Trip Style: Cultural – Archeological
Altitude:
Peru does not have one climate. Because Peru is close the equator, the seasons are hardly affected by changes in the state of the sun. However there can be observed some differences between the months November to April and April to November.
Due to the very diverse landscape that Peru has, there are several distinct climate zones. The climate depends on the geographical location, altitude and sea currents, so we can divided Peru into three climatic zones:
From Cusco: 1h20 min
From Arequipa: 1h25 min
From Puno Juliaca: 1h40 min
From Cusco: 21h30
From Arequipa: 16h00
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. With a population approaching 9 million, Lima is the most populous metropolitan area of Peru and the fifth largest city in the Americas. It is one of the most interesting and challenging cities in South America with a huge archaelogical, historical and cultural past. Most of its treasures might be well hidden, but are worth being discovered!
Cusco is a city in southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. In 1983 the historical capital of the Inca Empire was declared by the World Heritage Site. Today the city is a jumping-off point for the Inca Trail and famous Inca site Machu Picchu. Cusco got his name in a special way; legend tells that in the 12th century, the sun god Inti looked down on the earth and decided that people needed more organizing, so he created the first Inca, Manco Cápac, and his sister-wife, Mama ocllo. They came to life on Isla del Sol (Sun Island), way over Lake Titicaca, with a long walk ahead of them. Inti gave Manco Cápac a golden rod and told him to settle in the spot where he could plug it into the ground until it disappeard: this would be the navel of the earth, Qosq´o in the Quechua language, Cusco.
Machu Picchu is a 15th century Inca site located 2.430 meters above sealevel. It is also called ¨Lost city of the Incas¨ and declared by UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. In 2007 Machu Picchu was voted one of the ¨New Seven Wonders of the World¨.
The Sacred Valley of the Incas or the Urubamba Valley is a valley in the Andes of Peru, close to the Inca capital of Cusco and the ancient of Machu Picchu. The valley was formed by the Urubamba River. The star attractions are the lofty Inca citadels of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Pisac is known for its craft market, by far the biggest in the region. You can visit the market daily but the official market days are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Ollantaytambo is an Inca archeological site and dominated two Inca ruins.
Puno is located on the shores of Lake Titicaca and the mountains surrounding the city. The city is known as a jumping-off point for Lake Titicaca tours. Puno is Peru´s folkloric capital due to its wealth of artistic and cultural expressions, particularly dance.
Lake Titicaca is a lake on the border of Peru and Bolivia and also the largest lake of South America. It is notable for a population of people, who are living on the 42 self-fashioned floating islands called Uros. These islands are definitely worth visiting as well as the island Taquile
Arequipa is well known for its glistening white buildings made from sillar, a white volcanic rock, which gives the city the its nickname ¨The White City¨. Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru and is surrounded by 3 volcanoes; El Misti, still active at 5822m, the higher and extinct Chachani 6075m and Pichu Pichu 5571m. The Incas highly respected these volcanoes since the melt water from their snow-capped peaks form the headwaters of the mighty Amazon River, thousands of kilometers away. Most people visit Arequipa to take a tour out to the Cañon de Colca, one of the deepest canyons formed by an enormous seismic fault between the Coropuna (6425m) and Ampato (6325m) volcanoes.
In the morning you will be picked up by your guide and you can enjoy a city tour in Arequipa. Since everything is close, you will go by foot. First you will visit a local market where you can learn about typical peruvian fruits & vegetables as well as a little witches market. Then you continue to the Main Square where you will visit the Compañia and the cathedral of Arequipa. Afterwards you will have a guided tour through the beautiful Monastery of Santa Catalina, built in 1580 and still home to about 20 nons. In the afternoon you will have a transport to the airport to take your flight to Lima. In Lima you will be transferred to your hotel.