Peru: Ancient Inca culture

This particular trip brings together all the main locations worth travelling to Peru for! We will visit Machu Picchu and the twin city of Choquequirao. And while Machu Picchu doesn’t need any special introduction, we’ll tell you more about Choquequirao. This city is usually overlooked, and for nothing! It is the second largest city in the Inca civilisation, perfectly cleared of perennial vegetation, where we will be able to walk all the streets and enter the Inca houses without time limit or dozens of other tourists around. And afterwards we will head to the symbol of Peru – Machu Picchu! Besides, for a whole week we walk where the Incas walked, see their defences, camp on ancient terraces, in a word – the whole trek repeats their way of life. Somewhere on these paths they fought with conquistadors who came hundreds and thousands of kilometres away from here to enslave the ancient unique civilisation.

Having finished the trek, we will move on to the equally exciting part of the journey! We will head to the border of Peru and Bolivia to the shores of Lake Titicaca, surrounded by the Andes. It is almost 4000 metres above sea level and is the highest navigable lake in the world. Around the lake and on floating islands of reeds there are settlements of Aymara and Quechua peoples, on one of these reed islands we will stop for the night.

Afterwards we will visit the national parks of Salinas and Aguada, the Huacachina oasis and the ancient city of Arequipa, built of white volcanic stone. We will round off the trip with a helicopter flight over the Nazca Lines, an amazing Inca creation!

Don’t doubt, this will be one of the most amazing journeys of your life!

Day 1. Arrival in Cusco. If your flight is early enough, we will visit the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, visit a couple of museums and walk the streets of the ancient conquistador city. But in any case, we will dine at a restaurant in the main square of the historic centre overlooking the cathedral with a chance to try the national dish “Cuy” or llama steak. Dinner and instructing the group. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 2. Start trekking Chokequirao – Machu Picchu. Prepare to travel back hundreds of years, leaving the modern world and all your worries behind. Imagine a way of life where community was more important, where there was a deep love and respect for Mother Nature or Pachamama.
Day 3. Cusco – Capuliyoc – Chiquisque. We will start our adventure with a not the brightest landscape of wooded hills, after a short climb in the heat, a huge descent awaits us surrounded by giant cacti surprising us with their huge colours. At the bottom of the canyon an abandoned camp awaits us, we used to stay here, but now there is no water, so today we have to go further. After some climbing we come to the camp, overnight in tents in the grounds of a local family’s house lost in the jungle.
Day 4. Chiquisque – Playa Rosalinas – Santa Rosa – Marampata. We will continue to the deepest part of the valley, where we will start the ascent to the village of Marampata, where we will set up our next camp. Enjoy the amazing scenery of this area – we call these slopes “vertical land”. And it’s true – there are no rocks here, but the slopes are incredibly steep, and the locals somehow manage to cultivate corn and other crops here, while on similar slopes climbers usually already hang up a safety net. Night in a tent.
Day 5. Marampata – Choquequirao – Pinchaunuioc. On this day we will wake up early to greet the sunrise and explore the Inca fortress of Choquequirao – translated from Spanish as “cradle of gold”, discovered in 1710. Choquequirao is a 15th-16th century settlement associated with the Inca Empire, or more specifically, the Tahuantinsuyo Empire. The place had two main phases of development. This can be explained by the fact that Pachacutec founded Choquequirao and his son Tupac Inca Yupanqui rebuilt and expanded it after he became Sapa Inca (chief Inca). Choquequirao is located in what was considered the domain of Pachacutec. In the centre of the city are the typical Inca terraces, which are the largest structures. Around the central plaza are a temple, several administrative buildings and residential neighbourhoods of the nobility. On the outskirts of the city are the residential neighbourhoods of the commoners, forming a small village. Numerous water canals, aqueducts and water springs remain intact in the city to this day. Most of the buildings in the town are well preserved and some of them are being restored. Next we will walk through the misty forest to the ruins of Pinchaunuioc. Overnight in a tent.
Day 6. Pinchaunuyoc – Maisal Minas Victoria – San Juan Pass – Yanama. In the morning we will continue to the deepest part of the Blanco River valley to start the most difficult part of the trek. We will climb until we reach the San Juan Pass, from where we descend to our camp located in the mountainous abandoned village of Yanama.
Day 7. Yanama – Yanama Pass – Totora – Kollpapampa. We pass through Yanama Pass, the highest point of the trail, which offers a mind-blowing view of the valley. We can see further continuation of the Inca trail to the third most important city of this ancient civilisation, but this time we will not go there. On the way we will see the life of Peruvian farmers and finally – the snow-capped peaks of the Salkantay range, after which another world-popular route in the footsteps of the Inca civilisation is named. Tonight we will rest at our exclusive mountain view hotel in Collpapampa.
Day 8. Collpapampa – Sahuacho Beach – Hydroelectrica – Aquas Calientes Today we have to trek through the jungle until we reach the Hydroelectric Station. From here it is a scenic trekking (although you can also take the train) to Aguas Calientes. Dinner at a restaurant and you will spend the night at your hotel.
Day 9. Aquas Calientes – Machu Picchu – Oyantaytambo – Maras salt mines – Cusco. In the morning, explore the incredible historical reserve of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca city, is considered one of the most amazing and significant archaeological sites in the world and is one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. There are several hypotheses about what Machu Picchu was used for. One of the most common options is that it was a sacred site and a residence for the Inca emperor. Perhaps religious ceremonies and rituals were also held here. Machu Picchu has also been associated with the study of astronomical phenomena. Machu Picchu attracts millions of tourists every year and is the most popular tourist destination in Latin America. The city is about 2,430 metres above sea level and is located on top of a mountain in the Urubamba River Valley. Surrounded by high mountains and dense rainforest, Machu Picchu has spectacular natural scenery. The city was built using masonry construction without the use of brick or limestone. Machu Picchu’s most important structures include palaces, temples, agricultural terraces, and unique stone staircases and walkways. Many of the structures have outstanding engineering, which is considered an amazing achievement for the ancient Incas. After wandering around the ancient city, closer to noon we will travel by train to Oyantaytambo. Also today we will stop by the Maras salt mines, a huge complex of baths for evaporating salt from hot spring water. In the evening transfer to Cusco.
Day 10. Drive to Rainbow Mountains. Perhaps you have never seen anything more contrasting in nature – it is impossible to imagine how so many colours could be mixed into the slopes of these mountains – the colours vary from light yellow to dark brown, alternating with dozens of layers of all colours of the rainbow. We leave Cusco for the town of Cusipata, the duration of the trip is about 2 hours, then 2-2,5 hours of easy walking and we are on the spot. If we are lucky we will also catch a glimpse of condors, South America’s largest flying birds. After a short drive we stop for the night. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 11. Transfer to Puno. Puno is a city located in southern Peru, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, at an altitude of about 3,800 metres above sea level. The city is known for its unique geographical position and cultural attractions related to the heritage of ancient civilisations – archaeological complexes and Indian burial towers. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 12. Sail to the floating reed islands of Uros, where local Indian families live, and Amantani or Taquile Island, where you can watch traditional dances of local tribes, see the family life from inside and take a walk on a reed boat. Overnight on the island.
Day 13. Return to Puno. Transfer (300 km) to Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Park, transfer to the city of Arequipa – which is deservedly considered one of the most beautiful cities in Peru. It was created in the XVIII century, there is a large number of buildings in colonial style made of white volcanic stone. The old part of the city is represented by historical and architectural sights, the main ones include ancient churches, monasteries. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 14. Transfer (564 km) along the ocean shore to the city of Nazca, in the evening – flight over the Nazca Lines. These are giant geoglyphs located in the desert. They are hundreds of huge figures on the surface of the earth, created by ancient peoples between 500 B.C. and 500 A.D. The lines consist of various figures, including geometric shapes, animals and human figures. The most interesting thing is that the drawings are entirely visible only from the air, and 2000 years ago people did not fly! Moreover, there were no tools for designing at this scale until as late as the 20th century! One of the most amazing features of the Nazca Lines is their precision and symmetry. Despite their enormous size, the lines are drawn with amazing precision and symmetry, forming a variety of shapes, including geometric shapes such as triangles, squares and spirals, as well as images of animals such as spiders, monkeys, llamas and birds, and human figures. Few people know, but next to the Nazca Lines there is a second desert with similar lines – the Palpa Desert. We can also fly over it by aeroplane. The Nazca Lines have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and are recognised as an important archaeological site. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 15. Morning is a reserve in case of bad weather. Transfer to Lima. On the way we will visit the famous oasis of Huacachina, plunging into the most that is Africa, as well as the Andean Candelabra — a huge geoglyph on sand dunes on the Paracas Peninsula in the vicinity of the city of Pisco in Peru. It depicts the outline of an abstract person and has huge dimensions: the height is about 180 meters, and the width is about 70 meters. The geoglyph is visible from afar, as the height of the sand dunes in this area can reach up to 50 meters. Hotel in Lima, dinner at a famous restaurant on the ocean, overnight at the hotel.
Day 16. Transfer to the airport. Flight home.

• experience Russian-speaking guide
• all program transfers
• helicopter flight over the Nazca Lines
• necessary permits and entrance tickets to national parks
• train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo
• all accommodation: during the trekking – double accommodation in comfortable spacious Timberline and Hard Wear tents and in a dome hotel in the middle of the jungle), hotels during the rest of the program
• entrance ticket to Choquequirao
• mules to carry all public and personal equipment (up to 7kg)
• entrance to Machu Picchu archaeological site (route 2)
• all necessary public camping equipment (dining and sleeping tents, tables, chairs, kitchen, cooking utensils)
• portable bio-toilet for the time of trekking
• trekking bag for personal belongings (max. weight 7kg)
• first aid kit for emergencies
• air mattress for overnight stays during trekking
• breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks during trekking and only breakfast during the rest of the journey
• drinking water during trekking
• services of guides and cooks during trekking

• international air travel
• health insurance
• visa
• single accommodation
• lunches and dinners in the cities
• personal equipment
• team tip
• any expenses related to program changes
• personal expenses