Peru Adventure with Exodus
Day 2
We drove an hour south to Pachacamac for a visit to the museum, pyramids and temples of Inca and pre-Inca civilisations before heading down the coast to Paracas. The San Agustín Paracas hotel was well placed, facing the sea and a short walk to local restaurants.
Day 3
We took a 2 hour boat trip out to the Islas Ballestas - guano islands that are home to thousands of birds, sea lions and Humboldt penguins passing the Paracas Candelabra on the way (a curious pre-Inca design on the cliff face).
Next it was a short drive to a Pisco Distillery to learn about the making of the liquor and the local wine - some tastings were involved. Lunch was at the Huaccachina Oasis overlooking the lake. Then it was on to Nasca with a stop at the viewing tower. From the tower we could see 4 of the 14 unexplained phenomena which are the Nasca Lines.
Day 4
I elected to take a short flight over the Nasca Lines - we were the first flight up and we saw 3 more figures and trapezoids before the weather closed in and we had to turn back.
Our 10 hour journey to Arequipa saw us hugging the coast for much of the time before heading inland to Peru's second largest city with just a few brief stops - one at Yalca to buy olives from local farmers. The drive took us through part of the Atacama Desert which is punctuated by river valleys where crops are grown.
Day 5 - Arequipa
We started with a short walk to the main square with its 15th century cathedral, administrative buildings, shops and restaurants. Then we paid a visit to the Museo Santuarios Andinos where we saw Juanita - a human sacrifice from the pre-Inca time who has been perfectly preserved.
We took in the local market and the Alpaca shops. Our half-day tour took us to the outskirts of the city for a view of the three volcanos that dominate the landscape before heading back in to old part of the city for a walking tour which ended at the convent opposite our hotel.
Days 6 & 7- Arequipa to Puno and Lake Titicaca
The drive from Arequipa to Puno was another long one but the scenery was stunning changing from the desert to the high plains with sightings of Llama, Alpaca and Vicunas. The highest pass was 4400m before we descended lower to stop at Sillustani a pre-Inca burial ground on the shores of Lake Umayo before arriving in to Puno.
Despite altitude sickness I was determined to make the visit to Lake Titicaca (the largest commercial navigable lake in the world). We took a local boat to Taquile Island. Known for its high standard of hand woven textiles and had lunch overlooking the lake before heading to one of the 17 Uros-Tintos Floating Islands. We were given a traditional welcome before learning how they build their reed islands and boats and their way of life before being invited in to their homes.
Day 7. Puno to Cusco
The drive from Puno to Cusco was another long one. we stopped enroute at Abra La Raya (4,313m) to view the glacier (one of the sources of the Amazon and also and the watershed and geographical dividing line between the altiplano and the Vilcanota Valley), Raqchi which is the home of a former Incan temple and important food storage facility from those times and the amazing cathedral at Andahuaylillas - one of the most stunning buildings I have ever seen with extraordinary gilding.
The day ended with our arrival in to Cusco and a night on the town at a great restaurant where I sampled a local delicacy (guinea pig).
Day 8. Cusco to the Sacred Valley
We started with a tour of the former Incan garrison Sacsayhuaman which unsurprisingly afforded amazing views of the city below and a further insight in to this fascinating culture.
Next stop was a textile centre where we saw the whole process from feeding the animals to the gift shop. This was followed by a view point, El Mirador, from where were able to see the whole of the Sacred Valley before descending in to the town of Pisac and time to explore the local market, known for its multi-coloured textiles, food and indigenous clothing.
Our penultimate stop was at a Chiceria where learned about the making of Corn Beer (Chica) and played a game of Sapa.
Our final stop was Ollantaytambo with its magnificent example of Incan urban living and we climbed to the Temple of the Sun God, learning yet more about these fascinating people and saw a rock formation representing the Inca God Wiracocha.
Day 9 - Machu Picchu
We took the Peru Rail Expedition service from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientas from where we boarded the bus to make the final climb through the cloud forest to the ruins at Machu Picchu. We had a tour of the archaeological zone taking in the Sun Temple, Temple of the Condor and Intiwatana (solar clock), the urban sector and agricultural zone whilst gazing across at Machu Picchu itself. The site is much bigger than I had realised with its giant walls, terraces and ramps, an amazing creation of the Inca Empire at its height.
We returned to the town by bus before taking the Vistadome train back to Ollantaytambo and our bus to Cusco. Both train journeys exceeded expectations in comfort and the views.
Days 10 & 11 - Cusco and Lima
With the trip coming to an end we had tours of both cities. Cusco was the centre of the Incan empire and examples can be found everywhere particularly in the historic centre.
We had a walking tour which took in the Stone of Twelve Angles at the Inca Roca Palace, the Temple of Quoricancha which was the most important temple of the Incan Empire dedicated to the worship of the sun and which remained hidden for many years inside a Catholic monastery until an earthquake in the 1950's.
We took in the Plaza de Armas, surrounded by colonial arcades and four churches including the cathedral of Cusco built in the 1600's by the Spanish. Our tour ended in the El Museo de Cafe and free time to explore more of this beautiful city.
We then took a short flight back to Lima and dinner overlooking Kennedy Square in the Miraflores district.
Our last day started with a drive to the colonial side of Lima with sights such as the Cathedral, Government Palace where we caught some of the changing of the guard. We visited the Monastery of San Francisco, a seventeenth-century complex that houses some wonderful paintings as well as the catacombs which run under the church.
We then returned to Miraflores where we finally saw the illusive Paddington Bear and lunch overlooking the Pacific Ocean before heading to the airport and our flight home.