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Inti Raimi o Fiesta de San Pedro
offered by supplier M14569 (view this supplier profile)
Key Information:
Tour Duration: 3
day(s)
Group Size: 2
- 12
people
Destination(s):
Ecuador
Specialty Categories:
Cultural Journey
Walking Tours
Season: January - December
Airfare Included: No
Tour Customizable: No
Minimum Per Person Price: 500 US Dollar (USD)
Maximum Per Person Price: 500 US Dollar (USD)
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Tour Itinerary:
Day 1:
From Quito or Guayaquil, we will take a commercial flight to Cuenca. We will then leave from the airport to travel north on the Panamerican Highway. It is a beautiful route that will show us the mountain system of the southern part of the country. The mountains in the south are much older than those in the north, and without volcanoes or snow capped peaks. We will arrive in Ingapirca, the most important Incan ruins in the country. They are constructed over a pre-Incan ritual site from the Cañari culture. Ingapirca is Quechua (Incan language) for "wall of the Inca". It was a ritual center with a temple dedicated solely to the sun; moreover, it was a center of military control. It is said that Atahualpa himself resided in this fortress. Windows and doors in the ruins are trapezoidal. This was typical in Incan architecture.
We will lodge in La Posada de Ingapirca, a welcoming and comfortable hotel that is situated next to the ruins. Today is the day of Inti Raimi. Beginning in the morning, indigenous people from different communities join together all around the ruins. Some tribes must travel more than two days (sometimes on foot) to come the festival. The different groups all celebrate in thanks to the sun for the gift of the earth. There will be music, dancing, shaman ritual, and all out revelry. It is a very happy and lively festival that, in recent years, has brought tribes all the way from Bolivia and Peru. Ingapirca has indeed become a very important center for the celebration of Ingapirca. Because the hotel is so close to the festival, we can alternate between day and night to participate in the festival at different times. Optional activity: horseback riding.
Day 2:
From Ingapirca we will travel an hour and a half back to Cuenca, the third biggest city in the country. Cuenca is also one of the most beautiful cities in the country because of its colonial architecture and the four rivers that cross through it. We will visit the straw hat shops that have made Cuenca world famous. The hats are incorrectly named Panama Hats. They were named this because the Cuencanos (people from the city of Cuenca) sent the hats to the U.S. through Panama. We will also visit ceramic workshops to observe the process and the hand painting that goes into making the beautiful ceramics. We will stay in Hotel Crespo, a beautiful hotel that was constructed in the early 1900’s. It is situated on the edge of Rio Tomebamba and offers comfortable accommodations and exquisite food.
Day 3:
WLeaving Cuenca we will visit PN Cajas where we will the typical Andean highland ecosystem and some very impressive geological formations. More than 270 connected lakes have been formed from glacial movement. We will take a one hour hike through a Polylepis forest. Polylepis is a tree that is native only to the Andes. There we will see some amazing formations that look like they came straight out of a storybook. We will descend into the Andean foothills while enjoying the changing scenery. The view will change form Andean highland to cloud forest and then humid tropical forest before finally changing to lowland scenery. We will cross the river basin of Rio Guayas, the most fertile land in all the Pacific coast of South America. We will then stop to eat lunch at Jambeli, a cacao and banana plantation. We will get to see firsthand the agricultural process that these fruits endure. Jambeli is also a rescue center for endangered animals so we will get to see rare specimens of Ecuadorian fauna. Later that afternoon we will continue on to Guayaquil. Where you will retire to the hotel or leave for the airport, depending on your itinerary. We will then return to Guayaquil.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Also see tour packages in:
South America
Ecuador
Cultural Journey
Walking Tours
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