Itinerary 

For

Odyssey Seminars

PERU

Cusco/Sacred Valley/Machu Picchu

DAY 01                                                                                                           Arrival Lima

Evening arrival at Lima International Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

The city of Lima was founded by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 5, 1535, the eve of the Epiphany of the Magi – from which it derived its evocative original name of La Ciudad de los Reyes or “The City of Kings”.  It is a city of rare fascination and unexpected pleasures.  Lima has decaying colonial splendor and the teeming vitality of an oriental bazaar; melancholy cloudy winters and warm breezy summers; impoverished urban sprawl and quiet elegant corners among ancient buildings where the night air is scented with jasmine.

Overnight Miraflores Park Hotel                       No Meals

DAY 02                                                                                                                          Lima

Breakfast/Orientation Briefing with your guide.

Depart south of Lima (30mins) to the Temple of Pachacamac (Great Creative Spirit) of pre-Inca monument, it was an important ceremonial center to which responded in pilgrimage and consultation of the oracle. Place of great Mystical value where was venerated to the creative God of the Universe. Here they emphasize the Temple of the Sun and that of the Acllahuasi (The Virgins) also analysis and meditation.

Return to your hotel for lunch.

Afternoon you are taken on a tour of the “City of the Kings”.  Visit the historical center of Lima.  See the Plaza Mayor, the location of the Government Palace, the City Hall, the Cathedral and the Archbishop’s Palace.  The rich, religious history of the Spanish colonies is displayed in these buildings.  You will also have time to see the San Francisco Monastery.  Continue sightseeing with a drive through the fashionable residential districts of San Isidro and Miraflores .

Private Welcome Dinner at the Casa ‘Garcia-Alvarado’, hosted by the owner Mrs Ana Maria Garcia. This old but impressive house was constructed in 1912 by the Architect Rozaga, and was remodelled in 1932 which gave it its present look. It was fashoined after Peru’s Government Palace. Located on the Larco Avenue in the commercial district of Miraflores

Overnight Miraflores Park Hotel                       B,L,D

DAY 03                                                                                 Lima/Cusco/Sacred Valley

This morning you are privately transferred to the airport where you embark on your flight to Cusco, an Andean community and former ancient capital of the Inca Empire. 

Upon arrival, you are met and driven into the “Sacred Valley of the Incas” - once the ceremonial center for Incan rulers.  Visit the local village of Pisac, known for its colorful ponchos, wall hangings and jewelry before having a served pic nic lunch.

After lunch visit the Pisac Incan Ruins, located on a hilltop above the village.  The steep farming terraces and dramatic architecture are the elements of an impressive scene at this one-time fortress city whose many features include ritual baths fed by aqueducts and one of the largest known Inca cemeteries. 

There are residential buildings and towers that some scientists say may have been astronomical observation spots.  Higher up, there is a second set of ruins.  Some say it was used by servants or other community members with low social standing; another theory says it predates the main part of the complex.

Transfer to your hotel in the Sacred Valley for dinner and overnight.

Before dinner Cusco experience a local ritual or Pago a la tierra, an ancient ritual that pays homage to Pachamama, the earth mother. Ritual offerings of chicha, (beer), coca leaves, flowers and fruits are placed in the earth accompanied by evocative chanting and singing. A centuries old Andean tradition to give thanks to the earth.

Overnight Sol y Luna Hotel         B,L, D

DAY 04                                                                                                         Sacred Valley

This morning visit Chinchero, called "El Pueblo Del Arco Iris" (the town of the rainbow), is high up on a spectacular place, around 12,000 feet above sea level, with tremendous views of the Urubamba mountain range as well as the majestic Salkantay mountain that reaches almost 19,000 ft. Chinchero is halfway between the Sacred Valley and Cusco, to the northwest of Cusco, at 28 km. (17.4 miles). The town of Hispanic architecture is built on old Inka constructions. Its people are very conservative of some andean traditions, wearing picturesque clothing.

After visiting the town, you will meet Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez, a native of Chinchero. Nilda learned to weave as a child while tending the flocks in the fields of her village. When she was a teenager, Nilda worked with researchers on preserving the traditional themes and techniques of weaving in the Andean community. As an adult, Nilda traveled extensively to the U.S. to organize weaving exhibits and workshops in several universities and the Textile Museum of Washington D.C.. She is truly a one of a kind artist.

Continue to Moray, an ancient Inka site with circular terraces that used to create exceptional conditions or micro climates that fostered domestication, acclimatization and hybridization of a wide array of wild vegetable species that were modified or adapted for human consumption. Here our shaman will instruct us in walking exercises and a meditation in the center circle of this amazing power spot.

Enjoy a served picnic in the country.

Our today tour will end with a visit to the salt mines of Maras, amazing ponds terraced down the Andean mountainside. Still in use today, these ponds are filled from a single salty spring.

Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight

Overnight Sol y Luna Hotel         B,L, D

DAY 05                                                                             Sacred Valley/Machu Picchu

Early morning visit Ollantaytambo, it was a very important sanctuary and also a "tampu" in order to enable control of the roads toward the "Antisuyo" (jungle). 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"; that is, a building which dimensions are colossal and completely roofed. It served as a lodge and perhaps also as barracks for the numerous army of the region

Continue to the Ollanta train station to board your train bound  to Machu Picchu, where a late morning arrival gives you time to begin your explorations of this breathtaking Incan citadel.

Upon arrival in Aguas Calientes train station, a 25minutes bus ride will bring you to the ruins of Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Inkas". An ancient site fed by grids of powerful natural energies patterned by surrounding mountains and extensive underground tunnels.

Shamanic belief is that for millennia this site served as an initiatory center for higher learning. The sanctuary cover many square kilometers constructed of mortared terraces and connected by endless stairs carved from solid rock all around the mountains. Throughout the ages, the sheltered temple sights, geophysically conducive atmospheres were used for ritual and mind-altering experiences. Shamanic legend says that touching one's forehead to the Intiwantana Stone opens one's vision into the Spirit World. Tune into Wakas (sacred spots) of individual rocks and boulders. Experience the classic "magical flight" of shamanic ecstasy.

Accompanied by your guide, explore the city's ruins, and feel its pulse as you visualize the lives of the priests, craftsmen, and servants who inhabited this seemingly uninhabitable citadel.  Excavations at the site have revealed skeletons, artifacts and woolen clothing, but no gold.  The same precision of assembled stones exists here as in other Incan sites.  Overlooking the raging Urubamba River and discovered in a hidden tangle of vines and trees atop the mountain, the city of Machu Picchu will forever hold its secret of its destruction - the Incas left no written record.

Overnight at Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge   B,L,D

DAY 06                                                                                            Machu Picchu/Cusco

The morning you may rise early and enjoy the prospects of a walk through Machu Picchu at sunrise, something which people of strong spirituality believe to be the  highlight of a visit to Machu Picchu.

This morning, you will have the opportunity to take one of two hikes with your guide .

The first possibility is to the Inti Punku, or famous Sun Gate, which is the entry point to Machu Picchu on the Inca Trail and offers excellent views of the ruins, (approx 2 hours).

The second is the chance to hike up the Huayna Picchu – the highest mountain which is actually part of the ruins (seen here on the right), from where you are afforded excellent views of the surrounding area, as well as a unique view of the famous ‘lost city’, (approx 2.5 hours). 

Or if you prefer you can just relax and continue exploring this magnificent citadel by your own.

Lunch will be at your hotel.

Late afternoon enjoy tea-time at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge.

Early evening board the deluxe Orient Express train “Hiram Bingham”  to Cusco. Gourmet dinner will be served on board.

Upon arrival in Cusco a representative  will be waiting for you to transfer  to your hotel

Monasterio Cusco Hotel  B,L,D

DAY 07                                                                                                                       Cusco

This morning you will visit Sacsayhuaman ruins, which is a huge, stunning site which holds the great house of the Sun, where the head of the Puma of Cusco resides. Its megalithic, zigzag stone walls were pieced together with amazing skill, drawing the SNAKE AND OTHER ANDEAN SYMBOLS, like a lightening bolt across a great field.

Continue to Q'enqo, which  means labyrinth or zigzag. This temple dedicated to Mother Earth is a unique center of worship and for ceremonies. It has numerous ceremonial carvings, holes and canals cut into the rock. One of its features is a semi-natural underground chamber. Limestone formation intricately carved with depictions of mythical beings, as well as winding underground passageways and semicircular amphitheater. Believed to have been used for worshipping the Earth. Temple of the Living Light ceremonial altar and main spiritual center. Dedicated to the Puma, the vibrant vortexes are some of the most powerful for initiates, plus the mysterious Amaru Machay--Cave of the Serpent

Return to Cusco for lunch at local restaurant.

Afternoon visit Santo Domingo church, it is built over what once was the most magnificent temple in the Americas, Qorikancha or Temple of the Sun. Its courtyards were filled with life-sized gold and silver representations of all the flora and fauna of the Empire. Pizarro's men looted the temple as part of Inka Atahualpa royal ransom who was held prisoner in Cajamarca by the Spaniards and later killed. An earthquake destroyed the Santo Domingo church in 1950 revealing the Inka walls that were hidden or plastered over. These walls of the Temple of the Sun are some of the finest example of Inka stonework in existence.

Dinner today will be at the Restaurant of the Pre-Columbian Art Museum.This house was an Inca ceremonial court around 1450 A.D. In 1580 became into the mansion of the conqueror Alonso Díaz , in 1850 of the Earl of Cabrera and  was restored to be the Pre-Columbian Art Museum since June 2003. This extraordinary Cusco historic monument, holds the only museum  in Perú dedicated to rebound the arts of ancient peruvian cultures.  After dinner you will have the opportunity to visit the museum

Monasterio Cusco Hotel  B,L,D

DAY 08                                                                                         INTI RAYMI FESTIVAL

Today you will have the opportunity to see the Inti Raymi celebration, on the date of the winter solstice when the sun is at its farthest point from the equator, in this way the Inca’s hoped the harvest would be abundant and hunger would not ravage the Inca empire.

At 9am the Sapan lnka Apu Tayta, son of the sun, appears from the Qoricancha, (or Temple of the Sun) he invites the people to take part of the ceremony you will appreciate this procession from a priviledged place in the main square of Cusco.

The Inca is carried on a litter by his bearers to the Plaza de Armas of the city and hundred musicians blow lustily on their conch horns announcing the arrival.

Then the Inca and  dancers take the steep road to the fortress of Saccsayhuaman.  The Inca arrives at the imposing ruins and ascends to the Usnu, where he is joined by his attendants. Lifting his arms towards the sun, he intones, a Quechua hymn. One by one, each group representing the four ‘suyos’ (or regions), of the empire dances accompanied by ritual Andean music.

The ceremony ends around 3.30pm when you will be transferred back to your hotel.

Rest of the day will be at your leisure.

Monasterio Cusco Hotel  B,L

DAY 09                                                                                                             Cusco/Lima

This morning you will be transferred to the airport of Cusco to board your flight to Lima.

On arrival in Lima you will be met and escorted to your hotel.

Rest of the day will be at your leisure.

This evening, enjoy a farewell dinner at the Huaca Pucllana Restaurant located  in one of the biggest pre-Columbian temples of the city offering you a unique ambiance for your meal. The owners of this restaurant, which specializes in contemporary Peruvian cuisine, are justifiably proud of their culinary philosophy based around the use of a wide range of Peruvian ingredients in classic and contemporary recipes that satisfy the most demanding of palates.

Overnight Miraflores Park Hotel                       B,D

DAY 10                                                                                                           Lima/Depart

Morning transfer to the airport for your intl departure flight.   B