Responsible Tourism

Peru Encompassed

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Highlights of this tour.

When you travel to Peru Encompassed, you'll be staying at small hotels/guesthouses and using a variety of local transport, from coaches, trains, planes, hiking and even reed canoes, giving you a unique opportunity to experience the authentic Latin American lifestyle.
• Lima
• Ballestas Islands
• Ica Desert
• Nazca Lines
• Arequipa
• Colca Canyon Condors
• Cuzco
• Sacred Valley
• Inca Trail & Machu Picchu
• Lake Titicaca
• La Paz
• Amazon Jungle

An additional local payment is payable as follows:
15 days - US$350
15 days + Amazon - US$590
21 days - US$450
21 days + Amazon - US$690
The trip cost and local payment include travel, approx. 50% of meals, services of tour leader, all accommodation during the trip, Inca Trail and some excursions.
You will also have an outstanding trek on the Inca Trail:
• Porters will carry your gear, you need only carry your day pack
• A local guide will accompany you all the way
• Top quality camping gear which is replaced every year
• Nutritious and hearty meals prepared for you, dietary requirements catered for
• Choice of 5 treks, Classic Inca Trail, 2 day Inca Trail, Salkantay, Vilcabamba and Multisport (all include Machu Picchu)
• We use a reputable operator in Cuzco who ensures the interests of their porters are looked after

Example of the itinerary.

Day 1 The capital of Peru, Lima is a city of contrasts. Here you'll encounter both abundant wealth and grinding poverty, modern skyscrapers next to some of the finest museums and historical monuments in Latin America.

Day 2 Our first stop, south of Lima is the Ballestas Islands in the Paracas National Reserve. Here we take a boat trip to view one of the most important marine reserves in the world with the highest concentration of rare and exotic sea birds and sea mammals.

Day 3 An hour's drive inland in the heart of the Ica Desert is Peru's main wine centre. Here we visit the Tacama winery, originally a Jesuit run Bodega it now produces export quality wines as well as Peru's national drink, Pisco. After our own tasting session we continue a few kilometres to the nearby Oasis of Huacachina. A palm fringed lake surrounded by impressive sand dunes, you can relax on the beach, go for a swim and then if its an adrenaline rush you're after head out on a custom made dune buggy and roar across the desert sands to the top of enormous dunes and then sand board down them - imagine snowboarding but on sand instead! Tonight, after an unforgettable desert sunset, we sit around the campfire while our guides cook up a storm, followed by a night sleeping out under the stars.

Day 4 One of the world's greatest archaeological mysteries - the Nazca Lines. Only discovered 70 years ago from the air, these huge figures carved into the desert floor are best viewed by light aircraft. Thought to have been made by three different civilisations going back more than 2000 years, there are many contrasting theories about what they signify and why they are there. Also memorable is a visit to Chauchilla Cemetery with its well-preserved mummies. Leaving the Atacama Desert we begin to climb into the Andes mountain range towards Arequipa.

Days 5 to 8 Four days are dedicated to exploring this beautiful colonial city and the spectacular surrounding area. There are many options to go white water rafting, cycling, trekking, horse riding as well as a visit to the Colca Canyon, which at 900m is not only one of the deepest in the world but also the home of the majestic Condors. Here you can view the condors circling lazily in the thermals rising from the canyon floor.

Days 9 & 10 A short flight over the dramatic Andes Mountains takes us to Cuzco, the outdoors capital of Peru and our base for the next 7 days. Although Cuzco is today a colonial city most of its churches and museums are built on top of original Inca stonewalls which are clearly visible. We include a day tour of the beautiful Urubamba or Sacred Valley of the Incas where you'll find temples, terraces, local communities and markets and finally our comfortable campsite at the start of the Inca Trail!

Days 11 to 14 We begin our 4 day hike along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. A stunning combination of awesome views, Inca ruins, magnificent mountains and exotic adventure. There are also the options to undertake either a shorter hike travelling by train part of the way to the ruins or to take one of three alternative treks, the Salkantay, Lares or Vilcabamba. Our route back to Cuzco for all options is by train.

Day 15 A free day in Cuzco to relax and recover as well as explore more of the city and its museums and churches or look for local crafts from Alpaca woollen jumpers to musical instruments. Today, those on the 15 day adventure trip of Peru will board the plane to Lima where the trip ends on arrival.

Those going to the Peruvian Amazon Jungle board the plane to Puerto Maldonado and are transferred to the Tambopata-Candamo Reserve for 3 nights to explore and experience this wild habitat. Your accommodation here will be in a jungle lodge. Return from Puerto Maldonado to Lima by plane.

Days 16 to 18 Bordering Peru and Bolivia at 3800m lies Lake Titicaca, the original place of the Uros Indians who have made their homes on floating reed islands. By boat we visit the floating islands during the day and then spend the night with one of the Indian families on the lesser known islands Isla Amantani or Taquile. This experience will provide a unique opportunity to learn more about the traditional lifestyle of the Andean people and their customs as well as supporting these families with some extra income.

Day 19 A free day in Puno to relax on the shores of Lake Titicaca and do some last minute shopping.

Day 20 We cross the border to Bolivia and stop at the picturesque lakeside village of Copacabana before continuing on to the impressive city of La Paz. The capital is a hilly city full of markets and traditionally dressed people. There is also the opportunity for a one day 'gravity assisted' mountain bike adventure.

Day 21 The tour finishes in the morning.

Those going to the Bolivian Amazon Jungle/Pampas board the plane to Rurrenabaque. From here you are transferred to the Yacuma River, entering into the Pampas for 2 nights followed by Madidi National Park for 2 nights to explore and experience the jungle. Your accommodation here will be in a jungle lodges. Return from Rurrenabaqueto Lima by plane.

The benefits you bring in taking this tour.

 

Our aim on this trip is to put as much of the trip costs directly back into the local Peruvian community and economy as possible. All the hotels and hostels we use are small, family-run three star establishments. The restaurants and cafes we use are all locally run Peruvian establishments. We do not use large international chains. Our trips are led by Ricardo, a Peruvian, from Arequipa.

We spend one night of the trip as guests in the homes of a community of Uros Indian families on the islands of Amantani or Taquile. This gives our clients an opportunity to learn more about their hosts traditional lifestyles and also provides the families with an additional source of income.

One of the highlights of this trip is obviously trekking the Inca Trails to Machu Picchu. This trek offers opportunities of employment to large numbers of the local community. Porters, cooks and guides are required. However, much of this employment is poorly paid and working conditions are not good. The local company we use to organise our trails has a commitment to the welfare of their porters-providing them with a professional wage and health insurance. They are also in the process of completing a house for the porters so that they have somewhere comfortable to stay the night before they start the trail, as many of them travel in from rural areas. This trip supports local transport providers-from the boatmen of Lake Titicaca to local coach provision between towns.

Upon booking this trip (as with all our trips) clients receive detailed pre-departure information which includes advice on responsible travel. This information is re-emphasised by the Tour Leader at the start of the trip-clients, for example, are advised about respecting local customs, litter disposal etc. The numbers of clients we take on this tour are limited, to a maximum of twenty, thus reducing the environmental and cultural impact of a large group.

On this trip we support a small, Peruvian charity called Pachamamas Children, based twenty minutes outside of Cusco, in the community of Tika-Tika. The charity is in the process of reconstructing a derelict school in an impoverished community. The children of the community currently have no access to formal education. Once completed the school will not only provide education to the children of the community but the plan is also to provide adult education and a basic Medical Centre. We make a regular monthly, financial contribution to this project and once the building work has been completed we hope that our clients will be able to visit the school and that we will be able to offer volunteering opportunities there.

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