PERU ADVENTURE COMMUNITY PROJECT WITH PERU'S CHALLENGE AND TOURS TO SURROUNDING AREAS. Dates: Monday, June 6 - Friday, June 17, 2016

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1 PERU ADVENTURE COMMUNITY PROJECT WITH PERU'S CHALLENGE AND TOURS TO SURROUNDING AREAS. Dates: Monday, June 6 - Friday, June 17, 2016 INCLUSIONS: - All meals as mentioned in the itinerary. - All transfers as mentioned in the itinerary. - Unless otherwise stated, all accommodation is of a 3 to 4* rating with private bathroom and includes breakfast and service taxes. - Volunteer Manager for community project that speaks Spanish and English. - Professional registered guides for cultural tours that speaks Spanish and English. - All entry fees into cultural sites. NOT - INCLUDED: Flight to and from Cusco Laundry expenses ($2.00 per kilo for 24 hour service) and items of a personal nature. Any additional meals not mentioned in the itinerary, personal expenses. Optional tours or activities during free time (can be arranged for an additional cost) Optional tips for the guides during cultural tours. Travel insurance (compulsory) Machu Picchu The lost city of the Incas.

2 Primary school children from the community where you will be working. The mountains surrounding the Scared Valley of the Incas.

3 MONDAY, JUNE 6: ARRIVAL INTO CUSCO On arrival in Cusco, you will be met by Jane and Selvy, Founders of Peru s Challenge and transferred by private bus to the Santa Maria Lodge where you will be staying for the duration of your time in Peru. Depending on arrival time, lunch will be provided at the Lodge and the rest of the afternoon is yours to relax and unpack. Accommodation: Santa Maria Lodge, Cusco Meals: Lunch and dinner, drinking water and snacks. Alcoholic beverages are available at an additional cost. TUESDAY, JUNE 7: PROJECT BRIEFING & CUSCO WALKING CITY TOUR This morning after breakfast we will travel in our private bus 20 minutes up to the rural community of Pumamarca and/or Quilla Huata (depending on project choice). Jane will give a details project overview including the history of Peru s Challenge, the history and overview of the rural community, what work has been completed to date and what needs to still be completed. Selvy will then talk specifically to the group about your exact project and the process to be completed with each stage. The community members and school children will also welcome the group in their traditional ways. Work will then get started for the rest of the morning. We will travel down to the Volunteer House for lunch. After lunch, the group can rest and relax or enjoy a guided walking city tour of Cusco (all entries included).

4 Highlights of the Cusco City tour: THE CATHEDRAL: This spectacular building is the main feature of Cusco s Plaza de Armas. Built in the 17th Century over the Inca palace of Suntur Wasi, its construction took almost a century (94 years). The high altar is solid silver and the original altar is a masterpiece of Andean wood carving. Artists from Cusco and Europe worked in its design. The most important places are the chapel of the Virgin of the Remedies and Inmaculada Concepción amongst others. QORICANCHA: The Temple of the Sun was constructed when the Inca King Pachacutec governed. It served as the house of the Inca, who taught the worshipping of the Sun and where chosen virgins were sacrificed to the main God. In the 17th century the Santo Domingo church was built on top of the walls of the temple. Excavation has revealed more than five chambers of the Temple of the Sun, which shows the best Inca stonework to be seen in Cusco. It is known as one of the most important temples built by the Incas. TRADITIONAL MARKETS: One of the delights is wandering the local market in Cusco. It is a welcome assault on the senses. New mysterious smells (some pleasant, some not) mingle with brilliant colors, unidentified foods, and sounds that can betray some of the small mysteries of daily life for the locals. It is a thrill just to walk through the swirling vortex of market life. In poor countries the number one priority is to get something to eat followed closely by the desire to make money and trade. These two passions coming together in one place make for an exciting, frenetic energy that vibrates in the air as people buzz around making deals and do their best to live life.

5 SAQSAYHUAMAN: These ruins are located 2kms to the north of Cusco. In the Inca times, the city of Cusco had the shape of a Puma (a sacred animal of the Inca times, representing strength) with the Saqsayhuaman site as its head. This important Inca site was destroyed by the Spanish. Still, today we can see the ruins of the fabulous cyclopean walls, where some of stones used are more than five meters high and weigh more than 350 tons. These incredible walls were constructed with the help of thousands of workers lead by the Inca King, Pachacutec, and the stones are fitted together with absolute perfection. Saqsayhuaman was thought for centuries to be a fortress, but the layout and architecture suggest a great sanctuary and temple to the sun. Accommodation: Santa Maria Lodge, Cusco Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinking water and snacks WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY, JUNE 8-11: WORK AT COMMUNITY PROJECT After breakfast each day, we will travel up to the community to work on the project(s). A boxed lunch will be provided up at the community (rather than traveling down to the House for lunch) and work will continue in the afternoons to ensure we make the most of our time to complete their project(s). If there is time we will conduct house visits within the community so you can learn and understand about the conditions that the children and community adults live in and what are the social and welfare issues affecting the community. The group will also spend time with the talleres (workshop) group of women and teenagers assisting with product ideas, marketing and microfinancing. Afternoons will be spent working on the project, but if you work hard, we can take an afternoon off to participate in a fantastic cooking class at the Rooftop Kitchen, Cusco (cost additional). Accommodation: Santa Maria Lodge, Cusco Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinking water and snacks

6 SUNDAY-MONDAY, JUNE 12-13: SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS TOUR Early this morning, after breakfast, you will be picked up from the Volunteer House to enjoy a fantastic two-day tour to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Description: The Sacred Valley, just one hour from Cusco, is rich in Incan history and spectacular scenery. You can visit some of the most magnificent and important Incan ruins, including Pisaq, perched high above the town and the grand temple-fortress in Ollantaytambo. You will learn much about the history of this advanced indigenous civilization and wonder at how they created such magnificent structures, hauling stones from kilometers away and carving into cliff faces miles high in the air. There is also the opportunity to purchase traditional artifacts and textiles, hand-made by the locals who still practice aspects of the Incan traditions. Highlights of the Sacred Valley tour - Sunday: CHINCHERO: An Andean village rich with Incan history. The Incas used to call this village the birthplace of the rainbow and you will immediately see why they chose to live in such a spectacular location. If you can draw your eyes away from the magnificent mountain views, you will see a colonial church built over Inca walls with an elaborately decorated interior. At the Incan ruins you can sit in the original chair carved out of rock for the Incan king. If you re lucky, you can even still find pieces of Incan pottery and other treasures around the site. Here you will also learn how the Incas stored food in case of bad seasons and about the importance of the sacred mountain in the distance. You can also purchase hand-made textiles direct from the artisans who are world-renown for their skills. From Chinchero, we wind down into the Sacred Valley of the Incas to our accommodation at Willka T ika. Located in one of the most energetically charged places on earth, Willka T'ika prides itself on serving the spiritual and cultural needs of guests seeking an authentic mind, body, spirit experience.

7 Meals provided include gourmet vegetarian cuisine with ingredients sourced locally. After lunch, you have a choice to visit the Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo, or staying at Willka T'ika to enjoy the elaborate gardens for relaxation or a guided tour of the extensive gardens including the chakra gardens. You also have access to sunlit yoga studios, or can participate in authentic Andean healing arts, sacred ceremonies and personal/group energy healing treatments performed by traditional Q'ero healers (cost additional). OLLANTAYTAMBO: The site of one of the largest Inca ruins, Ollantaytambo, located on the banks of the Urubamba River. Legend states that this name was given to the site because of Cacique Ollanta, who fell in love with Inca Pachakutec's daughter, Kusi Q'oyllur. It is also one of the only locations where the Incas defeated the Spanish during the conquest, although their victory was short lived. Ollantaytambo is the only Incan site whose buildings are still used as homes today. At the top of the ruins you will find the Temple of the Sun, built with huge rocks hauled in from across the valley. You will also see the Intiwatana - the bath of the princess with a fantastic magic fountain system. You can marvel at the rock carvings, including of an Inca king on the edge of a cliff face, miles in the air. Accommodation: Willka T ika, Urubamba Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Highlights of the Sacred Valley tour Monday: This morning after breakfast, together as a group there will be reflection time with Wendy within the beautiful surounds of Willka T ika. When ready, we will continue our journey by lunching at a fantastic local restaurant, located on the banks of the Urubamba River. TRAVELLING THROUGH THE VALLEY: Next we travel through the Valley winding our way as the river flows. You will witness locals tending to their fields of mainly corn. PISAQ MARKETS: On arrival into Pisaq in the afternoon, there is time to wonder through the famous, traditional Pisaq artesian markets where our guide will point out the best places

8 to purchase products directly from the local artisans. For locals, this is a bartering market where they trade goods. From here, we travel back to Willka T ika for our second night. There will be time in the afternoon to enjoy the gardens of Willka T ika. Accommodation: Willka T ika, Urubamba Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14-15: MACHU PICCHU DESCRIPTION The grand citadel of Machu Picchu, with its enchanting history and remarkable Inca architecture, is a moving site that cannot be missed by any traveler to Peru. The most important archaeological site in South America, Machu Picchu has World Heritage status and is listed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. But amazingly, this spectacular city, perched high on the mountain ridge of Machu Picchu, was for centuries hidden by jungle until its rediscovery less than 100 years ago. It was nicknamed the Lost City of the Incas because the Spanish Conquistadors never found it. It remained a secret to the majority of the world until US explorer Hiram Bingham revealed it in Bingham is credited with the scientific discovery of Machu Picchu - there is a plaque at the site declaring this however, he was not the first non-inka to stumble across the magnificent stone city. Cusquenean Agustin Lizarraga visited the site in 1902 and there are also references to the ruins on maps dating decades and centuries earlier. However, Bingham was the first to recognize the importance of the site and to publicise its existence to the rest of the world. Located about 50 miles (km) from Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, and perched 2400m above sea level with commanding views of the surrounding valley, it is still unclear today exactly who built Machu Picchu and why. Bingham originally thought it was the site of Vilcabamba, the final refuge of the rebel Inkas before the Spanish captured the last Inca, Tupac Amaru, nearly 40 years after beginning their conquest. But that has since been ruled out because the route taken by the Spanish to reach the last Incas is not the same as that taken to get to Machu Picchu and the description by the Spanish documenters does not match the area.

9 The theory most favoured by experts is that Machu Picchu was built by the greatest of all the Incas, Pachacutec, who conquered the surrounding region during his explosive expansionism in the mid-fifteenth century. It is widely believed that Pachacutec built the sprawling city to celebrate his achievement and to provide a retreat from Cusco. In the early years, Machu Picchu could only be accessed after three days of walking through the Urubamba Valley. Today, it can be reached via a short train ride from Cusco. TUESDAY, JUNE 14: URUBAMBA TO MACHU PICCHU This morning, after an early breakfast, we will be transferred to the Ollantaytambo train station for our 1 ½ hour train ride to Aguas Calientes. Upon arriving in Aguas Calientes mid-morning, we will be met at the station by our private guide who will help check us in to our hotel. Once check-in is completed, we will then have a quick lunch, before our guide will then escort us up to the citadel of Machu Picchu by bus. Our guide will give you a two to three-hour tour of the ruins, comprehensively explaining the religious and historical importance of many features and temples within this amazing, ancient city and give you suggestions on which places to visit tomorrow. You can then return to Aguas Calientes by bus in the afternoon at whatever time you choose (Machu Picchu closes at 5pm). Tonight you will enjoy a dinner together in one of the great restaurants of Aguas Calientes. Accommodation: To be advised Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15: MACHU PICCHU AND RETURN TO CUSCO Early this morning after breakfast, your guide will meet you at the hotel and travel up to Machu Picchu by bus. This morning we will continue our tour of Machu Picchu and you will have free time to discover Machu Picchu. There are numerous options to choose from, such as walking up to Inti Punku (the Sun Gate) or climbing Huayna Picchu (Young Mountain), from where one has an amazing aerial view of Machu Picchu and the surrounding area (please note a limited number of people are allowed to climb Huayna Picchu each day). You can also walk to the Inka Bridge or visit the fascinating Temple of the Moon and Great Caves. Or simply relax atop the terraces and admire the fine architectural talents of the Inkas.

10 This afternoon, you will return to Aguas Calientes by bus in time to catch the late afternoon or early evening train back to Cusco, and then be transferred to the Volunteer House. Accommodation: Santa Maria Lodge, Cusco Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinking water and snacks THURSDAY, JUNE 16: FREE DAY CUSCO Today is free for you to relax, spend some time in Cusco shopping, visiting museums, or wandering the beautiful cobble-stoned streets of Cusco. We will meet up for lunch at a typical Peruvian restaurant to celebrate our time in Peru. You can then choose to return to Santa Maria Lodge or continue spending some time in the Cusco center before being transferred back to the Lodge in the late afternoon. Accommodation: Santa Maria Lodge, Cusco Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinking water and snacks FRIDAY, JUNE 17: FLIGHT HOME TO USA Depending on when your international flight departs from Lima, you will be transferred from the Volunteer House to Cusco airport for the one-hour flight to Lima to connect with your international flight. Accommodation: Not applicable Meals: Breakfast and lunch (depending on departure time). ADIOS AMIGOS! END OF OUR SERVICES