12 Day Cusco to Lima-Inca Trail & Lake Titicaca tour
Highlights
Cusco | Sacred Valley | Urubamba | trek the Inca trail with train back down | options to add in train travel up | alternative treks possible ending in Aguas Calientes | Lake Titicaca | visit Uros Indians and floating islands | homestay on Amantani or Taquile | Lima | small group travelDescription of 12 Day Cusco to Lima-Inca Trail & Lake Titicaca tour
An exciting 12-day small group adventure, travelling from Cusco to Lima with a local, Peruvian guide. Spend four days trekking the Inca trail, exploring the ruins of Machu Picchu at the top before returning by train. Visit the Uros Indians and floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca, with an overnight homestay here the perfect opportunity to learn more the traditional lifestyle of the Andean people and their customs.Your trip begins in Cusco, a colonial city packed with churches and museums built on top of original Inca stone walls, and opt to take a day’s tour of the Sacred Valley and the small town of Urubamba, discovering temples, terraces, local communities and markets as you follow the Urubamba River through the ancient valley.
When it comes to trekking to Machu Picchu, there are lots of options. Hike the entire trail, with full porterage, or take a shorter hike, travelling by train part of the way to Machu Picchu. There are alternative treks that you might prefer, too, to the Salkantay or Lares with the last night in Aguas Calientes.
Other highlights include the option to go white water rafting on the Urabamba River and free time to relax in Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, soaking up its rich Andean culture. You’ll end your trip by flying to Lima, where the tour finishes, but feel free to extend your stay so you have time to explore, too – your tour leader can arrange extra nights.
Travel is a mixture of private transport and public buses and trains. Using public transport when possible avoids the emissions of another vehicle on the road and is also a great way to meet local people, for a more authentic travel experience.
Travel Team
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Responsible tourism
12 Day Cusco to Lima-Inca Trail & Lake Titicaca tour
Carbon reduction
Your holiday will help support local people and conservation. We must also reduce CO2. Learn about the CO2 emissions of this holiday and how to reduce them.
Environment
Suppliers- On this trip we work with local suppliers that share our environmental values. Our local partner that runs our Inca Trail Trek for example, has a strong commitment to the local environment and to looking after their guides and porters. Many of the porters and guides have to travel in from outlying areas and as such the Company have built a house for them to stay in pre and post Inca Trail so they are not having to travel long distances before and after the trek.
Transport-travel during this trip will be a mixture of private transport and public buses and trains. We prefer to use public transport when possible to avoid the emissions of another vehicle on the road and to enable greater interaction with local people and a generally more authentic travel experience!
Our homestay with the local community at Lake Titicaca helps the community support their traditional way of life, living in harmony with the local environment, for example their use of reeds as a building material.
Community
Our aim on this trip is to put as much of the trip costs directly back into the local Peruvian community and economy as possible. All the hotels and hostels we use are small, family-run three star establishments. The restaurants and cafes we use are all locally run Peruvian establishments. We do not use large international chains. Our trips are led by local Peruvian guides, generally by Ricardo, who has been working with us for a number of years.
One of the highlights of this trip is obviously trekking the Inca Trails to Machu Picchu. This trek offers opportunities of employment to large numbers of the local community. Porters, cooks and guides are required. However, much of this employment is poorly paid and working conditions are not good. The local company we use to organise our trails has a commitment to the welfare of their porters-providing them with a professional wage and health insurance.
Our stay at Lake Titicaca also helps to support local communities financially directly -as we pay them directly for our homestay.
Your Tour Leader will tell you the best places to buy local crafts-from alpaca socks to silver jewellery! They share our enthusiasm for supporting local artisans and skills! Our Tour Leader is a native Peruvian, so is ideally placed to help explain the local culture and teach you a bit of Spanish. There is also an opportunity to attend a local language school before your trip starts-the more you can communicate with local communities the more you will get out of your trip!
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