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A deluxe multi-day
horseback trip following ancient Inca and colonial pathways through Peru's
Sacred Valley including a narrated visit to Machu Picchu. We stay each night in
a different comfortable Inn or hotel. The focus is learning as much as possible
about Andean culture, traditions, history of the Incas and their ancestors while
enjoying a unusual, memorable mountain excursion on quality horses and tack.
IT-PERT04
Rates: including all meals except 2 dinners and lunches in Cusco, gourmet
trail meals, all lodging in hotels and ins (no camping), walking tour of Cusco,
Machu Picchu visit by train with narrated walking tour, entrance fees, 4 riding
days
8 day/ 7 nights $ 2,610 Single+
$365
Riding portion only $1,400
Dates 2008:
04/19-04/26 04/26-05/03 07/26-08/02
09/27-10/04 12/27-01/03
Dates 2009:
04/18-04/25 04/25-05/02 07/25-08/01
09/26-10/04 12/26-01/02
check availability
Airport: Lima/Cuzco
Meeting: Cuzco
Tack: South American
Horses: Criollo / Paso mix
Pace : Moderate with some canters where the terrain allows. Some steep
riding country.
Level: Low
intermediate+
Min/Max: 4-15 riders
Note:
Add a 6 day Amazon Manu trip to this trip - leaves
every Sunday !
INCLUSIONS: Quality Cusco hotel
[three nights]. Walking tour of Cusco. Deluxe Sacred Valley horse trip.
Comfortable Hotels in Sacred Valley [4 nights]. All meals except two dinners and
lunches in Cusco. Near gourmet trail meals. Machu Picchu visit by train with
narrated walking tour. Entrance fees. Inca Specialist guide and support staff.
Our skilled wranglers and horse handlers. New, comfortable South American style
saddles. Large capacity saddle bags for day items. Support vehicle for
transportation of personal overnight items and contingencies.
EXCLUSIONS: Not included are airport taxes, alcoholic and bottled drinks,
gratuities, optional activities, personal expenditures, meals in Cusco, costs
resulting from illness or injury and emergency evacuation, program changes and
delays beyond our control.
Itinerary:
We may vary the rout slightly trip but count on seeing and experiencing the best
of the Inca heartland.
Day 1) We will meet your arrival at the Cusco airport. The afternoon is
scheduled for a walking introduction to the archaeological and colonial
highlights of the old capital of the Inca universe. We’ll also visit the
impressive ruins of Sacsayhuaman overlooking Cusco. Our ride leader describes
the rituals and ceremonies that would have taken place at the massive walled
limestone constructions and sculptured terraces surrounding the immense central
plaza. We finish with a summary of the battle here in 1536 which took the life
of Juan Pizzaro. We gather for dinner and discussion in the dining room at the
centrally located, Hotel Andes de America, our comfortable lodging in Cusco.
Dinner
Day 2) The following morning, we drive a short distance beyond
Sacsayhuaman to meet our waiting horses. With the fortress at our backs we ride
on over the grassy hills passing blue Andean lakes to the town of Chinchero.
Crossing over the mountain pass separating Cusco from the Vilcanota River
Canyon, better know as the Sacred Valle of the Incas. Commanding a hilltop this
is an old Inca Town and to-day is market day – we’ll have time to look at this
artisans market and maybe buy fine Andean textiles. The town square is dominated
by an impressive Inca wall for which the town is famous. An early colonial
period church and large plaza frame a well-made Inca wall that once was part of
the Emperor Topa Inca's Royal Estate. Our plan is to visit here during one of
the market days when the plaza is full of tents with Quechua vendors selling
every conceivable native handicraft, pottery, weavings, paintings and artifacts.
Each day we plan an option for those who prefer just a half day ride in the
morning with more time at the site and a ride in the van to the next inn. |
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After a gala lunch in a side park, for
those who choose the full day ride we journey on through stone walled Inca
terraces and other Inca sites before descending several thousand feet down a
well-preserved, Inca road into the broad green Sacred Valley below. Where the
trail is steep, the Inca made wide stairs and we dismount and walk our mounts
down these sections. Corralling tired ponies with waiting alfalfa and grain at
our selected Yucay lodging, we slip into the hotel
bar for a warming spirit, then off to a hot bath before meeting again for
dinner. We spend the night between 9-10,000 feet for the duration of the trip.
(Saddle time 6-7 hours.) B:L:D
Day 3) Leisurely breakfast and then
a walk to the ruins of the Inca Palace of Sayri Tupac. A leisurely breakfast and
shots of strong local coffee fuel us for the day's adventure. We start with a
walk through the nearby ruins of another bit of tragic Inca history, the Palace
of Inca Sayri Tupac. The life of this would be king and his tragic death is
reminiscent of a classic Greek tragedy. An interesting story, we save the
details for the trail. Chinches pulled up tight, girths to you Brits, Yankee
easterners and other flatlanders, we move smartly out at a trot along gentle
level trails through, small farms and country villages along side the peacefully
flowing Urubamba River, Passing the bustling community of the same name we ride
on into the welcoming courtyard of the very comfortable Marcobamba Hacienda
Hotel. Valet parking and our wranglers see to the needs and comfort of our
hoofed friends while we amble toward the hotel watering hole. (Easy saddle day,
4 hours) B:L:D
Day 4). Saddled up, ponies energized, rearing to go, we ride out in early
morning light, horseshoes clattering along the ancient stone paved trail. The
powerful equatorial sun reflects brilliantly off of high ancient ice fields.
Riding past the picturesque village of Pichingoto we’ll ascend almost 1000
meters above the Sacred Valley of the Incas passing the Salineras – a huge area
of terraces watered by an underground stream that collect salt by evaporation.
They are still worked to-day as they were worked by the Incas. We’ll ride on to
Maras which boasts a 400 year old colonial church. This traditional colonial
town is quiet large but smaller than it was when it thrived on mining salt
deposits Our trail takes us to the little known magical Inca site of Moray..
Located in a complex geological region, we pass ancient salt mines, sink holes
and other natural phenomena to arrive at a complicated, unusual archaeological
complex of circular walls, structures and terraces that remain a mystery to
modern science. As of this writing, Colorado archeo-hydrologists Ken and Ruth
Wright are conducting an investigation at Moray. We have ample time to explore
the site before returning to our comfortable accommodations back at Hacienda
Marcobamba.; (saddle time: long day or just snooze out at the hotel if you so
desire. Some may choose to join us at the site later in our support vehicle. We
leave the options open). We’ll ride back to our comfortable hacienda hotel via a
different trail as the afternoon sun illuminates the snow peaks of Chicon and
WakayWilca. (Saddle time 6-7 hours). B:L:D
Day 5). Leaving Pichingoto behind. Flowing westerly, the Vilcanota,
or Urubamba River as it is called here, gently winds through small riverside
hamlets, planted fields of corn and forgotten Inca ruins, slowly gaining speed
for its insane roaring rush into the deep granite gorge at Machu Picchu. We trot
along the old Inca route well away from the modern paved highway that speeds
daily bus loads of teeshirt buying tourists to and from Cusco. We could be back
in the 16th century. Modern Peru is centuries away. Tying up near an old Inca
bridge, we hop a short ride in our support vehicle to visit the major Inca
temple/fortress of Ollantaytambo. Probably built by the great Inca ruler,
Pachacuti in the 1460s, it was the site of Hernando Pizzaro’s defeat by Manco
Inca in 1536. Constructed of finely cut polygonal stones and rhyolite blocks,
the fortress and nearby town represent the best of Inca architecture and
construction. Large worked blocks, some weighting as much as 100 tons were
quarried from a site more than a thousand vertical feet above the valley floor
using a technique of pecking with hammer stones, then skidded down and across
the Urubamba river several kilometers to the temple site. Inclined ramps were
built to raise the blocks several hundred feet up hill to the construction area.
We take ample time to examine the complex and ponder its many mysteries.
Continuing mounted again. We ride down canyon. The old Inca trail becomes
steeper as the river drops, gathering momentum for the long rush toward the far
Amazon. We arrive at the small rail road stop village of Chilcha in the
afternoon. Here we sadly say goodbye to our equine companions. We will travel on
by iron horse the next morning. Ride finishes here with
return to Cusco. Our choice of lodging is a unique mountain Inn,
newly constructed in a choice setting with magical vistas. The food is near
gourmet and rooms tastefully furnished in the best of neo-colonial style. (
Saddle time 6 hours) B:L:D
Day 6): Our magical journey concludes with the narrow gauge train ride to
the New World's most spectacular archaeological monument, Machu Picchu. We
breakfast then hop aboard the morning narrow gauge train heading down valley. An
interesting hour of click, clack and sway with all of the accompanying sounds
and smells of rural Peru takes us to the bustling backpacker town of Aguas
Calientes, the portal for Machu Picchu. Soon we are gathered at the gateway to
famous "Lost Cities of the Incas"
MACHU PICCHU, one of the most magical and mysterious places on Earth! Situated
on the spine of a jungle cloaked granite peak towering some 2,000 ft. above an
entrenched meander of the roaring river below, the site is frequently shrouded
in misty clouds pierced by the powerful equatorial sun. Constructed from
precisely sculptured granite blocks carefully joined with the projecting exposed
stone of the surrounding mountain, the site may well be the finest architectural
achievement of the new world.
Machu Picchu, otherwise romantically known
to the tourist world as "The lost city of the Incas". Our guide concludes the
story of the raise and fall of the ancient civilizations of the Andes with the
tragic end of the Inca and the enigma that this remarkable site remains. We bus
back down to Aguas Calientes.
“In view, down the great canyon of the Urubamba below is the long cloud forested
ridge of Llactapata. The steep slope conceals a large complex of Inca ruins
rediscovered and investigated by our Inca Research expeditions led by Gary
Ziegler and noted British explorer, Hugh Thomson in 2003.”
Boarding the Cusco bound afternoon train, we arrive back in the Capital of the
Inca and comfortable rooms at our selected hotel, Andes de America, near the
central plaza. We gather later for a final celebration dinner. B:L:
Day 7): This is the day to relax, shop and wander around Cusco on your
own or with friends. The city abounds with small shops and street side vendors
selling their wares. Colorful weavings and hand made alpaca sweaters are popular
gifts for friends at home. Try out a local restaurant, take a hike, or just sit
in the plaza. Lodging at the Andes de America B & D
Day 8). Breakfast at the hotel then we help you onto the morning flight
to Lima. Adios amigos… buen viaje. (see Lima below) B
Suitability: We raise and
train horses at our ranch in the Sacred Valley. These well cared for horses are
no-nonsense, experienced, sure-footed, non-gaited mountain trail horses
affording a secure, comfortable ride on steep pathways. Although you do not need
to be an expert rider, we recommend some previous riding experience or
confidence around horses We give instruction and attention to the less
experienced as we travel. Our skilled Quechua speaking wranglers give careful
attention to each rider as needed and care for our mounts while we lunch or hike
through ruins.
Families and Youngsters:
Our route, logistical
flexibility and nature of the trip offer an excellent program for teenagers to
enjoy. Modified itineraries which permit riding and/or a day or two traveling
along with our support vehicle can easily be arranged.
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