Peru’s Coast to Nazca Trail
2008 Itinerary
Day 1: Whether you are joining Mountain Lodges of Peru anew or continuing on with us from our Magic of Machu Picchu Tour, we will pick you up in the evening from Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima and transport you to your hotel in the heart of Lima, ‘City of Kings’, the Capital of Peru, from which you will have opportunity to visit any of the fine eating establishments you choose for a tasty dinner before retiring for the night. If you are joining us for the first time in Lima, your first evening will include a personal introduction to your Mountain Lodges of Peru tour by the guide who will take you through the magic of your Peruvian vacation.
Day 2: You are picked up at your hotel in Lima at 8:00 am and transported directly to Pachacamac Ranch for a couple of hours to tour local ruins and gallop on the sand in the waves of the Pacific Ocean on classic Peruvian Paso horses. The Peruvian "Caballo de Paso" is a sub-equine breed, originated in Peru, descendants of the Barbican Cordovan horse that the Spaniards brought in the conquest of Peru (1532). They were bred when crossing the Peruvian deserts, originating not to have a characteristic walk like the common horse, rather moving simultaneously the front and rear hoof of the same side. The finest ones have a true gaited four-step timing, and are wholly unique to Peru. After lunch, a pleasant drive through lovely and diverse scenery brings you to the premier high-mountain resort of Mountain Lodges of Peru, Viñak-Reichraming Lodge. Your evening includes a fine dinner of Novo-Andean cuisine, and time to relax and enjoy the beautiful accommodations in the tranquil surroundings.
Day 3: After a satisfying breakfast you will meet the horses of Viñak-Reichraming and depart on your full-day ride, which will include an unbelievably gourmet picnic lunch. The American Quarter Horse and Arabian bloodlines that are the foundation stock of our herd are bred and specially trained and conditioned for our high altitude tours and endurance rides. Today’s route will take you galloping though undulating open vistas, climbing rugged high mountain trails, and through scenic riverside towns like La Florida in the picturesque Cordilleras that surround the Lodge. Another delectable dinner awaits you back at the Lodge, and a sound night’s sleep in your comfortable lodgings.
Day 4: Today your ride will encompass parts of Viñak-Reichraming’s own internationally acclaimed Endurance Course, site of the first Peruvian High-Altitude Endurance Trials, and host to regular competitions. Dinner and the Lodge’s wonderful hot tub are the perfect way to end the day.
Day 5: An early breakfast starts a day of travel, your transportation departing for Ica at 7:00 am. Enroute, you will stop in the classic Peruvian town of Chincha, with typical Andean cuisine for lunch. Once in Ica, the afternoon’s ride will be in the desert plains to the south – a very different kind of scenery to tour, including the Huacachina Oasis – complete with palm trees, as depicted on Peruvian paper money. Dinner at one of Ica’s local restaurants finishes the night off well, and your sleep will be in a pleasant hotel in the pastoral surroundings of Ica.
Day 6: Once breakfast is through, you depart for another unique ride – this time, a fun tour of some of the wineries in the Ica area. Ica is famous because of its wine and Pisco (grape liquor), and your day will include visits the wine cellars of Vista Alegre, Tacama, or Ocucaje, and possibly one of the smaller artisan wineries as well, traveling in style by horseback amid the abundant vineyards of the area. In the evening, you will travel to Nazca for a stay in one of Nazca’s fine hotels and a delicious dinner to prepare you for the excitement of the next day.
Day 7: After breakfast today your adventure will be a different kind of view – from high in the sky! Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, located in the arid Peruvian coastal plain, the geoglyphs of Nazca and the Pampas of Jumana cover about 450 square km. These lines, which were drawn between 500 B.C. and 500 A.D., are among the most impenetrable enigmas of archaeology by virtue of their quantity, nature and size, as well as their continuity. Some of the geoglyphs depict living creatures, plants or imaginary figures, as well as geometric shapes several kilometers long. Your arranged flight is on a small plane, but if you prefer, you can choose to upgrade to a helicopter flight for a surprisingly small additional cost. Lunch in Nazca concludes your time there, and then you are transported back to Lima to either head home or off to other destinations, or for a few extra days of visiting any of Lima’s great colonial museums, partaking in its cosmopolitan night-life, testing your luck in the luxurious casinos and gambling houses, or simply enjoying the excellent restaurants of Lima, where the exquisite and diverse food of Peru is now considered to be some of the best in the whole world.
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