A 7-Day Trip to Majestic Machu Picchu, Peru Incorporating Meditation and Mindful Awareness

1. MINDFUL MACHU PICCHU A 7-Day Trip to Majestic Machu Picchu, Peru Incorporating Meditation and Mindful Awareness May 11-17, 2014 Combine your love of travel, nature and history with your meditation and mindfulness practice during this amazing seven-day trip to magical Machu Picchu. Using Cusco, Peru as our base, we will explore the many archeological sites in this ancient city with our experienced local guide before embarking on a four-day hike along the Inca or Salkantay Trail, arriving at the sacred ruins of Machu Picchu as the sun rises over the Andean Mountains. To connect you more deeply with the experience, throughout the trip we will practice meditations and awareness exercises with guiding teacher Ellen Tynan including sense opening, breath awareness, guided visualizations, walking meditation, movement/qi gong, and silent reflection. $3,350 (excluding airfare, some hiking equipment and gratuities) Early Bird Special: Sign up by March 20, 2014 and save $500!!

2. ITINERARY OVERVIEW Day 1: Arrive Cusco / City Tour Arrive at Cusco airport and transfer to hotel. Afternoon city tour includes visiting the Temple of the Sun (Qurikancha) and the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. Cusco Cathedral Temple of the Sun Day 2: Cusco Archeological Sites Continue acclimating to the altitude while visiting the Sacred Valley (including P’isac ruins and market), Ollantaytambo, and Moray. Pisac Market Pisac Ruins Day s 3-6: Inca /Salkantay Trail and Machu Picchu Hiking the Inca Trail Transfer from hotel to kilometer 82 (the start of the trail). Our hike takes us through ancient towns and archeological sites, and offers some of the most breath-taking views in the world. We hike for three full days, camp three nights, and arrive at Machu Picchu at dawn on the fourth day. We return to Cusco via train. Camping along the Inca Trail Moray Ollantavtambo The hike is rated moderate and any reasonably fit person should be able to cover the route. It is fairly challenging nevertheless, and altitudes of 14,000 feet are reached. Day 7: Cusco to Lima – Return or Continue the Adventure From Cusco, return to Lima and continue on home to the United States. Or, continue your adventure seeing the sites in Lima or taking an excursion to Easter Island.

3. DETAILED ITINERARY Day 1: Arrive Cusco / City Tour Arrive at Cusco airport by noon and transfer to hotel. In the afternoon, explore the historic city of Cusco. Cusco was the capital of the ancient Inca Empire, and is the modern-day capital of this region. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983. Our tour of the city will include the Plaza de Armas, the Ialesia de la Compania de Jesus (Church of the Society of Jesus), Qurikancha (the Temple of the Sun), and the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. Flight arrangements and costs to Cusco are not included. Flight recommendations from Lima to Cusco will be provided to ensure good coordination of all travelers. Our hotel is the San Agustin Dorado (4-star) in Cusco - a superior, upscale property with a variety of amenities, high comfort and quality service. Transportation around Cusco and entrance fees to Qurikancha and the Cathedral of Santo Domingo are covered. Lunch and dinner included. Day 2: Cusco Archeological Sites The altitude of Cusco is around 11,200 feet. To continue acclimating to the altitude we will spend a second day in Cusco visiting several of the famous archeological sites. We will explore the Sacred Valley, which was the heartland of the Inca Empire, spending some time in the village of P’isac, visiting ruins and enjoying the famed market. We will also visit Ollantavtambo, the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti during the Inca Empire, and then, during the Spanish conquest of Peru, a stronghold of the leader of the Inca resistance. From there we move onto Moray, the ruins of what is believed to be an Inca agricultural experiment station. Moray consists of several enormous terraced circular depressions whose purpose is unknown, but whose depth and orientation with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 27°F between top and bottom. This temperature difference was possibly used to by the Inca to study the effects of different climate conditions on crops. Accommodations are the same as Day 1. Transportation and entrance fees to the Sacred Valley, Ollantavtambo and Moray are covered. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

4. DETAILED ITINERARY (CONT.) Days 3-6: Inca /Salkantay Trail and Machu Picchu Located in the Andes Mountain range, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu combines beautiful mountain scenery, lush cloud forests, subtropical jungles and a stunning mix of Inca paving stones, ruins and tunnels. We will pass through the Inca ruins of Llactapata, Runkurakav, Savacmarca, Phuyuptamarca and Winay Wayna before finally arriving at Machu Picchu for sunrise on the fourth day of the hike. We spend the day exploring the ruins, hiking Huanya Picchu (the small mountain behind Macchu Pichu), and return to Cusco in the late afternoon via train. The hike is approximately 26 miles, completed over four days (not evenly distributed). It is rated moderate and any reasonably fit person should be able to cover the route. It is fairly challenging nevertheless, and altitudes of 14,000 feet are reached. Individual day hikes between 4-5 hours should be expected, and may include some steep slopes and loose surfaces. “Reasonably fit” can generally be described as able to easily climb 5-6 flights of stairs and walk at least 4 miles without a problem. We will be tent camping out-of-doors for three nights while hiking the Inca trail. Accommodations can be generally described as basic and rustic. Non-throne, flush toilets and non-potable running water is typically available at the campsites, but not guaranteed. Accommodations in Cusco the night of the fourth day are the same as Days 1 and 2 (4-star). Trail and site entrance fees, group equipment (including tents), and porters/cook are covered. Individual equipment (e.g., backpacks, sleeping bags) is not covered. Tips for porters/cook is not included, but recommended at $15/day/porter (combined from everyone in the group). Return train fare is included. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included all four days. Day 7: Cusco to Lima – Return to US or Continue the Adventure Depart Cusco for Lima and a return trip to the United States, or continue your adventure seeing the sites in Lima, or taking an excursion to Easter Island. Breakfast is included. Our local guide in Cusco is available to create a custom tour of such Lima sites as San Francisco Monastrey, known for its Baroque architecture, gilded alters and religious art, Huaca Pucllana, a large adobe-brick pyramid located in Miralores, on of Lima’s trendiest districts, or the hill of Cerro San Cristobal which provides a panoramic view of the city. Or join some of your fellow travelers on an unguided 4-day excursion to Easter Island, another UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapa Nui people. Easter Island, is a special territory of Chile located 2,182 miles off the coast in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.