Day one – 26/03/2027.  We begin in the morning, meeting in Cuzco. This town served as the capital of the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu) from its foundation around the 13th century until the Spanish conquest in 1533–1534. At its peak in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the empire was the largest in the Americas, spanning over 1,100 miles (1,800 km) and encompassing roughly 12 million people across modern-day Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. 

The Incan settlements EXACTLY match the Milky Way – each major town and village is a central point for the stars, showing their ancient wisdom. 

This is a fascinating town with great food and culture.  I suggest people arriving a day or two early to have the chance of recovering from jet lag and beginning to acclimatise to the altitude (3,399m) especially if you are coming in from sea level.  (This time in Cuzco is excluded from your workshop week).  It’s a useful stop to buy some cacao leaves, to help with the altitude. 

On day one, 26/03, we will head out of town early morning, on a private tour.  If people are flying in on the 26th, please land on the first possible flight, ideally before 7am.  And straight onto the first bus! 

This tour will include travel to

·       Chinchero, a small town known for its long tradition of textile weaving. Here, you'll see various textiles woven using traditional Incan techniques, visit the first archaeological site, and explore a beautiful old church located near the center.

·      Next, you'll visit Moray to see the agricultural terraces built along the hillsides. These terraces were constructed by the Incas to grow a variety of crops on the mountain terrain, and show their advanced understanding of engineering and agriculture. 

·       Nearby, at Maras, there are over 5,000 salt ponds used by the Incas for salt extraction, which helped preserve their foods for long periods. This natural spring is still in use today.  There are three standards of salt extracted at Maras – the pure white table salt.  The pink salt, similar to Himalayan Salt, but very much more powerful.  There are over 80 essential minerals in this ancient salt, which is filtered through layers of volcanic rock.  The third standard of salt is used for therapeutic bath and topical medical reasons.  It is very much a place of healing and connection. 

·       Our final stop along the route into the Sacred Valley is to meet some very famous inhabitants and see how the tradition of shearing, cleaning, dying, weaving and knitting is still very much alive…

Tickets into all of these sites, along with a small souvenir from our Llama friends is included in your trip.  If you wish to purchase a Llama jersey (Ashleigh did on her trip!) bringing cash USD will get you a better rate. 

After learning about Incan agricultural techniques, we head to Urubamba, the capital of the Sacred Valley, for a buffet lunch.

Finally we head to Ollantaytambo, a smaller village for our first two nights. 

Once settled in our hotel we will begin our workshops for the week with an introduction with both Loesje and Ashleigh, followed by exploring the town for dinner.