Author: administrador

Peruvians of today have inherited customs and traditions from civilizations that developed centuries before the arrival of Europeans, and that meeting of two worlds produced a melting pot that was further enriched by contributions from African and Asian people, who also settled roots in this land.

The city of Cuzco
Declared a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1983.

Cuzco, which in the ancient Quechua language means “navel of the world”, was an important hub in Inca times that connected all of South America, from Colombia to the north of Argentina. Today, centuries later, Cuzco continues to be the centre of attention, not only for our neighbouring countries but for the whole world. In its streets, historical centres, churches, pubs and cafés you can hear not only Quechua and Spanish spoken, but such diverse languages as English, French, Japanese and Hebrew. All of them, united by the same experience, found in the charming and fascinating “belly button” of the world.
Machu Picchu
Inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site also in 1983.

I could say a great deal about this archaeological site, which was hidden for centuries until it came to light in the early 1900s, but it is difficult to describe in words what one feels when the citadel suddenly appears, like a challenge to the imagination and to engineering, between the mountains that mark the beginning and the end of the Andes and the Amazon Basin.

The temple or fortress of Chavin de Huantar
Declared a World Cultural Heritage in 1985.

I could tell you of the gusts of air that brush your face almost like a sigh when you walk through its sophisticated underground galleries. Known as the “castle”, Chavin and its intricate passageways is believed to be one of the oldest constructions in the Americas.
The Huascaran National Park, 
Inscribed as a World Natural Heritage in 1985.

Here I can tell you about the turquoise colour of its lakes that contrast with the snow-capped peaks of the highest tropical mountain range in the world. The Huascaran National Park is a paradise and a challenge to nature and adventure sports lovers alike. It has over 600 glaciers, close to 300 lakes, and 27 snow-capped peaks that reach heights of over 6,000 metres, such as the Huascaran which rises to 6,768 meters above sea level.
Chan Chan is another of the 10 sites 
Inscribed as World Cultural Heritages by UNESCO, this in 1986.

Known as the largest city of clay in pre-Columbian America, Chan Chan is texture, it is form, it is desert sand made into art. The birds that decorate the walls of Chan Chan seem almost to fly in the strong breeze that blows through this ancient Chimu site.
The Manu National Park
Inscribed as a World Natural Heritage in 1987.

Manu is the feast of life and diversity, with more than 1,000 species of birds, 1,200 types of butterflies, over 20,000 varieties of plants and an unknown quantity of reptiles, insects and amphibians.
Lima’s Historical Centre
Declared a World Cultural Heritage in 1991.

Lima is a sum of colours, textures and sounds. It is a cosmopolitan capital par excellence where the taste is acquired from the flavour offered by its street-side cooks frying anticuchos or soft picarones in syrup against a backdrop of colonial balconies, old houses, and churches with secret tunnels.
The Rio Abiseo National Park
Inscribed as a World Natural Heritage in 1990.

Becausse geographical location and the fragility of the archaeological sites within the park, Rio Abiseo remains closed to tourism since 1996. Today Peruvian and foreign scientists travel through the park to continue studying the flora and fauna and the remains of pre-Inca cultures.
The Nazca Lines and the Pampas de Juma
Declared a World Heritage site in 1994.

Close to the other natural jewel that is the Paracas National Reserve, these lines and figures of different animals, drawn on the Peruvian desert and seen properly only from the sky, were considered a mystery for decades because it was not known if they were a calendar or a form of communication with outer space.
Arequipa’s Historical Centre
Declared a World Cultural Heritage in 2000.

The city of Arequipa is, precisely, an example of how culture in Peru is constantly abrew. Arequipa, known as the White City because of the volcanic rock, or “sillar”, with which its churches and homes are built. Arequipa is the land of passions and contrasts, of the hot rocoto pepper and the magnificent condor which can only be seen flying over the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest in the world.
Caral
Declared a World Cultural Heritage in 2009.

Caral is one of 18 settlements identified in the valley. Covering an area of around 65 hectares, the city features a series of complexes such as the Great Pyramid, the Amphitheater Pyramid and the Residential Quarters of the Elite. The wind gusts powerfully over the sands Caral, the oldest city in the Americas. A living force that the ancient inhabitants allegedly tried to reproduce in their flutes. Crafted from condor and pelican bones, the first 32 flutes found at the archaeological site represented one of the biggest surprises produced at Caral. In 2001, researchers held the Archaeo-Musicological Research Workshop for the Flutes of Caral, in a bid to reproduce the sound of each one of them, just as the ancient dwellers might have heard them in 3000 BC.

10,000 years of history can be seen in one of the largest networks of archeology found in the world – and the largest in South America. Progress reached by the ancient Peruvians in the areas of arts and science never ceases to amaze. Take, for example, the city of Caral, the oldest in the Americas. Then, there is Machu Picchu, Incan citadel and newly elected Wonder of the World.

While Peru inevitably evokes images of Machu Picchu and the Inca empire, the country is also riddled with archaeological sites which are a legacy of even more ancient times, when great civilizations bequeathed a legacy of their art, customs and rituals, their wisdom and skills.

The Inca empire was a recent arrival during the process of cultural development in the Andes during the pre-Hispanic era, and the history of the Incas barely accounts for a century within the 20,000 years of human occupation of Peruvian territory.

Much earlier than the Incas and while civilizations like the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Indian, and Chinese (3000 and 2000 B.C.) flourished, the city of Caral, located north of the city of Lima, was built; this was the first American expression of a Pre-Ceramic urban settlement with monumental architecture in an area greater than 10 hectares. Later, in the northern highlands, the Chavin (800 – 200 B.C.) achieved significant advances in architecture, engineering, and agriculture.

The Chavín civilization (1500-400 BC) achieved considerable prowess in architecture, engineering and agriculture in the northern highlands. Along the north coast, the Moche civilization (200 BC-700 AD) is famous for its realistic pottery (portraits carved into pots and gourds) and its pyramid-shaped temples. The same area was later controlled by the Chimú kingdom (900-1450 AD), who built Chan Chan, an immense mud-brick citadel featuring 12-meter-high walls and superb architectural work.

To the south, the Nazca people (200 BC-900 AD) etched an impressive series of figures etched into the desert floor known as the Nazca Lines, while graves belonging to the Paracas culture (800 BC-600 AD) have unearthed superb weavings which point to the magical and religious vision that governed the lives of this ancient civilization.

Centuries later, the Incas (1300-1500 AD) were to make Cuzco the center of their empire, building major constructions such as Sacsayhuaman, Pisac and Koricancha. It is here that myth and history merge, where the Inca roads, the towns, people and traditions are a living example of the Andean spirit, sacred and monumental.

Discover why Peru is for many the heart of South America’s greatest civilizations.

The city of Machu Picchu is the department of Cusco’s most important tourist attraction. Discovered to the world in 1911 by the American explorer, Hiram Bingham, this city is considered to be one of the most extraordinary examples of scenic architecture in the world.

The city of Machu Picchu itself was built at the top of a granite mountain. The Incas, using ingenious engineering techniques, were able to transport heavy stone blocks up the mountain side, and once there, they used their excellent masonry skills to produce amazingly polished stones that fit together perfectly.

Prices

– Foreign Adults S/. 126.00 nuevos soles
– Foreign Students S/. 63.00 nuevos soles
– Foreign Children (8 to 15 years) S/. 63.00 nuevos soles
– National Adult S/. 64.00 nuevos soles
– National Students S/. 32.00 nuevos soles
– Children (8 to 15)
S/. 32.00 nuevos soles
– Children (0 to 7) do not pay
The adult ticket to the citadel of Machu Picchu is only on sale online. The system of e-ticket purchase is:

1. Login to the web page: www.machupicchu.gob.pe ó www.drc-cusco.gob.pe and make a reservation..
2. Pay for the reservation in the offices of the Banco de la Nación (The National Bank) or in the offices of the DRC Cusco (in the city of Cusco and Aguas Calientes), within six hours of booking.
3. Reenter the web page and enter payment data in order to complete the registration process.
Buying tickets for students and children takes place directly in the offices of the DRC or authorized travel agencies. The student must carry a valid ISIC card.

* PromPerú is not responsible for the variation in prices or buying process.

The city is divided into two architectural sectors or districts:

Checkpoint
It is a three-walled building with several windows, which you come to before reaching the main gate. The view from here offers a panorama of the two large sectors, the agricultural and the urban, as well as the surrounding scenery.

Agricultural sector
This district is surrounded by a series of agricultural terraces that differ in type and size and might have performed two chief functions, one being crop growing and the other protection from water erosion caused by intense rains. Within the agricultural sector are five storehouse-like structures, called collpas or granaries.

Urban sector
The physical separation between this sector and the agricultural is a dry moat, and from this site you can also see a rather long stairway leading to the main gate. One of the features of an Incan city (llaqta) is that the main architectural elements are found within this sector. And in the case of Machu Picchu, the city is shaped as a letterU.

To the north is a large sub-sector, religious due to the number of temples there, and to the south is a group of homes and workshops built on terraced platforms that Hiram Bingham christened the military group.

Upper cemetery and burial stones
In Machu Picchu, as in all Incan cities, the Incas buried their dead in outlying areas. Researchers have uncovered skeletal remains in this place, and in the upper part, they found smallstones that are part of the site, an indication that they were used as some sort of offering by the Incas.

Temple of the Sun
The building is designed as a semi-circle and constructed on a foundation of rock, an existing granite block fashioned to follow the natural curve and whose perimeter measures 10.5 meters. There are two trapezoidal windows in which the builders added moldings at each of the corners. On the north side is a wonderfully stone worked gate, and in its jambs, the Incas drilled holes, much like what is found in the QoricanchaTemple in the city of Cusco.

Ceremonial rock
This menhir stands 3 meters high, measures 7 meters around at its base, and has been fashioned to look like a cat. From a different angle though, it recalls the profile of one of the mountains surrounding Machu Picchu. Because of the characteristics of the group this rock belongs to, which also features two “huayranas” or three-walled rooms, it probably fulfilled ceremonial purposes.

Temple of the Three Windows
This building, located on the eastern side of the main square, exhibits a large rectangular floor plan and owes its name to the main section, where there are three beautiful windows plus two open spaces. The architectural style exhibited in this structure, together with the main temple, is by far the most striking of all Machu Picchu; we are talking about enormous, meticulously fashioned stones, fitted to such a degree that mere millimeters separate them.

MainTemple
It is north of the sacred plaza, hard by the Temple of the Three Windows. The Incas built it as a wayrana, i.e. an 11 meter by 8 meter rectangular structure but with only three walls, which measure .90 meters in thickness. At the foot of the main wall is a sculpted stone that might have served as an altar.

Intiwatana
This intrusive rock is the ceremonial center of Machu Picchu. The word can be translated as sun (inti) year (wata) and was a place where the Incan astronomers studied the solar year to possibly determine the solstices and equinoxes. Many researchers believe the Incas might have used the angles of the Intiwatana as a directional landmark in order for them to find magnetic north. Whatever the case may be, it certainly was the ceremonial axis of great religious significance.

The plazas
There are four plazas in Machu Picchu located at different levels, yet they all feature classic Incan architecture in the form of their rectangular shape. The architects linked them together by staircases that were built into the construction of the terraces. The largest of these is the main square, which fulfilled religious and social functions.

Mausoleum or tomb
The enormous, leaning stone block supporting the lower part of the Temple of the Sun forms a grotto that had been decorated and prepared with exceptional skill and later used as a mausoleum. It was also a place where the people worshipped and made offerings to the mummies of the chief rulers. At its entrance you see a depiction of the earth goddess’s stair step symbol.

Doors
Although the doors found throughout Machu Picchu feature a variety of textures, sizes, and architectural styles, differing one from another, they all possess the traditional form of a trapezoid.

WAYNA PICCHU

The eternal guardian of the Sanctuary, Wayna Picchu (meaning “young mountain” in Quechua) towers over the Incan city. To conquer its summit is truly an unforgettable experience. Along the route and at the top are sacred structures and eye catching terraces, built right against the slope’s edge.

It is possible to begin the ascent from Machu Picchu’s main square by way of a path the Incas themselves made. Today, it is well marked and in good condition. The view from Wayna Picchu is remarkable: Machu Picchu spread out in all its glory, the VilcanotaRiverCanyon, and the surrounding mountains. Be prepared for a tough two to three hour climb.

WIÑAYWAYNA

Wiñaywayna means “forever young” in Quechua, and is perhaps the most beautiful building along the Inca Trail. On the third day of trekking is when you reach this spot, located at an altitude of 2,700 meters, with its small urban sector and must see ceremonial fountains, ten to be exact, and a tower of typical Incan stonework. Other noteworthy sights include the stairway connecting the complex’s different levels and the agricultural sector with hanging terraces that defy the sheer precipice falling towards the VilcanotaRiverCanyon below.

You do not need to complete the four or eight day trek of the Inca Trail to visit Wiñaywayna. You can reach it from the village of Machu Picchu following the section of train tracks and then beginning your climb at the 104th kilometer. Expect the journey to take three and a half hours.

INCA TRAIL (CAMINO INCA)

This is the name given to part of the vast network of trails built by the Incas that united the main administrative and religious centers of their empire, what they called the Tahuantinsuyo. One of these trails connects the city of Cusco with Machu Picchu. There are various trekking options offered, such as the eight day trip, requiring that the traveler be in peak physical condition. It features an ascent of the slopes of MountSalkantay. Yet, there is another one day trip,allowing you to fully appreciate the experience of journeying along the route without having to struggle on a seriously demanding trek. Its chief stopping point is the Wiñaywayna archeological site.

The most popular section is the four day trek. Because the trial cuts through incredibly beautiful landscape, due to several different ecological tiers, and passes by archeological sites built by the Incas, it has earned the reputation of being one of the world’s best trekking destinations. The trail crosses mountain passes that hover around altitudes of 4,000 meters, like Warmiwañusqa (4,200 m) and Runkuraqay (3,860 m), descends to 2,000 meters (eyebrow of the jungle), takes the trekker on rather long staircases cut in the mountain side, and passes through tunnels that reach 20 meters in length. This section begins at Piskacucho, at the 82nd kilometer of the Cusco – village of Machu Picchu railroad.

TRIP
Día 1: Piskacucho – Llulluchapampa, 7 hours.
Día 2: Llulluchapampa – Chaquicocha, 8 hours
Día 3: Chaquicocha – Wiñaywayna, 7 hours
Día 4: Wiñaywaya – Intipunku, 1.30 hours
INTIPUNKU

The “Doorway of the Sun”, translation from Quechua, is the entrance to Machu Picchu along the Inca Trail. Arriving there before sunrise in order to watch as the Incan city shows itself through the clearing mist shroud at dawn is truly an exciting, unforgettable, and sublime experience.

The Intipunku provides the viewer a majestic and complete view of Machu Picchu as well as the sacred mountain of Wayna Picchu. The site, featuring stone buildings and steep stone stairways, seems to be some type of customs checkpoint for people arriving and departing the city.
TEMPLE OF THE MOON

If you set off from the Machu Picchu main square and trek for three hours along this path, you will come to this fascinating temple, where the three planes of Incan religion are depicted: the Hanan Pacha (the heavens, or world of above), the Kay Pacha (the earth, or physical life), and the Ukju Pacha (the underworld, or world of below), represented respectively by the condor, the puma, and the snake.

VISITING REGULATIONS

To help with preserving this priceless archeological monument and world natural and cultural heritage site, we recommend you bear the following in mind:

– Bring drinks in canteens only
– Do not bring food or eat within the monument
– Come in groups of no greater than 20 people
– Do not climb the walls
– Lighting open fires is strictly prohibited
– Put litter in the indicated trashcans
– Do not disturb the site’s plant and animal species
– Do not contaminate water sources
– Walk only on the signaled circuits
During a trek along the Inca Trail, the following is absolutely prohibited:
– Littering
– Lighting campfires and cooking over an open flame
– Spending the night in archeological sites
– Gathering plants, flowers, insects, and animals along the route

Tourist Attractions

City of Urubamba (2871 masl / 9419 fasl)
78 km / 48 miles northwest of Cusco on the route to Pisac (1 hour and 25 minutes by car). Another route is the one via Chinchero (57 km / 35 miles or 45 minutes by car)
It is located in the heart of the SacredValley. Before the Incas, it was a very important agricultural center. Today, the economy is based on farming and tourism, and the city itself is known for being one of the friendliest in the valley. Good tourist services are available in Urubamba.
Village of Chinchero (3772 masl / 12.375 fasl)
28 km / 17 miles northwest of Cusco (45 minutes by car)
A must see is the Colonial church where beautiful paintings of the CuscoSchool are kept. Every Sunday, the farmers and businessmen gather to exchange their products in a fair where they still barter. There are important archeological vestiges in the area.

Village of Maras
48 km / 30 miles northwest of Cusco (1 hour by car)

During the Vice royal period, it was a very important town. This can be seen in the church and mansions that feature the coats of arms of the Indigenous nobility on their fronts. Farming is the main economic activity.

Yucay
68 km / 42 miles north of Cusco (1 hour and 30 minutes by car)
According to the legends, the town was the personal property of Huayna Cápac. In earlier times, it was considered a very important agricultural and hydraulic technology center. Here, you can admire the palace of Inca Manco Sayri Túpac.
Moray Archeological Complex
9 km / 6 miles northwest of Maras (25 minutes by car)
There are four slightly elliptical agricultural terraces, that the people call muyus. The largest structure is 45 meters / 148 feet deep, and the average height of each terrace is 2 meters / 3 feet. Many think that this place was an important agricultural experimentation center for the Incas. Through the use of concentric terraces and because the temperature is different in each of their level, all the ecological tiers found in the confines of the Tahuantinsuyo Empire would have been reproduced in this complex.

Maras Salt-mines
10 km / 6 miles from Maras (30 minutes by car or 2 hours on foot)

Also called Salinas de Maras, these salt-mines have been used since the Tahuantinsuyo. The people channel the salt water that bubbles to the surface from a spring called Qoripujio towards men-made wells. From the exposure to the sun, the water evaporates and the salt remains on the surface to be transported later to the market to be sold. The view of this complex of nearly 3000 wells is spectacular. The local people happily demonstrate the ancient techniques to visitors, even allowing them to participate in them.
Ollantaytambo Archeological Complex
97 km / 60 miles northwest of Cusco (2 hours and 30 minutes by car)

The Incas built it as a fort that included a temple, agricultural terraces, and an urban area. There are two distinct sectors: Araqama Ayllu, the religious and worship zone, and Qosqo Ayllu, the residential area. Ollantaytambo was an important administrative center with probable military functions if one considers the walls and towers. There are also traces of ancient roads and aqueducts. The town of Ollantaytambo is called a LivingIncaTown since the inhabitants maintain very old practices and customs.

From Ollantaytambo, you can visit the village of Willoc, where the Quechua-speaking inhabitants distinguish themselves from the rest of the region by wearing red clothing that identifies them as members of a unique family.

 

Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary
110 km / 68 miles northwest of Cusco (4 hours by train) to the village of Machu Picchu and then another 8 km / 5 miles to the citadel (20 minutes by bus)

Machu Picchu is an impressive Inca citadel placed on the side of a mountain. Its Quechua name means “Old Mountain”, but it is also known as “the Lost City of the Incas” since it remained hidden from the West until discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911.

It was built in the fifteenth century, and is attributed to the Inca Pachacutec. The archeological complex is divided into two zones that are contained within approximately twenty hectares. On the sides of the mountain, you can see up to four meters high (13 feet) agricultural terraces. Several plazas and buildings, the most important being the Temple of the Sun, the Intihuatana or solar clock and calendar, the Temple of the Three Windows, the Main Temple and the Condor Sector, make up the urban sector. There is also an impressive monolith of carved stone, three meters high (10 feet) and seven meters wide (23 feet) at the base, named the Sacred Stone. In order to build Machu Picchu, the Incas had to use blocks of stone brought from long distances. The finish of the walls features different quality levels and techniques. One of the highest quality walls is the central one of the MainTemple where the stones fit together perfectly.

The Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary in not only a priceless archeological site, it is also associated with rich animal and plant life. In 1983, UNESCO placed it on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Lists.

Tourist Attractions

Village of Oropesa
24 km / 15 miles southwest of Cusco (30 minutes by car)
Oropesa is traditionally known as the “Land of Bread”. People maintain several homemade ovens dedicated to the baking the flavorful country bread called “chutas”.

Pikillacta
30 km / 19 miles south of Cusco (45 minutes by car)

This is a pre-Inca city which cultural height was reached between 800 A.D. and 1100 A.D. in the period corresponding to the Huari regional confederation. It constituted the doorway to the SacredCity of the Incas. It features long, straight streets and big, rectangular city blocks full of buildings. It is surrounded by walls and there are spherical buildings in the western part. The flagstone and mud mortared walls are high and their foundations taper as they rise.

Temple of Andahuaylillas
36 km / 22 miles from Cusco (1 hour by car)

Known as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas, it was built in 1580 and features a simple façade contrasted by the Baroque interior with its gilded altars, walls, paintings, and polychromatic ceilings.

Tipon Archeological Complex (3316 masl / 10879 fasl)
25 km / 16 miles southeast of Cusco (45 minutes by car) on the tarred Cusco – Puno highway, taking the turnoff near kilometer marker 20,5.

According to legends, Tipon is one of the royal gardens that Wiracocha ordered to be built. It is made up of twelve terraces flanked by perfectly polished stonewalls and enormous agricultural terraces, canals, and decorative waterfalls that, along with the native flowers of the area, offers the visitor a stunning vision. The site is composed of different sectors: Tipon itself, Intiwatana, Pukutuyuj and Pucará, Cruz Moqo, the cemetery of Pitopujio, Hatun Wayq´o, among others.

Tourist Attractions

Quillabamba
210 km / 130 miles northwest of Cusco (6 hours by bus)
At 1050 masl / 3445 fasl, the capital of the province is an important trade centre in the Lares and La Convencion Valleys. The main economic activities are the growing of coca leaves, coffee, cacao, and fruit. The city was founded on July 25, 1857. The valley microclimate makes it an ideal location for sports.
Choquequirao Archeological Complex
93 km / 58 miles from Abancay (Department of Apurimac) is the village of Cachora. Then, travel another 30 km / 19 miles (2-days hike, walking an average of 8 hours a day)

Choquequirao (chuqui k’iraw or Cradle of Gold) could be one of the lost Inca citadels in the VilcabambaValley where the Incas took refuge from the Spanish in 1536. The complex consists of nine archeological stone groups. There are hundreds of agricultural terraces, rooms, and irrigation systems. The buildings are constructed around a central promenade or main square.

Tourist Attractions

Village of Pisac
32 km / 20 miles northeast of Cusco (1 hour by car)

Pisac is well known for its craft market, but there are also Inca archeological remnants: an irrigation system, an astronomical observatory, a solar clock and calendar (Intiwatana), and agricultural terraces.

City of Calca
50 km / 31 miles north of Cusco (1 hour and 15 minutes by car)
You find the Huchu’y Qosqo or Little Cusco archeological vestiges there, as well as the Machacancha medicinal hot springs (sulfurous waters), and Minasmoqo (cold, sparkling waters). The snow capped mountains Pitusiray and Sawasiray intensify the beauty of the landscape.

Raqchi (3485 masl /11.434 fasl) a small town of farmers and potters, which social organization has adapted to a new experimental tourism program.

Raqchi Archeological Complex
117 km / 73 miles from Cusco (2 hours by car)

Built in the fifteenth century, it is considered by the historians to be one of the most audacious Inca constructions. The remarkable Wiracocha temple, 100 meters (328 feet) long and 20 meters (66 feet) wide is made of adobe walls built on top of volcanic stone foundations.

The complex also includes a residential area made for the Inca nobles and dozens of circular warehouses to store food.

110 km / 68 miles southeast of Cusco to Combapata (1 hour and 30 minutes by car). From there, travel another 31 km / 19 miles to the hanging bridge (45 minutes by car)

This 33-kilometer (21-mile) long and 1-meter (3-feet) wide bridge is the perfect spot to see the Apurimac River Canyon in all its splendor.

Every second Sunday of June, about 1000 local people come to weave it with braided straw of ichu grass and chachacomo, a process that takes three days. The task, which predates the Incas, uses traditional techniques and is executed in the framework of ritual ceremonies and dances performed by the family members of the area.

The bridgework finishes on the fourth day giving way to singing and dancing.