HomeExecutive Coaching NLP Training Professional Speaking Training Contribution Adventure PartnersBreakthrough Coaching
Firewalking Retreats Workshops News Keynotes Ecademy Request A Call Sign up to a Newsletter Contact Us

Peru Trek 2007 - The Ultimate Netwalk - Itinerary

Brought to you by the Academy of High Achievers Ltd, in association with:

Stretch Development Ltd logo Stretch Development Ltd and Across The Divide picture Across The Divide

Trek photo 1

The Following Outline Itinerary is subject to change and is meant as a guide only, to get your juices flowing!

This special itinerary has been specifically designed for this adventure and so is unique to this 2007 trip of a lifetime.

Our specialist travel partners for this adventure - Across the Divide - have created a unique route which only they have permission to use, away from the hustle and bustle of the main Inca Trail. They use a previously unknown valley where they have helped to rediscover otherwise neglected ruins, constructed toilets helping to promote better health, and community structures in villages that do not otherwise benefit from the monies generated by tourism. Their deliberate policy is to employ local horsemen, and to support local initiatives hand-in-hand with local community leaders.

Peru is considered one of the most fascinating tourist destinations in Latin America. Since 1990, after many years of economical and political crisis, Peru is back into the tourist market as a safe country and a "must" for those interested in adventure, history, landscapes, gastronomy, ecology and bio-diversity.

Everyone who visits Peru inevitably comes to Cusco, one of the most fascinating cities anywhere in the world. Cusco may have become famous as the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, but today it is equally famous among travellers as the "gringo capital" of South America.

Cusco is the ideal base from which to explore the Urumbaba Valley, or Sacred Valley of the Incas, as it is more commonly known, which runs west all the way to Machu Picchu and beyond.

peru photo

At the start of our challenge we will visit a Peruvian village (Patacancha), where we will work on a community project. Currently it seems highly likely that this will involve planting trees, making bricks, and helping with the local potato harvest. We have worked hard to arrnage a 'contribution' element to this adventure, where we contribute our efforts on a worthwhile community activity, giving us an opportunity to have an amazing experience of Peru and its people before we even get started on the trek itself. We have extended the trip from the originally planned 10 days to 12 days (at no extra cost to you, the paying adventurers) in order to accomodate this project. of course the project itself should be based on the needs of a community at the time of our trip, so confirmation of the actual project will only happen very close to the date of our adventure.

On our trek, the route takes us through hidden valleys, mountain passes, along long forgotten Inca trails, and through small villages where little has changed and they still follow traditional methods of farming. Our trek ends as we reach Machu Pichu by passing through the Sun Gate to view this stunning sacred city.

trekking photo

DAY 1 UK - PERU
You should arrive at London Gatwick at 6:30am latest. We board our international flight for Peru at 09:30am at Gatwick. On arrival in Lima (subject to flight schedule), we are met by the Expedition Leader and transferred by coach to our hotel in the city where our Expedition Leader will give an orientation briefing.
Transfer 45min

DAY 2 LIMA - CUSCO
We leave Lima for our flight to Cuzco. On arrival we transfer to our hotel, and after a full expedition briefing by our Expedition Leader, the rest of the day is free to explore Cusco and acclimatise to the high altitude. It is important to note that you will need to take things very easy to give your body time to acclimatize
Flight 55 min
Altitude 3,400m

Accomodation - Hotel

photo of girl in Peru

DAY 3 - 4 CUSCO – PATACANCHA PROJECT
A narrow dirt road takes us high into the Andes through the villages of Huilloc and Patacancha where we find meadows where llamas and alpacas roam amid a patchwork of cultivated fields. Here we can observe the native Quechua way of life where crops are sown and textiles woven with simple hand tools that have been in use for centuries. The local communities live in Inca canchas, enclosures of multi-family living quarters that share just one exit to the street, ingenious stonework, cobblestone streets, and an extensive communal water delivery system that survives to this day.

We are here for the two nights whilst we undertake project work. Currently it seems highly likely that this will involve tree planting, making bricks and helping with the local potato harvest.

Transfer 2 hours
Altitude 3780m
Camping

photo of peru camp

DAY 5 PATACANCHA – SOCMA
Today we drive to Soqma where our camp is set on a small village football pitch.

Transfer 2 hours
Altitude 3205m
Camping

photo of peru trek

DAY 6 SOCMA - CORMARCA
The morning walk is a relatively steep ascent, which we take very slowly. We climb past dramatic scenery and a waterfall to the Perol Nyoc ruins at 3,520m, rediscovered and cleared by the local ATD support team along with our Peru specialist Max Milligan. After lunch there is another steep, but short, climb to our camp at the Inca Terraces at Corimarca (3,740m). Participants should note that we are the first and only people permitted to camp at this hidden site.
Altitude 3740m
Camping

trekking photo

DAY 7 CORMARCA – ANGASCHOCHA SCHOOL
Today is the longest and hardest day of the challenge. With a very early start, we climb upwards over a long, steep, zigzagging route to Charca Huaylla Pass (4,395m). The climb then flattens out somewhat (although the route continues upwards) to the highest point of the trek at Chanca Chuco Pass (4,445m).
The views of snow peaks and the Sacred Valley below are absolutely spectacular. We then make a short descent to a much-needed tea and soup lunch. The afternoon will be long, as we walk on a rising and falling trail to a cliff path that then descends steeply to a stream crossing. A further 25-minute gentle climb will take us into our overnight camp at Angascocha School, where ATD has helped the local community by building small bridges. Again, participants should expect a cold night.
Altitude 3958m
Camping

peru photo

DAY 8 ANGASCHOCHA SCHOOL - CAMICANCHA
This day begins with a long, easy descent through a canyon into the orchid and humming bird habitat of Elfin Forest, following the line of the river as it descends towards the Sacred Valley. We stop for lunch at Balconcillo, a natural outcrop that forms a fantastic viewpoint (3,365m). After lunch we continue with an easy descent into the Sacred Valley and our overnight camp at Camicancha (2,960m). Participants can expect warmer temperatures from now on, with the potential for a fireside knees-up!
Altitude 2960m
Camping

photo of peru trek

DAY 9 CAMICANCHA - KILOMETER 82
Today we are able to have a later start and our walk follows the contours of the Sacred Valley. After a relatively short morning’s walk to a eucalyptus forest close to Chillca Bridge (2,888m) we have a picnic lunch, giving the group time to prepare skits for the following night’s gala evening. Our walk in the afternoon is relatively easy over undulating terrain. Our trail passes through Arid Montane habitat including Cactus forest and takes us to our lovely campsite at Piscaycucho ‘aka’ Kilometre 82 (2,736m).
Altitude 2736m
Camping

DAY 10 KILOMETER 82 – MACHU PICHU
After a short walk to the train station over the river bridge we board our train for the journey from Kilometre 82 to Kilometre 104, which will take 40 minutes. Following checkpoint formalities, we climb the Inca Trail to a waterfall and on to the ruins at Huina Huayna for a packed lunch. Passing through a second checkpoint by 3.30pm, we will then move on to Machu Picchu. Once we have admired the view from Sun Gate we descend into the viewpoint area in the ruins for a brief lecture. We then take a bus down to the town of Aguas Calientes and our hotel where we can shower and prepare for our Gala Dinner.
Hotel

Photo of Peru

DAY 11 MACHU PICHU - CUSCO
Today gives us a second chance to experience Machu Picchu. A dawn wake-up call is necessary however, if we are to be ready to catch the bus to Machu Picchu, to catch the sun as it rises above this most enigmatic of Incan sites. On arrival we are given a guided tour of the ruins. After this, we are free to explore at our leisure. We will then take the bus back down to the hotel for a buffet lunch before loading up our private train wagon to return to Cuzco. In the evening, we have a free night in Cuzco to visit the local pubs, restaurants and clubs.
An evening meal is not included
Hotel

peru photo - orchids

DAY 12 CUSCO – LIMA - UK
An early morning flight back to Lima will leave us with some time in Lima before our flight to the UK. In Lima, we are able to leave our bags with our local agent before having lunch and perhaps a last minute shop at the Indian Market or in the centre of Lima. We then catch the bus to the airport for our flight home.

DAY 13 ARRIVE BACK IN THE UK.
Flight due to arrive at Gatwick at 06:55am on 23rd June 2007.

Click here for detailed information about various aspects of the adventure

(We are an Agent for Across The Divide Ltd, ATOL Protected 6475)

Peru

It's the multiple layers of great civilisations that make Peru so intriguing. You can wander around colonial cities that have preserved the legacy of the Spanish conquistadors, visit the ancient Inca capital of Cuzco, explore the lost city of Machu Picchu and ponder the enigma of the Nazca Lines. It also has some of the most spectacular and varied scenery in South America. The Peruvian Andes are arguably the most beautiful on the continent and the mountains are home to millions of highland Indians, who still speak the ancient tongue of Quechua and maintain a traditional way of life.

Lonely Planet

Cuzco:

Cuzco means “navel” in Quechua, a Native American language, and referred to the city’s placement at the centre of the Incan Empire. The city was the capital of the Incan civilization from the beginning of the 14th century until it was raided by Francisco Pizarro and his fellow conquistadors in 1533. Although much of Cuzco was destroyed by an earthquake in 1950, its historic sites have been carefully restored. The city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

The Kingdom of Cuzco:

The forming of the Kingdom of Cuzco:

According Incan myth, the Sun sent his son, Manco Capac, and the Moon sent her daughter, Mama Ocllo, to spread culture and enlightenment throughout the dark, barbaric lands. They emerged from the waters of Lake Titicaca and began their journey in search of the place where they would form their kingdom. When they reached the present-day Cuzco, Manco plunged his golden staff into the ground in order to test its suitability, and it duly sank deep into the fertile land. This was the sign they were looking for to choose the capital of their empire. They named the spot Cuzco - meaning "navel of the earth".

Peru - Country Facts:
Area: 1,285,220 sq km (496,225 sq miles)
Population: 27.148 million (July 2004 estimate)
Capital City: Lima (population: 8.27 million in metropolitan area)
People: 54% Indian, 32% Mestizo (mixed European and Indian descent), 12% Spanish descent, 2% other
Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara and a number of minor Amazonian languages
Religion(s): Over 90% Roman Catholic, small Protestant population

Source: Foreign & Commonwealth Office; CIA World Fact book

Peru - Geography:
Peru is located in Western South America bordering the Pacific Ocean between Chile and Ecuador. Bolivia (a 900km border), Brazil (1,560km) and Chile (160km) are located to the south and east and Ecuador (1,420km) and Colombia (1,496km) to the north. The whole of the western coast is desert with little rain. From this coastal shelf, the Andes rise steeply to a high Sierra studded with groups of mountains and deep canyons. East of these mountains lies the vast jungle of the Amazon basin. The capital, Lima, to the west is the sprawling hub of the country.

Machu Picchu:
The ruins of Machu Picchu, rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, are one of the most beautiful and enigmatic ancient sites in the world. While the Inca people certainly used the Andean mountain top (9060 feet elevation), erecting many hundreds of stone structures from the early 1400's, legends and myths indicate that Machu Picchu was revered as a sacred place from a far earlier time. Whatever its origins, the Inca turned the site into a small but extraordinary city. Invisible from below and completely self-contained, surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed the population, and watered by natural springs, Machu Picchu seems to have been utilized by the Inca as a secret ceremonial city. Two thousand feet above the rumbling Urubamba river, the cloud shrouded ruins have palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and some 150 houses, all in a remarkable state of preservation. These structures, carved from the gray granite of the mountain top are wonders of both architectural and aesthetic genius. Many of the building blocks weigh 50 tons or more yet are so precisely sculpted and fitted together with such exactitude that the mortarless joints will not permit the insertion of even a thin knife blade. Little is known of the social or religious use of the site during Inca times. The skeletal remains of ten females to one male had led to the casual assumption that the site may have been a sanctuary for the training of priestesses and /or brides for the Inca nobility. However, subsequent osteological examination of the bones revealed an equal number of male bones, thereby indicating that Machu Picchu was not exclusively a temple or dwelling place of women.

One of Machu Picchu's primary functions was that of astronomical observatory. The Intihuatana stone (meaning 'Hitching Post of the Sun') has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes and other significant celestial periods. The Intihuatana (also called the Saywa or Sukhanka stone) is designed to hitch the sun at the two equinoxes, not at the solstice (as is stated in some tourist literature and new-age books). At midday on March 21st and September 21st, the sun stands almost directly above the pillar, creating no shadow at all. At this precise moment the sun "sits with all his might upon the pillar" and is for a moment "tied" to the rock. At these periods, the Incas held ceremonies at the stone in which they "tied the sun" to halt its northward movement in the sky. There is also an Intihuatana alignment with the December solstice (the summer solstice of the southern hemisphere), when at sunset the sun sinks behind Pumasillo (the Puma's claw), the most sacred mountain of the western Vilcabamba range, but the shrine itself is primarily equinoctial.

Shamanic legends say that when sensitive persons touch their foreheads to the stone, the Intihuatana opens one's vision to the spirit world (the author had such an experience, which is described in detail in Chapter one of Places of Peace and Power, on the web site, www.sacredsites.com). Intihuatana stones were the supremely sacred objects of the Inca people and were systematically searched for and destroyed by the Spaniards. When the Intihuatana stone was broken at an Inca shrine, the Inca believed that the deities of the place died or departed. The Spaniards never found Machu Picchu, even though they suspected its existence, thus the Intihuatana stone and its resident spirits remain in their original position. The mountain top sanctuary fell into disuse and was abandoned some forty years after the Spanish took Cuzco in 1533. Supply lines linking the many Inca social centers were disrupted and the great empire came to an end. The photograph shows the ruins of Machu Picchu in the foreground with the sacred peak of Huayna Picchu towering behind. Partway down the northern side of Huayna Picchu is the so-called "Temple of the Moon" inside a cavern. As with the ruins of Machu Picchu, there is no archaeological or iconographical evidence to substantiate the 'new-age' assumption that this cave was a goddess site.

Huayna Picchu:

Huayna Picchu is the peak that you typically see towering over the Machu Picchu ruins in most photographs. Machu Picchu means “Old Mountain” in Quechuan, while Huayna Picchu means “New” or “Young” Mountain.

Did you know…
• Paddington Bear is from 'deepest darkest Peru'.
• Peru is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world, containing 83 of a possible 103 types of ecological zone.
• The remains of the largest adobe city in the world are located at Chan Chan in northern Peru.
• The area around Nasca, famous for its geometric lines, is also home to the highest sand dune in the world (2,078m).
• The Colca Canyon in southern Peru is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.

Peru - Public holidays:
Unless otherwise advised, the public holidays in Peru remain the same every year. If any of the public holidays listed below falls on Saturdays or Sundays then the public holiday would be effected from the following Monday etc.

January 1st – New Year’s Day
February / March – Carnival – particularly popular in the highlands and features huge water fights
March / April – Easter Weekend as per calendar dates.
May 1st – Labour Day
June 24th – Inti Raymi – the greatest of the Inca festivals with spectacular dances and parades
July 28th – Independence Day
October 8th - Battle of Angamos
November 1st – All Saints Day - celebrated with gifts of food, drink and flowers taken to family graves
December 12th – Immaculate Conception
December 25th – Christmas Day

Email: info@aha-success.com | Call: +44 (0)845 373 4028