Machu Picchu – Amazon Honeymoon

We transfer you to Lima airport to take a flight to Puerto Maldonado which lies deep in the Peruvian Amazonian Jungle. Upon arrival we travel by motorised canoe up the Madre de Dios River to an eco-friendly jungle lodge. On our journey to the lodge you have a chance to see bird species typical of the river and the forest outskirts such as a black skimmer, pied lapwing, a capped heron, a roadside hawk (Buteo magnirostris), a kingfisher, a swallow or tyrant flycatchers.

The jungle lodge combines a native architecture and materials with a low-impact technology intending to preserve the local environment. Rooms of the lodge are simple but comfortable, containing mosquito nets over each bed, flush toilets, showers (but without hot water) and kerosene (paraffine) lamps for lighting (there is no electricity). Staff of the lodge are multilingual naturalists-guides and mostly consist of local community members.

You will take guided hikes through the jungle with a local guide and discover the Amazon’s bizarre wildlife and native residents and the curative and useful properties of domestic jungle plants. The Incan Gold Amazon covers about half of Peru and it is located in the Amazon Basin. Thanks to its isolation it keeps hidden to casual travellers. Puerto Maldonado is the main city of the region and is mostly accessed by air from the capital and from Cusco. The city lies on confluence of the Madre de Dios and Tambopata Rivers. It is a busy and booming tropical frontier city which principal activities are gold mining, cashew nut collecting, timber exploitation, agriculture and ecotourism.

Sleep to the sounds of nighttime creatures and arise to the extraordinary sounds of bird song. Tambopata is famous for a wide variety of plants and animal populations that include over 1,300 bird species (including 32 parrot specias that are equal to 10% of the world parrot population), 200 mammal species (4 species of primates included), 90 species of frogs, 1,200 butterfly species and 10,000 species of higher plants! All of them are protected by law. Harpy eagle, a prehistoric looking hoatzin, tapir, peccary, jaguar, ocelot and playful river otters inhabitating the Oxbow Lake to name a few of these rainforest rare species!

On the last (third) day of this Amazon honeymoon we transfer you back to the airport at Puerto Maldonado for your flight to Cusco located high in the Andes. You are welcomed by our representative and taken to your hotel. The rest of the day is free to acclimatize to the high altitude as well as relax and explore some of this fascinating city.

On the last (third) day of the Amazonian trip, we transfer you back to the airport at Puerto Maldonado for your flight to Cusco, high in the Andes Mountains.  You are welcomed by our Representative there and taken to your hotel.  There is a choice of accommodation – The Monestario Hotel www.monestariohotel.com or the Aranwa Boutique Hotel www.aranwahotel.com/cusco.   The rest of the day is free to be able to acclimatize to the high altitude as well as relax and explore some of this fascinating city.

Pick up from your hotel in a private car for a tour Moray, Maras and Chinchero ruins and villages or choose a free day discovering the fascinating city of Cusco. 

Maras

The Salinas de Maras in Cusco, or maras salt mines as they are also called, are salt mines whose exploitation is as old as the Tahuantinsuyo. Located on the slope of the hill, the salt pans in the form of terraces or platforms is crossed by a stream that feeds the pools with salty water. The use of the Salt of Maras dates from thousands of years and is inherited in each family, but it is managed in a communal way. The name of the salina in Quechua is kachi Raqay and is composed of about five thousand pools of about 5 square meters each, the water seeps into the pools and evaporates by the action of the intense sun, causing coarse salt crystals to sprout , After 1 month the salt reaches 10 cm. of height and has to be harvested. The view of the set of pools is spectacular. The villagers show visitors their ancestral techniques and allow them to intervene in the collection, as well as in Andean festivals and rituals.

Moray 

Moray is an archaeological site in Peru approximately 50 km (31 mi) northwest of Cusco on a high plateau at about 3,500 m (11,500 ft) and just west of the village of Maras. The site contains unusual Inca ruins, mostly consisting of several enormous terraced circular depressions, the largest of which is approximately 30 m (98 ft) deep. As with many other Inca sites, it also has a sophisticated irrigation system.

The purpose of these depressions is uncertain, but their depth, design, and orientation with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 15 °C (27 °F) between the top and the bottom. It is possible that this large temperature difference was used by the Inca to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops. Speculation about the site has led to discussion about Moray as an Inca agricultural experimental area. Its microclimatic conditions and other significant characteristics led to the use of the site as a center for the ancient study of domestication, acclimatization, and hybridization of wild vegetable species that were modified or adapted for human consumption. 
 

Chinchero

Chinchero is a small Andean Indian village located high up on the windswept plains of Anta at 3,762m about 30km from Cusco. There are beautiful views overlooking the Sacred Valley of the Incas, with the Cordillera Vilcabamba and the snow-capped peak of Salkantay dominating the western horizon. Chinchero is believed to be the mythical birthplace of the rainbow. Its major claim to tourism is its colourful Sunday market which is much less tourist-orientated than the market at Pisac.

The village mainly comprises mud brick (adobe) houses, and locals still go about their business in traditional dress.

The village may have been an important town in Inca times. The most striking remnant of this period is the massive stone wall in the main plaza which has ten trapezoidal niches. The construction of the wall and many other ruins and agricultural terraces (which are still in use) are attributed to Inca Tupac Yupanqui who possibly used Chinchero as a kind of country resort.

In the main plaza an adobe colonial church, dating from the early seventeenth century, has been built upon the foundations of an Inca temple or palace. The ceiling and walls are covered in beautiful floral and religious designs. The church is open on Sundays for mass.

Half an hour’s walk from the village brings you to Lake Piuri which once fed Cusco with water. It takes about 3 hours to walk around the lake passing through small picturesque villages.