Amazon Adventures

Peru Tours and Travel

PERU – Pre-Hispanic and Colonial Art and Architecture

DAY 01: USA - LIMA
• Arrival to Lima
• Greet upon arrival and transfer to hotel
• Overnight in Lima

DAY 02: LIMA
• Buffet breakfast ah hotel
• AM to rest
• PM Pre-Hispanic and Colonial Art: Lima was founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535, as La Ciudad de los Reyes, or "The City of Kings." It became the most important city in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru and, after the Peruvian War of Independence, was made the capital of the Republic of Peru. Its historic center in on UNESCO´s World Cultural Heritage List.

1. Larco Herrera Museum: Founded in 1926, the Larco Museum showcases remarkable chronological galleries providing an excellent overview on 3000 years of development of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. It features the finest gold and silver collection from Ancient Peru and the famous erotic archaeological collection. For an unforgettable experience, Larco is one of the few museums in the world where visitors can also choose to enter the storage area with its 45.000 classified archaeological objects. (guided by the musem´s curator)

2. Barbosa Stern Private Collection: When we think about one of the highest exponents of colonial culture in Latin America, the Peruvian School naturally comes to mind. It is a blend of two milenary cultural traditions: the Indian and the European. Art under the Peruvian viceroyalty is extraordinarily represented in the Barbosa-Stern Collection. Since 1966, Eduardo Barbosa and his wife Silvia Stern have collected an impressive compilation of Spanish colonial art. Mr. and Mrs. Barbosa-Stern´s sons inherited the love for colonial art, and are now in charge of preserving their family´s private collection. The visit will be guided by Aldo, the youngest son, who has the ability to transmit not only his vast knowledge but also his passion for colonial art. (guided by the owner of the collection)

• Private dinner at CASA ALIAGA: The Casa Aliaga was built in 1535, on a piece of land given by Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro to Geronimo de Aliaga as recognition for his military services during the conquest of Peru. Since then, it has been inhabited by members of the Aliaga family and it is kept in perfect state of conservation.
• B, D

DAY 03: LIMA - CUZCO
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• Transfer to Lima airport and assistance with flight
• Flight to Cuzco
• Greet upon arrival and transfer to hotel
• Balance of the morning to rest and better acclimatize to altitude
• PM visit the Sacsayhuaman temple and palace: Sacsayhuaman, which literally translates to "Decorated Head of the Puma”, was the ruling palace of the Inca, and contained a temple where the living god (the Inca was supposed to be the son of the Sun god, directed his people. It was called a fortress by the Europeans due the immense stone pieces that were used in its construction. Oral native traditions claim that around 70,000 people worked on the palace for 50 years. Upon return to the city we will observe some of the most representative buildings and construction details on this “mestizo” city. (guided by a historian)
• Dinner at the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art
• Overnight in Cuzco
• B, D

DAY 04: CUZCO
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• Full-day “Cuzco Art Safari” (guided by a historian)
Today we will walk along the cobblestone colonial streets and marvel at the flawless Incan stonework, picturing a time and place when the Incas once had a massive empire; we will follow the history of the Cusco School of Art, a local expression born by the combination of European motives and Andean aesthetics, learning the influences, the periods, and the master painters. We will stop at the colonial Main Square and visit the Cathedral, which contains one of the city’s greatest samples of Mestizo paintings of the XVIII century,. Following the Cathedral we will visit the Inca Historical Museum for a fine overview of the history of the Inca; the Historical Regional Museum, at the house of the famous Mestizo writer Inca Garcilazo de la Vega, allows us to understand the European and Andean influences in the constitution of the Cusco School of Art. The painting of a famous wedding of an Inca princess and an Spanish noble man found in La Compañia de Jesus helps us understand Mestizo Identity. Finally, we will be admitted to view the archbishop’s private art collection.
• Lunch at the CHICHA restaurant
• PM at leisure
• Overnight in Cuzco
• B, L

DAY 05: URUBAMBA SACRED VALLEY
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• Full-day Urubamba Sacred Valley (guided by a historian)

1. Huaro: Most of the interior art of this colonial chapel was done by Tadeo Ecalante, considered to be the last of the great Cuzco artists and the best example of the “Andean-West” fusion. Here we can find “Hell”, considered to be his masterpiece, a mural that expresses much of Andean religious syncretism that emerged as the Spanish conquerors tried to subdue the local Andean population using religion as one of the main and most powerful tools

2. Andahuaylillas: The most important attraction of the quiet Andean town of Andahuaylillas is its church, San Pedro de Andahuaylillas, considered to be the "Sistine Chapel" of America. In spite of its modest architecture, the inside decoration is impressive, as it contains an outstanding collection of the Cuzco Academy. Inside the church there are some remains of Inca buildings, and the baptistery area has writings in five languages: Latin, Spanish, Quechua, Pukina and Aymara

3. Chinchero: For at least two thousand years Peruvian weavers have experimented with every weaving technique known in the world. Many village weavers still know and use a great variety of techniques and designs of their ancestors.In some villages, like Chinchero, weaving traditions are still strong, despite changes rapidly being introduced. The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco meets and works with the younger generation in Chinchero and other villages, encouraging young people to learn their weaving skills, and preserve their valuable weaving tradition for the future. Your host will be Nilda Callañaupa, an expert weaver who has traveled to the United States and elsewhere on a number of occasions to teach and give presentations at Harvard, Cornell, the University of Vermont, Brown, the Textile Museum in Washington, DC., and other institutions. Her
expertise is recognized by international scholars of Inca textiles and culture

• Private gourmet picnic with “Tribute to the Earth” religious ritual: In the Andean world, pre-Hispanic religious fervor has survived through age-old rites that link Man to Nature, where the earth enjoys huge symbolic importance. The Pachamama (Earth goddess) provides her fruits to feed Man. Within the reciprocal nature of the Andes, villagers make offerings called pagapus. These offerings include coca leaves, unwrought silver, chicha, wine and jungle seeds called huayruro believed to have magical powers. The coca leaf is a sacred plant which mediates between the inner world (the Apu and the Pachamama) and the outer world (that of Man).

• Private dinner at CASA COLCAMPATA with Ancient Andean music demonstration by Kike Pinto Kike Pinto, offers an unrivalled insight into the genuine folkloric traditions of the region. Pinto has been collecting musical instruments for over 35 years, travelling across the country, interviewing craftsmen and musicians while learning about ceremonies, customs, dances and tunes. His collection of instruments now counts over 400 pieces, many incredibly rare and no longer produced, such as panpipes constructed from condor bones. Kike Pinto works to promote and expand indigenous music in the community through lectures, workshops, concerts and cultural events
• Overnight in Cuzco
• B, L, D

DAY 06: CUZCO - MACHU PICCHU
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• Transfer to the Poroy train station
• HIRAM BINGHAM Orient Express Deluxe train to Machu Picchu
• Lunch on-board
• Guided tour of Machu Picchu (guided by a historian) Machu Picchu, rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, is one of the most enigmatic ancient sites in the world. While the Incas certainly used the Andean mountain top, legends and myths indicate that Machu Picchu (meaning 'Old Peak' in the Quechua language) was revered as a sacred place from a far earlier time. Machu Picchu seems to have been utilized by the Inca as a secret ceremonial city. Two thousand feet above the rumbling Urubamba River, the cloud shrouded ruins have palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and some 150 houses, all in a remarkable state of preservation. These structures, carved from the gray granite of the mountain top are wonders of both architectural and aesthetic genius.
• Private dinner in the rain-forest
• Overnight in Machu Picchu
• B, L, D

DAY 07: MACHU PICCHU -CUZCO
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• Guided tour of Machu Picchu
• Eco-activities on the grounds of INKATERRA:
1. Nature Walk: Walk along the hotel’s trails, visiting the Rocotal Observatory, sacred pre-Inca pictographs and an enchanting waterfall. Discover the fascinating yet fragile ecosystem of the Machu Picchu cloud forest.
2. Orchid Garden: Walk through the orchid garden to observe some of the hotel’s 372 different orchids in bloom. Discover this extraordinary plant family, which has captured the human imagination for centuries. From the largest orchid flower in the world – the lady slipper (Phragmipedium caudatum) – to species new to science that have been discovered on the hotel grounds and tiny flowering specimens that can be
properly appreciated only through a magnifying glass; there are orchids to amaze both the newly inquisitive and the expert.

3. Birding Tour: Start at 6:30 in the morning to take advantage of the optimum time of day for cloud-forest bird watching. A river observatory offers the possibility of sightings of the sought-after torrent duck and the white-capped dipper; then proceed to a productive tanager feeding area, where silver-beaked, blue-necked, fawn-breasted and saffron-crowned tanagers can be found. Along the hotel’s pathways, be on the lookout for the cock-of-the-rock, the golden-headed quetzal and many of the 16 different hummingbirds identified on the grounds.
• Lunch at the hotel
• HIRAM BINGHAM Orient Express Deluxe train to Machu Picchu
• Dinner on board
• Greet and transfer to hotel
• Overnight in Cuzco
• B, L, D

DAY 08: CUZCO - LIMA - USA
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• Transfer to the airport and assistance
• Flight to Lima
• Greet upon arrival
• Hotel room until evening
• Transfer to the airport and assistance
• Flight to USA
• B