COLOMBIA - ECUADOR - PERU FLIGHT OF THE CONDOR NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 December 2018 A note from Kim Bannister Clerk of the Course Dear Rally Enthusiasts, AMENDMENTS TO THE FLIGHT OF THE CONDOR ROUTE While planning for the final recce for Flight of the Condor, I have been looking at the daily distances on the event and believe that crews would appreciate some shorter driving days with more time to enjoy their unforgettable surroundings. As a result, I have made a few amendments to the route to allow for this. The event will now leave Cartagena on Sunday 10th November, one day earlier than originally planned. Being a Sunday, it will allow us all a later start and make it easier to drive out of Cartagena. Starting a day earlier has also enabled us to include an additional rest day on the event, giving you 7 in total. The pre-start timetable will now look like this: Day -2 (November 8) Crews arrive, Welcome Dinner in the evening Day -1 (November 9) Car collection, Signing on and scrutineering Day 1 (November 10) Rally starts (Hotel accommodation from November 8 is included in the entry fee. For those of you who would like time to acclimatise, the team in the office will send out a pre-& post accommodation booking form over the next few months.) The route in Colombia has been altered to allow the event to spend an extra day in the Coffee Region. You will also get an extra rest day now in the city of Armenia, the centre of the coffee growing area. This will give you all more time to explore and enjoy Colombia. There are fine buildings and museums to visit and Armenia even has 309 acres of theme park totally dedicated to coffee!
One of my issues with the original plan was the long drive from Nasca to Cusco. I have managed to get around this; crews will now fly from Lima to Iquitos (in the Amazon Rainforest), and then direct to Cusco where you will now spend 3 nights. This will allow plenty of sightseeing time to visit both the old town of Cusco, The Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu before heading east to Lake Titicaca. You are probably wondering about your cars at this stage, as you last saw them in Lima. Vehicles will now be transported overland from Lima to Cusco, accompanied by members of the organising team. They will be parked in a secure area on the outskirts of Cusco ready for you to be reunited after the rest days. To avoid the need for a 650kms drive from Chivay to Nasca, the route has been revised. After leaving Chivay the event will drive in to the Colca Canyon to see the unmissable Condors, and as they have lent their name to our event, you ought to see them. We then return along the same road and continue onto Arequipa. From Arequipa, the route will head to the coast and follow the Pan-American Highway to the area around Chala where we will stay in a clean but basic hotel. This will break up the distance and also allow crews to enjoy the spectacular coast road. From Chala, the route will continue via Nasca and on to Paracas where you will now have an additional rest day in the National Reserve giving you a chance to enjoy one of the best hotels on the event. From here you will get a unique opportunity to experience a tour to the Ballestas Islands where the wild life is on a par with the Galapagos or take a charter flight over the Nasca lines. Your final, action-packed, rally day will now head from Paracas to Lima where we plan to finish at a race circuit close to Lima, time to blow the cobwebs away before crews drive to the Country Club Hotel. However, the event will now finish on a Sunday so driving into Lima will be a little easier than on a week day. A fabulous Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony awaits you I hope you approve of these changes and we look forward to sharing this incredible experience and this once in a lifetime rally with you. If you have any questions about the route, please feel free to call me on my cell phone: +44 (0)7887 556088. Hope to see you in Cartagena. Kim Bannister
FURTHER EXCURSION INFORMATION FOR YOU EXCURSIONS INCLUDED: Surprise early morning trip on the rest day in Armenia Coffee Plantation Tour Boat journey on the Amazon River to Iquitos All excursions in Iquitos Afternoon hike through the beautiful primary rainforest Short boat journey for dolphin-spotting, a visit to a small village of Yagua Indians Walking tour to the Franciscan Mission of Indiana Tour of Chan Chan, the largest pre-colombian mud city in the world Full day Machu Picchu Tour on the Vistadome train service Some ideas for your Rest Days excursions you can do on your own or with friends: ARMENIA Filandia, a village known for its traditional architecture and handicrafts 29kms from Armenia. Drive through the Cocora Valley and see the tallest palm tree in the world. QUITO La Ronda, take a walk around one of Quito s oldest streets which is home to many workshops and art galleries. You will have the chance to talk to the artists about their work. An hour drive away from Quito is the small Andean village of Papallacta famous for its thermal baths. You can stop and enjoy the pleasant effect of the warm thermal waters.
CUENCA A walk around the 16th century, historic centre is a very relaxing way to spend your day off. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, its cobbled streets have many crafts on offer. Cuenca operates a Turibus, Cultural Tours around the City on a hop on and hop off basis. Cajas National Park, with its cloudy moors and hundreds of high-altitude lakes, the park is just a short drive outside Cuenca. This area is known for its biodiversity, and you ll see two distinct ecosystems in the park. HUARAZ Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, Huaraz is also the centre for extreme sports in the area. Maybe you would like to indulge in a little mountain-biking on your rest day. There are plenty of museums in Huaraz to visit and one that is highly recommended is the Archaeology Museum of Ancash. For those of you who believe a rest day should just be that, relaxing around the pool with a refreshing cocktail is also an option. IQUITOS Hikes in the rain forest can be enjoyed but as there are so many organised excursions for you to join in with, you probably won t need to think about any other trips while you are here.
CUSCO Being part of the Sacred Valley and the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, there are many sites of archaeological interest in Cusco and just a stroll around the town will be enough to see remains of Inca stonework. There are so many other options on the 2 rest days here but probably most of you will want to be on the wonderful, scenic train journey to visit Machu Picchu. A walk to Plaza de Armas, the central square in the old city, with arcades, carved wooden balconies and Incan wall ruins just shouldn t be missed. You could also visit the Santo Domingo Convent which was built on top of the most important Incan temple, The Temple of the Sun (Qoricancha), and has archaeological remains of Inca stonework.
PARACAS From here you will be able to arrange flights over the Nasca lines, a most amazing phenomenon. Paracas is famous for its beaches and El Chaco would make a great place for a spot of sun bathing but look out for the sea lions. If you haven t had enough driving, the Inca outpost of Tambo Colorado is about an hour s drive from Paracas. One of the most well-preserved archaeological sites of the area, it contains the ruins of a Temple of the Sun and an Inca Palace. There is also the chance for a bit of retail therapy in Paracas, where you can find numerous gift shops to browse. There are also extra excursions available to book directly through our agents. We will send you the full list and more detailed information in the next few months, these are just a few: City Tour of Cartagena why not arrive 24 hours earlier and give yourselves time to explore this beautiful, colonial city. Adventure sports on the Huaraz rest day Flight over the Nasca lines City Tour of Lima Trip to Ballestas Islands, home to sea lions, pelicans and Humboldt penguins.
UPDATED ITINERARY RALLY WEEK START FINISH DAY DAY DATE TOWN TOWN KMS COUNTRY 1 Sunday 10th Nov Cartagena Monteria 266 Colombia 2 Monday 11th Nov Monteria Medellin 405 Colombia 3 Tuesday 12th Nov Medellin Armenia 258 Colombia 4 Wednesday 13th Nov Rest Day Armenia 0 Colombia 5 Thursday 14th Nov Armenia Popayan 308 Colombia 6 Friday 15th Nov Popayan Pasto 246 Colombia 7 Saturday 16th Nov Pasto Quito 331 Ecuador 8 Sunday 17th Nov Rest Day Quito 0 Ecuador 9 Monday 18th Nov Quito Riobamba 211 Ecuador 10 Tuesday 19th Nov Riobamba Cuenca 246 Ecuador 11 Wednesday 20th Nov Rest Day Cuenca 0 Ecuador 12 Thursday 21st Nov Cuenca Zorritos 275 Peru 13 Friday 22nd Nov Zorritos Chiclayo 480 Peru 14 Saturday 23rd Nov Chiclayo Trujillo 349 Peru 15 Sunday 24th Nov Trujillo Huaraz 345 Peru 16 Monday 25th Nov Rest Day Huaraz 0 Peru 17 Tuesday 26th Nov Huaraz Lima 400 Peru 18 Wednesday 27th Nov Lima Iquitos Flight Peru 19 Thursday 28th Nov Rest Day Iquitos 0 Peru 20 Friday 29th Nov Iquitos Cusco Flight Peru 21 Saturday 30th Nov Rest Day Cusco 0 Peru 22 Sunday 1st Dec Rest Day Cusco 0 Peru 23 Monday 2nd Dec Cusco Puno 427 Peru 24 Tuesday 3rd Dec Puno Chivay 276 Peru 25 Wednesday 4th Dec Chivay Arequipa 349 Peru 26 Thursday 5th Dec Arequipa Chala 397 Peru 27 Friday 6th Dec Chala Paracas 387 Peru 28 Saturday 7th Dec Rest Day Paracas 0 Peru 29 Sunday 8th Dec Paracas Lima 266 Peru TOTAL KMS 5956
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