An Archaeological Study Tour

Peru
August 22 – September 8, 2008
Led by Professor John W. Rick


At its peak, the Inca Empire stretched from central Chile north to the present Ecuadoran-Colombian border. Our tour will encompass the major pre-Inca and Inca monuments of the Peruvian coast and highlands. These legendary remains of the Inca Empire are the physical evidence for the most intricate and complicated society and state structure in the New World. Along the coast, touring will include Chan Chan, the largest adobe city in the world, a flight over the mysterious Nazca Lines, and the Moche tomb of Sipán and its artifacts in the Royal Tombs Museum. A tour highlight will be our visits to Cerro Sechin, the temple fortress of Chankillo and the oldest city in the Americas, Caral. We will spend six days in the Cuzco Valley, traveling through breathtakingly beautiful scenery, llama herds and colorful stone villages to visit ancient fortresses, sacred ceremonial centers, colonial churches and vibrant local markets. Our two-day visit to the spectacular citadel of Machu Picchu will provide ample time to explore the site and contemplate the fascinating people who built it.
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Friday, Saturday, Day 1 & 2: LIMA: Flights arrive into Lima in the evening. We will provide transfers to the Hotel Las Américas from all flights. Saturday, after an orientation meeting with Professor Rick, we begin our touring at the Museo de la Nación. This superb collection of artifacts, from the earliest periods to the arrival of the Spaniards, will give us an introduction to the sites we will be visiting. We continue to the Hacienda Mamacona for a barbecue, accompanied by typical local music, followed by a performance of the famous “dancing horses.” This afternoon touring continues at pre-Inca Pachacamac, which was once an important ceremonial center. We will examine the 1,300-year-old remains of some of the temples, pyramids and the reconstructed House of the Mamaconas.
Meals: Breakfast daily & 1 lunch

Sunday, Day 3: ICA: Driving south, we will visit the extensive remains of the late pre-Hispanic site of La Centinela and the Nazca Regional Museum, which houses mummies, ceramics and textiles, as well as Inca counting strings and clothes made of feathers. The day’s highlight will be our spectacular flight over the mysterious Nazca Lines cut into the stony desert in shapes varying from straight parallels and geometric figures to an enormous monkey, birds and trees. The day ends in Ica at the Las Dunas Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Monday, Day 4: CHICLAYO: We then return to the Lima airport for an evening flight to Chiclayo, one of Peru’s fastest growing modern cities. Time permitting, we will visit the fine Museo Larco, a private collection of artifacts, mostly from the Mochica period. Gran Hotel Chiclayo.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Tuesday, Day 5: CHICLAYO: Traveling north we visit the vast site of Túcume, which encompasses the remains of 26 pyramids as well as many smaller structures built around AD 1100 by the Lambayeque people. Touring continues at the new Royal Tombs Museum, where the fabulous artifacts from Sipán are on view. We will also visit the wonderful Sicán Museum in Ferreñafe. Lastly, we stop at one of Peru’s most interesting markets. Here we will find traditional herbalists and witch doctors selling dried plants and charms, women selling woven items in wool and straw and herders buying and selling animals.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Wednesday, Thursday, Day 6 & 7: TRUJILLO: We drive south along the Pan American Highway to Trujillo, stopping en route for a picnic lunch and visits to the excavations at El Brujo, a ceremonial center for several cultures, including the Moche, and Huaca Negra, one of the oldest middens in the world. Touring Thursday will include the Moche pyramids, known as the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon, and the imperial city of the Chimú, Chan Chan. Considered to be the largest adobe city in the world, Chan Chan consists of nine compounds, each containing a platform burial mound for the king and his treasures. They also held huge walk-in wells as well as rows of storerooms for the agricultural wealth of the kingdom. Within the city walls were palaces, temples, workshops, houses and gardens. Canals kept the city supplied with water. We will also visit the nearby “Rainbow Temple,” known as the Huaca Dragon for its well-preserved dragon relief, and the Archaeological Museum. Hotel Libertador Trujillo.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner daily

Friday, Day 8: CASMA: This morning we complete our touring at Chan Chan and visit the private Cassinelli Museum, renowned for its excellent collection of Mochica and Chimu pottery. We then begin our scenic drive to Casma, passing through the Virú Valley, famous for the 1940s Virú Valley Project, and the fishing port of Chimbote, scene of José María Arguedas’s last novel. We will spend the night in the village of Casma at the El Farol Hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Saturday, Day 9: LIMA: This exciting day begins at the nearby Initial Period site of Cerro Sechín, renowned for its unique stone carvings, and the small Max Uhle Museum. After visiting the early temple-fortress of Chankillo, we spend the remainder of the day at the newly excavated city known as Caral. About 120 miles north of Lima in the Supe Valley, a team headed by Peruvian archaeologist Ruth Shady Solis unearthed a city they believe to be 5,000 years old, making it the oldest city in the Americas. It would have been a thriving city at the time Egypt’s great pyramids were being built. The archaeologists were amazed at the size and complexity of the city as they uncovered a huge staircase, pyramids, a large sunken amphitheater, residential complexes and countless artifacts. We return to Lima this evening. Hotel Las Américas.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Sunday, Monday, Day 10 & 11: YUCAY: After an early morning flight to Cuzco, a wonderful drive will take us into the Sacred Valley. During our two-day stay here we will visit the vast site of Pisac, which consists of three hill fortifications of exceptional masonry and is surrounded by extensive and very well preserved terraces, and Ollantaytambo, a massive Inca fortress from which the advances of Hernando Pizarro were repelled in 1536. This site provides us with good examples of canchas, or corral enclosures, and an intact irrigation system. Here too we will see how the Inca used masonry to close the valley against attack and to channel the river. We will spend two nights at the luxurious Sol y Luna Hotel, offering us an opportunity to ride their Peruvian Paso horses, as well as many other activities during our free afternoon. Monday evening we have arranged a performance of “The Apus of the Andes,” by the Yuyachkani performers.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner daily

Tuesday, Day 12: MACHU PICCHU: This morning we will visit Willoc, a remote highland community, renowned for their red and black weavings. You may make a donation to the school as the children will perform a traditional ceremony for us. We then board the Orient Express train for Machu Picchu. Lunch will be served during our spectacular journey through the Urubamba River gorge. Unknown to all but the local villagers until 1911, Machu Picchu remains a somewhat mysterious city. Its fine stonework and extensive ornamentation suggest an important ceremonial center. Why it was abandoned may never be known. Our day and a half here will give us ample time to explore it thoroughly. We will overnight at the lovely Pueblo Hotel.

Meals: breakfast, lunch & dinner

Wednesday, Day 13: CUZCO: This day is completely at leisure. The hotel bus operates to Machu Picchu at regular intervals. You may wish to spend the morning climbing the peak of Huayna Picchu or hiking the spectacular Inca Trail to the Inca settlement of Winay Wayna. The train departs for Cuzco this evening with dinner served on board. Hotel Libertador.
Meals: Breakfast & dinner

Thursday, Friday, Day 14 & 15: CUZCO: Today we will visit the fortress or sanctuary of Sacsayhuamán, built from enormous stones fitted together with absolute precision. We continue to the ruins of Qenko, translated as “zigzag,” so named for the large rock that is completely covered with carvings and zigzag channels. Lastly, we stop at Puca Pucara (Red Fort), possibly a sort of inn for travelers and livestock, and Tambomachay, a lovely ceremonial spring. Friday we will visit the large Wari administrative center of Pikillacta and Tipón, extensive Inca ruins and, time permitting, a lovely early 17th-century church in the village of Andahuaylillas.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Saturday, Day 16: CUZCO: We will tour the city’s highlights, including the new Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, which houses an excellent collection of material from the Larco Museum in Lima, as well as colonial paintings and wood sculpture. The remainder of the day will be at leisure. Our farewell dinner will be at one of Cuzco’s fine new restaurants.

Meals: Breakfast & dinner

Sunday, Monday, Day 17 & 18: LIMA: A midday flight returns us to Lima for an afternoon at leisure at Hotel Las Américas. On Monday there will be several transfers to the airport scheduled at a time suitable for everyone’s flights. (B)
Meals: Breakfast daily

Please Note: This tour is strenuous. It requires walking on steep mountain paths and involves travel at altitudes in excess of 12,600 feet. It is not recommended for anyone with a heart or lung ailment or any condition that might be exacerbated by high altitude. For the most satisfying experience, all participants are expected to be physically active and able to walk independently throughout our full touring days.