: Breakfast, Dinner |
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Day 6 - Today we’ll
relax at our beautiful lodge (perhaps you’ll treat yourself to their
spa services and the spring-fed swimming pool) or join one of the naturalist
guides on staff for an eco-activity in the surrounding rainforest, such
as some wonderful bird watching. There is also a hike through the forest
to waterfalls and pre-Inca stone carvings. Another option is to make your
way back to Machu Picchu for further exploration. We’ll then catch
a late-afternoon train that will take us to the ancient capital of the
Inca empire, Cusco, at an elevation of 11,150 feet. Upon arrival in Cusco
we’ll settle into our gorgeous hotel in an historic building, and
you are free for dinner this evening. Meals: Breakfast |
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Day 7 - Today we have
a full day to explore the wonders of this ancient city, including the
main square, the Plaza de Armas; the cathedral, the looming fortress of
Sacsayhuamán; and the sun temple, Coricancha. Cusco also has some
fine museums, excellent shopping, and nice cafes. This evening we’ll
come together to enjoy our Farewell Dinner and look back on our week of
wonderful experiences. Meals: Breakfast, Dinner |
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Day 8, September 21, 2007
- Depending on your flight arrangements, you may have a good part of the
day to take in more of Cusco’s sights, finish your shopping, or
simply relax at our beautiful hotel. Transfer on your own to Cusco airport
for your homeward-bound flights (via Lima) or wherever your continuing
travels take you. Meals: Breakfast |
| PRICING $2255 (15-18 participants) $2375 (10-14 participants) $2680 (7-9 participants) Single Supplement: $550 |
Price includes: * Accommodations (see descriptions below) * All breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 6 dinners * Tour guide traveling with the group * Ground transportation in comfortable minibus * Round-trip train transportation to and from Machu Picchu in Vistadome cars * All entrance fees for sights visited and activities done as a group * Local guides' services at some of the sights and at some of the lodges |
Price does not include: * International airfare to meeting point in Peru (Lima) and from departure point (Cusco) * Flight from Lima to Cusco - Allow approximately $160 * Extra hotel nights in Lima or Cusco that might be desired or needed * Any meals not specified above * Wine, beer, and other alcoholic beverages at group meals * Optional activities such as horseback riding and river rafting * Personal expenses such as laundry, phone calls, room service, etc. |
SITE DESCRIPTIONS
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SACRED VALLEY Considered by the Incas as paradise on earth, the Sacred Valley is a breathtaking landscape of snow-capped mountains, red granite cliffs, and lush green terraces. It was the Inca breadbasket that still produces much of the grains, vegetables, and fruits consumed in Cusco. Compared to the chilly, thin air of Cusco, the Sacred Valley is lush and balmy. Inca temples, fortresses, and palaces are dotted throughout this valley, along with charming Andean villages that produce and sell some of the country’s finest handicrafts. Much of the Sacred Valley has been sculpted by the Incas with the movements of the sun and stars in mind. The temple-fortresses of Pisac and Ollantaytambo both correspond very precisely to solar and lunar events. Moray, an area of huge natural depressions in the earth that were elaborately terraced by the Incas, was probably designed to use sun and shade to work as an agricultural laboratory. |
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Pisac This quaint ancient Andean village, nestled near the top of the Sacred Valley, is best known for its huge crafts market, Peru’s most famous and one of the most famous in South America. The town square is filled with stalls selling the full range of Peruvian artisan products: carved gourds, ceramics, felt hats, alpaca sweaters and mittens, musical instruments, paintings, antiques, and most of all weavings and jewelry. Prices are very reasonable, but better-quality products are found in upscale city galleries. We will attempt to visit on Sunday when, in one corner of the square, farmers from surrounding villages set up a barter market which is an ancient Peruvian custom and a good example of the informal economies upon which highlanders depend. Quechuan-speaking Indians sit behind bountiful piles of potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables and herbs. They sell this produce in order to buy essentials, but they also trade to acquire other foods. The market takes place in town nestled in the shadow of an imposing Inca fortress and temple — the valley’s most important Inca ruins besides Ollantaytambo. The ruins contain a rare combination of all types of architecture — agricultural, hydraulic, military, residential, and religious — thus shedding light onto the daily life of the Incas. |
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Moray At first glance Moray appears to be a ceremonial center or a Greek-style amphitheater with its perfect terracing. But researchers have discovered that these natural depressions terraced by the Incas produce microclimates. Differences in sunlight, shade and elevation among the terraces create different temperatures. Moray was once a huge crops laboratory. It is thought that the Incas might have learned to grow corn and potatoes here in a variety of elevations, which helped fuel expansion of their empire. |
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Salinas Another example of the Incas transforming nature is the thousands of pools created by the diversion of a warm, salty spring. Sunlight evaporates the water leaving a thin crust of salt. The Salinas continue to be worked by a collective of hundreds of salt miners from nearby villages. There are over 5,000 pools each yielding about 300 pounds of unrefined salt a month. The contrast is remarkable between the barren hills and the blinding white salt pools which we can explore along narrow paths. |
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Ollantaytambo Second in importance only to Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo includes some of the Incas’ best stonework, including a series of ceremonial baths, elegant trapezoidal doorways, and a sun temple that faces the rising sun. Ollantaytambo is the last town in the Sacred Valley before the Río Urubamba plunges through steep gorges toward Machu Picchu. Framed by the snow-capped Verónica mountain, it is the best preserved Inca village in Peru, with narrow alleys, canals, and trapezoidal doorways. The Inca temple and fortress above town is second in beauty only to Machu Picchu. But Ollantaytambo also finds itself in a struggle to save its way of life against the forces of development. There is a special sense of community discernible to anyone who stops here. A museum here has blossomed into a showcase of local life and includes a ceramics workshop and a program to recover lost weaving techniques. At the ruins 200 steps lead up terraces to a gateway and the Temple of Ten Niches, and above that is the unfinished Temple of the Sun, considered one of the masterpieces of Inca stonework. Six giant monoliths of pink rhyolite are perfectly slotted together with think slices of stone and oriented to glow with the rising sun. The wall was probably intended to be one side of a great platform, which seems likely with the unfinished blocks, rough walls, and plaza nearby. It is uncertain why the construction stopped. The Cachicata quarry appears high on the hillside. The Incas dragged boulders weighing up to 52 tons down the mountain, across the Río Urubamba and the valley floor, and then up a steep ramp — the top of which is at a 25% grade, three times that allowed on most U.S. highways — with the use of sleds and levers. |
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MACHU PICCHU Through photography many have tried, but none has succeeded in capturing the majesty of Machu Picchu. The ancient city’s streets, temples, and stairways sprawl across a jungle ridge that drops a thousand feet into the Río Urubamba below. Andean peaks, including Huayna Picchu rise in the background and frame this mist-enshrouded island in the sky. A visit here is many visitors’ main reason for coming to Peru. The spot has a vibrant, spiritual feel and is probably the world’s best example of architecture integrating with the landscape — building a world around nature not against it. |
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At sunrise rows of ruins are illuminated
one by one as the sun gradually appears over the mountain peaks. The sun,
moon, earth, and water were revered by the Incas, and they shape the city’s
layout. Adding to the aura of Machu Picchu archeologists still do not
know when or why it was built. It does not appear in any colonial chronicles,
and it lay ivy covered and forgotten for centuries until Yale archeologist
Hiram Bingham stumbled across it in 1911. Over time historians and archeologists
have put forth their theories — that Machu Picchu was an exclusive
religious complex; a giant coca plantation; or even a boarding school
for brainwashing the children of leaders conquered by the Incas. One theory
gaining widespread acceptance is that Machu Picchu was a winter retreat
built in the mid-15th century. Some of the highlights of Machu Picchu include: the Temple of the Sun; the Royal Tomb; the Royal Area; the Temple of Three Windows; the Principal Temple; the Intihuatana (Hitching Post of the Sun); and Temple of the Condor. Apart from these main sights, Machu Picchu also stands out for its exquisite Temple of the Moon. This natural cave, sculpted with curving stone walls, is well worth the 1 to 2-hour hike up Huayna Picchu. From the summit of Huayna Picchu a perfect view of the entire complex below can be appreciated, spreading out like a map. |
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CUSCO The Incas’ capital city was Cusco, which in the Quechua language means belly button of the world. Though the Spaniards did their best to destroy the Inca buildings, they left many of the seamless stone walls as foundations which now line Cusco’s narrow cobblestone alleys, connecting the numerous baroque churches and convents that the Spaniards built. Despite four centuries of Spanish domination, Cusco still seems to be caught in a tug-of-war between Spanish and Inca cultures. This incongruous juxtaposition of cultures is one reason visitors are induced to linger here. With every earthquake the Spanish constructions cracked and tumbled while the Inca walls stood strong. Along with the Aztec capital in Mexico, Cusco was the other imperial capital in the Americas at the start of the Spanish conquest. Cusco was the New World’s version of ancient Rome with paved roads fanning out from here through the Inca empire which had stretched in just a century almost the entire length of the west coast of South America. The city was a dazzling sight with its temples, colossal plazas, royal palaces, and the hilltop fortress of Sacsayhuamán. It was fashioned in the shape of a puma, a sacred animal admired for its grace and strength, with Sacsayhuamán as the head, the city as the body, and the Coricancha sun temple at the tail. The stone fortress of Sacsayhuamán, with its massive zigzag walls fashioned from blocks weighing hundreds of tons, towers over Cusco and is the highest expression of the Incas’ military strength. A severe earthquake in 1950 destroyed the homes of 35,000 people in Cusco but had the unexpected benefit of destroying colonial facades that had masked Inca stonework for centuries. Much of the stonework visible today was discovered thanks to this earthquake. Based on these Inca ruins and the Spanish colonial architecture, Cusco was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. Cusco’s Plaza de Armas is surrounded by colonial stone arcades and graced with two extraordinary churches, the Catedral and the Jesuit Iglesia de la Compañia. The plaza is a lively place for both locals and tourists. Two flags fly over the plaza, the red-and-white flag of Peru and the rainbow-colored flag of the Inca nation (which is nearly identical to the gay pride flag). |
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ACCOMMODATIONS We have selected a variety of very comfortable accommodations for our Peru trip, most of them unique in their own way. Lima (1 night): A 4-star hotel in the upscale Miraflores district, close to the Pacific Ocean, and excellent shopping. Sacred Valley (2 nights): A lovely place run by a lovely couple. Rich gardens and orchards surround six houses that have been professionally designed using natural multi-colored clays. Each lovely house has a double bedroom and bathroom upstairs and another double bedroom and bathroom downstairs. The houses also have kitchens which will be stocked with some breakfast provisions, tea, coffee, juice, etc. (in addition to the served breakfast we will have) as well as a spacious living room, terrace, and balcony. This is a special place, different from a hotel but just as comfortable. The manager couple are very kind and helpful, and a stay here has the feel of being at a home away from home. Machu Picchu (2 nights): We stay in Aguas Calientes, which is the town just below Machu Picchu, so that we may enjoy early morning and late-afternoon access to the ruins (unlike most of the other visitors who come for the middle part of the day on the train from Cusco). This accommodation lies in a peaceful patch of rainforest echoing the tumbling of the nearby Río Urubamba and the song of some 150 different kinds of birds. The secluded bungalows are beautiful and more than comfortable. The hotel has progressed with an eco-philosophy that includes building its furniture on site. It was the recipient of the Sustainable Travel award from National Geographic Traveler. The hotel’s nature walks include the biggest orchid collection in Peru (372 species), and the hotel has re-introduced the Andean spectacled bear to the area. They have an excellent restaurant, bar, spa, and a spring-fed pool. Cusco (2 nights): Here we stay in one of Cusco’s best hotels, housed in a lovely 16th-century colonial building in the heart of the city, with a spectacular central courtyard. One side of the lobby is lined by Spanish stone arches and another by exposed portions of Inca stone walls. They serve an excellent buffet breakfast; the rooms come with all the amenities; and there is also a good restaurant, bar with fireplace, and garden. |
