Aromas of Cusco

Description Aromas of Cusco coffee and cocoa

With the tour of aromas of Cusco coffee and cocoa or “Aromas of Cusco”, you can visit the most important archaeological centers of the navel of the world, the fields of tea, coffee and cocoa, know the processes from the grain to the tasting. In addition, we will enjoy learning more about the colonial calls that are currently known as tea, coffee and cocoa protagonists of everyday eating habits and finally be in the citadel of Machupicchu. You will savor the aromas of history, archeology, the Cusco jungle and the aromas of tea, coffee and cocoa.

City tour in Cusco, is the traditional trip where we will visit the city of Cusco and 4 ruins. The City tour begins in the center of the city with a visit to the impressive cathedral of Cusco in whose foundations is an Inca enclosure, this tour includes the visit of the Cathedral, the temple of the holy family and the church of the triumph. From here we will go to Qoricancha, one of the most important and representative places of the Inca Culture, then by bus we will go up to visit the archaeological centers of Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay.

TEA is the most consumed beverage in the world, surpassed only by water. COFFEE, on the other hand, is not far behind: in different preparations and with different qualities and mixtures, it is drunk in all continents. As is COCOA, which is drunk in a cup and eaten as chocolate. Coffee, cocoa and tea are proper foods, concentrated in antioxidant substances and phenolic compounds that have more than one benefit for our health, they are therefore considered much more than stimulating substances capable of acting on our nervous system.

Coffee originated in Africa and was spread by Muslim and Christian monasteries along the trade routes from Ethiopia and Sudan to Arabia and Yemen and from there to Europe and the whole world. Cocoa, on the other hand, originated in Mesoamerica and spread to the Old World thanks to the Spanish through Christian monasteries and European courts. From Europe, it conquered the rest of the world. Both crops grow in an imaginary band on the Equator, between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, known as the “coffee belt”, but also as the “cocoa belt” or “chocolate belt”.

Although they generate different sensations, both coffee and cocoa have positive effects on our brain. Through caffeine or theobromine, both promote concentration and memory, help us stay alert and combat feelings of anxiety and fatigue. Both have a great complexity of aromas and flavors. A good coffee tends towards acidity and cocoa has the most delicious bitter flavors in nature. Together, they give us a feast of flavor for the palate.

MACHUPICCHU, ancient Andean Inca settlement, located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru, in the Andes mountain range at 2,430 meters above sea level, is located in the Cusco region, province of Urubamba, district of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu would have been one of the resting places of Pachacutec, ninth Inca of the Tahuantinsuyo between 1438 and 1470.

It is considered, at the same time, a masterpiece of architecture and engineering. Its peculiar architectural and landscape characteristics and the veil of mystery that has been woven around it in much of the literature published about the site, have made it one of the most popular tourist destinations on the planet, as well as one of the 7th wonders of the modern world.

MAIN POINTS OF VISIT

• Cusco (3,390 masl)
• Sacsayhuaman (3,700 masl)
• Abra Malaga (4,200 masl)
• Huyro (1,524 masl)
• Huayopata (1,650 masl)
• Hidroeléctrica (1,880 masl)
• Machupicchu (2,430 masl)

Day 1: Cusco – Cathedral – Qoricancha – Sacsayhuaman – Qenqo – Tambomachay – Cusco.

• At the agreed time transfer from the airport to the hotel, accommodation and acclimatization.
• 12.50 – 13.10 hrs, Pick up at your hotel. If your hotel is outside the historic center, we will meet you at our office at 13.00 hrs, the tour begins visiting the Cathedral of Cusco and its more than 600 paintings of the Cusco school (40 min).
• 14.10 hrs We will go to Qoricancha on foot seeing beautiful Inca streets (10 min).
• 14.20 hrs We will enter the Qoricancha or House of the Sun, main temple in Inca times where we will learn about Inca religiosity and architecture (40 min).
• 15.00 hrs We will take our transportation and go to Sacsayhuaman (15 min) we will have a guided tour through the huge walls of this Inca temple built for the god Illapa or lightning (45 min).
• We will take the bus again to Qenqo (5 min) where we will have a tour to this other ancient Inca temple. Then in our mobility we will move forward (10 min) and go to Tambomachay water temple. We will finish our tour at 18.00 hrs.
• We will leave you in the center of the city so you can have dinner or stroll through the main square of Cusco.

Lodging: HOTEL PRINCIPE III/MAYU WASI

BREAKFAST/ LUNCH/ DINNER- PASSENGER

Day 2: Cusco – Maranura – El Mangal Lodge

• 07.00 hrs We pick you up at the hotel, through the sacred valley we will advance towards the jungle of Cusco. On the way we will make brief stops until we arrive at El Mangal Tourist Lodge.
• 13.00 hrs We will arrive at Maranura and immediately to the lodge, the Mangal Lodge is dedicated to the diversification of agricultural crops while preserving and respecting the ecology.  The farm has an area of 15 hectares, with a tropical micro climate that favors the entire region for the cultivation and harvesting of various organic products such as: varieties of cocoa chuncho and criollo, coffee, coca, mango, citrus, exotic fruits and other native shrubs and medicinal plants in the area.
• Accommodation while waiting for lunch. In the afternoon we will visit El Mangal Lodge to recognize the varieties of plants and fresh fruits and organic cocoa seeds of different colors, sizes, textures and shapes.
• We will taste the different varieties of cacao and they will explain and demonstrate the fermentation and drying of the organic cacao beans. We will also have a demonstrative and participatory workshop, traditional and artisanal, for the preparation of hot chocolate, roasting, peeling and grinding of organic native cocoa beans.
• Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

LODGE: EL MANGAL LODGE

BREAKFAST – HOTEL / LUNCH and DINNER – AGENCY

Day 3: El Mangal Lodge – Hidroeléctrica – Aguas Calientes.

• Early in the morning we will have breakfast at the lodge. Then we will go to Hidroeléctrica station to board the train to the town of Aguas Calientes.
• Upon arrival at the town, hotel staff will be waiting for us to transfer us and accompany us to check in.
  FREE AFTERNOON at the passengers’ expense, to visit the handicraft center, go shopping, visit the main square or relax in the thermal baths of Aguas Calientes.
• At the agreed time we will meet for dinner and then we will meet with the guide to coordinate the next day’s tour to Machupicchu.

Lodging: HOTEL

BREAKFAST and LUNCH – AGENCIA / DINNER – PASSENGER

Day 4: Machupicchu – Ollantaytambo – Cusco.

• At the agreed time we will meet our guide to board the bus that will take us to the citadel of Machupicchu.
• Together with the guide we will present the entrances of Machupicchu and we will enter to start the guided tour of 2h 30 min. Booking this tour to Machupicchu you will be able to know the most important archaeological center of South America and all its different tourist attractions.
• At the end of the tour, we will be able to continue visiting the beautiful Machupicchu on our own, then we will board the buses that will take us back to the town of Aguas Calientes.
• 12.45 hrs We will go to the Apuinti Restaurant to enjoy a delicious Buffet Lunch.
• 14.30 – 19.00 hrs We will board the tourist train at any of the schedules, according to availability with arrival in Ollantaytambo (1h 30 min) Depending on availability. REMEMBER, that in high tourism season the train schedules may vary.
• 15.56 – 20.41 hrs We arrive at the train station in Ollantaytambo, our transfer will be attentive to the arrival to transfer us to the hotel in Cusco. Travel time 1h 40 min.)
• 18.00 – 22.00 hrs Arrival to the hotel in Cusco.

Hospedaje: HOTEL PRINCIPE III/MAYU WASI

DESAYUNO – HOTEL / ALMUERZO – AGENCIA / PRICE – PASAJERO