DAY – 1  ARRIVAL IN LIMA

Welcome to Lima. Upon landing at Lima Jorge Chavez International Airport clear Immigration and Customs, you will be walked to your hotel located inside the airport perimeter.

 

Hotel accommodation: Costa del Sol Wyndham Hotel – Standard room. 

 

DAY 2 – June 9 IMA / CUSCO – SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS

Rural Community Visit- Meet With Local Shaman

Suggested flight to Cusco: Star Peru 1181 – Departure Lima 8:05 am / Arrive Cusco 9:15 am.

 

You will be picked up from your hotel to start your journey towards the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Visit Awanacancha, a museum committed to show the traditional methods and ancestral weaving techniques of camelid wool, practiced by the farming communities in the area. There you can watch a demonstration of textiles and textile products. Continue to the Pisac market, where the main town square is daily filled with dozens of stands that display and sell products created by the residents of the area. Find beautiful alpaca textiles, musical instruments, paintings, carvings, necklaces and replicas of ancient Inca pieces.  

 

After the visit, you will be taken to a local restaurant for lunch.

 

This afternoon, a very special event takes place. You will visit with local women in the rural community of Huilloc for a hands-on lesson on traditional garment weaving.  They will share their stories of life in Peru and their village as well as demonstrate their age old tradition of garment weaving.

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Complement the experience of visiting the highlands in the company of a shaman, a master who has deep knowledge of the mysticism of the Andes. The shaman performs a ´payment to the earth´ ceremony, coca leaf reading or both, during the visit that is carried out. The coca leaf reading can also be done at the hotel in the Sacred Valley. Get closer to the Andean spirit with the help of the shaman through these millenary traditions, who will explain more about the ancient rituals of the Andes and Incas medicine and death/dying.

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Let us pamper you! Later this evening you will enjoy a 30-minute reflexology treatment at the hotel’s spa. The theory behind reflexology is that these reflex points relate to specific organs and glands in the body, and stimulating those points with finger pressure promotes health in those organs and glands via the body's energetic pathways.

When done by a skilled practitioner, reflexology is a deeply relaxing treatment with benefits that can be felt throughout the body. Enjoy!

 

Hotel accommodation: Aranwa Sacred Valley Hotel - Deluxe Room. (B,L)

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DAY 3 - SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS- Shaman 

Experience a Holistic Center- Healing Traditions With Local Shaman.

This morning you will be transferred to a Holistic retreat center where you will take a 1-hour Yoga lesson which will include relaxing live music to improve the experience. We suggest you to have a light breakfast, wear comfortable clothes and bring a towel. The mats will be provided to you at the Holistic retreat center. After this activity, we will drive you to a local restaurant for lunch. 

 

Afternoon visit with a local shaman to learn about healing traditions as well as death and dying rituals. 

 

Visit the Inkariy museum, which presents a new vision of the pre-Hispanic cultures of ancient Peru through dioramas that recreate iconic scenes composed of hyper realistic characters, reflecting the native man with the clothing and ornamentation specific to each era. 

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Hotel accommodation: Aranwa Sacred Valley Hotel - Deluxe room. (B,L)

 

Important:
   •    This evening you will need to pack a small bag for your rail journey tomorrow.  For all Peru rail journeys, each passenger is allowed 1 bag or backpack which must not exceed 5kg/11pounds and/or 62 inches/157cm (length + height + width).  Please pack light.  Baggage that exceeds these measurements will not be allowed.  Your additional luggage will be taken to Cusco city and stored at your hotel; you will retrieve your luggage upon your arrival on Day 5.

 

 

DAY 4  - SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS

Experience Reiki

This morning you will be transferred to a Holistic retreat center where you will take a 50-minute Reiki session. We suggest you to have a light breakfast and wear comfortable clothes and bring a towel. The practice of Reiki is the channeling of Universal or spiritual energy through the laying on of hands to harmonize body, mind and spirit. Its use may be for specific ailments or to improve the harmony within ourselves.

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After this activity, we will drive you to a local restaurant for early lunch. 

Then, you will be transferred to the Ollantaytambo Park with a series of stops at places of interest. The town of Ollantaytambo is a typical example of urban planning of the Incas still inhabited like in the past. Pachacutec (1438 - 1572) conquered the town, destroyed it and built a new one absorbing it as part of his empire, and it has one of the most remarkable archaeological sites of the empire. Continue to the Ollantaytambo train station to board the 4:36 pm Executive train by Inca Rail to Aguas Calientes. On arrival, proceed to your hotel for check in and dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.

 

Hotel accommodation: Inkaterra Pueblo Hotel - Superior Room. (B,l, D)

 

 

DAY 5  SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS - MACHU PICCHU – CUSCO

Meditate at Machu Picchu

Early this morning we will pick you up at the lobby of the hotel and will walk you to the bus station. Take a 25-minute public shuttle-bus ride to Machu Picchu, "The Lost City of the Incas", discovered by American explorer Hiram Bingham in 1911. Machu Picchu, now recognized as a member of the new 7 Wonders of the World.

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Once you arrive to the top, you will meet your guide and enjoy a private guided tour of the fabled ruins. Machu Picchu rises to an altitude of 7,900 feet above sea level between the Huayna Picchu (young peak) and Machu Picchu (old peak). It lies within the spectacular framework provided by the exuberant vegetation of nearby jungle and the rugged landscape. The ruins are situated on the eastern slope of Machu Picchu in two different areas: the agricultural and the urban. The latter includes the civil sector (dwellings, canalizations), and the sacred sector (temples, mausoleums, squares, royal houses). Although constructions show different levels of architecture, religious buildings exhibit a high degree of perfection. The construction was with general use of stone, and the roofs were built of tree trunks and thatched with ichu straw. The walls were made with an inward inclination for protection against earthquakes.

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Later, enjoy lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge’s restaurant. After lunch, descend by shuttle back to Aguas Calientes with your guide and walk to the train station. Board the 2:30 pm Executive train by Inca Rail back to Ollantaytambo Station in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. On arrival, you are transferred by road to Cusco city. Check in at your selected hotel.

 

Hotel accommodation: Belmond Monasterio - Deluxe Room. (B,L)

 

 

DAY 6  CUSCO

Visit with Healing Community -Coco Kintu Ceremony 

This morning you will start with a visit to the Coricancha, also known as the "Temple of the Sun" (or "Premises of the Gilded One"), the construction of which was ordered by Inca Pachacútec (1438-1471) and was used as base for the construction of the Santo Domingo Convent upon the arrival of the Spaniards. This is when the Sun (Inti, in Quechua) was worshipped during the Inca Empire and at the time of the Incas its walls were fully covered with gold sheets and its courtyards were planted with golden corn and life-size llamas. You will then go to the Cathedral, the most important building on the Main Square and one of the most splendid Spanish colonial churches in America, which is shaped as a Latin Cross and houses about 400 colonial paintings from the Cusco art school, and impressive goldsmith, silversmith and precious stones works. You will then visit the Sacsayhuaman fortress, en emblematic work of the Incas, which protected the Holy City. Conceived and built by Inca Pachacútec in the 15th century, The Sacsayhuamán complex was built with megalithic blocks, which transportation and construction continue to be a mystery.

This afternoon you will meet with local medical practitioners to learn about the juxtaposition of traditional and modern medical systems in Peru.  

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Your guide will carry out the Coca Kintu ceremony, to ask good wishes to the Pachamama and to show gratitude for her protection during the trip. At the end, you will return to your hotel.

 
Later you will be transferred to Tunupa restaurant, where you will enjoy a delicious farewell dinner including a Folkloric dance show.

 

Hotel accommodation: Belmond Monasterio - Deluxe Room. (B,D)

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DAY 7  Culinary and Healing Focused Day

Today we will explore the magic of food. Visit a local market to learn about the Peruvian food traditions.    Enjoy a cooking class with a local chef. 

Hotel accommodation: Belmond Monasterio - Deluxe Room. (B,L)

 

Day 8  June 15 DEPARTURE From CUSCO

A transportation service with a guide will pick you up from your hotel at the established time and transfer you to the airport.

Suggested flight to Lima: Star Peru 1182 – Departure Cusco 12:55 am / Arrive Lima 2:15 pm* 

We look forward to welcoming you back on another Learning Journeys immersion. Perhaps you’re interested in visiting India to experience the diverse spiritual essence of the land. Maybe a visit Bhutan to learn about their Gross National Happiness, or to enjoy a cultural immersion in Sri Lanka. Whatever your interest, Learning Journeys can assist you with finding the perfect program to fulfil your dreams.