Go Back JOIN ASHTARA ON A MAGICAL AND MYSTICAL ADVENTURE TO THE ANDEAN MOUNTAINS OF PERU AND BOLIVIA A 17 DAY IMMERSION INTO ANCIENT ANDEAN CULTURE AND ITS SPIRITUALITY 16th March – 1st April 2009 Itinerary (subject to change) Arrive to Cusco airport. Teresa or Fredy Conde, owners of the Andes Journeys Peru tour company, will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel.  Cusco is the ancient Inca capital of Peru situated high in the Andes, 3500 metres above sea level. It has a Spanish influence and is quite attractive.  You will be quite safe in the centre of the city and will enjoy your time here.  We suggest you arrive one or two days before the Magical, Mystical Adventure begins.  Retreat: 16th March 08: Fredy and his team will take you on a city tour and then, after lunch, transfer you from the city of Cusco to your beautiful, peaceful garden guest house, Wilka T’ika situated in the Sacred Valley of Peru. www.willkatika.com Tel.  051 84 201508 FAX.  201181.  email:  info@wilkatika.com The rest of the day will be for orientation and intermingling with the group.  Dinner included. 17th March: Breakfast and dinner included.  Early morning yoga stretches with Ashtara and then you will take an excursion to the amazing ancient sacred site of Ollantaytambo situated at the end of the Sacred Valley of the Incas.  This impressive structure will confound and astound you.  You will lunch at the nearby village and then return to the peaceful haven of Wilka T’ika. 18th March: Breakfast and dinner included. Early morning yoga stretches. A walk to the nearby village for lunch will follow the morning workshop.  Continuing workshop in the afternoon.  In the workshop you will learn about the culture and spirituality of the Andean civilization. This will aid your understanding of the sites you visit, the people you meet and the spiritual ceremonies you will experience.   19th March: Breakfast and dinner provided. Morning yoga stretches followed by a visit to the impressive site of Moray.  You will also visit an ancient salt mine to see how this is being utilized in the same manner now as hundreds of years ago.   20th March:  Breakfast included.  Arising early, you will travel by train to visit the ancient citadel of Machu Picchu, one of the great wonders of the world. A snack will be provided on the train. On arrival you will book into your hotel at unique Aquas Calientes, a village growing up beside the railway line at the foothills of Machu Picchu.  You will lunch in this quaint village and then take a bus up to the majestic and impressive sacred site, one of the great wonders of the world and a former esoteric training school for female initiates. You will have hours here to explore this site under the expert guidance of Fredy Conde.  21st March: Breakfast and dinner included.   Today you make a second visit to Machu Picchu to experience the Equinox sunrise over the awe-inspiring mountains. This will be an experience you will never forget.  You will then spend prime time appreciating the special qualities of this sacred place in your own way. You may choose to climb to the Moon Temple on the nearby mountain of Wayna Picchu or climb to the top of Wayna Picchu.   When you have had your fill of this incredible site you will catch the bus down the mountain to Aquas Calientes for lunch. Then it will be time to take the train back to Wilka T’ika guesthouse. 22nd March: Breakfast and dinner included. Yoga stretches and then you will visit another amazing Sacred Valley site, that of Pisaq, a mountain hide-away where, in ancient times, carefully selected young women lived and were trained in the sacred feminine esoteric mysteries.  Following this excursion you can shop and lunch at the fascinating Pisaq markets.  Return to Wilka T’ika.   23rd March: Breakfast and dinner included. Yoga stretches and workshop.  Walk to the nearby village for lunch.  Free time to pack, rest, have a massage, write your journal and integrate your experiences. 24th March:  Breakfast and picnic lunch included. You will be taken to your Cusco Hotel where you will spend this night.  Los Marqueses Hotel, Calle Garcilaso 256 Cusco, Peru.  Tel:  51-84-264249   www.hotelmarqueses.com    You will have an excursion to some of the amazing sacred sites around this incredible city, including Sacsayhuaman where you will see huge specially cut stones weighing hundreds of tonnes forming a giant wall.  Your mind will not be able to believe all you see.  25th March:  Breakfast and picnic lunch included.  Today you travel by private bus to Puno, another large city in Peru, stopping at a fascinating small museum and sacred site on the way.   You will spend this night in Hotel Taypikala in a quiet village, 20 mins. from Puno, on the shores of the large and  beautiful Lake Titicaca, 26th March: Early start. Breakfast included. Today we take a boat trip on beautiful Lake Titicaca to visit the amazing Uros reed islands, where people live and work.   We will then travel on to Teqeille Is. to explore and have lunch.  Tonight we spend at Hotel Taypikala. 27th March:  Breakfast included.   Today we prepare to leave Peru and, en route to the border we visit and explore the powerful ancient sacred site of the Aramu Muru Gateway.  This experience is often one of the most profound of the whole adventure. We spend the night at the Hotel Rosario del Lago, Copacabana, tel: 591- 2- 2451341 Fax: 591 2 2451991: www.hotelrosario.com/lago a quaint fishing village on the shores of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia.  28th March:  Breakfast included.  Today you will meet your beautiful Bolivian tour guide, RosseMary before we take a private boat to visit the Island of the Sun and spend the night with the local villagers.   This will be a memorable experience.  There are many ancient ruins on this island including a fascinating labyrinth and temple. There is much ancient history and mystery here.   29th March:  Breakfast included.   We travel by boat to the ancient sacred female temple on the Island of the Moon to experience the special energy of this place, a ceremony and meditation.  Return to Rossario Hotel at night. 30th March:  Breakfast included.  This will be a quiet day whereby you can explore Copacabana and the many sacred sites around the village. You might also like to shop here. Prices are ridiculously cheap.  Sharing and de-brief in the evening. 31st March:  Breakfast included. This morning we travel by bus to Tiahuanaco, one of the most ancient and remarkable sacred sites in the Andes.  There have been large teams of workers, under the guidance of archaeologists, excavating this site recently and much has been uncovered.  History will have to be re-written when the dig is complete.    We spend the night in the Europa Hotel, La Paz.   www.hoteleuropa.com.bo  ph.  (591-2)2315656  Fax: (591-2)2113930.   This is the final day of the adventure.                 TOUR ENDS. Included in the tour is full serviced transport and transfers, entrances to sacred sites and tour guide. Dinners in Cusco and Aquas Calientes are not included.  There are many restaurants in Cusco, some very good ones.  Gratuity tips for your tour guide and private bus driver are not included.   Please ensure you put aside a reasonable sum for this.   Peruvian Adventure – March 2009 TRAVELERS INFORMATION It would be wise to begin a regular exercise routine before you travel, starting as soon as possible. Serious power walking most mornings, especially up hills, will be exceedingly beneficial. Airport Transfers:  Lima: If you are staying overnight in Lima you will need to arrange your hotel accommodation and transfer from the airport to the hotel. The airport can be a very busy place although it is well controlled and policed.   After you have finished your customs and immigration preliminaries and have collected your luggage you will walk to the general meeting area.  Behind barricades and inside the building there will be masses of hawkers – one of them will have the name of your hotel on it (only if you have booked this transfer service beforehand).  If you have not, then choose a GREEN taxi, usually situated on the right hand side BEFORE you enter the general meeting area.   Hotels are mostly 45 – 60 mins away from the airport. Lima is on the coast.  From memory the cost of the transfer is around $US20-25. I suggest you book your hotel and transfer before you leave Australia. Cusco:  The flight from Lima to the ancient Inca capitol Cusco, situated high in the Andes only takes one hour. It is breathtakingly beautiful on a clear day.  You fly right beside the Andes.  Cusco is a small airport, yet can be busy.   When you have your luggage you will go outside the airport where you will see a barricade, possibly with ‘hawkers’ waiting for you.  There may not be many.  Look for your name, or mine, and Fredy or Teresa from Andes Journeys will greet you and take you to your hotel.  After you arrive at your Cusco hotel:  I suggest most strongly that you rest on your bed for at least one-two hours, practicing deep breathing.   Also drink the coca tea offered.  Both will aid your assimilation to the altitude, around 3,600 metres above sea level.   I drink a large amount of coca tea every day and do not suffer at all. You soon get used to the taste of the herbal tea. Most people do not have a problem.  The fitter you are the less likely you are to have altitude difficulties.  Your accommodation at the retreat in the Sacred Valley:  The mini-resort guesthouse where you will be staying for six nights is Wilka T’ika. It contains a lovingly built family home with many small and very comfortable mud-brick cabins situated in an amazing garden.  Its owner created this garden over a period of many years.  It is a haven and refuge. I’m sure you will like it. It is simple yet good quality. The food served is delicious vegetarian with most produce grown in the garden and lovingly cooked by local villagers.  It is situated in the Sacred Valley at a much lower altitude to Cusco.   Clothing: Being in the southern hemisphere and reasonably close to the equator March can be warm in the daytime. However, no matter what the season you will need a warm jacket for evening.  As soon as the sun sets it becomes cold.  You will also need good, strong walking/hiking boots or joggers and a few pairs of socks.  You will be climbing up and down many, many steps and hills.    All the sacred sites are carved into the sides of, or on top of, mountains!   You will need about six T-shirts, a jumper, warm jacket, maybe poncho or rain coat (ponchos can be bought very easily and cheaply). It would be wise to bring at least one spare pair of long trousers. Travel as LIGHTLY as you can.  I wear my boots in the plane, and carry my jacket.  You will probably want to buy heaps - especially alpaca garments and silver jewellery. We do not ‘dress up’! What else to bring: Sunscreen, flashlight, bum bag, camera and hat. Electrical Appliances: Australian electrical gear doesn’t work there so you will need to bring an adapter.   Food and Drink:  Do not drink the local water.  Use only bottled water, even to clean your teeth.   Eat only that which is cooked or can be peeled.   This is my guideline for all my adventures into foreign countries and I have never been sick. Currency: Bring only US dollars, cash preferably.   In the Sacred Valley there are no banks or ATMs.   ATM’s are available in Cusco and Aquas Calientes, the small village at the foothills of Machu Picchu. Banks in Cusco take a long, long time to change traveller’s cheques.  Queues can be a block long (outside the bank).  Not good!   Best not to go this way! There are plenty of moneychangers who will change US cash into local Peruvian currency.   PASSPORT INFORMATION It is a requirement of the Peruvian government that all travellers provide details of their passports to their hotels.  Therefore I will require from you passport details: name on passport, number of passport, nationality, place of issue and expiry date.  I will also require your exact flight details and time of arrival into Cusco.   Please provide these details to me ASAP.  Detail them on one piece of paper.  You can email the information to me: star@ashtara.com When in the city it is wise to carry your passport and airline tickets safely on your person, or leave them in a safety deposit box in the hotel. Take good care of them. If you want Andes Journeys to book you a hotel in Cusco please let me know. You will need to designate the amount of money you want to spend on a hotel (i.e. from $US60 to $US600 per night).