amazon and incas

Transfer from the airport to Puerto Maldonado. Upon arrival from Lima or Cusco, we will welcome you at the airport and drive you ten minutes to the lodge’s Puerto Maldonado base. We will ask you to pack only the necessary gear for your next few days and leave the rest of your luggage at the warehouse. Light duffels are provided if you don’t want to take your larger luggage with you. This helps us keep the boats and cargo light for your two overnights. We board a motorized boat for a two-and-a-half-hour boat ride from the Tambopata Port to the lodge taking us upriver into the rainforest. On arrival, accommodation and a little rest. In the late afternoon, we will go for a rainforest walk, as an introduction to nature and get familiarized with the forest canopy. Wait until it gets dark and look for the elusive nocturnal creatures, like the impressive bird-eating tarantula which can be as big as your hand. Dinner at the lodge.

Early departure at 4 am. Two hours upstream on the Tambopata River in order to enjoy the best of bird watching. It is important to arrive early before the birds! Visit one of the natural wonders of the world, the spectacular Chuncho Clay-Lick, the largest in the world, with the three major species of macaws coming together at the same location, and many varieties of parrots, that come to eat clay, a special and unique behavior that is only found in this area. We will take breakfast on the boat. Along the journey to the clay-lick we have a chance of seeing Capybaras, Caymans and maybe, if lucky, Jaguar or Tapirs (the two most special terrestrial mammals of the amazon). We stay in the clay lick area, if necessary until we get to see the macaws. Return to the lodge for lunch. We have two lakes (oxbow lakes) or “cochas” in the vicinity of the Lodge. We will visit either Condenado 2 or Sachavacayoc, depending on weather and time of day. The lakes are rich in wildlife such as monkeys, caiman, lots of Hoatzins; macaws fly by going to roost, and a family group of Giant Otters. Floating on the lake until dusk is magical. We return to the lodge and on the way back we look for caimans and other wildlife on the riverbanks. Dinner at the Lodge.

Breakfast at the lodge and departure by boat to Puerto Maldonado, a 2 hour boat ride downriver. We take the Interoceanic Highway heading west, first driving past lowland rainforest until reaching Mazuko, the last settlement below the foothills of the Andes. As we traverse slowly uphill, we will cross the Iñambari River and drive along the Araza River. Five kilometers beyond Quincemil we will arrive at Kuporo, our lodge for the night. In the afternoon we will have a chance to visit the property and hike along an interpretative trail and observe the life in the cloud forest. This rainforest is different from the lowland alluvial ecosystem we visited in the first part of the trip. Dinner and overnight in one of the cabins, with a chance to hear the sounds of the cloud forest and the rapids of the Araza River close to the lodge.

Leaving the cloud forest slowly we wind our way up the Andes. The forested hillsides slowly thin out as we enter the interandean valley with brushy vegetation to finally reach the treeline at about 3,700 meters above sea level giving way to extensive grassland savannahs and snow-capped peaks in the horizon. Crossing our highest point at Pirhuayani Pass at 4,725 meters the vast expanse of the Cordillera Vilcanota with its main mountain range come into view right in front of us. Passing the villages of Ocongate, Cattca and others we drop down into the Vilcanota Valley south of Cusco. Passing Urcos we finally reach today´s destination. This road, with stops along the way, is considered the most scenic road in Peru as it passes many transects of vegetation and geological formation with splendid landscapes and amazing views. The road trip is an attraction by itself. Depending on time and weather we will make stops along the way. We enter the Sacred Valley at Huambutio, visit Pisac Market and possibly Pisac Ruins (time permitting) and finally reach today´s destination at Pisac. Dinner and overnight.

Morning visit in the ancient village of Ollantaytambo, that still retains the original street planning set in place by the Incas centuries ago, located 80 km (50 mi) from Cusco. Climb the ancient stone steps of the archeological Inca fortress, which is arranged as a series of terraces and platforms with amazing views of the surrounding mountains. In 1537, this fortress was the site of one of the few battles against the Spanish in which the Inca were, albeit briefly, victorious. A walk through the labyrinthine streets demonstrates the Inca drainage canals that are still in use today. Some of the ancient Inca homes, complete with trapezoidal doors and interior courtyards, are likewise still inhabited. We’ll visit a typical home of one of the residents and see her “cuy” room: a large number of colorful guinea pigs are often kept in a special room off the kitchen, where they are raised as a protein source for the family. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, accompanied by a cerveza (beer) or chicha morada, (purple corn drink) to complete the day’s events before boarding an afternoon train to Machu Picchu Pueblo. Dinner on your own.

Breakfast at the hotel. Today we see the ruins up close in our half-day guided tour. Machu Picchu was built by the Inca Pachacutec and is comprised of stone blocks fitted with masterful precision to create structures that harmoniously blend into the mountain landscape. This fabulous city has houses, temples, warehouses, and a large central square, all connected by narrow trails and steps, and is surrounded by terraces cut into the mountainside which were used for agriculture. The setting is simply stunning—no photos that you have seen do it justice. We’ll rise early to arrive at the ruins before the day trippers, experiencing the ruins in quiet and relative solitude. After a three-hour tour we’ll break for lunch. In the afternoon we’ll ride the bus back down to Machu Picchu Pueblo and catch the train back to Cusco. We will stop for dinner at the El Albergue Restaurant in Ollantaytambo on route back to Cusco where we will spend the night. Early morning bus rides to Machu Picchu; Three-hour guided tour of the ruins; Lunch at the ruins or the village below; Time to explore the village of Machu Picchu Pueblo.

After breakfast we will be picked up by vehicle to visit the nearby ruins of Cusco. Chance to walk around the cobble stoned city and visit colonial sites constructed on Inca walls – a nice way to end the trip back in this cosmopolitan city. Transfer to the airport for your afternoon flight to Lima and ongoing connections.