Panoramas of Peru
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Trip Highlights
- Volunteering in an impoverished community near Cusco
- Hike the Inca Trail
- Cusco tour
- Lake Titicaca and the floating villagesof Uros
- Colonial Arequipa
- Colca Canyon and the condors
Your Taste of Volunteering Project
You will assist in an impoverished village near Cusco, and you can either help with repairs and renovations and other odd-jobs or, if you have medical training, you can help in the medical clinic. You will transfer in from your hotel in Cusco each day in a private vehicle. Your interaction with the local people will leave an enduring memory with you - you would not be the first if you were to return multiple times!
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Sunday 5th October 2008
Upon your arrival in Lima, you are met by our Hands Up Holidays representative and transferred to your hotel. We enjoy a half day city tour in the afternoon.
Overnight in Lima in a 3* hotel (B)
Day 2: Monday 6th October 2008
After a buffet breakfast, we fly to Puerto Maldonado for the start of our Amazon adventure!
We transfer from the Puerto Maldonado airport to the city river port and prepare for the trip on the Madre de Dios river.
We visit the Puerto Maldonado city market, where you can buy Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, and star apples, as well as other typical tropical forest fruits and nuts and local handicrafts made with seeds from the Amazon region. This activity may be carried out on arrival or departure from Puerto Maldonado, depending on flight schedules.
We embark on a 45-minute cruise downriver on a motor boat. Along the river we may see caimans (alligators), birds, flowering trees, etc., native to the region. We arrive at the Sandoval Lake Lodge, which was entirely built by indigenous people with forest materials according to Iñapari, Mashco, Amaracair, Dipo and Ese-Eja traditions. The lodge is located on the left bank of the Madre de Dios river.
We have lunch in the panoramic dining room.
In the afternoon, we go on a two-hour guided walk on the botanical trail beside the lodge, and learn about the exuberant flora and fauna. We later go to Monkey Island (Rolin) where you can observe up to five species of monkeys: the howling monkey (Alonnatta seniculus), the white capuchin monkey (Cebus albifrons), the black capuchin monkey (Cebus apella), the maquisapa (Ateles paniscus) and the pichico (Saguinus fuscicollis).
At night, we stroll along the riverbank to observe baby caimans (alligators) and other nocturnal animals. When the sky is clear, the stars of the Southern Hemisphere can be brightly seen. Dinner time is a good time to ask our local guides about the tropical forest.
Overnight at the lodge (B,L,D)
Day 3: Tuesday 7th October 2008
We embark on a motor boat for a 20-minute ride to the right bank of the Madre de Dios river. We walk for about an hour through the tropical forest. During the 3 km stretch we can observe plants, trees, some Batrachia (toads and frogs) and reptiles, a variety of birds and throughout the whole walk, multicolored butterflies and busy body ants. At the end of the path, we set off by rowboat to glide along a canal through the marsh to the magnificent Lake Sandoval.
This lake offers extraordinary scenery of placid waters surrounded by palm, aguaje and other primary forest trees. During the journey you can observe the local rich flora and fauna of the place: river otters, caimans (alligators) turtles and rare Amazonian birds, like the hoatzin or “Shansho” (a prehistoric-looking bird, Opithocamus hoazin or stinkbird), parrots, black skimmers and herons, among others. You can also swim in the lake.
After a brief river boat trip on the Madre de Dios river, we walk 5 minutes in the forest through cacao and rubber plants and breadfruit trees, coffee bushes and other plants to discover the famous boat Fitzcarrald, run aground many years ago and covered with vegetation. This paddlewheel steam boat was used in the past as hospital to assist indigenous communities. It inspired the Cannes award winning film Fizcarraldo. We return to the lodge by boat and have lunch in the panoramic Amazon Pabillion.
In the afternoon, we visit an indigenous cultivation plot. We can get an insight on the lifestyle of the local community and see different types of Amazonian crops. You can taste tropical fruits and edible plants such as sugar cane, yucca (cassava), bananas and cacao (chocolate). We return to the lodge at sunset, when the light is ideal for spectacular photos of the fusion of river and sky.
In the evening, we enjoy a typical dinner of paca: fish, chicken or beef, prepared in a fresh bamboo skewer, cooked by open fire by extracting the natural bamboo juice, along with tomatoes and onions and a variety of exotic herbs and sauces.
Overnight at the lodge (B,L,D)
Day 4: Wednesday 8th October 2008
After a buffet-style tropical breakfast in the morning, we return to the city of Puerto Maldonado. We transfer to the airport and depart by plane to Arequipa.
Overnight in Arequipa in a 3* hotel (B)
Day 5: Thursday 9th October 2008
After an American breakfast at the hotel, we enjoy a private tour of the city, the Santa Catalina Convent and the Momia Juanita (the “ice maiden”).
We have a half-day tour of the city of Arequipa, which lies at the foot of the beautiful extinct "Misti" volcano. On the main square, the Plaza de Armas, we see the Cathedral with its Carrara marble altar, the huge Belgian organ and the magnificent pulpit, carved in Lille, France. We then continue on to the Jesuit church of La Compañia with its beautifully painted chapel and carved volcanic stone arcades, and visit the Santa Catalina convent. This convent, closed to the public for almost 400 years until 1970, is still home to a few cloistered nuns. Finally, we visit the Santuarios Andinos Museum which houses the remains of "Juanita", Maiden of Ampato, the perfectly preserved mummy of a 14 years old Inca girl discovered in 1995 on the summit of Mount Ampato.
We then transfer into the Colca Canyon, with dinner at your lodge.
Overnight at a lodge in the Colca Canyon (B,D)
Day 6: Friday 10th October 2008
We start our day with a buffet breakfast, followed by a full day in the Canyon! We visit Condor Cross and see condors flying. Lunch is included and will be taken at local restaurant in Chivay.
Dinner will be at the lodge. (B,L,D)
Day 7: Saturday 11th October 2008
After our buffet breakfast, we transfer by private bus to Puno, Lake Titicaca. The trip will take about 7 hours; you will have a boxed lunch en route.
Overnight in Puno in a 3* hotel (B,L)
Day 8: Sunday 12th October 2008
After our buffet breakfast, we visit, by boat, the floating island of the Uros Indians on Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. Today the Uros Indians live as they have done for generations, building their huts and boats with the totora reeds from the lake and seeking out a living by fishing and selling handicrafts.
Overnight in Puno in a 3* hotel (B)
Day 9: Monday 13th October, 2008
We take the train to Cusco. You can enjoy incredible views of the Andean plains with their majestic mountain backdrop, interspersed villages and herds of llamas and alpaca. Lunch is served on board.
Overnight in Cusco in a 3* hotel (B,L)
Day 10: Tuesday 14th October, 2008
Your Volunteer Project begins - you can help with repair and renovation work in a village near Cusco, and if you have medical skills, you can make a difference in the medical clinic.
Overnight in Cusco in a 3* hotel (B,L)
Day 11 to Day 13: Wednesday 15th to Friday 17th October, 2008
Your volunteering continues.
Overnight in Cusco in a 3* hotel (B,L)
Day 14 to Day 17 : Saturday 18th to Tuesday 21st October 2008
Inca Trail to Machu Picchu!
Day 14: Inca Trail begins: CUSCO - HUAYLLABAMBA
After a buffet breakfast, you are picked up from your hotel to the Inca Trail control. We drive by bus to the beginning of our trail at Km 82 from where we continue along the Urubamba River to the first archaeological site "Llaqtapata". Here we enjoy lunch in a beautiful setting. After some rest we continue into the valley and start to gain altitude until we get to the last village Huayllabamba where we camp for today.
Overnight in tents (B,L,D)
DAY 15: HUAYLLABAMBA – PACAYMAYO
After a healthy breakfast we start climbing up to the first pass "Warmiwañusca" (4200 Mt/ 14'200 Ft). The climb will take us most of the morning. From here we descend for about 2 hours into the valley to our next camp "Pacaymayo".
Overnight in tents (B,L,D)
DAY 16: PACAYMAYO - WIÑAYWAYNA
Today is going to be the most diverse day. We start in the morning with the ascent of the second pass "Runcuracay" (3900 Mt/ 13'800 Ft) and descend on the other side for about 2 hours to the beautiful archaeological site "Sayacmarca". We continue on the original stone path of the Incas through the semi-tropical cloud forest onto the third pass "Phuyupatamarca" (3800 Mt/ 13'600 Ft). If the weather is favourable, we enjoy spectacular views of the surrounding snow peaks and the valley below. From here it is all downhill to our camp at "Wiñaywayna" (one of the most beautiful sites in the area in terms of its construction and setting).
Overnight in tents (B,L,D)
DAY 17: WIÑAYWAYNA - MACHU PICCHU - CUSCO
After an early and tasty breakfast we hike another 2 hours through the cloud forest to the famous sun gate "Intipunku" from where we have the first breathtaking views and best panorama of the mysterious "Machupicchu". A short walk brings us down to the site. After refreshing a little we have a guided tour of the "lost city of the Incas" for approximately 2 hours. We then descend by bus to the village of Aguas Calientes. After lunch (not included), we take the train back to Cusco.
Overnight in Cusco in a 3* hotel (B)
Day 18: Wednesday 22nd October 2008
After a buffet breakfast, we have some time to rest in the morning, and in the afternoon, a tour of Cusco.
The tour shows you the amazing colonial city built on the foundations of Inca palaces. We visit the Koricancha or Temple of the Sun, where you can admire the incredible masonry of the Incas, the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral with its carved woodworks, altars and paintings. Then we are driven to the Inca fortress of Sacsahuamán, to the underground cave and temple of Kenko and to Tambomachay, known as the Inca Baths.
Overnight in Cusco in a 3* hotel (B)
Day 19: Thursday 23rd October 2008
After a buffet breakfast, we transfer to Cusco airport for your flight to Lima. Your trip ends in Lima. (B)
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Feel free to contact us if you have any enquiries about this trip.
With one person booking, please contact us for the price of your trip.
