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CAU > Seminars and Study Tours > Peru: Shrines & Treasures

Peru: Shrines & Treasures

August 13-25, 2005

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It is difficult to imagine how shocked the Spanish conquistadores must have been when they first encountered the cities and riches of the Incas and the amazing landscapes we now refer to as Peru. Rumors and legends abounded about the unknown highlands of the Andes, but sixteenth-century Europeans (especially from Spain) were not in the habit of expecting civilization to flourish in the far reaches of distant continents.

Whatever their expectations, we know that the Spanish came, conquered, pillaged, and ruled for centuries, replacing ancient autocratic systems with their own, and building new cities, churches, and estates designed to remake Peru in the Spanish image.

Yet for all their efforts, the Spaniards could not completely obliterate the native cultures and pagan shrines they despised. Peru remains today one of the most beautiful and culturally significant places in the hemisphere. We hope, in this second CAU visit, to do Peru justice, to see and learn a great deal, and, of course, to thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Our study tour leader, CAU stalwart John S. Henderson, is professor of archaeology and anthropology at Cornell; his research specialty is pre-Columbian South and Central America. We're delighted that John, having led numerous CAU expeditions to Central and South America, will once again guide our explorations of Peru's landscapes, people, culture, and heritage.

Our voyage will begin in Lima, whose colonial district reflects the centuries of Spanish rule, and whose Museo de la Nacion is known for its superb collection of pre-Columbian artifacts. We'll drive to nearby Pachamac, where Inca, Spanish, and African cultures mixed in marvelous ways, and then we'll fly north to the Lambayeque Valley, where the Moche people, who flourished between the first and eighth centuries A.D., fashioned cities and art comparable to anything one would expect to find were we exploring ancient Mediterranean civilizations.

We will visit the ruins of Tucume, excavated by famed Norwegian explorer-archaeologist Thor Heyerdahl; Sipan, site of the richest burial chambers ever found in the Americas; Trujillo, with its marvelous colonial architecture; and the adobe city of Chan Chan, capital of the Chimu empire, the largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas.

We'll then begin the most famous journey in Peru: we'll travel by air to Cusco and the Urubamba Valley, and then by train to Machu Picchu, the "lost" city of the Incas (which was "found" in 1911 by Hiram Bingham).

We're certain you'll enjoy Cusco (the oldest continually inhabited city in the western hemisphere), where we'll mix site visits—including the fortress of Sacsayhuaman and the Sanctuary of the Sun—with free time, both to adjust to the elevation and to explore Cusco's wonderful shops and markets.

But, of course, Machu Picchu is our ultimate destination. Its altars, temples, fountains, staircases, and terraced gardens, set in what must be the world's most spectacular natural site, give mute testimony to the grandeur that preceded Spanish rule. Accommodations will be at the most desirable Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge. Departing Machu Picchu (reluctantly, we're sure) we'll return by train to Cusco and fly on to Lima for our final day and overnight.

The program fee (per-person, double-occupancy) of $5,990 includes all accommodations, most meals, all site visits and admission fees, all transportation in Peru, all taxes and gratuities, full escort services, emergency medical-evacuation insurance, and the full educational program. The supplement for single occupancy is $965. You may fly to and from Peru with the group (the current airfare from Miami—not included in the program fee—is $650), but if you prefer, please feel free to make your own international air arrangements.

Please note that we will be at very high elevations in the Machu Picchu region, and walking and climbing over uneven ground.