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Andean Homestay Program -
Amaru Community
Typical Program and Costs
The cost of staying with a local family is 20 Peruvian Soles per person.
This includes an evening meal (vegetable soup, bread, herbal tea) and
breakfast (bread, jam, herbal tea or coffee). The price does not include
transport to the community. Visitors to Amaru can take local transport to
the village (see the section below on how to get to Amaru).
The Andean Homestay Project is sponsored and
promoted by Peru Treks. All payments are made directly to the families.
Peru Treks takes no commissions or payments for its services. Ten families
have been carefully selected by the community to participate in the
initial phase of the project (pilot scheme). The families have been chosen
on the basis of financial need rather than the biggest and best houses.
Peru Treks has donated more than US$1500 to
make home improvements to these houses (new outside toilet dedicated for
the use of visitors, new beds, mattress covers, glazing and wood flooring
where necessary).
Reservations
Please note that the homestay program cannot
be reserved in advance. Reservations can only be made by coming to our
offices in Cusco.
Departures every Saturday afternoon (May to
December)
12:30pm - 1:00pm Meet in the Peru Treks office
1:15pm Taxi to bus station. Local bus from Cusco to Pisac
2:15pm Transport from Pisac to Amaru
3:00pm Arrive at Amaru. Introduction to host family
4:30pm Group activity / short trek / football with village kids / weaving
display etc
6:30pm Evening meal with family (vegetable soup, corn, herbal tea)
7:30pm Group reunion in selected family house, local music and dance with
children
8:30pm Try to find your way back to your house !! (don’t forget to bring a
flashlight)
9:00pm Tucked up in bed. Lights out!
Sunday
8:00am (the following day) Breakfast with
family
8:30am Trek to Pisac (Sunday market) via Inca ruins or take local bus back
to Pisac. The spectacular trek to Pisac is mainly downhill and takes 2hrs
30mins walking slowly. The trek passes the Inca ruins at Pisac so you will
need to have your Boleto Turistico handy.
What to Bring
Warm sleeping bag, warm clothing, flashlight, toilet paper, snacks and
water. You can also bring fruit for your host family
How to Get to Amaru
During the first six months of the homestay program (June to December
2007) we thought it best if people wanting to visit Amaru come to the Peru
Treks office to meet up first. People interested in participating in the
homestay project should come to our office between 12:30pm and 1:00pm
(Every Saturday afternoon, June to December). We can then take a local bus
to Pisac and either a local bus or a taxi from Pisac to Amaru depending on
how many people there are in the group.
A taxi from our office to the bus station in Avenida Tullumayo costs 2 or
3 Soles (shared between up to 4 persons). Buses depart every 20 minutes to
Pisac. The cost is 3 Soles and the ride takes about 50 minutes. In Pisac
we have a couple of options to take us to Amaru. A taxi is probably the
quickest method costing 35 Soles (shared between up to 4 persons).
Alternatively we can take a local minibus costing 3 Soles per person but
the departure times can be a bit unreliable (basically they depart when
full). If there are 6 or more persons in the group we can make
arrangements for the local minibus to meet us in Pisac and take the group
to Amaru, this service costs 5 Soles per person. Final arrangements for
transport can be agreed upon when we meet in our office. We plan to send a
representative from Peru Treks with the group to help things run smoothly.
The representative may have only very limited English speaking ability and
will not be a trained guide. However this service is provided free of
charge, you only have to pay for your accommodation and meals (20 Soles
paid directly to your host family) and transport costs.
More Information and Photos
We are currently producing a website
www.myperu.org dedicated
to promoting the homestay program and culture and traditions in
the Andean communities surrounding Cusco. The website can be
viewed in a draft form online. The design and contents are still
in their early stages but hopefully will be completed towards the
end of August. You can view information about Amaru at
www.myperu.org/amaru We hope to include photos of the homestay
program together with your feedback and experiences so if you want
to send any photos or email us please use the email address amaru@myperu.org
We will try to print out all photos that we receive and take them
to the families. However please try to keep the total size of the
email and attachments below 1MB.
If you have enjoyed your stay with the
family please try to help promote the project by telling other travellers.
Leaflets are available in our office.
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