Private Cultural Homestay Adventure 10 days

Today we will offer you to be orientated by a local guide showing you around the historic center of the City on foot. In the given time you would visit the main plaza, Koricancha Temple, San Francisco Square, San Blas neighborhood, and San Pedro Market. There are many other places to visit such as the Inka Museum, Coca museum, museum of Pre-Colombian art. As well as many cafés, shops, restaurants, and bars that suit everyone. Your guide will recommend places to go for lunch or dinner.

Today we take you out to the beautiful Andean farmlands and explore Chinchero ruins. We leave for Chinchero at 9.00 am and it takes around 1 hour to get there from Cusco. Afterward, the transfer is 1 hour more to the community of Misminay where we will receive a warm welcome with music and followed by a local lunch. Here you will stay in a local homestay.

After breakfast, we can take a look at Moray (archeological site) supposedly built as Inka test farms in circular terraces. We then continue another 20 minutes by road to the Salt terraces. We continue for around 45 minutes walking through the Salt terraces (salineras) and finish above them before continuing across uphill to the town of Maras for another 1+ hour and admiring the views along the way. We will take a typical lunch in the town of Urubamba before continuing on our way to visit Seminario – a world-famous ceramics workshop detailing some unique pieces of art fusion (modern/Inka) created by famous potter Pablo Seminario.

In the second half of the day (the afternoon) we go to our homestay in the community of Chichubamba. Tonight we stay with a local family who also will teach us how to roast coffee and make artisanal chocolate and make your own artisanal ceramics.

Today we continue to our final stop in the Valley, Ollantaytambo, and transfer onto the train to Aguas Calientes (the town below Machu Picchu. The train departs at 11.15 am and arrives at 12.45 pm and we have less than a 10-minute walk to take you to the bus departure point. We then have a 25-minute shuttle to the entry point to Machu Picchu sanctuary and commence the guided tour which lasts about 2 hours. We then continue back down to the village with the guide to your 3-Star hotel accommodation for the night. You will have the evening free to decide for dinner or your guide can give you some ideas.

After breakfast, we walk 5 minutes to get to the train station (we need to be there 30 minutes prior to departure). At 8.50 am, we board the train back to the Sacred Valley. We then continue by road to Pisac stopping on the way to collect our bags, and then onto our homestay in the community a further 30 minutes above Pisac, where we shall arrive in time for a traditional lunch cooked in the ground called Pachamanca.

Leaving at 8.30 am, we have a drive time of around 3-3.5 hours to get there from our homestay. Hiking is around a total of 4 miles there and back elevation is 16000-17000ft or 4750m-5030m and backs down again around 2.5 hours of hiking. Horses can be hired on arrival at an extra cost. We can stop for lunch on our return and can also stop at Rachi Inka temple on the way to our accommodation in the town of Sicuani (3-Star hotel).

At around 9.30 am we go with our private van towards Puno and Lake Titicaca. The direct travel time is around 4 hours. But adding more to stop at some places of interest along the route (Pukara and Sillustani). We should arrive at Puno after 3 pm then, transfer to the floating reed Island homestay by boat. Accommodation is on one of these Islands.

Lake Titicaca is one of the natural wonders of Peru and the largest mainland lake on the South American Continent. It is shared almost equally between Peru and Bolivia and you can see wonderful views of each country from either side. Its altitude is almost 4000m, so nights are cold and the days are sunny. Sunsets and sunrises are usually spectacular!!!! After breakfast, you will travel around the various Uros Islands in a reed boat to learn the local way of fishing and how they make the islands. Here, the guide will explain about their way of life and the language they speak which is Aymara and the second most spoken indigenous language of the Andes after Quechua.

After an hour, your family host will transfer you to meet a boat destined for the Island of Amantani. Once on the Island, the guide will allocate you a family to stay with then you are in their hands for the rest of the afternoon. There may be an opportunity to explore the Island or hike to the top on foot (there are no roads or cars there) and interact with your local family. Note that hiking around the Island on various sloping trails can be tough, so please feel free to do as much or as little during your stay and your guide will suggest a few ‘light’ activities in-between meal times.

After breakfast, our families will take us down to the port to meet our boat and guide and then travel a further 1 hour across to Taquile Island. On Taquile, we take a short hike to navigate the Island and stopping at the main village for some photos and an explanation of the weaving done by the men and textiles specific to the Islanders before we are taken back to Puno City. 3-Star Hotel tonight.

After breakfast, our services end. You will have a private transfer to the airport in Juliaca to Lima for your connection flight. Any additional hotel nights or internal flights can be arranged.