Ethical South & the Andes - Medium 15 days
Departure date at your choice…all year long!
From one end to the other of Peru: Cusco, the ancient Inca's capital; Machu Picchu, the lost city; the mythical Sacred Valley of the Incas; Puno and the astonishing Titicaca Lake; Arequipa with its colonial architecture; the mysterious lines of Nazca and, finally, the sea and pristine nature of the Paracas natural reserve and the wonderful Ballestas islands. We'll tell you all about Quechua and Aymara world, without hiding the problems that also characterize it, through the visit to the Children House that you sustain with the Project Fee: Ceprof Project in Lima, Mosoq Runa in Urubamba and Centro Integral San Sebastian in Cusco.
1º day: Arrival in Lima
Flight to Lima. Pick-up at airport and transfer to the CEPROF Project. Dinner (if your flight gets in before 7 p.m.) and overnight at CEPROF, a Home for girls, ages 6 to 18, who have been abandoned or who are in physical and psychological danger.
2º day: Arrival in Cusco
Transfer to Jorge Chavez Airport to get your flight to Cusco. Pick-up at Cusco airport and transfer to hotel, where you’ll have time to relax and allow your body to get used to the altitude. Free afternoon; we advise you to relax and have a light meal. Night in hotel.
3º day: City Tour of Cusco
Around 9:30 a.m., after breakfast, trip via private transportation to San Pedro Market, where we’ll be surrounded by Andean tastes, colors and smells. This is a real glimpse into local life and is thus the perfect starting point for a visit to Cusco. Next, we’ll go visit the Incan ruins on the outskirts of Cusco: Sacsayhuaman, Kenko, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay.
For lunch, we’ll go to San Sebastian, where we’ll eat with the children and teenagers of the Centre, a wonderful project that supports differently-abled children.
In the afternoon, we will go back into town, and we’ll take you to visit one of these places, that you can choose among (entrance fees not included): the Cathedral in the Plaza de Armas; the beautiful MAP (Museum of Pre-Columbian Art); Qoricancha or the Temple of the Sun; the suggestive district of San Blas with the Coca Shop (where they legally use coca leaves to produce alternative products such as infusions, chocolates, cakes, ice creams and so on); a handicraft market where you can buy presents. Night in Hotel.
4º day: Sacred Valley of the Incas
Around 8.30 am, with private transport, we’ll go and discover one of the most beautiful and magic place of Peru, the mythical Sacred Valley. We’ll visit: Chincheros and the Rainbow Temple; Moray, ancient wonderful Inca biological laboratory and Maras with its impressive salt mines (still open nowdays) and landscapes that will let us speechless. Successively we’ll head for Urumbamba where the children of Mosoq Runa will be waiting for us for lunch. Ada will explain all about the project, the children, the laboratories and the new ideas, it will be an unforgettable afternoon. In the evening, train to Aguas Calientes to start your Machu Picchu adventure. Night in hotel.
5º day: Machu Picchu
At dawn, we’ll live the ultimate dream: taking the bus from Aguas Calientes and entering Machu Picchu, the “lost city.” If you are feeling particularly energetic, you can also hike to the summit of Wayna Picchu. In the afternoon, we’ll take the train and a bus (from Ollantaytambo or from Poroy) back to Cusco. Night in hotel.
6º day: Do-It-Yourself Day in Cusco
Whole day free, you can have a walk in Cusco or visit the near village of Pisaq with its Incan ruins and the handicraft market. Night in hotel.
7º day: On the road to Puno highlands
We’ll come to pick you up at 7 a.m. and start our trip to reach the city of Puno. The touristic bus (with heating, air conditioning, chemical toilet, DVDs, service on board and buffet lunch in Sicuani included) will make a series of stops along the way: Andahuaylilla, Rajchi and Pukara. Pick-up at the Puno bus terminal and transfer to the hotel. In the evening, around 7 or 8 pm meeting with Peru Etico person in charge. Night in hotel.
8º day: Titicaca lake
Early wake-up call and breakfast. At 7:30 a.m.a Peru Etico person in charge will come and pick you up at the hotel and we’ll go to the harbor where will board a boat exploring the Titicaca Lake, the highest navigable lake in the world.
First, we’ll visit the floating Uros Islands, north of Puno bay. Next, we’ll head to Taquile, the lake’s biggest island, and dock on the north side of the island. From there, we’ll go to the small harbor of Huayllano. The Huayllano families will show us the island’s ancestral traditions; as their guests, we’ll eat their typical dishes and, for a night, live like real “comuneros”.
In the evening, we’ll have dinner with our host family. Night in the host family’s home.
9º day: Taquile Island
After breakfast, we’ll have time to explore the bay’s surroundings, the beach and some archeological ruins. Then, we’ll walk to Taquile town, where we’ll have lunch. After lunch, we’ll walk down to the harbor and return to Puno, arriving around 6 p.m. Night in hotel.
10º day: Canyon and spa
In the morning transfer by touristic bus from Puno to Chivay, where we’ll arrive in the early afternoon. This small town lies in Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world, where we’ll admire wonderful views and its animals, such as alpacas, lamas, vicunas, guanacos, vizcachas and son on. Those who want, can also bathe in the renowned hot springs of the valley. Night in hotel in Chivay.
11º day: The Condor of the Andes
Departure at dawn to reach the Mirador de la Cruz del Condor, a perfect viewpoint for observing this magnificent Andean bird, which will fly close to us. Then, we’ll continue our tour and go back to Arequipa, along the trip we’ll have some stops to visit some little towns of the valley. The arrival in Arequipa is around 6 p.m.. Night in hotel.
12º day: Arequipa, the White City
Whole free day in Arequipa, the “white city”. Don’t miss the Saint Catalina Convent, the Museum of Juanita Mummy and the delicious traditional meal of the local cuisine. In the evening pick up at your hotel and transfer to the bus station where we’ll take a high quality bus (with heating, air conditioning, chemical toilet, DVDs, service on board) and we’ll reach Nasca at dawn of the following day.
Note> for whom, who is not interested to visit Nasca, it’s possible to go directly from Arequipa to Huacachina Oasis, where it’s possible to go sand-boarding on the dunes or ride through the desert on a dune buggy to see the sunset.
13º day: The mysterious Nazca Lines
Free day. We suggest you try one of these optional activities: fly over Nasca lines with a light plane (needs to be booked at least 10 days in advance); go to an observatory near the Pan-American highway where you can observe a few figures; visit the Cantalloc Aqueduct, 2km from Nasca or visit the archeological site of Cahuachi at a distance of 30km. In the late afternoon transfer by bus to Paracas. Pick up and transfer to the hotel. Night in hotel.
14º day: Ballestas Islands
After breakfast, at 7.30 a.m. we’ll got Paracas harbor, where we’ll board a motorboat that will take us to the Ballestas Islands. During the trip, we’ll see: the Humboldt’s penguins, sea lions, seals and many types of aquatic birds. At the end of the trip, we’ll go the Paracas Museum and we’ll have a wonderful walk in the nature reserve, where we can admire wonderful landscapes and its animals in their natural habitat. In the afternoon, transfer by bus to Lima. Pick up at the bus station and transfer to Ceprof. Dinner and night in Ceprof.
15º day: Departure and / or City Tours of Lima
Transfer to the airport. Intercontinental flight.
If the intercontinental flight in the evening, you should spend the day with our City Tour, where we will take you to discover Lima, with its more authentic and special aspects.
Prices
- 2 persons: 2340.00 US$
- 3 persons: 2280.00 US$
- 4/6 persons: 2210.00 US$
Prices are per person and are expressed in U.S. dollars.
If the length of your vacation isn’t the same as the length of our tour, write us! Together, we’ll draw up an itinerary that suits you. Remember that our tours don’t have fixed departure dates; you decide when to travel!!!
Please note the following:
Transfer from city to city by high quality bus: toilet on board, heating, air conditioning and very reclining armchairs. If you prefer to travel by private car or minibus, please contact us to know the cost at: info@peruetico.com
During visits to the Children’s Homes, we are guests. Please always ask permission to take photographs. In addition, it is expressly forbidden to give gifts or candy to the children. All donations can be given directly to the project director or representative.
In order to respect the peace and the normal course of the activities of the children families, the agency has the right to collect all the tourists that travel in the same period, in the Cusco area.
On Saturday and Sunday San Sebastian and Mosoq Runa are closed and it's not posible to visit them. In this case, the itinerary will be modified so as to guarantee a visit to the project (by pushing ahead the visit to Machu Picchu).
Private tour: Cusco area, Titicaca Lake, Nasca, Paracasnaturalreserve, Lima.
Tour shared with other tourists: Colca Canyon, Ballestas Islands.
During the flight over the Nazca lines, the plane will tilt and circle so that you can see the designs. We don’t recommend this to people who have a fear of flying. It’s quite normal to feel a little sick afterwards!
From July to September, flights over the Nazca lines are sometimes cancelled because of low visibility due to the fog.
On Taquile, the houses are very simple and the services basic. The rooms are pretty and welcoming, and don’t worry about the cold; your hosts will provide blankets.
The project contribution will go to the Association PeruEtico Italia and the social inclusion projects scheduled for the current year. You will directly be supporting the San Sebastian Center, Mosoq Runa through the lunches and CEPROF through the dinner and the nights you spend there.
From your arrival in Peru onward, any additional cost due to variation of the program will be charged (net cost plus agency fee)
Included
- Flight Lima-Cusco (economy class).
- All transfers airport-hotel and vice versa.
- Entrance ticket to Machu Picchu.
- Lodging in selected hotel, guest-house, B&B and hostel, mostly family-run, in double or twin rooms with a private bathroom and breakfast included, where the traveler will find all the support that needs.
- Two nights at CEPROF (22 beds divided into 6 rooms with both private and shared bathrooms).
- Bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu (only one way).
- One night on Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca in a Huayllano family home.
- All meals during the two days on Taquile.
- Lunch in Sicuani during the trip from Cusco to Puno.
- Tours and excursion that are in the program with an english-spanish guide.
- Entrance ticket to Machu Picchu, Uros and Taquile.
- Dinner at CEPROF upon arrival in Lima (if your flight gets in before 7 p.m.) and coming back from Paracas.
- Fully equipped bus from Cusco to Puno, Puno to Chivay, Arequipa to Nasca, Nasca to Paracas and Paracas to Lima.
Not included
- International flight to and from Peru.
- Project contribution (US$ 100 per person).
- Travel insurance policy (mandatory) that covers: emergency assistance, medical, baggage, ground transport, flight.
- Lunches and dinners (except those specifically listed above).
- Private guide in English at Machu Picchu.
- Entrance ticket: BTC ( Cusco Tourism Ticket) 130 soles
- archeological sites on the way from Cusco to Puno 21 soles
- Colca Canion 70 soles.
- Flight over Nasca lines by a light plane.
- Lunches at the San Sebastian and MosoqRuna. Each lunch costs 50 soles per person.
- Lima city tour with private driver at your disposal during the last day.
Bring
- Both light and heavy clothing
- Windbreaker
- Hiking boots
- Swimming suit
- Insect repellent
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- US Dollars (Euro has a worse exchange rate)
- CodET015
- Lenght15 days
- RouteCusco - Puno - Arequipa - Nasca - Ballestas Islands
Ethical ranking How much ethical and responsible is this tour?
High
Project fee
100 USD per person to deposit in loco for the Association PeruEtico Italia and the social inclusion projects scheduled for the current year.
Projects and other social associations visited during the tour
Ceprof, Lima
Centro Integral San Sebastian, Cusco
Mosoq Runa, Urubamba
Huayllano's community, Taquile
Ecology
Always walk when possible
Eat typical local food (0km)
Low-energy and water consumption accomodations.
Local economy promotion
Local guides and cultural mediators
Lodging and restaurants in local structures.
Culture
Rediscovery and enhancement of local and popular legends and stories
Real knowledge of the visited country and enhancement of cultural diversities
Accomodation at local community (Taquile)
Public means, to promote a direct contact with the local population.
Economical equity
Fair and equitable working and salary conditions for all our collaborators.