DAY 1. ARRIVAL IN
AREQUIPA
Arrival in Arequipa and transfer to the hotel located in the
historic center.
The panoramic city tour of Arequipa starts
at the traditional district of Yanahuara, located 2 kilometers from the
Historic Center, at the right side of River Chili.
Admire the beautiful narrow streets with Spanish
style, lovely houses and interesting tourist attractions such as
the Mirador of Yanahuara. This place has amazing views of the volcanoes
Misti, Pichu Pichu and Chachani.
This wonderful viewpoint was built in the eighteenth
century and it is located next to the Church San Juan Bautista, in front
of a nice small square. These are arches made of ashlar with phrases of
important characters of the city.
The Arequipa city tour continues toward the Valley of
Chilin to visit another incredible viewpoint known as Mirador de Carmen
Alto. Here, you will admire beautiful landscapes of green fields and impressive
volcanoes around. This place was used as an Astronomical Observatory, between
1899 and 1927.
You will have privilege views to pre Inca and Inca’s
platforms that are still being used for farming. Admire fruit trees and
orchards.
The next stop will be at Incalpaca outlet and
zoo, a store with high quality clothes made of Alpaca, with excellent prices.
The Alpaca’s fiber is soft, light and very
resistant. Incalpaca exports their products to more than 50 countries
worldwide, working hard with sustainability.
Also, you can visit the small zoo with South
American camelids such as alpacas, vicuñas, llamas and guanacos.
We are going to pass through the district of Sachaca.
Enjoy a panoramic view to a 18th century colonial mansion known as Goyeneche
Palace. Also, you will see the aquatic park of Tingo, the summer place
with pools for locals.
Then, we are going to visit the Founder’s
Mansion located 12 miles from the historic center. This house was the home
of the city’s founder Don Garcí Manuel de Carbajal in 1540. The city tour will
take you to explore the Molino de Sabandia, a beautiful mill built in 1621
and it still working.
Going back to the city you will see the platforms of
Paucarpata. The panoramic tour continues to Plaza de Armas and
to Santa Catalina Monastery.
Rest of the afternoon at leisure. Overnight at hotel.
DAY 2. SILLAR ROUTE
TOUR.
After picking you up from the hotel in the morning, we are
going to begin a very special tour: The Silllar Route.
We will take the road towards the district of Cerro
Colorado until reach the “Canteras de Añashuayco”, located at the bottom
of the Volcano Chachani, next to the River Chili. This place has a wonderful
natural, and cultural, landscape. Walking through the master cutters area, we
are going to admire handmade art work, such as colonial facades and
carvings.
Also, we will visit artisan workshops to learn
about the work done with ashlar, and we will see how they work on it with
ancestral instruments. You will have the opportunity to purchase local
handicraft (optional).
Continuing with this amazing tour, we are going to visit the
“Cantera de Culebrillas”, and we will explore this impressive natural ravine
formed by the erosion of the water and wind. The ashlar (sillar) has
been used for the constructions of important buildings in the city of Arequipa,
declares a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
At the end of the tour, we will return to the city center. Rest of the
day at leisure. Overnight at hotel.
DAY 3. AREQUIPA / COLCA CANYON.
We will depart at 8:30 am from Arequipa, driving 160
km to Chivay Town.
On the route, we will pass through the town
of Yura, a place with historical monuments for its streets and squares.
Then, we will visit Pampa de Arrieros and Pampa Cañahuas, where it is located
the National Reserve Salinas and Aguada Blanca, home
of vicuñas and we are going to have the opportunity to see these
beautiful camelids.
We will continue the tour visiting more small towns,
and have wonderful views of the volcanoes from the viewpoint. We will
reach Chivay, and you will have free time for lunch and rest.
Then, we will visit this amazing Andean town, located in highest part of
the Colca Canyon.
We will return to your hotel and overnight.
DAY 4. COLCA CANYON /
PUNO.
After breakfast very early in the morning, we will
start at 06:15 am to go to the famous point "Cruz del Cóndor". We are
going to arrive on time to have a pleasant view of the canyon depth and if time
allows, majestic images of the Condors flight.
These impressive scavenger birds are one of the
largest flying birds in the world. It’s a magic spectacle admire them
overflying the beautiful valley and the canyon.
On the way back to Chivay we will visit the
traditional town of Pinchollo and the "Antahuilque
viewpoint", where you can see wonderful 1,500-year-old terraces, built by
the Collaguas, a culture before the time of the Incas.
After your visit to the Colca Valley, 320 km will be
traveled with beautiful landscapes in the route. We will pass through
diverse and small Andean villages, until we reach Puno. We will transfer you to
the hotel.
DAY 5. UROS AND
TAQUILE ISLANDS.
After breakfast at your hotel located in the city
of Puno, you will be transferred to the lake port, where a speedboat or a
regular boat (depending on your choice) will take you to the floating
islands of the Uros.
The Uros Islands are located 4 miles
northwest of the city and they are an ancestral society that populate a series
of artificial islands built on the basis of the totora reed,
which grows in the same lake. The reed islands are made by weaving
these material in the places where it grows thicker and forming a natural
layer. The Uros people built their houses of totora too and cook
outdoors to prevent possible fires.
The Lake Titicaca is located between Peru
and Bolivia at 3,812 meters above sea level within the Andean highlands or
Collao Plateau, and it is the highest navigable lake in the world and
the second one in South America. We are going to spend an amazing time
with the local people. They will show to us their lifestyle and traditions,
with more than 200 families living here. At this point, the half day tour at
the Uros Islands ends.
We will take the boat
for a travel of one hour and a half, to the island of Taquile. This is
Quechua, unlike the other Aymara speaking islands on the lake. It was part of
the Inca empire and vestiges of this culture can still be seen in its
constructions.
This is the second largest island located in the Lake
Titicaca with an extension of 3.4 miles. Their textiles are amazing and
they are being considered as a heritage by UNESCO. The highest point gets
4,050 meters above sea level.
Later, we will enjoy a delicious Andean lunch,
and then, we will return to the port of Puno, where our transport will be
waiting to take you to your hotel. Overnight.
DAY 6.
SILLUSTANI AND DEPARTURE PUNO.
We will pick you up from your hotel
located in the city of Puno to go towards the archaeological site of Sillustani
Puno. This amazing complex is located on the top of a peninsula on the
shores of Lake Umayo, 22.3 miles from the city of Puno and Lake
Titicaca.
This place has circa 90 funerary towers
built by the Kolla culture, an Aymara community developed before the Inca
Empire. A lot of mummies have been found inside these towers,
including important people as priests, leaders and nobles. They were previously
mummified and were places as fetal position, along with all their belongings
such as gold, silver and ceramics.
The state of conservation of these burial
towers is impressive, all of them were made with stones with varying
shapes that fix each other perfectly. The architecture and engineering
used by the Kolla culture was quite advance for its time. Some of them are 12
meters’ high, where the Lagarto Chullpa is the tallest and most representative
tower.
The Sillustani tour continues
with the visit to a local family that breeds Alpacas and they will
show us how they process and cook their own food, their lifestyle, their looms
and how they maintain ancestral customs.
At the end of the visit, you will be taken
to the airport of Juliaca.