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ITINERARY
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Land cost per person: $2,595 (2008 price)
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  Giant cacti on Incahuasi Island, Bolivia
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Day 1 – Saturday, August 29 - Departure USA/Santiago Day 2 – Sunday, August 30– Santiago Arrival in Santiago and morning is at leisure. After lunch we will have a city tour of Santiago. We run up and down Cerro San Cristóbal. You can also take the “Teleferico” – cable car to the summit. At the peak, there is a church and a 22 meter statue of the Virgin Mary. The summit is a superb location from which to view the city and during a clear day it's also possible to see the Andean peaks on the east. The hill is part of Parque Metropolitano, Santiago's largest public park. Overnight: Hotel in Santiago Day 3 – Monday, August 31– San Pedro de Atacama This morning we fly to Calama. Upon arrival we continue on a 1 hour bus drive to San Pedro de Atacama (8,000'/2,450 m). The Atacama Desert is situated between the Andes Mountains and Pacific Ocean and stretches 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from Peru's southern border into northern Chile. This region is extremely hyper-arid. It is an inhospitable, seemingly lifeless, sun drenched spot that is probably the driest place on Earth. Temperatures in the Atacama vary daily from 95°F down to 32°F. The Atacama is 10 to 15 million years old and 50 times more arid than California's Death Valley. There are places where rain has never been recorded. This natural environment on Earth poses some of the same challenges for human explorers as would a seemingly lifeless planet. NASA scientists and engineers selected this landscape to test the technology that will be used in places like the Moon or Mars - the Atacama is "the closest place to Mars." Overnight: La Casa de Don Tomas Day 4 – Tuesday, September 1– San Pedro de Atacama - Atacama Marathon Early breakfast followed by a short drive to the start of the "Atacama Marathon." The spectacular course includes all the best trails in San Pedro de Atacama. We run along the Cordillera de La Sal -- a magnificently colored reddish clay and salt range. The course starts at the Valley of Death and descends to the Quitor Valley. From there it continues to the Valley of Silence, then the Valley of the Moon and a dramatic finish in the Kari Gorge, a narrow canyon formed by water erosion and surrounded by enormous salt walls. Overnight: La
Casa de Don Tomas Day 5 – Wednesday, September 2– Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve - Laguna Colorada A one hour drive takes us to "Hito Cajon" at the Bolivian border. The Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve is in the southwestern section of Bolivia, bordering Chile and Argentina. This Puna region ranges in altitude from 11,482 feet (3,500 meters) and extends above 16,400 feet (5,000 meters). We drive past Laguna Blanca and to Laguna Verde at the base of Licancabur volcano (19,455'/5,930 m) Continue across the Bolivian altiplano to the hot springs in Laguna Salada and to the active geyser, “Sol de la Mañana”. From there to Laguna Colorada, a lake with a pinkish hue. This naturally occurring color results from algae and minerals in the lake, which is the main source of food for the thousands of pink flamingos. Three of the world’s six flamingo species – Chilean, James’ and Andean breed in this area. The reserve has mammal species such as vicuñas, pumas, Andean foxes, vizcachas (Andean rabbit similar to marmot) and other. Andean geese, falcons, ducks and large, flightless birds called lesser rheas are some of the 80 species of birds living in Eduardo Avaroa Reserve Today we do not have a scheduled run due to the sudden climb to high elevation. We will however have opportunities for acclimatization hikes along the drive. We continue our drive to our hotel in Ojo de Perdiz. Overnight: Hotel
del Desierto. Day 6 – Thursday, September 3 – San Pedro de Quemez We continue north on the altiplano "high plain" where we will see llamas, wild herds of vicuñas, Andean geese and other wildlife. Overnight: Hotel
de Piedra. Day 7 – Friday, September 4- Salt flats of Uyuni – Incahuasi Island – Oruro This morning we enter the impressive Salar de Uyuni, the salar is 4,700-square-miles of salt flats - the largest in the world. Some 40,000 years ago the area was part of Lake Minchin a gigantic prehistoric lake. When the lake dried it left behind two major salt deserts, the largest one - the Salar de Uyuni. The salt is completely white and the depth is about 20 feet. We drive to the start of run, which will be on the salt flats and we finish on Incahuasi Island (12,010’/3,660 m) - a rocky outcrop in the middle of the vast white expanse of salt. Here you will see giant cacti covering the island creating one of the most surreal landscapes on earth. It is estimated that these cacti grows only about 1cm per year. Some of the cacti reach up to 36 feet (11 meter) and are 1,200 years old. We continue our drive to Oruro. Overnight: Plaza Flores Hotel - Oruro Day 8 – Saturday, September 5 – Oruro - La Paz This morning we drive to La Paz (12,000’/3,660 m), we will have views of the impressive summit of Illimani (21,260'), the highest mountain in the Cordillera Real range on the southeastern side of the city. La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia. We will have a tour of the city’s colonial and historical sections. Overnight: Hotel Plaza in La Paz Day 9 – Sunday, September 6 – Tiahuanaco - Copacabana This morning we visit Tiwanacu (also known as Tiahuanaco), one of the oldest cultures in South America. It is believed to be the origin of the Pre-Inca Civilization. It was one of the most advanced cultures at that time. The main structures are the Kalasasaya temple with construction details similar to Machu Picchu's Gate of the Sun, the Akapana pyramid; and the semi-underground temple. We travel in the highlands and continue along the eastern shore of the lake to the strait of Tiquina, which we cross by ferry and continue along the road overlooking the lake and arrive in Copacabana (12,634'). Overnight: Hotel Rosario del Lago Day 10 – Monday, September 7 – Island of the Sun – Lake Titicaca This morning we take a private boat to the island section of Yumani and hike to our accommodations at La Estancia and get ready for our run around the island. We start our scenic run in Yumani and follow the upper mountain trail and descend to the Chinkana ruins in the northern part of the island, we turn south and continue our descend till we reach our aid station at Challapampa on the lake. We continue to Challa, we pass by villages, agricultural fields, beaches and complete the circuit around the island with our return to our accommodations at the Ecolodge. Overnight: Ecolodge La Estancia on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca. Day 11 – Tuesday, September 8 – Island of the Sun - Puno Private boat back to Copacabana, drive to Kasani and across the border to Yunguyo – Perú. Continue overland to Puno (12,560'). This afternoon we will visit the "floating islands" of the Uros people who build the famous "totora" reed boats. The Uros and other lakeside dwellers depend extensively on the totora reed. It is used to make fishing boats and homes as well as the famous floating islands of reed. Overnight: Hotel Sonesta Posada del Inca – Puno on the shores of the lake. Day 12 – Wednesday, September 9 – Puno – Chivay - Colca Canyon This morning we drive to Chivay. The road reaches the mirador at 4,920 meters above sea level (16,142 feet). Upon arrival in Chivay and after checking into the hotel, we will run to the Calera Hot Springs. Overnight: Casa Andina Colca in Chivay Day 13 – Thursday, September 10 - Run in Colca Canyon - Cabanaconde We continue our drive from Chivay to the Arch of Cabanaconde for the start of the "2nd Princess Juanita of Ampato half marathon" This very tough ½ marathon is organized by Andes Adventures in conjunction with the superb cooperation of the local communities. We descend about 3,800 feet down the Colca Canyon to the village of San Juan de Chuccho, from there it climbs to the village or Tapay and from there to the villages of Cosñirgua and then Malata. From there we descend to Sangaye located at about 6,550 feet and finish with a climb to Cabanaconde at 10,500 feet. Overnight: Hotel Kuntur Wassi Day 14 – Friday, September 11 - Cross of the Condor/Arequipa This morning we visit the "Cross of the Condor" where you can view the majestic flight of the condors. We continue our drive to Arequipa, also known as the White City. This is because of its magnificent Spanish architecture, made with a white volcanic stone "sillar". The city is at the foot of “El Misti” (19,100’) the majestic snowcapped volcano, Chachani volcano (19,931’) and Pichu Pichu volcano (18,372’). The downtown area of the city features Mixed Baroque churches and mansions from the Colonial Period like the Monastery of Santa Catalina, a Spanish city in miniature with stone streets, beautiful patios and plazas. Overnight: Casa Andina Arequipa Day 15 – Saturday, September 12 - Arequipa Visit Arequipa on your own. Description of options will be updated soon. Flight to Lima and connect with your flight home. Day use or Overnight: Casa
Andina Arequipa Day 16 – Sunday, September 13 - Lima/Flight home Those connecting through Miami depart this morning. Flight to Lima and connect with your flight home. |
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