CORPUS CHRISTI CELEBRATIONS IN CUZCO, PERU

A Photo Workshop with National Geographic Photographer

Tino Soriano

June 2-9, 2012

HIGHLIGHTS

• 7 Nights/8Days
• Award winning National Geographic Instructor
• Stroll the UNESCO World Heritage Central Plaza of Cuzco
• Photograph Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Inca
• Witness and capture the Corpus Christi Processions
• Enjoy Markets, communities... and much more!
  

Detailed Itinerary - 7 Nights/8 Days

Day 1: Arrive Cuzco

Arrive in Cuzco and check your hotel which is located walking distance from the central square of the city. Cuzco is considered the oldest city in the Americas and is located at 3,350 m above sea level. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is one of the most beautiful cities in Peru and the main gateway to reach Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Today you meet your instructors. Today we will take it easy as everybody adapts to the altitude of the city. In the evening we gather as a group for a welcome reception and dinner.

Casa Andina San Blas Hotel (D)

Day 2: Cusco/Chinchero Town and Market/Sacred Valley of the Inca

After breakfast, we depart for Chinchero, a small Andean village that overlooks the Sacred Valley. In this town we will have time to shoot the colorful Sunday market, where local people, and from the vicinities, still dress with their traditional clothes. After lunch we will gather for our portfolio review in the afternoon and for the first lecture of the workshop.

Casa Andina San Blas Hotel (B)

Day 3: Sacred Valley of the Inca/Ollantaytambo/ Maras Moray/ Sacred Valley of the Inca

After breakfast go the city of Ollantaytambo a former Military, Religious and Agricultural center of the Incalco Empire. We will shoot the massive fortress, the temples and the ruins from where you will be able to see the village. Walk along the preserved streets of the village, visit and shoot locals houses. After lunch, we will photograph Moray’s ruins. Discovered in the 1930’s, these circular terraces like formations presumably served as a botanical laboratory for the Inca . We will continue to the salt mines of Maras, an impressive array of terraces carved out of the hillside containing mini salt-pans, each of them. Capture the landscape and the people working at the mines.

Casa Andina San Blas Hotel (B,L)

Day 4: Sacred Valley of the Inca/Machu Picchu

Alfter breakfast, we board the Expedition train to Aguas Calientes. for Machu Picchu, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World The Citadel of Machu Picchu is by far the most important attraction in the sacred valley discovered in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham, this stronghold, overlooking the deep canyon of the Urubamba River is considered one of the most extraordinary examples of landscape architecture in the world. We will spend the afternoon, at sunset, photographing the ruins and the landscape. In the evening we will have an edit and critique session of the today and the previous day’s work.

El Mapi Hotel (B,L)

Day 5: Machu Picchu/Cuzco (The eve of Corpus Christi)

This morning we will have an early breakfast and will have an optional second visit to Machu Picchu at sunrise or a trekking to Wayna Picchu to visit the Temple of the Moon and to be able to photograph the “Ciudadela”, the city, of Machu Picchu from the best place to do so, before the crowds, to have the opportunity to photograph this magnificent sites with the best possible light. After lunch we will go back onboard the Vistadome Train to Cuzco where we will check into our hotel. In the afternoon we will have a lecture and an edit and critique session.

Casa Andina San Blas Hotel (B,L)

Day 6: Cuzco (Corpus Christi Processions and Celebrations)

The day is finally here; Corpus Christi is the most important religious celebration of Cuzco. While the processions get underway under the harsh sun of mid-day, the colorful clothes, the religious images, the floats and the passion of the people build up for a superb opportunity to photograph the essence of the people of Cusco.

Casa Andina San Blas Hotel (B)

Day 7: Cuzco

Today we photograph the city of Cuzco. After breakfast we will visit the Temple of The Sun (Koricancha), the local market of San Pedro and the Artisan’s Quarter of San Blas.. After lunch, in the afternoon, we will have our last lecture and edit and critique session. In the evening we will have a class show and farewell dinner.

Casa Andina San Blas Hotel (B,L,D)

Day 8: Cuzco

Departures (B)

Terms and Conditions:

Workshop Cost:

$ 3,495.00 USD per Person/Double Occupancy. For single occupation add $495.00 USD.

Program Inclusions:

• Accommodations:   7 nights/8 days
  
• Award Winning, National Geographic Photographer Tino Soriano
• All entrance fees per the itinerary above
• Breakfast and lunches as mentioned (B,L)
• 3 dinners

Program Exclusions:

• Tips and Gratuities
• Drinks not mentioned
• Meals not mentioned in the program
• Airport taxes
• Airfares

Who should attend?

This workshop is for amateur and serious digital photographers. All participants must bring a digital camera, a laptop computer and software for organizing and presenting images. The workshop is limited to 16 participants to allow for maximum individualized attention.

Cancelation Policy:

To reserve space in this workshop, a $500 per person deposit is required at the time of making the reservation. Deposits are due no later than 90 days prior to departure. Final payment is due no later than 60 days prior to departure unless indicated otherwise in the description of the tour or workshop. All payments must be made by credit card to Photo Xpeditions, LLC, and instructions for payments will be mailed upon confirmation of participation.

Photo Xpeditions reserves the right to cancel a reservation if full payment has not been received by 60 days prior to departure. For reservations made within 60 days of the departure date, full payment is required when the reservation is accepted. All cancellation notices must be received in writing and will become effective as of the date of the postmark. If you cancel 90 days or more prior to departure, a refund less an administrative fee equal to 50% of your deposit will be made. Per person charges for cancellations that occur less than 90 days prior to departure are as follows:

60–90 days prior to departure: 100% of your deposit amount;

45–60 days prior to departure: 50% of the expedition cost;

45 or fewer days prior to departure: 100% of the workshop cost.

Photo Xpeditions reserves the right of cancelling the workshop at any time if the minimum amount of students required for the workshop is not reached. If a workshop needs to be cancelled for this reason, a full refund will be given to all participants.