Condors Stargazing Humantay Lake 3d/2n

Day 1

Cusco– Quillarumiyuc – Tarawasi Quillarumiyoc Chonta

Condors Stargazing Humantay Lake 3d/2n At 5am we will collect you from your hotel and head out from Cusco to Chonta, from where our hike begins. We start off by descending to the amazing Inca site of Quillarumiyoc, which means Temple of the Moon. It was an Inca ceremonial site dedicated to the worship of water and, more importantly, to the moon goddess “Quilla”. Quillarumiyoc itself is a fascinating site about 1 km off the highway along a dirt track. The complex comprises a series of water channels following the course of a narrow gulley which descends from the sombre mountain overlooking the site. These water channels flow past sacred rocks, including the Great Stone, carved with a geometric representation of the moon herself, which has given the site its name.
The entire valley occupied by Quillarumiyoc and cut by the stream which feeds its water channels is littered with limestone outcrops – “huacas” or sacred stones – which, when one looks at them as the ancients did, appear to have landed there not so much from another geological region, but from another time. They stand, enormous and imposing, some
with their bases carved into simple altars and others left entirely in their natural state – for they needed no alteration from the hand of man to denote the mysterious nature one senses today and which for the Incas imbued them with religious significance. These sacred stones litter the valley, grey and immutable like an abandoned village, all the way up to the steep slopes of the local Apu, or sacred mountain, which dominates the landscape and seems to force itself into all the photographs one takes of the site.From there, we continue on to Tarawasi, another astounding Inca site, which was used as a ceremonial center, as well as a resting place for the Inca chasquis (Inca runners who delivered messages over long distances). The exceptional polygonal retaining wall, noteworthy for its 28 human-sized niches, is in itself worth the trip from Cusco. On the wall below it, look for flower shapes and a nine-sided heart amid the patchwork of perfectly interlocking stones. Then it will be time to climb back up to Chonta, where we will have some spare time to explore the village before lunch. After a delicious meal, we will walk for approx. 1 to 1 and a half hours to reach an unrivalled condor viewpoint over the valley. Here, we will spend the rest of the afternoon waiting patiently to capture stunning photos of the king of birds: the Andean condor. Chonta for dinner.