Peru
Peru is an inspiring destination, with layer upon layer of great historical civilisations; diverse flora and fauna and extremes of geography, climate and landscapes.
Within its borders lie parts of the earth’s largest rain forest, the world’s driest desert and a large portion of the planet’s highest mountain range outside the Himalaya. Let’s not forget Peru’s coastline, no less impressive the waters around Peru hold a thousand times more food than can be found in the average ocean. Because it is a land of such extremes, Peru has an immense and varied range of wildlife; 20 of the planet’s 34 life zones are in Peru, more than in any other country in the world.
We take you to the ancient Inca capital of Cusco, where the conquering Spanish conquistadors made use of the Inca’s expert building techniques and re-used many of their stones, some weighing up to a ton as the foundations for their own buildings, these stones and the buildings they support are still evident today. With a map it is also possible to clearly identify the sleeping panther in whose image the Inca’s built their city. As part of our acclimatisation to the altitude, we spend time visiting some of the many fascinating Inca sites around the city such as Tambomachay, Qenqo and Sacsayhuaman where each year the incredible spectacle of the Fiesta del Sol is re-enacted to celebrate the arrival of Inti Raymi (the new sun). Along the Sacred Valley of the Incas lie the ancient fortress of Ollantaytambo, now a living Inca city and the village of Pisac at the head of the Vilcanota mountain range, famous for it’s market, Inca terraces and ancient astronomical observatory.
