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Our staff will meet you at the airport and take you on a private transport to start our full day Sacred Valley of the Incas visit. Our fist stop is Pisac, with its beautiful and fine architecture, as only it is found in Machu Picchu. Built over the top of a high mountain, it overlooks a section of the valley, the roads to the jungle, and the road to Cusco. At the foot of the mountain, a tourist market has originated in the local Sunday market that congregated the Andean communities for the exchange of agricultural products, animals and crafts.
Lunch will be waiting for us at one of the beautiful restaurants of Urubamba and Yucay. International and Peruvian cuisine, as well as other options (vegetarian, vegan, etc) are available.
The impressive fortress of Ollantaytambo will be our last visit of the day. After lunch, we will walk the last original Inca streets in the Valley, before we start the ascent of the fortress named after a legendary general, Ollantay, who rebelled against mighty Pachacutec for the love of Cusi Coyllor, the great Inca’s daughter.
Breakfast at the hotel in Cusco
Lunch at restaurant in the Sacred Valley of the Incas
Dinner at restaurant in Ollantaytambo
Overnight at hotel in Ollantaytambo
Machu Picchu is the greatest of the Inca cities and it was hidden from the conquerors and remained covered by the jungle for more than three hundred years. It is the most beautiful example of the classic Inca style, and it has been built on the top of a mountain. To this day, it is the consensus that it was built by the great Pachacutec, and that it was used as a resting place for the Inca. To Machu Picchu we go on a train that runs along the Urubamba river, in a 90 minutes amazing ride. Once in Aguas Calientes, we take a bus up the ruins. Two hours of a guided visit put us at the centre of the Andean part of our journey. Then, we continue the visit on our own.
We take a bus back to Aguas Calientes for lunch. After lunch, we will enjoy the comfort of our hotel. The hot springs are an option as well as a visit the hotel orchid garden.
Breakfast at the hotel in Ollantaytambo
Lunch and dinner at restaurants in Aguas Calientes
Overnight at hotel in Aguas Calientes
Early in the morning we will take one of the first buses to the ruins to visit Machu Picchu before the trains take the tourists of the day from Cusco. The Sun Gate is at the end of the 4-days Inca Trail and is of easy access. The Wayna Picchu mountain is the background mountain in all the classic photographs of Machu Picchu. Ascending the Wayna Picchu takes a couple of hours and we have to register at the entrance. The view is spectacular and we can see the bends of the Urubamba river, the ruins from an unusual perspective, and the mountains around.
After lunch in Aguas Calientes, we take the bus back to Ollantaytambo. Our bus takes us to Chinchero for a demonstration of ancient weaving techniques with local weavers. As we return to Cusco, the view of the Cordillera and its snowed peaked mountains is the perfect end for the Andean part of our trip.
Breakfast at the hotel in Aguas Calientes
Lunch at restaurant in Aguas Calientes
Dinner at restaurant in Cusco
Overnight at hotel in Cusco
Early in the morning, a private transport picks you up at your hotel to start this exciting journey. As we ascend the Andes, we find Ninamarca, a small complex of circular tombs of still unclear and mysterious origin scattered on the top of a hill, overlooking the snowed capped mountains around them. Then, we arrive to the town of Paucartambo, at the center of ancient trading routes of the Incas, where we will have a short explanation on traditional dances and celebrations. We will stop for coffee, and a chat at a small local restaurant will give us time to learn about ancestral biodiversity uses by Andean communities. We will continue our way towards one of the highest points of the day at Acjanaco (3,500 m), a Park Rangers Station and the entrance to Manu National Park. If the weather conditions permit, we will have the first spectacular view of the one of the largest National Parks of Peru. Amidst the clouds, we will start our descent until we reach San Pedro, where we will have lunch. As we observe the dramatic changes of the landscape, we will reach our Cloud Forest lodge where we will have dinner and spend this first night.
Coffee and snacks in Paucartambo
Box lunch at San Pedro
Dinner at Cloud Forest lodge
Overnight at Cloud Forest lodge
The Cock of The Rock is the national bird of Peru, and it is a main attraction in the Cloud Forest. Males dance to attract the females, and we observe its activity at the lek, early in the morning, at incredible short distance. The ten-minute walk that takes us back to the lodge for breakfast gives us great chances to see a band of monkeys looking for breakfast themselves among the trees, by the road. Then, our journey continues down the Cloud Forest through the trees and water falls of the narrow ravine, home to one of the richest varieties of birds and to the spectacled bear. As we approach Pillcopata, coca plantations become visible and we will stop to visit one of them, to learn about the uses of the coca leaves and their medicinal properties. After a short stop at Pillcopata, we head for the port-town of Atalaya, where we will board a motorized canoe. A one hour ride to the Manu Learning Centre gives us the first impression of a meandering Amazonian river, the Alto Madre de Dios, one of the most southern tributaries of the legendary Amazonas river. Once at the Centre, lunch and a warm welcome from our friendly staff will be waiting for us. A basic introduction will be provided to us to make or stay more comfortable and enjoyable. Then, we will have a first short walk on the nearby trails.
Breakfast at Cloud Forest lodge
Lunch and dinner at the Manu Learning Centre
Overnight at the Manu Learning Centre
One of the most interesting activities at the Manu Learning Centre is the monitoring of the clay lick or collpa where, among others, the Blue Headed Macaw is observed and studied as it is an endangered species. At 5:00 a.m. in the morning, we join the scientists and researchers on the boat and head for the hide, five minutes up river, to observe the activity of macaws, parrots, and parakeets. As the day breaks and the rays of the sun paint the walls of the clay lick with magic colors, the birds display their dances, come and go in pairs, in flocks, until they leave to continue their day, deeper in the jungle. Then, we go back to the centre for breakfast.
After breakfast, we will take the opportunity to visit the MLC orchid garden, home to more than 120 species of orchids, some of which have not been identified yet and are waiting for a researcher (or a visitor!) to identify one as a new species and give it a name! A visit to the bio-garden will give us a better understanding of how the Centre’s projects are a bet for a sustainable future for the jungle and its human inhabitants. Then, we will start our second visit to the trails, towards the outlook, from which it is possible to see the distant mountains of the Andes and the misty slopes of the Cloud Forest; and towards the Mascoitania ravine and its lovely creek-ponds. We will be back in the Centre for lunch.
In the afternoon, a short speech will help us put in context the work we do at CREES on sustainability and conservation, and a new visit to the trails will take us to some of the transects where the research work is carried out, as we try to spot monkeys, mammal tracks and birds.
In the evening, depending on the weather conditions, we will observe the sky, identifying southern hemisphere constellations while we are told about Andean and Jungle Cosmovisions, and stories of the jungle are told to us afterwards, in the dark, in the comfort of the living room.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Manu Learning Centre
Overnight at the Manu Learning Centre
After an early breakfast, a boat will take us on a two-hour trip to the hot springs of Aguas Calientes, in the land of the native community of Shintuya. Among the trees, we will have a great time enjoying the hot ponds and the cool waters of the creek. A picnic lunch by the river may include catfish fished by ourselves. Then, we will cross to the other side of the river for a visit to Shintuya. We will have some time for an exchange with the members of the community and to see, and eventually purchase, hand-made arrows, spears and crafts. In the afternoon, we will return to the Manu Learning Centre.
Breakfast at the Manu Learning Centre
Picnic lunch by the river
Diner at the Manu Learning Centre
Overnight at the Manu Learning Centre
After breakfast, we prepare for departure and take the boat back to Atalaya port-town, where we will board our transport back to Cusco. The landscape will change again before our eyes as we climb the Cloud Forest towards the Andes and then down to Cusco. The car will leave you at your hotel to complete this extraordinary journey.
Breakfast at the Manu Learning Centre
Box Lunch
Overnight at hotel in Cusco
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