Peru Community Service

DAY 1 – LIMA

Day one of your adventure begins in Lima, where you’ll take a stroll through the historical downtown area; check out the ornate colonial mansions, palaces and churches in Plaza Mayor and get a feel for colonial life.

DAYS 2-4 PUNO & LAKE TITICACA

We’re off to Puno! Here you’ll have some free time in groups with a guide to explore the city. This town on the shores of Lake Titicaca (which is the highest navigable lake in the world, 3,820 meters above sea level!) is known as the folklore capital of Peru; if you're lucky your visit might coincide with one of its colorful evening parades, when the streets fill with costumed dancers and musicians.

Next we head to Puno Pier by motor boat, stopping off to visit the Uros floating islands. To get a closer look at daily life on these islands, we'll be welcomed into local homes and help with families’ daily activities or try to chat in the local language, Quechua. A game of soccer is also a great way to make local friends.

During our time in the Puno area we’ll also visit Taquile Island, where knitting is strictly a male domain and women do the spinning. This is a great place to pick up some high quality, locally knitted goods.

DAYS 5 - 6 CUZCO

The Cuzco region truly is the heart and soul of Peru. The city itself is the continent's oldest continuously inhabited city and was the home of the Incas for two centuries before the Spanish built their first capital here. As we acclimatize to the city's 3,400 m (11,150 ft) altitude, we’ll explore the many Baroque churches and ancient temples that dot the city, visit a Coca Museum (where you can learn more about this infamous plant which has been an essential part of life in the Andes for centuries), and shop the local San Pedro market.

We’ll also spend a day visiting the stone fortress of Sacsayhuaman and the nearby ruins of Qenko and Tambo Machay.

DAYS 7-10 COMMUNITY SERVICE IN SACRED VALLEY

The next portion of our trip will be to the Sacred Valley, where TFT participants will be welcomed into a rural community for 4 days. The type of service may vary depending on weather conditions, but while here you may help with the harvest, paint houses, cook with families, help with the animals, or clean some rural routes and paths. If you’d like to put your Spanish to the test, you have the opportunity to help children in school.

Our time in the Sacred Valley will be an amazing opportunity to share a bit of the daily life of local families, some of whom have kept the same traditions for hundreds of years!

Enjoy your last day of service finalizing your daily work and sharing a delicious farewell lunch with the community before saying goodbye and heading back to Cusco.

DAYS 11 - 14 OLLANTAYTAMBO, MACHU PICCHU, CUZCO

Travel by private bus through the lush, fertile Sacred Valley to the town of Ollantaytambo, built over an ancient Inca town. It is a magnificent example of Inca urban planning and one of the few places where the Incas defeated the Spanish.

Next it’s on to Peru’s, and perhaps all of South America’s, most spectacular sight: the mysterious ruins of Machu Picchu. While it's thought Machu Picchu was built around 1440 as a country retreat for Incan nobility, there is evidence this had been a sacred Incan site for much longer. Another school of thought is that this was an astronomical observatory. There's plenty of time for you to decide for yourself as you wander around the many temples, palaces and living quarters. You will have a guided visit with plenty of free time afterwards.

We’ll return to Cuzco by minibus for a little free time to relax, shop and explore more of the city’s sights. While in Cuzco you’ll also have the option of trying something more adventurous, like mountain biking, horseback riding or white water rafting on the Urubamba River!

DAYS 15-17 AMAZON JUNGLE, LIMA, HOME

For the final leg of the trip we’ll take a 30 minute flight to Puerto Maldonado. Here you'll leave most of your luggage in safe storage and begin your journey into the Amazon! Carrying just the necessary items in our packs, we’ll hop a motorized canoe up river to our jungle lodge in the Madre de Dios area, our home base for the next two nights. The lodge is eco-friendly and combines low-impact architecture with traditional native style. Rooms are simple, but comfortable with flush toilets, showers, and kerosene lamps for light.

Head into the jungle with our local, multilingual guides and encounter magnificent fauna and flora in their natural habitat. Spot everything from macaws and monkeys to peccary, jabirus, otters and thousands of butterflies.

After two days exploring the wilds, it's time to jump back in the canoe and return to Puerto Maldonado, grab our luggage and fly back to Lima. For our final night, we’ll enjoy a delicious last meal in the capital as we reflect on the incredible adventures and people we’ve met over the course of the last 16 days. Adios, Peru!