Flight Of The Condor Trekking, Peru Essential InfoFrom delightful Arequipa you visit the incredible Colca Canyon where there is a good chance of spotting Andean condor soaring above the canyon's cliff-face. Home to many highland Indians who have preserved their traditional way of life, visit the floating islands of Lake Titicaca before heading to Cusco for a classic train ride to the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu.
OverviewAfter a relaxing evening, we begin exploring Lima on day two with a guided tour of the capital's old city. We will visit the Plaza de Armas before visiting the archaeological museum to learn about the fascinating cultures that flourished in Peru long before the arrival of the Spanish. We then fly to Arequipa, Peru's second-largest city to discover its traditional history. Colonial Arequipa is home to the Santa Catalina Convent, many local galleries and the Museum of Andean Sanctuaries (which houses Arequipa's ice mummies). Continuing the journey, we will make the spectacular drive towards the Colca Canyon. En route, the sky will be dominated by distant glacier, volcano and mountain peaks, and we will see the traditional Andean villagers tending their herds of llamas.
Upon arriving to Chivay, there will be time to relax in the nearby hot springs. The next day we will explore the Colca Canyon's rim, watch for magnificent condors soaring overhead and wonder if it is indeed deeper than the Grand Canyon. Fully in the Andes now, we make our way to Puno and Lake Titicaca. We will cruise the lake and visit the reed-island community of the Uros Indians before returning to explore Puno's traditional markets. Next, we embark for Cusco and the Sacred Valley. The city and valley are alive with a bustling nightlife, thriving indigenous population, aesthetic ruins and architecture. Cusco is easily one of the most memorable and exciting cities in the Andes, and the Sacred Valley is the perfect precursor to Machu Picchu. The trip culminates with two days at Machu Picchu where we will explore the Inca citadel and contemplate its sublime beauty. Our early morning visit will be unforgettable as we treasure the peaceful surroundings. We finish this tremendous Andean experience with a dreamy train ride back to Cusco for one more day of cultural exploration before flying back to Lima.
Accommodation Twin share in an hotel. Single travellers will be matched with a fellow passenger of the same sex.
Getting ThereThe programme begins in Lima. If you would like assistance with your flights, we can assist with sourcing the best value flight options, just indicate on your booking form.
When To GoContact us for details.
Why Xtreme Gap?If you thinking of waiting to book until you get out to the country you planning on travelling to think again. This is why you should book with us. Booking with Xtreme Gap Year ensures you will do it!
Price and Dates
Contact us for prices. There is an extra charge: plus US$350 local payment
Permits to hike the Inca Trail sell out many months in advance we therefore advise you to book as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
Included
- Services of English/Spanish speaking tour leader
- Transportation by private vehicle plus local trains & flights
- All 13 nights hotel included
- Train ride to/from Machu Picchu Boat ride on Lake Titicaca
- Entry to Machu Picchu and archaeological sites as per the itinerary
- Flight from Lima to Arequipa, Cusco to Lima 13 breakfasts (other meals paid locally)
Excluded
- International flights
- Travel insurance
- Local payments totalling $350
- Tips (allow €30)
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FLEXIBLE ITINERARY
Our routes have been carefully chosen to include the best night stops and highlights. However, as local and operational conditions may vary and unforeseen circumstances can arise, the following itinerary should be used as a guideline.
PERU TOUR DAY 1 - ARRIVE IN LIMA
Clients should make their own way to the GATEWAY HOTEL in Lima. You will meet the tour leader on DAY 2 at 9am in the hotel reception.
PERU TOUR DAY 2 - LIMA > AREQUIPA
Discovered in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro, Lima was the principal city of Spanish South America a for 300 years until the wave of independence swept the continent. This morning your local guide will show you something of the bustling old city, with its impressive colonial architecture. The Presidential Palace stands, like the cathedral, on the great central square of the Plaza de Armas, on the site of Pizarro, the conquistador�s house. Peru�s conqueror was assassinated here; it is said that he drew a cross in his own blood and kissed it before he died. Later you visit the Archaeological museum for a fascinating overview of the cultures that flourished in Peru long before the arrival of the Spanish. You then continue to the airport for a one-hour flight to the city of Arequipa transferring straight to your hotel on arrival. Hotel � 2 nights
PERU TOUR DAY 3 - AREQUIPA
The colonial city of Arequipa stands in a warm and sunny climate overlooked by the perfect, snow-draped cone of El Misti (5882m). Its fine buildings, constructed in distinctive local stone are single-storied to resist the ever-present threat of earthquake. At the city�s heart is the walled enclosure of the Convento de Santa Catalina - a miniature town occupying an entire block and which remained isolated from the rest of the city until 1970. Nowadays it provides a fascinating record of ecclesiastical life in bygone days. On the same road is the highly recommended museum of Andean Sanctuaries which houses the ice mummies found on top of Arequipa�s numerous volcanoes.
PERU TOUR DAY 4 - CHIVAY
Today you make the four-hour drive to Chivay near the Colca Canyon. The mountains to the south west are dominated by the glaciers of Ampato and Hualca. Sabancaya volcano can often be seen smoking in the distance. The scenes of pre-Inca terracing and Andean peasants tending
huge herds of llamas are simply unmissable. Many of the hamlets through which you pass are extraordinarily grand and have Baroquefacade churches, underlining the importance of this region�s silver mines to the Spanish during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the National Reserve of Pampa Canahuas you can see groups of vicunas, the rarest and most timid of the American cameloids. By late afternoon, you reach your hotel in the village of Chivay (3600m), where there will be time to relax in the nearby thermal springs of La Calera. Hotel � 2 nights (B)
PERU TOUR DAY 5 - COLCA CANYON
Leaving Chivay early you travel to the Colca Canyon (1,5 hours drive). Here you find the perfect spot to look down 1200m into the canyon at Mirador Cruz del Condor. It�s here that the legendary condor can be seen rising and circling on the morning thermals, silhouetted against the magnificent backdrop of the mountain scenery. Passing back through the valley, the vastness and sheer beauty of the area is astounding. The canyon is of mythical proportions; controversy still rages over whether or not this is the world�s deepest canyon! In some parts it is more than one kilometre from cliff edge to river bottom. During your return journey to Chivay you visit the picturesque villages of Maca and Yanque with their Baroquefronted churches overlooking quiet village squares, and marvel at the extensive series of agricultural terraces that dominate the hillsides, and which are still used today by the Colca people. After lunch in Chivay, there is the opportunity to try a two hour walk on the lesser visited northern rim of the canyon, close to the village of Coporaque, enjoying distinct views of the canyon and visiting remote hamlets and the Huari ruins of Ullo Ullo.
PERU TOUR DAILY ITINERARY DAY 6 - PUNO
You rise early today for a literally breathtaking drive over the high pass of Patapampa (4900m) which offers spectacular views of the volcanoes of Ampato, Hualca-Hualca and the smoking Sabancaya. Travelling over the high plains, or altiplano, of southern Peru, you see yet more herds of llamas and alpacas before arriving at the eerie ruins of Sillustani (about six hours driving). Curious stone burial towers of the 15th century Colla tribe overlook the primeval landscape in brooding, sinister fashion. After exploring this site you reach the town of Puno (about 30 minutes drive), on the shores of Lake Titicaca. At this altitude the sun is very hot in the daytime but temperatures at night can drop below freezing in the winter months of June, July and August. If you're feeling the cold, it's possible to buy thick alpaca sweaters from the town's market. Hotel - 2 nights.
PERU TOUR DAY 7 - PUNO: UROS ISLANDS
Today you take a boat to the floating reed islands of the Uros Indians. The life of the Uros is based on the totora reed, which grows in the lake and is used to construct their houses and boats, thereby fostering the theory which led to Thor Heyerdahl's Pacific journey with Ra. It is said that the Uros began their floating existence by constructing the islands to isolate themselves from the belligerent Collas and Incas. On reaching Lake Titicaca it's clear that they are no longer as secluded as they once were, but they are still a unique sight. Once back in Puno you have a relaxing afternoon either shopping for handicrafts or visiting the town's fine colonial cathedral. You can visit the iron ship Yaviri, moored close to the city. It was built in Scotland by James Watt & Co in 1862 and was shipped in boxes to the coast of Chile, where it then took seven years to carry on llamas and mules to its current home at Lake Titicaca.
PERU TOUR DAY 8 - CUSCO
An early start today as your bus takes you across the dusty altiplano, dotted with llama, alpaca and the simple adobe dwellings of local herders. Once over the pass at La Raya (4321m)the scenery changes. The fertile valleys are still worked by beast or groups of industrious villagers; their timeless agricultural methods prove the value of the knowledge of long ago. You have the opportunity to stop at several places of interest along the way including La Raya pass and the Inca ruins of Racchi and Pucara (about six hours drive). Alternatively you may prefer the option of making this classic journey by rail (additional cost) taking you through the same spectacular scenery in the comfort of Orient Express carriages. In the evening you arrive in Cusco, the seat of Inca rule for some 500 years. Hotel - 1 night
PERU TOUR DAY 9 - THE SACRED VALLEY
The local Sunday market at Pisac fills the main plaza with bustle and brightly-coloured costume. Then you travel via Urubamba to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, a traditional Inca village laid out on a grid plan (one of only four surviving examples) overlooked by the
magnificent fortress of Ollantay, the only Inca stronghold ever to have resisted persistent Spanish attacks. This is the very heartland of the Inca Empire; you have plenty of time here to appreciate its quiet rural charm. The combination of benign climate and fertile soil creates a rich agricultural region - unusual in the high Andes. Hotel - 2 nights
PERU TOUR DAY 10 - THE SACRED VALLEY
You spend a full day enjoying this beautiful region. You can choose to take a hike to the Salt Pans of Maras which cling to the hillside like hundreds of white cubist houses. Alternatively get the adrenalin surging with some white-water rafting or take to mountain bikes (all optional).
PERU TOUR DAY 11 - MACHU PICCHU
You leave your hotel early this morning and take a spectacular train ride (1 hrs) to arrive at the stunning �lost city� of Machu Picchu - the most dramatic and enchanting of Inca citadels, constructed from whitegranite in an extravagantly-terraced saddle between two towering peaks. No description of this mythical place can do it justice. It was rediscovered in 1911 by the American explorer, Hiram Bingham, who believed it to be the lost city of Vilcabamba. In the 1940�s archaeologists decided that the city was conceived and built in the middle of the 15th century by Pachacuti, the first Inca emperor to expand beyond the Sacred Valley towards the forested gold-lands. Basic Hotel - 1 night
DAY 12 - MACHU PICCHU/CUSCO
In the early morning you head back up to Machu Picchu to explore it further. The best way to explore the ruins is simply to wander around with a guide, or alone with a map to absorb the grandeur. Machu Picchu feels like it was built in the heavens, on dizzying slopes overlooking a bend in the Rio Urubamba. More than 100 flights of steep, stone steps connect its palaces, temples, storehouses and terraces, and command outstanding views not only of the valley below but also the snow-capped peaks around Salkantay (6271m). Wherever you stand, spectacular terraces appear to be suspended from steep cliffs, transforming the mountain into garden. You can explore or climb the nearby peaks before heading back to Cusco by train in the afternoon. hotel - 2 nights
PERU TOUR DAY 13 - CUSCO
Cusco, once the imperial capital, is laid out in the rough shape of a puma. Today, its orderly streets bear witness to the extraordinary skill of Inca stonemasons. Many are still lined with precisely interlocked stonework, which serves as the foundation for later buildings from the colonial era, creating an atmospheric pastiche of contrasting architectural styles.
This morning you visit the fortress of Sacsayhuaman located just outside Cusco city. The skilfully constructed outer walls consist of massive blocks of stone (the largest weighing over 350 tonnes) which must have been difficult to manoeuvre, let alone to cut and dress with such precision. The tour continues on foot in the city centre and reveals more of Cusco's historical and archaeological treasures. The rest of the day is free to relax. (B)
PERU TOUR DAY 14 - FLY TO LIMA, END OF TRIP
You catch a morning flight back down to Lima on the coast. The remainder of the day is free for further exploration and shopping before the trip ends.
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