Travelmood - Family Adventures

Andes & Incas

14 Days Andes & Incas
Peru - Highlands, Lakes and Ancient Civilisations

Introduction
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 woolly 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 temple 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.

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