Peru ItineraryA Web Page by Roy J. Beckemeyer
Trip planning for the basic trip was done by Roger Boyd using as ground agents Barry Walker's Manu Expeditions of Cusco. Pat and I booked our pre-trip to Machu-Picchu through Manu Expeditions as well, then met up with the group in Cusco to continue the trip.
We traveled on American Airlines, since Pat and I have lots of frequent flier miles with them. We flew from Kansas City rather than Wichita (sometimes tickets are lower in price that way, and there are generally more options in terms of flight times). We went KC to Chicago to Miami to Lima. After overnighting in Lima (actually at a hotel - Hotel Alcala del Rio - in a Lima suburb, San Isidro) we flew Lan Peru to Cusco. The new seating on American, with added leg room in coach class, was really nice, and made the flights much more pleasant than any we had had in recent times.
31 October - Flights from US to Peru. Overnight in a Lima suburb. Most tourists stay either in San Isidro or in Miraflores, both suburbs of Lima and nice neighborhoods.
1 November - Flight Lima to Cusco (airport departure tax is S./12.00 per person). Stayed at Hotel Royal Inca II in Cusco - just a couple of blocks from the town plaza. Tour of the city.
2 November - Took early morning train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes. Great ride, switchbacking up over the mountains. Stayed at the Hotel Pueblo (a short walk from the village). Toured Machu-Picchu, one of the great archeological sites of the Americas.
3 November - Morning in Aguas Calientes and Machu-Picchu. Afternoon train back to Cucso. Great views of city as we came in after dark.
4 November - Tour of the Sacred Valley. Pisac, Urubamaba.
5 November - Rest of group arrived. Met and took afternoon birding trip to Huacarpay Lakes.
6 November - Left on expedition bus for extended back-country tour. Mountain & forest birding. Safari camp at Pillahuata (2800 m elevation).
7 November - All day on the road birding (2800 m down to 1600 m). Pristine forest on little-traveled road. Night at Cock of the Rock Lodge.
8-9 November - Cock of the Rock Lodge. Visited Cock of the Rock lek, birded the road and trails in the cloud forest.
10 November - Travelled to Pillcopata and Atalaya (1600 m down to 500 m). Took boat across Alto Madre de Dio River to Amazonia Lodge.
11-14 November - Birding the trails around the Amazonia Lodge.
15 November - Return to Cock of the Rock Lodge.
16 November - Return to Cusco.
17 November - Return flight to Lima (departure tax S./12.00). Hotel La Castellana in Miraflores. Birding in the small fishing village of Pucusana and in the Parque Ecologio Metropolitano Pantanos de Villa.
18 November - Flight Lima to Kansas City (departure tax $25.00 per person).
19 November - Home!