FULL PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Monday, October 10 - Lima
You should arrive in Lima on this day at the very latest. Both international flights and transport to the hotel should be coordinated by each traveler. If you require assistance from Tanit Trails, then please contact us via: info@tanittrails.com. Hotel rooms will be available from 2 pm on this day.

Meals: --

Accommodation: Casa Andina Private Collection Miraflores*****

Tuesday, October 11 – Pachacamac – Trujillo
After an early breakfast, we meet Elias Mujica, guide and archaeologist who will accompany us along the entire journey.  Our transport takes us on a 30 minute ride towards the archaeological site of Pachacamac, for some the second most important site in Peru, after Cusco, for as early as the year 100, Pachacamac was considered a very important oracle by several cultures throughout the centuries. In fact, dignitaries and representatives of this ‘civilizations’ came from every region to foresee their destinies.  Even the Incas themselves came down from Cusco, seeking advice from the oracle of Pachacamac. 

After enjoying both and exquisite lunch and an interesting introduction to Peruvian Cuisine, our transport will take us to the airport for the flight to our next destination: Trujillo.  After making ourselves comfortable at the hotel, Elías will take us for a nice walk on our first visit to Trujillo’s historic center.

Meals: B, L

Accommodation: Hotel Libertador Trujillo ****

Wednesday, October 12 – Trujillo
After breakfast, our transport takes us along the Moche countryside route, starting our visit with the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna (Temples of the Sun and Moon) and the Museum Huacas de Moche.  The Temple of the Moon is an exquisitely decorated temple representing the spiritual center of the Moche culture. The monument is formed by a series of temples, which were built one on top of the other throughout the years. Within the site, archaeologists have found, among a wealth of ceremonial objects, approximately 40 skeletons of sacrificed soldiers. In the upper reaches of the adobe ramparts one can view the remains of enormous walls decorated with figures of multi-colored divinities, the most of important considered to be the Moche “God of the Mountains”. Lunch will be enjoyed in the typical coastal village of Huanchaco, once a tiny fishing village, occupied since pre-Incan times by communities who developed the art of fishing from small oceangoing canoes built from local reeds. The peculiar method used to maneuver these water craft gave them their nickname, the "Little Reed Horses", as the local fisherman rode their craft like horses to avoid being swamped by the strong waves in the area. After lunch, we drive to Chan-Chan, named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, capital of the Chimu Empire, who inhabited this region after the fall of the Moche. It is the first and by far the largest non-pyramidal adobe construction site in northern Peru. In fact, at over 500 acres, it is the largest known adobe complex in the world, divided into 9 separate smaller cities.

Meals: B, L

Accommodation: Hotel Libertador Trujillo ****

Thursday, October 13 – Trujillo - Chiclayo
Early in the morning, we head to Chiclayo, making an important stop at the archeological complex of El Brujo and the on-site museum. This archaeological site is located north of Trujillo, near Chocope, in the Ascope province.  At El Brujo we will find three huacas: Huaca Cao Viejo, Huaca El Brujo, and Huaca Prieta. These structures were built by the Moche people, who lived there between the years A.D. 100 and 700.  Huaca Cao Viejo was most likely used for religious rituals. Within this temple, archaeologists have found the ruins of an important ceremonial precinct, featuring two walls decorated with small high-relief iconographic designs. The narrative scenes that decorate both walls each contain approximately 50 iconographic figures showing scenes of fishing and navigation, human figures related to the cosmic world, mythical animals, shamans, warriors, and human sacrifice. It is in Huaca Cao Viejo that archaeologists found the famous Lady of Cao, a mummy of the only female Moche governor known to these days.  After having a simple, yet tasty lunch ‘on the road’, we continue our drive towards San José de Moro and Zaña. San Jose de Moro is a unique site: it was mainly an elite cemetery, also associated to big celebrations.  It was one of the first places where archaeologists found burials of certain Moche characters, most of whom we only knew about from iconography found in ceramics:  priestesses who gave the high-priests those cups filled with the blood of the sacrificed.  From these discoveries, we began to acknowledge the physical evidences of what previously were only drawings and paintings.  In Zaña, we find something completely different: ruins of what used to be a very important Spanish village.  These remains speak eloquently about the El Niño phenomenon and the extreme geography of this part of the country: two elements that dramatically influence the history of the Peruvian man along the centuries.

Meals: B, L

Accommodation: Gran Hotel Chiclayo ***

Friday, October 14 – Chiclayo
We begin our day visiting Cerro Ventarrón; this site represents the first evidence of civilization in northern Peru, and is more than 4,500 years old.   Here, archaeologists have found one of the most nearly ancient temples devoted to worship fire. Not far from Ventarron is Collud, an archaeological site of approximately 3,000 years-old, which represents the second stage of the development of civilization in Peru.  The walls of this temple show the oldest known representations of the typical anthropomorphic gods of the Peruvian cultures: gods with feline teeth and raptor-like beaks. This kind of representations is well-known from Chavin, Moche and other later Peruvian cultures. We will then continue our way to Huaca Rajada ("Cracked Pyramid"), where a small site museum features photos of the excavations and some replicas of tombs. The view from the top of the large pyramid across from the Sipán excavation site can be spectacular. The multileveled royal funerary tomb of El Señor de Sipán, a Moche royal figure buried more than 1,700 years ago, is considered remarkable for its undisturbed, methodical layers and wealth of ceremonial ornaments and treasures that provided key clues to understanding the Moche culture. Buried along with the king, who was presumed to be a living deity, were found companions joining him on his journey to the afterlife: a Moche warrior, a priest, three female concubines, one dog, two llamas, a child, 212 food and beverage vessels, and a guard with a copper shield, gold helmet, and amputated feet.

We will enjoy lunch at a great restaurant in Chiclayo, particularly attractive for its dishes based on fish and seafood, but also excellent in other “northern-food” specialties.

After lunch we will visit the Royal Tombs of the Lord of Sipán Museum. In this museum, one of the most modern and acclaimed in all South America, we will appreciate the magnificence of the archeological remains found at the Sipan site: ceramics, textiles, jewelry in gold and silver, and an enormous quantity of ceremonial utensils. This museum was conceived as an enormous mausoleum to hold the remains of the Lord of Sipán and his companions.  If we have some time left, we may visit Pimentel and Caleta Santa Rosa, particularly impressive when fishermen defy its great giant waves.

Meals: B, L

Accommodation: Gran Hotel Chiclayo ***

Saturday, October 15 – Chiclayo
The first visit of the day is to Sicán National Museum. With a series of introductory rooms, the museum shows, with great detail, the process of development of the Sican culture through the arts, customs, and the daily activities of the Sican people who lived in the area after the Moches collapsed. The museum shows the tombs of the lords and kings buried at the archaeological site of Batan Grande with dresses, jewelry, and sacred utensils. Other two rooms exhibit more than 200 wonderful pieces of gold, like the Winged-eyes Ceremonial Mask, that has been displayed in different museums around the world.   We continue our journey, this time towards Batan Grande, a national park of 13 400 hectares, which holds the largest natural forest of the Peruvian Coast:  the Equatorial Dry Forest of Pomac. It is here that we find an extremely interesting archaeological complex, belonging to Sicán or Lambayeque culture (750 – 1375 AD), actually Sicán corresponds to the cultural tradition succeeding the Moche culture in this territory.

This complex presents a dozen monumental pyramids formed by multileveled platforms, occupying 160 hectares.  Some of these temples were actually gigantic, such as Huca Rodillona, with 100m on the side and 40m high.  After crossing Batán Grande, we arrive in Tucume, where we take a well-deserved break and enjoy lunch outdoors.  In the afternoon we continue with the visit to the Valley of the Tucume Pyramids.  Tucume was the last capital of the Lambayeque and Chimú kingdoms that thrived in the area just before the arrival of the Incas to northern Peru. These pyramids were the residence of the Lords of Túcume, who proclaimed themselves gods and lived in gigantic palaces decorated with scenes of sacred and mythic rituals. Recently, Huaca Las Balsas has been opened to the public.  The theme of this temple is the sacred nature of the sea in the religious life of the Lambayeques; the walls of the temple are decorated with waves and seabirds, anthropomorphic birds, gods sailing on reef-made canoes handling fishing nets. We spend the night in a charming country lodge, where we will experience the environment that surrounded the Moches more than 1500 years-ago.

Meals: B, L, D
Accommodation: Los Horcones Lodge

Sunday, October 16 – Chiclayo – Lima – Cusco – Sacred Valley
Very early in the morning, our transport takes us to the airport for the flight to Lima and then a connecting flight to Cusco. Once in Cusco, our vehicle will take us on a one-and-a-half hour ride towards what is known as the Sacred Valley of the Incas; so called by the Incas because of its extremely fertile soil and excellent climate. We suggest that you have a light lunch in the hotel.  After resting for a while, our car will drive us to Yucay, a town of Incan origins that stands out due to the remains of the palace of Inca Sauri Túpac (one of the rebel Incas of Vilcabamba), a colonial church and a small site museum. The restored church of Santiago Apóstol separates its two squares. At the Manco II Square it is possible to appreciate the Palace of the Ñusta, as well as the remains of a construction made of stone and adobe with high and low-relief decorations, which belonged to Inca Sairi Túpac Palace. Sairi Tupac was the second "colonial Inca" or Inca from Vilcabamba. Like this one, many other “unknown” Inca ruins are spread throughout the area; here is where you will probably find the tallest agricultural terraces left by the Incas.

Meals: B, L

Accommodation: Hotel Sol y Luna

Monday, October 17 – Sacred Valley
We start our day visiting the Ollantaytambo archaeological site: the Inca “door” to the Machu Picchu region. Ollantaytambo was a very important fortified city, built as a "tanpu" with the purpose of enabling control over the roads leading to the "Antisuyo" (jungle). According to many historians, it was also used to allow protection against attacks of the "Antis", their worst enemies. Today Ollantaytambo is commonly named “fortress”, which is not entirely right, since it was more of a complex city with a large urban sector and many temples to worship the gods. As a fortified city, it shows some protective elements: among them a protective wall with few entrances surrounding the town, many "pukaras" or strongholds and watch towers strategically located. Besides, for the noble population dwelling in this city there was a very ample and well planned urban sector, a plaza surrounded by important buildings and toward the town's south an impressive "Kallanka”: a completely roofed building with colossal dimensions. The present-day town is located in the same site where the urban sector was in Incan times. It is really interesting because it is the only spot in Peru where it is possible to find people living in the same buildings that served as homes for the nobility of the Incan Society. Some of its narrow streets still keep their water channels where very clean water flowed for the population use. Ollantaytambo is, therefore, the one and only living Inca village of our times.

At noon, we will visit a ‘hacienda’ with an impressive private collection of Pre-Colombine and Colonial objects.  We will enjoy lunch in this Hacienda surrounded by breathtaking views of the Sacred Valley. After lunch, we will visit the site of Pisaq, one of the most complex Inca sites in the valley, comprising an astronomic observatory and we will be able to walk by the cultivation terraces renowned for their irrigation system. The site of Pisaq consists of a citadel, a ceremonial center (Intihuatana), basins and fountains (Q'allaq'ana) and of a residential district (Q'anchisraq'ay).

Meals: B, L

Accommodation: Hotel Sol y Luna

Tuesday, October 18 – Machu Picchu
Early in the morning, we are driven to Ollantaytambo to board our train to Aguas Calientes. After a 20 minute bus-drive we finally arrive in Machu Picchu, the highest symbol of the Incas, recently chosen one of the 7 new wonders of the world. As we already know, this is a very special year to visit the magnificent citadel, being the 100th anniversary of its discovery by North-American scientist Hiram Bingham.

Elias will lead us calmly through the citadel explaining every detail about the different buildings. At about noon we enjoy lunch at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge Hotel. The afternoon is probably the best and most pleasant time to walk around Machu Picchu, since most of the people will have already left, and the light falls in a beautiful way over the mystic ruins; this is why we recommend walking back into the citadel and spend some time on our own. Finally we need to board one of the buses, which will take us back to Aguas Calientes town.

Our hotel is definitely the best hotel in the area; especially for those who enjoy being in touch with nature, and at the same time experience comfort and the best taste in what is about hotel accommodation.       

Meals: B, L, D

Accommodation: Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel

Wednesday, October 19 – Aguas Calientes - Cusco
During this free morning you may be up for a second visit to the citadel by your own, or perhaps you will rather stay in Aguas Calientes and just relax and enjoy the hotel and the nature-activities offered by Inkaterra, such as a hike through the gardens, observing very rear orchids and birds. The early afternoon train takes us back to Ollantaytambo, where our transport awaits to take us to Cusco. We have a reservation at one of the best local restaurants for dinner.

Meals: B, D

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Andina Private Collection Cusco ****

Thursday, October 20 – The Southern Valley
After breakfast, we start our drive towards Tipon, an Incan archaeological site, where agricultural terraces and hydraulic enginery are the main attractions. Actually the terraces seem so carefully constructed that it can be presumed that they were more likely used for experimental farming than for actual common agriculture use. Baths, worship temples, irrigation channels and some other interesting sites are also to be admired.

After this visit, we continue to Pikillaqta, located over 3350 m. (11000 Ft.) and belonged to a satellite city of the Wari Culture (750 AD; being developed approximately until 1200 AD). Everything indicates that by the beginning of the Incan development the Wari were defeated in this region, conquered and absorbed, and their city was reused for the Tawantinsuyo's interests. Today that pre-Inkan City contains approximately 700 buildings, 200 "kanchas" (apartments) and 504 "qolqas" (storehouses) and different buildings. It must have had a population of about 10 thousand people. The city has a very harmonious and almost perfect geometrical design, divided in blocks with straight streets.
Dedicaremos la parte final de nuestro día a visitar tres auténticas joyas coloniales; tres iglesias barrocas que han sido restauradas recientemente, y que permiten admirar el magnífico arte de la época, y como es que la religión católica se mezcla sutilmente con la cosmovisión andina, dando lugar a Andahuaylillas, Huaro y Canincunca. 
Durante el día disfrutamos de un espectacular Picnic Lunch, especialmente armado para admirar las mejores vistas de la zona.

Meals: B, L

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Andina Private Collection Cusco ****

 

Friday, October 21 - Cusco
Although Machu Picchu is to be considered the symbol of the Inca Empire, reputation earned thanks to its spectacular location and architecture, the true Inca jewel is Cusco, ancient capital of the Empire, where the Incas did rule and were considered god-kings. In addition, the arrival of the Spanish Conquerors and the Catholic Faith, bring another huge architectural transformation, resulting in a completely unique City.   

Elias will guide us through the most representative sites of the City, which gives us the chance to appreciate, in a very specific way, the complexity of the Peruvian history. We will visit the 16th Century Cathedral and the rich Colonial treasures it houses; we will also visit the Santo Domingo Convent, once the Sacred temple of the Sun, also known as the Qorikancha, which inner walls were, according to the chronicles, once completely covered in gold, housing natural-size gold statues. We will also visit the nearby archaeological Incan sites, and Sacsayhuaman among them. On the way we will find the opportunity to watch Cusco from above, clearly appreciating the original Inca design of the City, over which the Colonial and Modern Cusco have been built.  

Meals: B, D

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Andina Private Collection Cusco ****

Saturday, October 22 – Cusco - Lima
Our transport picks us up from the hotel, according to schedule, and takes us to the airport for our flight to Lima