Andean Explorer Tour (Peru)
On the arrival day, there was still some time to explore the white city of Arequipa a bit, before having our welcome briefing and the first (delicious) dinner downtown.
> Volcanoes and condors The first riding day was approx. 260 km and took us north to Chivay. After leaving the dense traffic of Arequipa, we constantly climbed up on nice curvy roads > from 2335 m above sealevel to almost 5000 m - with a great panoramic view on several volcanoes. Our ride was accompanied by our first sights of Vicunas (Lama-like animals), blue sky and temperatures from almost 22 Celsius at the beginning, to 9 at the highest point... quite chilly! Descending to Chivay (on 3635 m) it became warmer again and we continued to the Colca Canyon, to see the condors. These animals are the biggest birds - and we saw them in the deepest Canyon. After so many impressions, we finally cam to our hotel in Chivay, had a boot beer and then went for a nice dinner again. What a day!
> Lake Titicaca is waiting We had an early start in Chivay - with 4 degrees Celsius... and first had to take the route back, we came yesterday - with nice curves uphill, a beautiful view back down onto Chivay - further to the volcano viewpoint at almost 5000 m (and it did not get warmer at the first stage). From there, we decended back to our yesterday's lunch stop (this time for a warming "Mate Inca" (tea made with Coca leafs, Munja and Chachacoma - good against altitude sickness). Then, heading further east, crossing the wide planes of the Altiplano - all in an elevation between 3600 and 4200 meters (but with "warm" 13 degrees), we saw even more Vicunas, Lamas and Alpacas on the entire route. We crossed another spectacular viewpoint at the "Laguna Lagunillas", where we enjoyed a quick espresso... inside the building... covered from strong and cold wind). For lunch, we stopped, where the truckers eat (to get a - for this region typical - gilled trout). Finally, we arrived at Titicaca Lake with a nice view onto the lake and our hotel (the big white building in the background). Tomorrow morning, we will take a boat from the hotel to the Uros (floating islands).
> riding the peruvian Altiplano The day started with a breakfast with a beautiful view onto lake Titikaka. We got picked up by a boat at our hotel and went to visit the Uros (floating islands). Our captain and the family, living on the island we visited then explained all topics and details, regaring the infrastructure on the lake, how the islands are built and much more. After returning to the hotel, we changed and started our 255 km riding day on the peruvian Altiplano - north, towards Sicuani. As there was some repair work on a bridge north of Juliaca, we were forced to take a deviation via LAMPA - and this turned out to be a great coincidence: In Lampa, there is the world's only copy of Michelangelo's "La Pieta" - which we were able to see - as well as the beautiful church in the town ceter. As we spent a little time there, it was also time for lunch in a "Polleria", where we had some grilled chicken. Continuing our journey in sunny weather and 15 degrees Celsius, we travelled further north and came back to the initial road. After a quick pitstop in a little village, where they celebrated a religios feast, we had our last stop at the highest point of today (at approx. 4335 m) and then headed to our hotel. For dinner, a typical moto-taxi brought us downtown. Fed up, full of impressions and a bit tired, we call it a day and we are looking forward to tomorrow, when we will rid to CUSCO.
> visiting the old Inca capital Today, we had the 2nd shortest ride on this tour (with 140 km) to Cusco. Temperature was 10 in the beginning, but quickly reached and stayed at 19 Celsius. The route passed the old Inca ruin of "Rumicolca", which was a main gate between the northern and southern part of the Inca empire as well as an aqueduct, serving this region with water. Soon later, we stopped by the road for a quick lunch and continued to our hotel in Cusco... ...just to get changed quickly and to go downtown for some sightseeing and for shopping.
> into the "sacred valley" 10 am, our last riding day (90 km) started with sunny weather (12 degrees) and a last view onto Cusco from our hotel. The first stop then was for a great lunch, followed by introduction into peruvian textile handcraft. We continued to the "Maras" salt mines and further on, we had a first view into the sacred valley. Passing a cocoon hotel, we then arrived in warm 21 degrees in Ollantaytambo, where we could get a first glimpse on more Inca ruins in this area. Finally, the bikes were loaded and the day was finished with a local dinner. Tomorrow, we will have a very early start to the train, which takes us to the ruins of Machu Picchu.
> breathtaking world heritage On our last day, we had a very early start, to catch the train to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo). There, we took a shuttle bus up to the ruins and a local guide explained many details about the Inca, Machu Picchu the ruins, religion, architecture, plants and much more. After more than 2,5 eciting hours in the ruins, we descended back to Aguas Calientes again, strolled a bit through the town and the market on our way to the train back to Ollantaytambo. The train ride was spiced a little with some folclore and an Alpaca fashion show. Back in Ollantaytambo, a delisious farewell dinner completed this day and the tour. Thank you very much for moto-travelling southern Peru with Edelweiss and we are looking forward to the next tour/s!