Cusco & Manu

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Name of the Tour: Cusco and Manu

Description: This trip has two parts, on the first one, you will tour the lovely city of Cusco and the archaeological sites near it. You will hike also the NEW Inca trail to Machu Picchu.  On the second part of the trip, you will explore the Manu rainforest, there you will stay 6 days among the wildlife of the jungle. You will have the chance to see river otters, macaws, black caymans, monkeys, hundreds of birds, and even fish a piranha. From ancient Inca sites to the ever-growing jungle, this tour puts two worlds in one trip.

Destinations: Cusco, NEW Inca Trail, Machu Picchu and Manu.

Duration: 19 days

Comments:

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Frank Biasi (USA): "The entire trip was well planned and had plenty of variety of things to do.  I was pleasantly surprised by the variety that we experienced on the Manu part of the trip. Thanks for everything."

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Edward Metro (USA): "This truly was one of the best vacations I've taken period. We hated to leave."

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Boryana Rukanova (Netherlands): "I enjoyed the whole trip. It was something new and interesting to experience."

Day

Activities

Accommodation
01 Arrival to Lima:
We will pick you up from the airport upon arrival and take you to the hotel in Lima.		 Lima
02 Flight to Cusco:
In the morning we will take you to the airport in Lima for your flight to Cusco (1 hour). Once in Cusco we will take you to the hotel there. You will have time to rest and drink a "coca tea" to get used to the altitude.

Cusco City Tour: 1st day
After settle in the hotel, you will visit the high points of Cusco City as the Cathedral (great example of the colonial architecture of the 17th century); San Blas church with the best wooden carved pulpit (a magnificent piece of art of the 17th century); and the Archbishopric's Palace with a collection of paintings of the 17th century.

 Cusco
03 City Tour Cusco: 2nd day
You will visit the Inca remains in Cusco. The tour will start in Sacsayhuaman, in this site are massive walls made of huge stones that fit perfectly, a impressive example of their architecture. From there you will ride on a horse for 3 hours to visit 2 other archaeological sites: Qenqo (a temple where the Incas mummified their dead) and Tambomachay (a temple where the Inca king went to take ceremonial baths to purify himself and the whole empire). 		 Cusco
04 Excursion to the Incas Sacred Valley
We will take you to Pisac, the first town in the Urubamba Valley. There you will do a short hike (without backpacks) of 3 hours to visit the Inca temple on the top of a mountain and the Inca cemetery on a cliff. Then, we will take you back to Pisac to lunch and some shopping in its famous handicraft market. Afterwards, we will take you to Ollantaytambo town, after a nice ride along the valley. In Ollantaytambo you will visit a huge Inca temple. Finally, you will return to Cusco city in the evening.		 Cusco
05 NEW Inca Trail: 1st day (16 Kms / 10 miles)
Early in the morning (4 AM) a private bus will pick you up to take you to the beginning of the trail. On the way it will be stops to take pictures of the amazing sceneries, including a wonderful view of the Salkantay snow-capped mountain. Once in Soraypampa (3,850 meters / 12,705 feet), you will eat breakfast and afterwards you will get ready to start the hike. The first part takes 4 hours to the Salkantay pass, the highest point on the trail (4,600 meters / 15,180 feet). On this part you will stop for a quick lunch next to a nice lagoon. From the pass you will hike down for 4 more hours to Rayan-niyoc campsite at 2,890 meters (9,537 feet). There you will have a nice dinner and a good sleep.		 Campsite 
06 NEW Inca Trail: 2nd day (15 Kms / 9.3 miles)
After a good breakfast, you will continue hiking down for 3 hours and an half to Winaypoco. You will leave behind the rocky mountains to enter to the cloud-forest. White-water rivers and lush vegetation will surround you. After lunch you will continue with your hike for another 4 hours until Playa campsite (2,350 mts / 7,755 ft). Along the trail you will see coffee and banana plantations, and waterfalls.		 Campsite 
07 NEW Inca Trail: 3rd day (12 Kms / 7.4 miles)
In the morning you will hike up for 3 hours and an half until Llactapata (2,700 mts / 8,910 ft), this part is an original Inca trail leading to the Llactapata Inca site. From there you will see Machu Picchu at lunch. Then you will hike down for another two hours to the bottom of the Urubamba valley (1,870 mts / 6,171 ft). After lunch, you will take a train to Aguas Calientes town, there a hot shower and a comfortable bed will wait for you in a nice hotel.		 Aguas Calientes
08 Machu Picchu tour:
Early in the morning (5:30 AM) you will take a bus (25 minutes) to Machu Picchu. You will be one of the first tourists in the place. You will have a guided tour for 2 hours and then you will have free time to discover and explore the site by yourself before the crowds of tourists arrive. In the afternoon, you will take the bus down to Aguas Calientes town to take the train back to Cusco at 4 PM. You will arrive in Cusco at 8:30 PM.		 Cusco
09

Rafting in the Urubamba river: (OPTIONAL)
At 9 am you will go to the Urubamba river to raft for 2 hours and an half. The river is very good, adventurous but safe (up to class 3+). You will be back in Cusco city in the afternoon (5 PM) after a nice picnic lunch.

 Cusco
10 Free day in Cusco:
You can rest today and get ready for your next adventure. In the meantime you can do some shopping and explore Cusco city on your own.		 Cusco
11

Manu Excursion: 1st day
A private bus will pick you up from the hotel to take you to Pilcopata town. It's a 10 hours bus ride across the mountains and the cloud-forest. There will be tops along the way to tour the Ninamarca Inca tombs and Paucartambo town, and to take pictures of the amazing sceneries along the road.

 Lodge
12

Manu Excursion: 2nd day
In the morning you will continue with the ride until Atalaya port (2 hours and an half). From there a boat will take you for 8 hours until the Maquisapayoj campsite. It’s a nice journey and you will see many animals on the river shores. In the evening, you will camp at a platform from where you will be able to see the “tapir”, this mammal eats in the night.

 Lodge
13

Manu Excursion: 3rd day
In the morning you will explore the trails around the campsite. Afterwards, you will go on a boat to the next campsite, Blanquillo. After lunch, you will go to Blanco lagoon to watch river otters, caymans, monkeys and exotic birds.

 Lodge
14

Manu Excursion: 4th day
In the morning you will go to the “collpas” to watch macaws, parrots and parakeets that gather to lick the clay from a cliff. This is a wonderful show. Afterwards, you will climb a 42 meters (140 feet) high tower from where you will have an amazing view of the rainforest from above the trees.

 Lodge
15

Manu Excursion: 5th day
In the morning you will have the option to return to the “collpas” to watch more macaws or explore the Blanco river to search for more otters. After lunch, you will go to Negra lagoon to fish piranhas and catfish for dinner.

 Lodge
16

Manu Excursion: 6th day
You will start the journey back by boat. On the way you will stop at the Diamante tribe of the Piro native people. Along the ride you will see many animals as monkeys, herons and vultures on the trees. You will camp at the Yanayacu campsite.

 Lodge
17

Manu Excursion: 7th day
You will continue with your journey by boat until Atalaya port. On the way you will stop at Aguas Calientes hot springs for a bath. Once in the port, a private bus will take you to Pilcopata town.

 Lodge
18

Manu Excursion: 8th day
The private bus will take you to your hotel in Cusco city. You will arrive at 6 PM.

 Cusco
19 Flight to Lima:
We will take you to the airport in Cusco for your flight to Lima.		 (not included)

OPTIONS: If you want to hike the Classic Inca Trail instead of the New Inca trail, let us know to check the availability.

INCLUDES:

bulletAccommodation for 09 nights at nice hotels in Lima (1 night), Cusco (7 nights) and Aguas Calientes (1 night). More information on the hotels included
bulletCampsites along the New Inca Trail (2 nights).
bulletCampsites in the Manu rainforest (7 nights).
bulletMules to carry your backpack on the New Inca trail.
bulletCamping equipment (except sleeping bags and backpacks).
bulletThree meals per day during the New Inca Trail (3 days) and the excursion to the Manu (8 days).
bulletBreakfasts at hotels.
bulletAll transfers to airports and hotels listed in the itinerary.
bulletAll transports to visit the places included in the tour.
bulletEntrance fees to the places included in the itinerary.
bulletPeruvian tour leaders (English speakers) who will accompany you during the trip.

PRICE: 1,695 US dollars per person. Convert to other currencies
The price you will pay for the tour could be lower than the one above. It depends on how big the group is, as it is showed below. One month before your trip we will confirm to you the final price based on the number of people that will be in the group you will join.

Number of people
in the group		 Price
US dollars
3 - 4 people 1,695
5 - 6 people 1,525
7 and more 1,455

EXTRAS: not included

bulletSingle Supplement (single rooms): 80 US dollars.
bulletFlight LIMA-CUSCO: 100 US dollars (airport's tax is not included).
bulletFlight CUSCO-LIMA: 100 US dollars (airport's tax is not included).
bullet Rafting in the Urubamba river: 30 US dollars (it includes the complete equipment and box lunch).
bulletExtra night in Lima: Single room US$25 / Double room US$30 (breakfast included)

PAYMENT:
To confirm your booking you have to pre-pay 300 US dollars, that you can pay with a check direct to INDIANA EXPEDITION. The rest can be paid upon arrival in cash (US dollars).

For payments with Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard or American Express) we use a secure online service. You can pay the 300 dollars deposit or the total with credit cards. All payments using a credit card are subject to a 8% fee.

Please, read our "Terms and Conditions" that apply to all our tours.

DATES: If your dates don't match with our schedules, contact us by the form in this link, we can customize a tour for you.

April 2006:
from April 7th to April 25th
from April 21st to May 9th		 September 2006:
from September 8th to September 26th
from September 22nd to October 10th
May 2006:
from May 5th to May 23rd
from May 19th to June 6th		 October 2006:
from October 6th to October 24th
from October 20th to November 7th
June 2006:
from June 2nd to June 20th
from June 16th to July 4th
from June 30th to July 18th		 November 2006:
from November 3rd to November 21st
from November 17th to December 5th
July 2006:
from July 14th to August 1st
from July 28th to August 15th		 December 2006:
from December 1st to December 19th
August 2006:
from August 11th to August 29th
from August 25th to September 12th

 

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