Travel Review: Tour of Peru, Lima, Sacred Valley, Puerto Maldonado, Moray, Machu Picchu, Amazons, Cooking Class, Butterfly Garden

Our adventure started in the Sacred Valley.  We stayed at a fabulous place which was nestled inside the quaint village of Ollantaytambo, not even accessible to motor vehicles.  Our driver carried our luggage to the lodge through the narrow streets, which were built by the Incans centuries ago.  The staff at the lodge was very friendly and made us feel right at home.  They served breakfast each morning, and offered the option of dinner each night.  Our room was comfortable with a fabulous view of the mountains and the ruins at Ollantaytambo.

Our guide showed up right on time the next morning and led us on a wonderful tour of the archaeological ruins of Ollantaytambo.  On Tuesday we visited Moray and the Salt Flats with our guide. 

He was an excellent guide with immense knowledge of the history of Peru, its people and its culture.  He was our guide for 5 days, handling all the details of our trip.  He was always on time, attentive to our needs, and he made sure everything went smoothly.

On Wednesday of that week, our guide had the day off.  Our next guides picked us up at our hotel and our driver took us to the village of Testayoc, high in the mountains where tourists never go.  There we visited with the children in the small schoolhouse of that remote village.  The government had cut funding for their school lunches, so we brought with us seedlings to be planted in their greenhouse, so they would have food for the upcoming winter.  My granddaughter and I helped the children plant these vegetables, then we spent time playing with the children.  They especially liked seeing themselves on the camera of our cellphones!  We also brought with us some food which the cook prepared for lunch, which we shared with the children and teachers.  (All of this was arranged by our travel agent.)

The next day we rode the train to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Town,) where we hiked to the Mandor Waterfalls and visited the Butterfly Gardens, all under the lead of our guide.  The following day he accompanied us on the bus ride to Machu Picchu.  For two hours he expertly described the ruins from this ancient civilization.   He then gave us time to explore and enjoy Machu Picchu on our own. 

Our last day with our guide took us to the city of Cusco, where a local Shaman performed his ancient rituals for us.  Later he gave us a guided tour this ancient city.

After our time in Cusco, we flew to Puerto Maldonado, where we met our next guide.  He transported us by a one hour canoe ride on the Tambopata River to our lodge in the Amazon.  There we hiked to the Canopy Tower to experience the views of the river and the jungle. We spent 3 nights in the Amazon.  Our guide led us on many adventures, including bird watching, long hikes exploring the jungle (where we were caught in a downpour of rain!) and even fishing for piranhas.  All meals were provided by the lodge, and they were exceptional!

From the Amazon we flew to Lima.  Our guide met us the next morning and we explored the local markets where we learned about the ingredients of Peruvian cuisine.  We then had a private cooking lesson given by a local chef.  We prepared ceviche and other local favorites, after which we had a fabulous lunch prepared by that chef.  We also spent time exploring Lima.

So….as you can see… our 14 day trip was amazing.  It was all arranged by this travel company, including lodging, many meals, all internal flights, train tickets, tickets to Machu Picchu and other sites we visited, and all guides and drivers.   It went perfectly without even one problem!  I would highly recommend this company and this agent to anyone contemplating a trip to Peru!