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A tailor made journey to the Andes awaits you

the Aracari Blog

Fri
25
Mar '11

Peru travel insight #10: A brief history of Coca.

Aracari’s Weekly Insight

Coca has been consumed by natives of the Andes for thousands of years, estimates range from anywhere between 4000 and 8000 years, since the area was first inhabited. The leaves can be brewed into a beverage with hot water, though the most common form of consumption is directly chewing the leaves.

coca leaf, travel to peru

The coca leaf (source)

Tue
22
Mar '11

Two Brand New Boats Taking Luxury Amazon Cruises to new heights in 2011

The Peruvian Amazon is being embraced by two new luxury cruises to give discerning travellers even more choice for exploring this wildlife-rich region.

Our partners Delfin Amazon Cruises and Aqua Expeditions both have new boats on offer. Delfin have refurbished their original boat the Delfin I to reach an even higher standard of luxury that perhaps even surpasses that of their flagship Delfin II. Aqua Expeditions, meanwhile, are launching the second ship in their fleet, the ultra-modern MV Aria, to complement the MV Aqua.

Fri
18
Mar '11

Peru travel insight #9: The planning of the city of Cusco

Aracari’s Weekly Insight

Cusco was originally built in the shape of a Puma. When the city was first being developed as the centre of an expanding empire, the great emperor Pachatuteq and his contemporaries planned the layout of the city in the form of this great Amazonian cat, well know.

Puma, Cusco City design, Peru travelA Puma (source)

Fri
11
Mar '11

Peru travel insight #8: The Chachapoyas culture and the fortress of Kuelap

Aracari’s Weekly Insight

The Peruvian ruin that uses 3 times as much stone as the Great Pyramid of Egypt- around 40 million cubic feet of stone – is called Kuelap. Situated near the town of Chachapoyas, this immense fortress sits atop a high vantage point and is a remarkable testimony to the Chachapoyas culture – also known as “the Cloud People”.

Fri
4
Mar '11

Peru travel insight #7: The key to Spanish success during the conquest of the Incas.

Aracari’s Weekly Insight

Just 169 soldiers accompanied Francisco Pizarro as he campaigned from northern Peru through the Andes before ultimately capturing the Inca capital of Cusco, defeating tens of thousands of soldiers in their wake. There is no single answer to their success, rather a culmination of different factors. Below are some of the important ones.

Swords and steel