Gap year expedition and volunteer project in Peru and Bolivia
| country: | Bolivia, Peru |
| departures: | 2010: 16 Sep, 14 Oct, 11 Nov, 9 Dec |
| price: | From £2110 (7 weeks) excluding flights. Local payment £175. Price includes all accommodation, food, transport, project donation and listed activities |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Gap year expedition and volunteer project in Peru and Bolivia
A once in a lifetime exploration of Peru. This unforgettable adventure gets under the skin of the cultures we encounter, we seek to genuinely understand the areas we visit and the part we play in them.
Peru is a country you must experience if you want to comprehend exactly what makes it such a colourful yet profound part of the world. This 7 week adventure takes you off the beaten track to communities high in the Andes mountains, the alternative less touristy route to Machu Picchu and the friendly island people of Amantani on Lake Titicaca.
For the first 2 weeks of your adventure we are based in Cusco for Spanish lessons, mountain biking and Inca ruins. In small groups we live with local families and enjoy their friendly hospitality. Weekends are free to mountain bike, white-water raft or enjoy the natural hot springs of the Sacred Valley. After adjusting to Peru and its people we head high into the Andes Mountains to join the Quechua people in their ongoing fight to conserve the rare indigenous polylepis tree. Get involved with a reforestation scheme or help to build a community centre for the village. After saying goodbye to our new friends we return to Cusco to prepare for our trek to magical Machu Picchu.
We trek through stunning Andean landscapes keeping an eye out for the endangered Condor before reaching this famous lost city in time for champagne and sunrise. Other areas in this region have become popular with hordes of trekkers, so we’re careful to take a different route to this wonder of the world. Next, you’ll sail across Lake Titicaca into Bolivia and experience life on the ancient floating reed-islands where the modern people of Lake Titicaca still live. You’ll round off your trip with a visit to the highest capital city in the world, La Paz, where amongst other activities, you can explore a voodoo market.
Peru is a country you must experience if you want to comprehend exactly what makes it such a colourful yet profound part of the world. This 7 week adventure takes you off the beaten track to communities high in the Andes mountains, the alternative less touristy route to Machu Picchu and the friendly island people of Amantani on Lake Titicaca.
For the first 2 weeks of your adventure we are based in Cusco for Spanish lessons, mountain biking and Inca ruins. In small groups we live with local families and enjoy their friendly hospitality. Weekends are free to mountain bike, white-water raft or enjoy the natural hot springs of the Sacred Valley. After adjusting to Peru and its people we head high into the Andes Mountains to join the Quechua people in their ongoing fight to conserve the rare indigenous polylepis tree. Get involved with a reforestation scheme or help to build a community centre for the village. After saying goodbye to our new friends we return to Cusco to prepare for our trek to magical Machu Picchu.
We trek through stunning Andean landscapes keeping an eye out for the endangered Condor before reaching this famous lost city in time for champagne and sunrise. Other areas in this region have become popular with hordes of trekkers, so we’re careful to take a different route to this wonder of the world. Next, you’ll sail across Lake Titicaca into Bolivia and experience life on the ancient floating reed-islands where the modern people of Lake Titicaca still live. You’ll round off your trip with a visit to the highest capital city in the world, La Paz, where amongst other activities, you can explore a voodoo market.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Lima. Arrive in Lima, you will be picked up from the airport and transferred to our friendly accommodation in central Lima. Why not join our group flight option! |
| Day 2-3: | Cusco. You will fly from Lima to the ancient Inca city of Cusco to begin the first phase of your adventure. For the duration of your stay in Cusco you will be staying with other members of the group in comfortable family accommodation. Food consists of traditional meals cooked by your host family. |
| Day 4-8: | Language School. Our Spanish school is based in central Cusco and the fees we pay to the school subsidise the local children’s English lessons. In the mornings we split into small groups each with its own local language teacher, so whether you’re a complete beginner or already fluent there will be ample opportunity to develop you Spanish skills. Lessons are rather informal, with an emphasis on speaking Spanish as much as possible: just “having a go” all the time is far more important than constructing perfect verb endings! The afternoons are free to join the Amigos street children project. This gives you a great chance to try out your Spanish on the kids, whilst helping them to learn English – a crucial skill if they are to gain employment in the future. |
| Day 9-10: | Sacred Valley. After your first week learning Spanish you have the opportunity to visit the stunning Sacred Valley. We organise mountain biking, white-water rafting or horse riding. We also visit the ancient Inca village of Olyanatambo and explore its narrow cobbled streets |
| Day 11-15: | Language School. Your Spanish lessons continue as your first week. |
| Day 16-35: | Volunteer Project. We relocate from Cusco to our aid project. Our project partner is ECOAN, a Peruvian NGO that conducts research, conservation and community development activities in the high Andean region at Cordillera Vilcabamba, above the Sacred Valley of the Incas. It is staffed by local Scientists, several of whom have been trained in the USA. The aims of the project are: You may be required to build community centres (salon communals), replant areas of forest, conduct wildlife surveys or educate street children. Accommodation on the project is in comfortable tents. This is a remote site living with the Quechua community (the modern Inca people). Facilities are basic and living conditions are rather wild but the opportunity of sharing life with a community very different from our own is unique. |
| Day 36-37: | Cusco. Return to Cusco and relax with a few drinks, a warm shower and a massage. |
| Day 38-42: | Trek to Machu Picchu. Fully rested after a week in Cusco, we drive out to the picturesque colonial village of Limatambo from where we start our final challenge; a four-day trek that starts at the Inca ruins at Tarahuasi and winds through deepest, darkest Peru to Machu Picchu. Like the "Inka Naani" trek this is an entirely self-supporting trek. Building on the skills we have developed during the expedition, this trek is achievable by anybody with a reasonable level of fitness and a willing attitude. Salkantay (6,271m) is one of the highest mountains in the region and its snowy slopes gleam in the intense Andean sunshine. With such an inspiring landscape (and a good dose of adrenaline!) our hike up to the 4,600m pass is an enjoyable challenge (honestly!) Passing beneath Salkantay peak we'll discover remote mountain communities and witness the biodiversity of this hidden corner of the Andes. Every journey is a cultural experience as well a physical challenge and the Salkantay trek adds a unique ingredient to the mix, The Gods! Salkantay is a sacred mountain and it's considered to be the "Guardian Spirit of the Jungle" by the local inhabitants; they frequently make small offerings to the "apus" or mountain spirits, for a safe trip and good fortune. Suitably blessed, we finally arrive at Machu Picchu! The famous lost city of the Incas is one of the most magical and mysterious places on Earth. Situated on the spine of a jungle-cloaked granite peak towering 600 meters above an entrenched meander of the roaring river below, the site is frequently shrouded in misty clouds, pierced by the powerful equatorial sun. Constructed from precisely-sculptured granite blocks the site may well be the finest architectural achievement of the new world. We have a full morning to explore the site and climb the peak of Huayna Picchu for a condor's eye view of the citadel. |
| Day 43-44: | Cusco. We return once more to Cusco for some celebratory food and drinks. |
| Day 45-46: | Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is the world's highest navigable lake and we board reed-boats to explore this mythical inland sea. Legend has it the Inca sun god's children rose from this lake to found Cusco and the Inca dynasty. We will see how the Uros people live on their floating islands where they retain a traditional lifestyle; fishing, hunting birds and living off the lakes plants, most important of which are the reeds they use for their boats, houses and the very foundations of their islands. Staying on the lake we spend a night living with the Aymara people on Amantani island. The tranquillity of life on the islands (no cars and no dogs are strict rules!) allows us a chance to gain a true insight into the way of life of Peru's oldest nation. |
| Day 47-48: | La Paz. La Paz is famous for its street markets and browsing through the stalls you'll find everything from widgets to witchcraft - yes, witchcraft! If you've never been to a witchcraft market then La Paz is your chance. Potions for every ailment from the common cold to a faltering love life are on offer and the dried llama foetus on sale will provide eternal good luck when buried in the foundations of a new house! |
how this holiday makes a difference
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Environment
This venture supports the Ecoan Project. Project Aims: To conserve the remaining Polylepis forest through community development activities and to reforest selected areas with new Polylepis groves ECOAN are a specialist organisation, based in Peru. Their resources are limited but their connection to local communities is strong and their dialogue is on-going. We are able to mount about four expeditions a year to support this project and the funds we bring with us help to fund ECOAN during times of the year when we are not there. Local people have a stake in this project because they help with the re-planting as well as hosting the travellers and making on-going use of the salon communal. They protect young trees throughout the year and the children gather seedlings throughout the year which they can redeem against toys, throughout the year. Most sustainable of all is the conservation lesson that the children are part of. Caring for the environment is best taught to youngsters, so that as they grow up, living responsibly and sustainably become second nature. This is a long term goal, but the most important objective of all. Back in the UK we also have our own environmental policy and we believe this is where responsible travel should start, prior to departure. It is simple things that help and perhaps the biggest impact in the office comes from recycling paper, as a rule where possible we print on both sides of paper and it is not until it is completely beyond use that we then send it to be recycled. Community As well as our guides you are also accompanied by local guides and project partners. Groups are kept to a maximum of sixteen people, big enough to help the local communities, but not big enough to have a negative affect themselves. All our development projects have been carefully chosen to satisfy several criteria. They are of definable and sustainable benefit to the indigenous community and allow us the opportunity to work in tandem with the host community. Funding for the projects comes directly from the our Trust. For each person that joins us, we, as a company, give at least US $400 (GB £215) to the Trust. 100% of the money the Trust receives is spent on the projects. All development projects are over-seen by a resident Project Manager whose role is to co-ordinate the adventures, the funding and the project's objectives. We are committed to direct patronage within the local economies of the countries in which we operate. We pay local tutors to teach languages; accommodation throughout the adventure is in locally owned hostels or based in the project locations; and the entire expedition budget will be spent by the team at local "grass roots" level. |
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. |
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