March 29 - April 12 This trip is a very popular annual adventure, designed to include a colorful and important festival in the highland city of Cuzco. Anyone interested in textiles and the cultures of ancient and modern Peru is welcome to join us! Tour Itinerary: We begin this classic "Textiles and Culture" adventure in Lima where we visit museums of ceramics and textiles, and enjoy the fusion cuisine of this bustling seaside capital. In Lima, we stay in the upscale Miraflores area, in a charming B&B overflowing with geraniums. Then we fly north to the Chiclayo/Trujillo area to visit the best of Peru's pre-Hispanic cultural sites. We will learn about the little-known early cultures whose people created some of the world's best textiles and gold objects. We will visit ChanChan, the ancient Moche culture's capital; the impressive museum full of treasures excavated from the pyramids of Sipan (excavations featured in National Geographic); the Pyramid of the Moon with its fabulous painted friezes, and the El Brujo ocean-side site near Magdalena de Cao, with its wonderful new museum. This modern museum features items found here, focusing on the recent discovery of a tatooed female warrior, called the "Senora de Cao;" subject of another NG article. To see parts of this area, we will be based in Huanchaco, in a pretty hotel with pool, 5 minutes from the beach, where fishermen ride on traditional reed boats to paddle out into the surf. Further north, we stay in Lambayeque in an historic building, renovated into a charming B&B. We drive out to the archeological sites in our private van; also we drive between Chiclayo and Trujillo. From Trujillo, we fly over the Andes to CUZCO where we stay in an always-popular and charming 18th C. mansion with comfortable rooms, hand-carved doors and a beautiful central courtyard. We will visit several highland textile villages with Peruvian Master Weaver, Nilda Callañaupa, Director of the Cuzco Center for Traditional Textiles. There we'll meet knitters and the weavers, watch them at work, and perhaps show them what we are working on; it's always fun to share with these talented textile artists. Nilda will be on hand to explain the complex weaving techniques; Cynthia and the knitters, both men and women, will show you their ingenious knitting, joining and stranding methods. One day we'll learn to dye alpaca yarns with natural dyes such as cochineal and various flowers and leaves. We'll also get up-close-and-personal with some of the furry beasts! A highlight of this Easter trip is the spectacular "Lord of the Earthquakes" or Senor de los Temblores procession in Cuzco. We will watch the celebration from a restaurant above the plaza and take great photos from the balconies here. You can join the locals in tossing the traditional red flowers onto the passing statue for good luck. Then, we take the train to spend two days at mystical, magical MACHU PICCHU to learn about the Inka culture and architecture. We stay in a pleasant hotel right above the roaring Urubamba River. This beautiful area is warmer and lower than Cuzco and the jungle trees are full of bromeliads and orchids; flowers such as Bird-of-Paradise and begonias bloom among the ruins and several resident llama roam around, just waiting to add ambiance to your photos! During the trip we travel by private van and commercial jet, flying from Lima to CHICLAYO, then TRUJILLO-LIMA to CUZCO. Costs are all-inclusive except for one lunch and one dinner. All of our hotels are safe and charming, and the food is delicious. Past travelers on this annual trip have been thrilled by the quality and variety of Peruvian food; indeed the cuisine has become famous for interesting fusion cooking, as well as the traditional dishes. Notes: Price Includes: 
Supplier Information
Out-Of-The-Ordinary Ranking
Also see tour packages in: South America Peru Artistry Textile Arts Cultural Journey Email it to a friend: Click here to email this vacation to a friend |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
