Family adventure in Peru, Andes & Incas
| country: | Peru |
| departures: | 2010: 4 Apr, 25 Jul, 1 Aug, 8 Aug 2011: 10 Apr, 24 Jul, 7 Aug |
| price: | From £2124 - £2489 (15 days) per adult and from £1964 - £2329 per child including flights from UK, from £1220 - £1273 excluding flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
A great discovery trip, exploring the arid highlands around Arequipa, Lake Titicaca with its famous 'floating islands', the Inca city of Cusco and Peru's greatest site of all: Machu Picchu, the 'Lost City of the Incas'.
Arequipa & Lake Titicaca
After exploring Peru's vibrant capital Lima, we fly south-west to Arequipa, an attractive Andean town backing against the peaks of the Cordillera Volcanica. Arequipa stands at the foot of El Misti volcano (5842m), with its perfect snow-capped cone, and many of its buildings are made with a pearly volcanic rock.
This is the heart of Peru's alpaca wool business and we hope to pay a visit to a farm and get up close to these wooly four-legged beasts! Moving on to Sacred Lake Titicaca (3856m), the highest navigable inland 'sea' on earth, we'll take a boat out to the 'floating' Uros Islands: these are made entirely of reeds, and their inhabitants fish, hunt birds and live off the lake plants.
Cusco - the navel of the universe
We then drive across the high Altiplano, where bowler-hatted Indians graze flocks of llamas. In Cusco, the Inca 'Navel of the Universe', we'll visit Sacsayhuaman fortress. Built to defend the Inca capital, Sacsayhuaman sits high above the town; its imposing stone walls took 20,000 workers 90 years to finish. We'll also visit one of Latin America's most famous and lively markets - Pisac, with its huge and varied collection of multi-coloured beads.
Machu Picchu - the lost city
Our highlight is a trip by train to the amazing ruins of Machu Picchu, which lie on the saddle of a mountain and hang on the clouds like an eagle's nest. The site was rediscovered in 1911, 400 years after it was abandoned, and remains shrouded in mystery. Nobody knows why it was built or why it was suddenly abandoned (drought, fire, disease or the advancing Spanish conquistadores?). There's a chance to follow part of the legendary Inca Trail here, or to try some whitewater rafting through the Urubamba valley below.
Arequipa & Lake Titicaca
After exploring Peru's vibrant capital Lima, we fly south-west to Arequipa, an attractive Andean town backing against the peaks of the Cordillera Volcanica. Arequipa stands at the foot of El Misti volcano (5842m), with its perfect snow-capped cone, and many of its buildings are made with a pearly volcanic rock.
This is the heart of Peru's alpaca wool business and we hope to pay a visit to a farm and get up close to these wooly four-legged beasts! Moving on to Sacred Lake Titicaca (3856m), the highest navigable inland 'sea' on earth, we'll take a boat out to the 'floating' Uros Islands: these are made entirely of reeds, and their inhabitants fish, hunt birds and live off the lake plants.
Cusco - the navel of the universe
We then drive across the high Altiplano, where bowler-hatted Indians graze flocks of llamas. In Cusco, the Inca 'Navel of the Universe', we'll visit Sacsayhuaman fortress. Built to defend the Inca capital, Sacsayhuaman sits high above the town; its imposing stone walls took 20,000 workers 90 years to finish. We'll also visit one of Latin America's most famous and lively markets - Pisac, with its huge and varied collection of multi-coloured beads.
Machu Picchu - the lost city
Our highlight is a trip by train to the amazing ruins of Machu Picchu, which lie on the saddle of a mountain and hang on the clouds like an eagle's nest. The site was rediscovered in 1911, 400 years after it was abandoned, and remains shrouded in mystery. Nobody knows why it was built or why it was suddenly abandoned (drought, fire, disease or the advancing Spanish conquistadores?). There's a chance to follow part of the legendary Inca Trail here, or to try some whitewater rafting through the Urubamba valley below.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly London/Lima |
| Day 2: | In Lima; walking tour, visit Gold Museum |
| Day 3: | Fly Arequipa |
| Day 4: | In Arequipa; visit Santa Catalina Convent |
| Day 5: | Drive across Altiplano via Sillustani to Puno |
| Day 6: | In Puno; boat to the Floating Islands |
| Day 7: | Train to Cusco |
| Day 8: | Visit Pisac market and walking tour of Cusco |
| Day 9: | In Cusco; visit fortress of Sacsayhuaman |
| Day 10: | Train to Machu Picchu, explore site |
| Day 11: | At Machu Picchu; optional walk to Winay Wayna; train and bus to Cusco |
| Day 12: | In Cusco, optional whitewater rafting |
| Day 13: | Fly Lima |
| Day 14: | Fly London |
| Day 15: | Arrive London |
small group family holiday
This is a 'small group family adventure' - typically you will join several other families and travel in a group of approx. 16 people. The trips are great value and a great way for you and your children to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of time to yourselves. Most adventure kids tend to be aged between 7 and 15, but some are younger (minimum age is usually 5) and some older (perhaps travelling as part of a larger family group). Please check with the operator to confirm the minimum age for this trip award winner
This tourism business won an Award in our 2008 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market, Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society and BBC World News.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
|
This family adventure tour presents the perfect opportunity to explore the colourful culture of Peru, both ancient and modern. Central to this is getting closer to the local people and learning about their lifestyles, as on our excursion to the ‘floating’ Uros Islands of Lake Titicaca.
Travelling at times by train is not only fun and environmentally friendly but also a great way to blend with the community. We stay in locally run hotels, eat in local restaurants and use local operators to run our optional excursions, thus ensuring that money gets ploughed back into the community. We are involved in educational projects for people of the tiny remote village of Mismanay, home to many of our Inca Trail porters the Treks, and has helped to fund a community hall for the villagers. We have also supported the work of SOS Children’s Villages in Peru who provide a home for orphaned children. Our Tour Leaders are all trained by us in the importance of responsible tourism with guidance given on how they can make a difference. This then percolates down through those they deal with. As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |