Amazon Adventures

Peru Tours and Travel

Peru Band and/or Choir Tour

Day 1: USA – Lima
• Greet upon arrival and transfer to hotel
• Dinner at hotel
• Overnight in Lima
• D

Day 2: Lima
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• AM At leisure
• PM Lima City Tour : Lima was founded in 1535 and in a short period of time became the most important city in the Americas. It´s historic center
is on UNESCO´s World Cultural Heritage List
1. Cathedral: It is placed where the first Main Church of Lima was. The interior is austere, although it shelters real historic jewels like the finely carved wooden pews of the Baltasar Noguera choir, different side altars, and the remains of Francisco Pizarro.
2. Convento de San Francisco The building is noted for its 17th century architecture, a high example of Spanish Neoclassicism. Catacombs are built under the monastery, and are said to connect to other catacombs beneath the cathedral and other churches.
• Performance at Fatima Church
• Overnight in Lima
• B

Day 3:LIMA - CUZCO
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• Transfer to Lima airport and assistance with flight to Cuzco
• Flight to Cuzco
• Greet upon arrival and transfer to hotel
• Day at leisure to rest and better acclimatize to altitude
• Overnight in Cuzco
• B

Day 4: CUZCO
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• AM Walking Cuzco City Tour
1. La Almudena Cemetery: Seldomly visited by foreigners, visiting the cemetery allows for an understanding of how modern-day Andean deal with the concept of death, and through this particular subject discover how current Andean cosmo-vision is really a blend between native and western
beliefs
2. San Pedro Market: A unique opportunity for a deep cultural immersion. Learn about native Andean customs and habits in this vibrant spot, observing the language as it is spoken and properly pronounced, view the gestures and habits that are common to the Andean culture, smell the scents of local produce and flora and see the fruits, vegetables and meats that make up the main staples of traditional meals.
3. Cathedral; The first Cuzco Cathedral was built in 1539 at the Suntur Wasi Inca site; in 1560, the construction of a new cathedral on the Kiswir Kancha lot, palace of Inca Wiracocha, was ordered. The actual Cathedral was finished in 1664, a century after.
4. Korikancha: As Cuzco was the center of the Tahuantinsuyo (Inca Empire), this is one of the most important of Inca temples. Originally a temple of the Killki culture, its walls served as the foundation for the construction of the Convento de Santo DomingoOvernight in Cuzco
• Overnight in Cuzco
• B

Day 5: MACHU PICCHU
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• Transfer to train station and VISTADOME train to Machu Picchu
• Guided tour of the Machu Picchu citadel Machu Picchu, rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, are one of the most beautiful and enigmatic ancient sites in the world. While the Inca people certainly used the Andean mountain top, erecting many hundreds of stone structures from the early 1400's, 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. Whatever its origins, the Inca turned the site into a small (5 square miles) but extraordinary city. Invisible from below and
completely self-contained, surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed the population, and watered by natural springs, 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. Many of the building blocks weigh 50 tons or more yet are so precisely sculpted and fitted together with such exactitude that the mortar-less joints will not permit the insertion of even a thin knife blade. Little is known of the social or religious use of the site during Inca times.
• Buffet lunch
• PM VISTADOME train to Cuzco
• Greet upon arrival and transfer to hotel
• Overnight in Cuzco
• B, L

Day 6: URUBAMBA SACRED VALLEY
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• Full-day Urubamba Sacred Valley
1. Chinchero: Chinchero´s population is composed of twelve indigenous communities that maintain the ayllu system, even though it does not correspond anymore to the organization system in force before the Spanish conquest.
2. Maras: Maras, is recognized because of the salt mines, exploited since Inca times. The mines are made up by approximately 3,000 small pools, and the work consists in filling them with salt water until the water evaporates and the salt remains.
3. Moray: There are four slightly elliptical agricultural terraces, that the people call muyus. Many think that this place was an important agricultural
experimentation center for the Incas. Through the use of concentric terraces and because the temperature is different in each of their level, all the ecological tiers found in the confines of the Tahuantinsuyo Empire would have been reproduced in this complex.
4. Ollantaytambo fortress: Ollantaytambo is an archaeological park to which different functions had been attributed. It is considered a military
construction strategically located to protect Cuzco from possible invasions. Ollantaytambo is one of the few cities that still maintain the Inca system of urban planning.
• Lunch included
• Overnight in Cuzco
• B, L

Day 7: URUBAMBA SACRED VALLEY
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• AM. Todays' work in the primary school of the Cachicatta community in the Sacred Valley. Experience that provides a sense of solidarity with today’s inhabitants of the Andes , the descendents of the culture that created the splendid monuments that make Cusco one of the most beautiful and fascinating cities in South America. This program develops new opportunities for children and gives travelers the chance to participate in the
improvement of te everyday lives of the region’s youngest inhabitants. Your work could consist of: Playing with the children, teaching English, organizing outdoor activities, maintenance works for the school.
• PM Performance at Chapel of Monasterio Hotel, fundraiser for school
• Overnight in Cuzco
• B

Day 8: CUZCO - PUNO
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• Full-day transfer to Puno
• Historical and archaeological stops on route:
a) Huaro: Most of the interior art of the colonial chapel in the quaint Andean town of Huaro was done by Tadeo Ecalante, considered to be the last of the great Cuzco artists and the best example of the “Andean-West” fusion or Andean Baroque. Here we can find “Hell”, considered to be Tadeo
Eacalante´s 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.
b) Raqchi: Built in the fifteenth century, it is considered to be one of the most audacious Inca constructions. The remarkable Wiracocha temple, 100
meters (328 feet) long and 20 meters (66 feet) wide is made of adobe walls built on top of volcanic stone foundations. The complex also includes
a residential area made for the Inca nobles and dozens of circular warehouses to store food.
• Performance in Huaro
• Lunch included
• Overnight in Puno
• B, L

Day 9: LAKE TITICACA
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• Full-day Lake Titicaca: This lake is very important in Andean mythology since, according to legend, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, children of the sun god and founders of the Inca Empire, emerged from its waters.
a) UROS ISLANDS: The Uros Islands are located in the Bay of Puno. Three to ten Uro-Aymaras families live on each one. They roof their houses
with totora reed carpets, although some families have replaced their traditional roofs by metal ones. The Uros call themselves Kotsuña, “the lake people”, and their origins go back to eras before the Incas. The men are skillful handlers of the totora reed boats, and the women are expert knitters.
b) TAQUILE ISLAND: Pre-Inca vestiges are found in the highest part of the island. During the Colonial period and up to the first years of the
twentieth century, it was used as a political prison, until the island became property of the Taquile people in 1970. The town of the same name, Taquile, is characterized by its friendly inhabitants, who maintain their customs and traditional clothing. They distinguish themselves
by their detailed, fine, and colorful textiles with symmetrical decorations and symbols that reflect their way of life, customs, and Andean beliefs.
• Lunch included
• Overnight in Puno
• B, L

Day 10: PUNO - LIMA
• Buffet breakfast at hotel
• AM Performance at Puno Cathedral
• PM Transfer to Juliaca airport and assistance with flight
• Flight to Lima
• Greet upon arrival and assistance with connecting flight to USA
• B