Peru
We have three programs in Peru, The Tambopata Reserve, Machu Picchu, and hiking the Inca Trail. Please see the summaries below, and follow the links to more complete descriptions.

The Tambopata Reserve
The Tambopata Reserve is one of the most pristine rainforest areas of Perú. We stay at a lodge that serves a base to explore in the forest. It is staffed with naturalist guides who take a serious approach to the observation of wildlife. The locale is quite distant from settlement which makes simply getting there an adventure and an chance to observe wildlife.

In small groups with our naturalist guides we explore some of the most unspoiled and magnificent rainforest in all of Perú. Nights are spent in a lodge with private cabins, toilets, and showers. In the daytime we explore the rainforest and on occasion are able to visit a collpa, which in Quechua Indian language stands for a clay bank where macaws, other parrots, and many other types of birds gather in enormous groups to lick minerals from the soil. This collpa is one of the most fantastic wildlife spectacles in all of South America. On a single day there may be as many as six thousand parrots that come to feed at the clay lick. We are able to get a fantastic look at many different types of parrots from a hidden platform. Given the unspoiled location of this lodge, it is almost a certainty that we will also get to see some of the large mammals like tapir and giant river otter that still thrive in this unspoiled wilderness. Land Cost from: $1,200 / Length: 5 Days

Machu Picchu
High in the Andes and accessed by a railway that winds through deep forested valleys, Machu Picchu is of the world's most enchanting historical sites. It is the mountain top refuge of the Incas which by the early Indians as “ancient peak”. This well preserved city perched on a misty mountain hidden in the Andes was first brought to the attention of the modern world by Mr. Hiram Bingham in July. 1911. Never discovered or captured by the Spanish Conquistadors, Machu Picchu was a ceremonial center of large area that spread through the nearby valleys with their precipitous walls of green. Under the thick foliage still lie archaeological treasures still to be uncovered. It is not difficult to imagine that the Incans themselves, gazing across the great vistas, felt the same grandeur and astonishment as we feel today.

Our journey begins in the capital of the Incas, Cusco which is still the blending of Indian and Spanish cultures that it was during the conquest. There are several splendid Incan sites to visit and a fascinating local culture. From Cusco we travel by train to Machu Picchu itself. The program includes hotel nights in Cusco, a city tour of this fascinating capitol at the top of the world, accommodations, transportation, and guided tours in Machu Picchu itself. Land Cost from: $950 / Length: 5 Days

Perú: Hiking the Inca Trail
[Please call us for this itinerary since it is currently being revised]
This vigorous hiking trip follows the ancient Inca trail as it winds from the Incan capital Cusco to the Machu Picchu. We hike alongside turbulent rivers, into high altitude dwarf forests shrouded in mist, through cool tropical cloud forests, and descend into the warm humid forests where the trees are covered with orchids.

Our equipment is carried by porters so we are able to enjoy the spectacular scenery. Our guides help us understand the culture of the mountains as well as the legacy of the Incas. For four nights we camp in high quality tents and our meals are prepared by the Peruvian staff. On the fourth day of our journey we emerge from the forest on the at the “Gate of the Sun” high above Machu Picchu for a fantastic view of the “Lost City of the Incas”.
We spend a full day at the ruins and then return in the late afternoon by train to Cusco. This is a demanding trip, but anyone in good physical condition can participate. For its magnificence, it is a trip which can never be forgotten.
Land Cost from: $1,300 / Length: 7 Days