South valley Tour & Andahuaylillas Chapel

Overview:

The South Valley Tour to Tipon, Pikillacta, and Andahuaylillas with a private guide at your side! Get off the beaten path with our South Valley Tour! Great for history buffs and those looking for a unique Cusco experience.

• Tour type: Cultural, Half Day Tour from Cusco.
• Schedule: It leaves at 8:00 am and ends at 14:00 pm. drop you off at your hotel.
• Consideration: Comfortable shoes.
• Highlights: Tipon ruins, Pikillacta pre-Inca ruins and Andahualillas church (known as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas).
• Tour guide: English-speaking tour guide.

Itinerary:

In the morning, we will begin our South Valley Tour. This tour of Tipon, Piquillaqta, and Andahuaylillas takes in some of the most beautiful places in the Cusco area. You will visit iconic locations that are somewhat off the beaten path. You will see Peru’s legacy from pre-Incan, Incan, and colonial points of view.

Our first stop will be the inca ruins of Tipon is one of the great marvels of Incan hydraulic engineering, famous for its aqueducts, canals, fountains which are laid out over the terraces all of them carefully made by Quechua people “Incas”. In Addition, the Inca ruins of Tipon also have of the most elaborate examples of agricultural terracing created by the Incas and it is made up of baths, a temple complex, canals, aqueducts, and tall terraces. The Tipon Archeological Complex is located 24 km southeast of Cusco is definitely one of the lesser visited sites in the Cusco area but it is equally as impressive as those in the Sacred Valley. Nowadays, The Tipon Archeological Complex has been distinguished as a marvel of civil engineering by the American Society of Civil Engineering. We will spend about an hour in Tipon.

Next, we go to Pikillacta is a pre-Incan archaeological site that belongs to Wari culture and it was built around 700 to 900 years AD, the pre-Inca site was once a cult headquarters and an administrative center for the great pre-Incan Wari culture. In addition, in the area, you can see qolcas (food deposits), athletics fields, houses, temples, narrow streets and buildings up to four stories high. Pikillacta pre-Incan archaeological is a fine example of their planned urban engineering. There is also a small Inca site just a short walk from Pikillacta, known as Rumicolca, a travel checkpoint for the Incas. Overall. The pre-Incan Wari culture is the second largest empire in SouthAmerica after the Incan empire, very well known for its great urban layout, which was the architectural key to inherit the Incan empire. After exploring, the pre-Inca site of Pikillacta, we then continue on to Andahuaylillas.

Finally, we will visit the Andahuaylillas is an astonishing colonial church from XVII century “the Church of St. Peter, the Apostle”, located in Andahuaylillas town in the southeast of Cusco. This colonial era church home to golden altars, paintings with its murals that cover the walls and the ceiling. The artwork is so fine that the church is called “the Sistine Chapel of the Americas” and, was made by local Quechuans during the colony of Spain. Also, some paintings from the famous “Escuela Cuzqueña” can be appreciated. After our fascinating South Valley Tour Cusco, we will return to Cusco. The whole trip takes about 5 and a half hours.

Optional Lunch, we will stop at Saylla where we will find some typical restaurants to enjoy pork chicharrones, or roasted guinea pig (If you don’t want to eat, skip it), at the end our South Valley Tour, we transfer back to your Hotel.

South Valley Tour Includes:

• Pick up and drop off at your hotel
• Private and comfortable transport
• English-speaking tour guide. They grew up in this region and have a true passion and teach about their heritage.
• This tour is done privately. If your group is larger than 7 please ask Cusco Journeys for good pricing.
• Personalized service

South Valley Tour does not Include:

• Tourist ticket: you must have the entrance fee to visit Tipon and Pikillaqta which is 70 soles.
• Entrance to Andahualillas church.
• Hotel in Cusco
• Meals
• Personal expenses
• Tips for your guide and driver.

What we recommended to bring:

• Original passport.
• Original and valid International Student Card (ISIC), if booked as a student.
• A good (and small) daypack.
• Comfortable shoes.
• At least one bottle of water.
• Hat and sunglasses to protect you from the sun.
• Rainwear or poncho for the rainy season (December to April).
• Camera with extra batteries.
• Extra money for drinks and tips, souvenirs. We recommend having both soles, in addition to your home currency.
• Optional: Personal medical kit. Disinfectant, aspirin, stomach tablets, medicine to avoid altitude sickness, etc.

Price (Group Service).

A group tour means that it is open for other clients to join you. This means that your group will have varying hiking and fitness abilities. All our guides are experts on how to keep the tour moving and happy no matter how fast you tour.

Price (Private Service).

Private tours for South Valley Tour are available and priced by party size.

By booking or participating in a tour and any related products or services (a “Tour”) with Cusco Journeys, you agree to these Terms & Conditions.

Booking:

1. Your booking is confirmed and a contract exists when the Tour Operator or your travel agent issues a written confirmation after receipt of the applicable deposit amount. Please check your confirmation carefully and report any incorrect or incomplete information to the Tour Operator or authorized agent immediately. Please ensure that names are exactly as stated in the relevant passport.
2. You will pay a deposit which is completely non-refundable in any situation. There are no exceptions.
3. You will be required to show the original passport (not a copy) that you booked with, at the checkpoint to enter the Inca Trail. If you originally booked with an old passport and then renewed your passport, you must also bring your expired passport along with your new, valid passport to permit entry or they will refuse your entrance to the trail.
4. The only acceptable ID to receive a Student Discount is your University Card with a clear expiration date that must be the same year as trek. IDs with expiry dates the following year, even though clearly valid, will not be accepted by the Peruvian government. You must submit a copy of this card at time of booking.

Cancellations:

1. Cancellations: In order to confirm this trip, a deposit of 40% is required per person at time of booking. The balance of the trip price is due 90 days before the departure date. Special holiday payment and cancellation terms may apply. Guests who must cancel their trip for any reason must do so in writing (we do not accept medical notes of any kind) as our out of pocket expenses are non-refundable to us.. Standard cancellations are subject to the following per-person penalties, based on number of days prior to departure:

ONCE BOOKED, DEPOSITS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. CHART BELOW OUTLINES WHAT FURTHER FEES WILL BE DUE.

Inca Trail Tours:

1. Permits: Permits for the Inca Trail are in your name and can not be transferred to anyone else under any circumstances. Change of dates is also not possible once a permit has been purchased. Permits are non-refundable and non-transferable. The deposit will be forfeited. Please note that this is a regulation of the Peruvian government and not Cusco Journeys (or any agency).
2. In extreme cases when the “Inca Trail to Machu Picchu” is declared closed for safety reasons, Cusco Journeys will replace your trek with an alternative trek.
3. Those who booked PERMITS with a Student ID must bring that ID with them on the trek. If they fail to show this card to the Park Rangers, they will not be allowed entry onto the trail.

Medical Information:

1. You must advise Cusco Journeys of any medical problems or allergies you may have. You need to be in good physical health, and if your health is questionable, then you should consult a doctor. If you are over the age of 70 years old, then you will need to present us with a current good health medical certificate.
2. You are responsible for assessing whether a Tour is suitable for you. You should consult your physician to confirm your fitness for travel and participation in any planned activities. You should seek your physician’s advice on vaccinations and medical precautions. The Tour Operator does not provide medical advice. It is your responsibility to assess the risks and requirements of each aspect of the Tour based on your own unique circumstances, limitations, fitness level and medical requirements.
3. Cusco Journeys reserves the right to deny you permission to travel or participate in any aspect of a Tour at any time and at your own risk and expense where the Tour Operator determines that your physical or mental condition renders you unfit for travel or you represent a danger to yourself or others.
4. Pregnancy is considered a medical condition and must be disclosed to the Tour Operator at the time of booking. The Tour Operator may refuse to carry pregnant women over 24 weeks. The Tour Operator may refuse to carry anyone with certain medical conditions if reasonable accommodation or alternatives cannot be arranged.
5. It is strongly encouraged to purchase Travel Insurance to protect you in case of medical emergency or any tour cancellations.

Tours and Treks:

1. All balances need to be paid in either cash, Western Union, Transfer Bank or PayPal (in full) prior to the briefing which will be held the night before your tour. Visa incurs a 5% service fee and if you need to use another card, it must be through PayPal which incurs a 5.5% service fee.
   You must advise your guide if you wish to leave the group or the camping area for independent walks or sightseeing. If you are experiencing any problems with the services of the guide or tour, please advise the guide in that moment, so that he can resolve any problems.
2. All Adventure Treks include transportation to Cusco. The return train route depends on train availability.
3. If you become ill or injured on the trail and are unable to continue, a porter will be provided to accompany you back to an area with emergency assistance capabilities. Helicopter air lifts and medical assistance are at the expense of the trekker. If you are unable to complete the tour due to illness, we will assist you in meeting your group at Machu Picchu to recommence your tour at that point. There will be no refund of the original payment. However, we will prepare a document to certify illness which can be presented for your travel insurance.
4. Cusco Journeys will take all reasonable care in providing to our clients avoidance of accident, illness, and loss of personal property, and will only employ suitably qualified staff. We accept responsibility for the actions of our own employees. Cusco Journeys cannot, however, be responsible for any action of third parties. You are totally responsible for your own personal property and rented equipment.
5. Cusco Journeys does not take responsibility for unfavorable weather conditions, natural catastrophe, strikes, accidents, illness, injury, loss of personal ítems, etc. It is the client’s responsibility to carry insurance to cover these types of events. We reserve the right to modify or cancel the program due to any of the unforeseen conditions listed above.
6. Cusco Journeys may modify your itinerary where reasonably required in its sole discretion.
7. Group tours might be as large as 16 participants. Groups are open to everyone no matter skill or age. By accepting a Group Tour you acknowledge that others might change the speed and timing of the tour.
8. All tours are done in English.

Delays:

1. Any costs, whether direct or incidental, incurred by the Customer as the result of delays caused by bad weather, trail conditions, river levels, road conditions, transportation delays, sickness, government intervention or other contingencies which are beyond the control of southern explorations will not be reimbursed.

Thank you so much for choosing Cusco Journeys!!!