You will visit the main attractions of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, learn how the Incas worked the blocks of stone to build the grand Sacsayhuaman, walk the streets of Lima and Cusco, and, of course, see the pearl of South America – the amazing Machu Picchu!
This tour can be complemented by other excursions: to the Amazon jungle or Nazca Lines, for example. Or make it part of a combined tour by combining Peru with a visit to other Latin American countries.
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries Lima was considered the most beautiful city of colonial America, for which it was nicknamed the “City of Kings”. Beautiful houses with Baroque facades were sprouting up around the main square, where the Spanish nobility lived, life was in full swing and commerce was thriving. It was in Lima, in 1551, that the oldest university on the continent, the University of San Marcos, was founded. Some of its past glory can still be seen today in the central districts of Lima, although many of the buildings were completely destroyed by the terrible earthquake of 1746, which killed almost a tenth of the city’s population.
The tour begins in the archaeological park of Sacsayhuaman.
Saxayuman, located on a mountain above the main areas of Cusco, was one part of the city during Inca times. And while Cusco itself was designed in the shape of a cougar silhouette, the head of the cougar was Sacsayuman. Even though the Spaniards dismantled the buildings and took the stones to build their churches, the ruins of the area are still stunning today! The walls are 6-9 meters high, consisting of perfectly matched stone blocks, each weighing from 128 to 200 tons!
The tour will continue in Cusco at the temple of Coricancha.
In Inca times, the Coricancha (Quechua for “Golden Fence”) was the richest temple. It was built in honor of the sun god Inti, so its walls were lined with gold plates inlaid with precious stones. It was here that the mummies of Inca nobles were kept and used during religious ceremonies. After the conquest, the Spanish built the Church of Santo Domingo on the ruins of the Temple of the Sun, but fortunately, some parts of the original temple have survived and can still be seen today.
First you will go to Maras, the thousand-year-old salt mines that still produce salt of excellent quality. The contrast of the white salt against the green fields of the valley makes the picture even more fascinating.
Then Moray awaits you, colossal concentric terraces resembling an ancient amphitheater. This place served the Incas as an agro-cultural laboratory, whose purpose was to adapt different varieties of cereals, vegetables and even fruits on terraces of different heights, thanks to the arrangement of which the Incas reproduced 20 different microclimates.
You will reach the archaeological site of Ollantaytambo. The Inca Pachacutec conquered this settlement, destroyed the old buildings and built new houses and a ceremonial center. The town is on the way to the jungle and from here the Inca resistance chief Manco Inca Yupanqui retreated with his treasures and ancestral mummies to the legendary city of Vilcabamba (which was never found).
Ollantaitambo is significant in that it is one of the very few Incan cities still inhabited. Some of the buildings in the modern city date back to the late 15th century.
Cusco is a magical city, the former capital of the Inca Empire. Take a stroll through its charming streets, visit the local cafes and restaurants where you can taste fried guinea pig-queen or river trout, check out the streets of the San Blas neighborhood where the workshops of skilled artisans are located. Cuzco – the city you can’t help but fall in love with!
The most famous Rainbow Mountains are in China. Few people know that Peru also has such mountains. Vinicunca is the Quechua name for the mountains, which literally means “rainbow mountains. The colored layers of these mountains were formed millions of years ago from red sandstone, which under the influence of climatic conditions, groundwater, and mineral admixtures have been colored in yellow, green, white, and other colors.