schedule

Your Journey Includes: Special Added Features:
 * • International airfare from Dallas or Boston**
 * • U.S. Air taxes and security charges**
 * • Airfare in Peru, including airport departure taxes & international departure tax**
 * • Flights and other tour-related transportation in Peru**
 * • Roundtrip airport/hotel transfers**
 * • Luggage handling at hotels**
 * • All site entrance fees**
 * • First-class hotels**
 * • Meals: Day 2 – lunch/dinner; Day’s 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 – breakfast/lunch/dinner; Day 8 – breakfast /dinner**
 * • Pre-paid Gratuities**
 * • Peruvian Tourist Visa upon your arrival in Lima**
 * • Fully escorted by Dr. Robert Schoch and Dr. Colette Dowell and Excellent bilingual Peruvian guides**

**• Travel with authors and teachers Dr. Robert Schoch and Dr. Colette Dowell**

**• 1 nights / 2 days at Machu Picchu – with plenty of free time to explore on your own!**

** • Special Sunrise Ceremony at Machu Picchu **

**• Traditional ceremonies with ritual specialists in the Inca Spiritual Tradition**

** • Optional: Fly over the ancient and mysterious Nazca Lines **


 * TOUR ITINERARY **


 * March 4 - 12, 2006 **


 * (B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner) **

Day 1. Saturday, March 4. Depart USA to Lima, Peru

**Depart from Boston, Miami or Dallas with Dr. Schoch and Dr. Dowell and connect in Miami for the international flight to Lima. In flight overnight. Everyone will meet in Miami and remain together for the duration of the trip.**

Day 2. Sunday, March 5. To Sacred Valley of the Incas, Visit from the Q’ero Elders, Welcome Dinner (L/D)

**Arrive Lima early morning. Clear immigration, where you will be issued your Peruvian Tourist Visa. Claim your** **luggage. Clear Customs and meet our local tour representative for your transfer for your 1-hour flight to Cusco over the spect****acular Andes mountains. As you fly into Cusco, colorful ancient capital of the Inca Empire, you are greeted by the towering a****pus (mountains) with their shimmering caps of snow. Deplane, claim your luggage and meet our local tour representative. Transfer to** **your hotel in the heart of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, nestled between the majestic snow-covered apus and fed by the waters of the s****acred Urubamba River. Light lunch in the hotel restaurant. Time to rest to adjust to the change in altitude. Perhaps you’d like to take a stroll through the colorful gardens or along the Urubamba River. Or, use the labyrinth that is laid out in stone on the hotel gro****unds as walking meditation. Late afternoon Orientation Meeting with Dr. Schoch and Dr. Dowell, followed by a visit from the Q’ero Elders, ritual specialists considered to be the last remaining descendents of the Incas, who will perform a sacred** **ritual to ask the apus and Pachamama to bless each person during the journey. Afterwards you’ll enjoy a “Welcome to Peru” dinner of traditional Peruvian cuisine at the hotel. Overnight Urubamba.**

Day 3. Monday, March 6. Pisac and Ollantaytambo (B/L/D)

**After breakfast you depart to the ancient solar observatory at Pisac and enter the site through the ancient Temple of the Condor, to invoke the power of the Condor, totem of the HananPacha, the Upper World. Then walk along the winding trail, full of magnificent vistas of the hills and valleys below, to the most sacred area of the site, the ancient Sun Temple, where you enjoy a knowledgeable tour of the site with your guides. Walk back to your bus and drive into the village of Pisac, where you enjoy a nutritious lunch of traditional Peruvian dishes at one of the local restaurants, followed by time to shop in its traditional Andean marketplace full of colorful clothing, handicrafts, jewelry and more! Afterwards you continue to Ollantaytambo, the Sanctuary of the Wind, an Inca fortress/temple that is one of the most impressive in Peru. First stop is the royal baths/fountains to connect with Unu, the Water element. Then walk to the main altar area of the temple to receive a blessing from Wayra, the Wind element, the guardian of the site. As the sun is setting you depart the temple and return to your hotel in Urubamba. Group dinner at the hotel. Overnight Urubamba.**

Day 4. Tuesday, March 7. To Machu Picchu (B/L/D)

**After an early breakfast, you drive to the train station in Ollantaytambo and board the train to Machu Picchu. Travel alongside thewild Urubamba River deep into the mountain valleys of the high jungle on our approximate 2-hour trip, arriving at Aguas Calientes, the small village at the base of Machu Picchu. After a quick check-in at the hotel, you’re finally on your way…….take the bus up to Machu Picchu, the 8th Wonder of the World. You're finally here, at one of the most mysterious places on earth. During your group tour this morning with a professional guide from the site, you visit the Temples of the Sun & Moon, the Temple of the Condor, the Temple of the Three Windows, and finally the world-famous spiritual center of the site, the Intihuatana, or the Hitching Post of the Sun. Then enjoy a delicious buffet lunch at the on-site hotel, accompanied by the joyful music of local Andean musicians. After lunch you have time to re-enter the Sanctuary for exploration time on your own. Perhaps you will want to join Dr. Schoch and Dr. Dowell as they explore and study the area, delving into its ancient secrets, and explaining its significance to anyone interested in listening. In the late afternoon return to Aguas Calientes. Group dinner. Option: Take a leisurely soak in the local hot springs. Overnight Machu Picchu/Aguas Calientes.**

Day 5. Wednesday, March 8. Machu Picchu/Return to Cusco (B/L/D)

**You return to Machu Picchu very early morning and have the opportunity to greet the sun, just as the Incas did in the ancient past. Your guide will take the group to an area that is rarely visited and from which you will be able to see Taytay Inti, as He peeks over the surrounding apus. Afterwards, you might like to climb the towering sister peak of Huayna Picchu (Young Peak). Or, explore more of Machu Picchu on your own, or in the company of Dr. Schoch and Dr. Dowell. Late group lunch in Aguas Calientes. Then you board the afternoon train to Cusco. Arrive early evening at your hotel. Light group dinner at the hotel, followed by free time for exploration and/or shopping on your own. Overnight Cusco.**

Day 6. Thursday, March 9. In Cusco: Sacred Temples (B/L/D)

**After a buffet breakfast at the hotel you depart for a tour of the fascinating history of Cusco. Your first stop is Tambo Machay, the private fountains/baths of the Incan nobles and priests, to connect with the sacred water element Unu. We then continue to Sacsayhuaman, where you will see some of the most amazing Inca architecture - walls made of giant megalithic stones, fitted together perfectly without any mortar! Cusco was originally laid out in the shape of a puma, the totem animal of the Kay Pacha, the middle world in Inca cosmology. Sacsayhuaman was the puma's head, and the zigzag walls at this amazing site represent the teeth, as well as the path of the lightning, a revered earth elemental for the Incas. Return to Cusco for a light lunch at a local restaurant. This afternoon join Dr. Schoch and Dr. Dowell as they visit the colonial cathedrals, archaeology and art museums, and the traditional marketplace. Or simply use the free time to soak in the atmosphere and explore on your own. Group dinner. Overnight Cusco.**

Day 7. Friday, March 10. To Lima/Pachacamac (B/L/D)

**After breakfast you transfer to the airport for your return flight to Lima. Upon arrival you meet our local tour representative and transfer to your motor coach. Lunch at a local restaurant. Then you drive south of Lima along the Pan American highway to Pachacamac, the most renowned pre-Inca and Inca pilgrimage site of the area, dedicated to the most important deity of the coast of Peru, the creator god Pachacámac. In the indigenous Quechua language, Pacha means world, and camac to animate, The One who Animates the World. The main features of the site are a walled enclosure containing a stepped pyramid, storage structures, and patios. The main temple at the site was dedicated to Pachacámac and held a famous oracle. Pilgrims traveled to the center from great distances, and its cemetery was considered sacred. The site has been preserved, and one of the Inca structures, the Mamacuna, which housed the Virgins of the Sun, has been reconstructed. Later afternoon return to Lima and check into your hotel in Miraflores, the garden district of Lima, near the ocean. Free time to explore alone or with Dr. Schoch and Dr. Dowell before your group dinner. Overnight Lima.**

Day 8. Saturday, March 11. Optional Nazca Lines, Free Time, Farewell Dinner (B/D)

**Optional Nazca Lines Excursion: After breakfast transfer to the airport for your flight south along the coast over the world-famous Nazca Lines, one of the true Overnight Urubamba. enigmas of the world. The lines are a series of complex designs, some up to 300 meters long, which take the shape of gigantic figures of mammals, insects, deities, and what appear to be aerial runways. They can only be seen in their true dimension from the sky, from an altitude of at least 1,500 feet. The most extraordinary legacy left by a culture that flourished in 300 BC, they were discovered in 1927. The area has been declared a Mankind Heritage Site by UNESCO, and the ancient mystery of the figures still waits to be unraveled. Return to Lima. Meet our local transfer person. Dr. Schoch and Dr. Dowell will accompany those taking the Nazca Lines Excursion and discuss the significance and mysteries of the lines. For those not taking the Nazca Excursion, you have a free day to explore Lima on your own. Dr. Schoch and Dr. Dowell will help you decide how to best use your time, and our local tour representative will be available to help you make arrangements to visit your choice of museums, art galleries, churches, marketplaces, or other areas of interest. Evening “Farewell to Peru” dinner. Transfer to the airport for your late night departure from Lima.**

= Day 9. Sunday, March 12. Arrive US. =

=Arrive US. Clear Immigration, Baggage Claim, and Customs.=

=Connect to your flight to your home city. Dr. Schoch and Dr. Dowell=

=will accompany those on their attending flights.=

=Note: This itinerary is subject to change due to conditions beyond our control.=