For centuries sisters, mostly the daughters of Spanish aristocrats, were cloistered from the outside world behind the walls of this city within a city. Its buildings now house an impressive collection of paintings. For handicrafts like wool rugs and coats, the Group Inka consortium, comprised of many small groups of Peruvian-owned Alpaca companies, sells some of the finest Alpaca products in Peru. It may not be the cheapest selection, but it is of the highest quality and profits from the sales remain with the local producers. The Portal Hotel overlooks the city's main downtown square.
All rooms have private baths, cable TV, air-conditioning and phones.
Overnight at the Portal Hotel. After breakfast, head to Chivay, stopping on the way to visit the colonial church of Yanqui and possibly see vicu as in the wild, then relax in afternoon. At your hotel, your guide will give a lecture about a National Geographic expedition to find the source of the mighty Amazon River. The Amazon River wins hands down as the largest river system in the world with a drainage basin of approximately 2.4 million square miles, nearly four-fifths the area of the contiguous United States. Were the United States to fall on top of the Amazon Basin, only Alaska, Texas and Florida would hang over the edges.