An Archaeological Study Tour

Peru
July 22 – August 7, 2011
Led by Professor Daniel Sandweiss


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, 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, July 22 & 23: LIMA: Flights arrive into Lima in the evening. We will provide transfers to the Thunderbird Hotels Principal from all flights. Saturday, after an orientation meeting with Professor Sandweiss, touring begins 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. We continue to the Hacienda Mamacona for a barbecue, accompanied by typical local music, followed by a performance of the famous “dancing horses.”
Meals: Breakfast daily & 1 lunch

Sunday, July 24: CHICLAYO: Our touring this morninng will be to the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia. 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. After lunch touring will continue to colonial Lima with visits to the area around the Plaza de Armas to see the Palacio de Gobierno, the Archbishop’s Palace and to visit the Cathedral. A late afternoon flight brings us to Chiclayo, one of Peru’s fastest-growing modern cities. Gran Hotel Chiclayo.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Monday, July 25: CHICLAYO: Touring today will include Pómac, a desert-thorn forest of mesquite, where excavations have revealed a fascinating sanctuary of the middle Sicán period (900-1100 CE), known as Batán Grande. The site consists of 50 adobe pyramids, from which many of the gold objects we have seen were excavated. Archaeologists have excavated Huaca Loro, one of the five temples that form the Great Plaza. Touring continues at Túcume, which encompasses the remains of 26 pyramids as well as many smaller structures built around 1100 CE by the Lambayeque people.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Tuesday, July 26: CHICLAYO: The day begins at the site where the Sipán tomb was discovered. We then visit the wonderful Sicán Museum in Ferreñafe. The remainder of the day will be spent at the new Royal Tombs Museum, where the fabulous artifacts from Sipán are on view.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Wednesday, Thursday, July 27 & 28: TRUJILLO: We drive south along the Pan American Highway to Trujillo, stopping en route for 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 Dragón for its well-preserved dragon relief, and the Archaeological Museum. Hotel Libertador Trujillo.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner daily

Friday, July 29: CASMA: Our scenic drive to Casma passes 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 visit the small Max Uhle Museum and the Initial Period site of Cerro Sechín, renowned for its unique stone carvings. Our last stop will be the early temple-fortress of Chankillo. We will spend the night in the village of Casma at the El Farol Hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Saturday, July 30: LIMA: This exciting day takes us to 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 Solís 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 that 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. Thunderbird Hotels Principal.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Sunday, Monday, July 31 & August 1: 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 also visit Willoc, a remote highland community, renowned for its red and black weavings. You may make a donation to the school, as the children will perform a traditional ceremony for us. We will spend two nights at the lovely Posada del Inca Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner daily

Tuesday, August 2: MACHU PICCHU: This morning we board the train for our spectacular journey through the Urubamba River gorge to Machu Picchu. 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 two days here will give us ample time to explore it thoroughly. We will overnight at the lovely Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel.

Meals: breakfast, lunch & dinner

Wednesday, August 3: 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 Wiñay Wayna. The train departs for Cuzco this evening. Novotel Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast & dinner

Thursday, August 4: 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.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Friday, August 5: 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

Saturday, Sunday, August 6 & 7: LIMA: A midday flight returns us to Lima for an afternoon at leisure at Thunderbird Hotels Proncipal. On Sunday there will be several transfers to the airport scheduled at a time suitable for everyone’s flights.
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.