Left at 7am to go back to Machu Picchu. Climbed to Intipunku (the Sun Gate) - a beautiful hike with great views the whole way up (600ft) and the whole way down. Sat in solitude at the top for a while looking the other direction at the mountains. It was so incredibly peaceful and relaxing. Saw a coral snake eating a gecko on the way down! Very exciting, because coral snakes are so venomous! Before leaving Machu Picchu, Brian and I found a tiny nook for ourselves to gaze at the mountains (in the shade). A very special ending to a very special place. . . Took bus back to Aguas Calientes and met our group for a tasty lunch at Indio Felix - took many pictures of the incredible presentations of the food.
Left on the 1:30pm train to Ollantaytambo. Ayul took us into a typical Quechan house --- one room with guinea pigs running everywhere --- at least a hundred of them. There were skulls in nooks (one had a skull and a picture of Jesus together) and a llama fetus hanging from the ceiling. It's amazing that people today are living just like they did in the 1500'. One room for 5 people, sleeping on llama skins on the dirt floor.
Drove back to Cusco and had a fantastic pizza dinner at La Pizza Carlo. There were 4 tables, a wood oven, and a counter to make the pizzas, and a fridge to hold the beers, all in such a TINY room. Very tasty pizza! Not a word of English spoken!
From the planning stage straight through the trip itself, Adventure life was on top of it all. Questions were answered completely, accommodations were better than expected. All fees and transportation was addressed. This is a very professional organization, you can book with confidence.
Eric Biddinger
4 weeks ago
Our 19 day personalized trip to Peru was amazing and memorable. The itinerary Adventure Life assembled provided us with a wonderful sampling of the country and culture - Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Amazon rainforest, Paracas, and the Nazca Lines. Our guides were exceptional- informative, friendly, helpful, and service-centric. It was a trip of a lifetime.
Gino
2 months ago
We've used Adventure Life for several trips in the past and have always been very pleased with them. The staff is personable and professional at the same time. Erin put this trip together for us in just a few days, and it has everything we were looking for! I recommend them without hesitation.
benn
2 months ago
I served as the person responsible for planning a trip to Galapagos and Machu Picchu for a group of 14 people. Jane with Adventure Life was very helpful throughout the process. Making suggestions, offering insight, and in the end helped me overhaul an initial plan into something even better. Also, Jane makes all the plans including the flights within and between Peru and Ecuador. Thanks to her this is going to be a stress-free adventure. After making the final decision about the trip, Jane gathered the contact information for all the travelers and sent out the details to each traveler individually with links to pay deposits, upload passport info, and personal preferences. She also ensured a group email was sent out to the entire group welcoming us to the trip preparation process. Our trip is a year from now and we are excited to make this once in a life time trek. I am happy to have organized things through Adventure Life. However, two small issues came up that were a little off putting. First, Adventure Life adds $50 per person to the cost for each traveler as a donation to a Galapagos conservation fund. I think this should he offered as something that can be added at each traveler’s discretion. Instead, it is automatically added, and each person must ask to have it removed if they do not want it included. Second, although the trip deposit may be paid with a credit card without incurring an additional fee, the balance must be paid in another way to avoid a 3% credit card fee. Maybe this is standard with all travel agencies. In the end I would definitely go through Adventure Life for the next big trip.
Brenda Nielsen
3 months ago
I think it was very helpful that Franny and I spoke on the phone. I think she had a better idea of what we were looking for, and she planned a great itinerary for us!