SUMMER SESSION - OPTIONAL EXCURSIONS: EXCURSION TO CUSCO AND MADRE DE DIOS OR EXCURSION TO CUSCO, PUNO AND AREQUIPA These optional excursions will take place during the Summer Session's mid-program break and will last eight days and seven nights. Students have a choice of two options: five days and five nights in Cusco and four days and three nights in Madre de Dios ; three days and two nights in Arequipa, two days and two nights in Puno, four days and four nights in Cusco               Students opting for Madre de Dios will spend the first five days in Cusco and then will go to Puerto Maldonado in Peruvian Amazonia. Students will fly by commercial jet plane to Cusco from Lima , to the city of Puerto Maldonado in the Department of Madre de Dios from Cusco , and back to Lima from Puerto Maldonado. Students opting for Arequipa and Puno will begin with two days in Arequipa , then two days in Puno having taken the spectacular land route from Arequipa , and finally will go north to Cusco . They will spend four days in Cusco before flying back to Lima . Students will be lodged in double or, in some cases, triple rooms at three- or four-star hotels in Cusco, Puno, and Arequipa, in a jungle eco-lodge which is a couple of hours down the Tambopata River from the city of Puerto Maldonado, and in one of the best hotels of Puerto Maldonado. In Cusco students will visit historical Inca and colonial sites, and the main museums and architectural sites. They also will visit, among other sites, the Sacred Valley of the Incas (the Urubamba River valley) and the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, the royal Inca baths, the local market town of Chinchero, and the fortress of Ollantaytambo. They will spend a day in Machu Picchu . In Madre de Dios they will travel by boat down the Tambopata River . They will have a guided tour through the rainforest, focusing on the ecology, the flora and the fauna. They will also spend some time in the thriving city of Puerto Maldonado , gateway to the new intercontinental highway linking Perú and Brasil, and a melting pot of established colonizers, recent migrants, and natives. In Puno they will visit the region around Lake Titicaca ( including a visit to Sillustani guided by UVa archaeologist Professor Elizabeth Arkush), and in Arequipa they will visit the colonial cathedral and Jesuit church in the center of the city, as well as the Convent of Santa Catalina and other historical sites. These excursions provide a unique opportunity to travel safely in Perú, accompanied by several faculty members, including the Program Directors. The excursions have a strong reflective and critical component. Before setting out, there will be a special session in which students will be given reading materials and asked by the Program Directors to prepare for the excursions by writing a short composition. Both groups will meet in Cusco midway through their journeys and will have a common session under the guidance of the Program Directors when they will discuss ways in which to review what they wrote in preparation for the trip given their recent experiences. After students return to Lima , they will again meet with the Program Directors and other program faculty to discuss their essays and to take stock of what they have experienced during the excursions. Both options have the same cost of $980, including air fares, all accommodations and most meals, all tours and transportation, and all reading materials. (This price may change due to a change in airfare prices and in other variable costs.) These excursions provide an opportunity to travel in Perú in trips specially designed to complement the Program’s courses. Home | The Program | Universidad Católica | Home Stay Program | Term Session | Summer Session | Applying