Stay and help at an Incan observatory near Llactapata, Peru

Details

• 

  Description

  -Please contact this host in Spanish-
  
  ***We are currently looking for volunteers that can especially help us with:
  🛖 Construction (we would like to build wooden cabins)
  🌱 Gardening (planting, caring and harvesting vegetables)
  🐣 Animal care (we have chickens, mules, guinea pig and baby chicks that need care!)
  👋 Attending the guests that arrive at the site***
  
  This is an Incan Observatory, located on the Salkantay trek (3rd stage) with a fantastic view of eight snowy mountain peaks, two valleys and Machu Picchu itself. This is a special place. We are a family of four: myself - Silverio, my wife Saturnina, and our two daughters aged 11 and 10: Rubi and Kira.
  
  It is a campsite and mirador close to Llaqtapata ruins, which is at the top of a 2830m mountain. We opened as a campsite in 2014 and it is also our family home. We provide meals, snacks and information for visitors who are completing the Salkantay and Choquequirao trek and for others who climb up to experience this incredible view. We grow our own vegetables including potatoes, maize, coffee avocado and bananas. We are in an exciting stage of flux, developing ideas for how to grow our business and be able to receive more tourists here. There are a variety of tasks that volunteers are expected to complete, including general tidying up, cooking, assisting tourists (a knowledge of English is especially useful), handy jobs, cutting and preparing maize and other vegetables, looking after the animals (chickens, mules) and teaching English to my family.
  
  At the moment, we complete the various jobs here with the help of locals from Lucmabamba and volunteers that visited here whilst trekking and have decided to come back afterwards. Family members also help at the weekends. Staying here you will learn about working alongside Mother Nature, Pachamama and much about Quechuan culture. It is important to us to have a cultural exchange.
  
  Where you will stay: Volunteers have their own space in a wooden cabin or can bring their own tent. You can find it on Google maps -ask us for the link
  
  We eat together for each meal and we hope that volunteers become part of our family.
  
  Our location: take a bus for 10 soles from Santa Teresa to Lucmabamba and then hike 2 to 3 hours up to us. The path is beautiful, winding up through coffee plantations into cloud forest.
  
  From Cusco: you can take a "colectivo" (carpool in car or van) from Cusco to Santa María and another from Santa María to Santa Teresa then to Lucmabamba for the start of the Inca trail. To find a colectivo from Cusco you may need to ask a local for information on where to find one to Santa María.
  
  Please note you will be staying all day outside and with our family.
  
  We look forward to hearing from you.
  
  Español:
  
  Se trata del Observatorio Inca, situado en la ruta de senderismo del Salkantay (3ª etapa), con una fantástica vista de ocho picos nevados, dos valles y la Laqta sagrada de Machu Picchu. Es un lugar especial. Somos una familia de cuatro personas: yo - Silverio, mi esposa Saturnina, y nuestras dos hijas de 11 y 10 años: Rubi y Kira.
  
  Es un camping y mirador cerca de las ruinas de Llaqtapata, que está en la cima de una montaña de 2830m. Abrimos como camping en 2014 y también es nuestra casa familiar. Proporcionamos comidas, refrigerios e información para los visitantes que completan la caminata de Salkantay y Choquequirao y para otros que suben para experimentar esta increíble vista. Cultivamos nuestras propias verduras, como papas, maíz, café, aguacate y plátanos. Estamos en pleno desarrollo. Nuevas ideas sobre cómo hacer crecer nuestro negocio y ser capaz de recibir más turistas aquí. Se espera que los voluntarios realicen diversas tareas, como limpieza general, cocina, asistencia a los turistas (es especialmente útil saber inglés), trabajos manuales, construcción, cortar y preparar maíz y otras verduras, cuidar de los animales (gallinas, mulas) y enseñar inglés a mi familia.
  
  Por el momento, realizamos los distintos trabajos aquí con la ayuda de lugareños de Lucmabamba y voluntarios que nos visitaron mientras hacíamos senderismo y han decidido volver después. Los miembros de la familia también ayudan los fines de semana. Quedándote aquí aprenderás a trabajar junto a la Madre Naturaleza, la Pachamama y mucho sobre la cultura quechua. Es importante para nosotros tener un intercambio cultural.
  
  Dónde te alojarás: Los voluntarios tienen su propio espacio en una cabaña de madera o pueden traer su propia tienda de campaña.
  
  Comemos juntos en cada comida y esperamos que los voluntarios se conviertan en parte de nuestra familia.
  
  Cómo llegar: toma un autobús por 10 soles desde Santa Teresa hasta Lucmabamba y luego camina 3 horas hasta nosotros. El camino es precioso, serpentea entre plantaciones de café y bosque nuboso. Está en Maps de Google - ask us for the link
  Esperamos tener noticias suyas.

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Hospitality/Tourism

  General Maintenance
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Acá pueden aprender toda de los costumbres ancestrales inca, de plantas medicinales y medicina tradicional andina. También idioma Quechua, la idioma ancestral de las incas. Van a aprender la convivencia con la naturaleza, con la madre tierra - Pachamama. Los apu aquí - montañas sagradas. Pueden también ir a descubrir las ruinas incas en los alrededores.
  
  In English:
  Here you can learn all the ancestral traditions of the incas, the tradicional andean medicine and knowledge of plant medicine in general. You can learn Quechua language and practice your spanish. We don't speak English, so a minimum level of spanish is required. You will learn to live as part of Nature, live in harmony with mother earth - Pachamama - among the holy mountains. You can also visit the many secret Incan ruins around the place.

• 

  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

• 

  Help

  In English:
  Volunteers will help the family daily activities, help with construction and improvement of the site, help with giving food to animals... We also need help to harvest our homegrown fruits and vegetables, toast coffee...
  We would also love to learn about ways things are done in your countries and we love to have a cultural exchange.
  
  Los voluntarios ayudarán a las actividades diarias de la familia, ayudarán con la construcción y mejora del sitio, ayudarán a dar comida a los animales... También necesitamos ayuda para cosechar nuestras frutas y verduras de cosecha propia, tostar café... También nos encantaría aprender sobre cómo se hacen las cosas en sus países y nos encantaría tener un intercambio cultural.

• 

  Languages

  Languages spoken
  Spanish: Fluent
  Quechua: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  Queremos aprender inglés, pero por favor solo escribe a mi en español porque ahora no comprendo inglés. Please only contact us in spanish.
• 

  Accommodation

  In English:
  In this moment the Volunteers are going to sleep in a tent - a good one though with a tarp cover, a real mattress and blankets. The camp is situated far away from the GP/doctor and therefore it is important for the volunteers to be in good health. There are hot showers as well.
  The 3 daily meals are included, you can still eat as much as you want.
  
  
  En este momento los voluntarios van a dormir en una carpa, pero es una carpa buena con colchones y edredón.
  El campo está en un lugar lejos del poste y por eso los voluntarios nesecitan salud bueno. Hay duchas calientes también.
  
  Las 3 comidas al día están incluidas, y puedes tomar cuantos snacks necesites durante el día.

• 

  What else ...

  Estamos viviendo en una montaña en un bosque mágico, diez minutos caminando a Llactapata. Hay dos horas caminando a la ciudad Hidroeléctrica y cuatro horas a la ciudad Aguascalientes. De Aguascalientes pueden ir a Machu Picchu en una hora caminando. Al otro lado de la montaña hay dos horas caminando para bajar a Lucmabamba y dos horas y media a La Playa y tres horas a Santa Teresa con aguas medicinales. Los voluntarios tienen que subir la montaña a pie para llegar acá y por eso no pueden llevar mochilas muy pesadas.
  
  In English:
  We live in a mountain surrounded by a magical, old rainforest, just ten minutes walking distance from the ancestral ruins of Llactapata. There are two hours walking distance to the city of Hidroeléctrica and four to Aguascalientes. From Aguascalientes there is a one hour hike to Machu Picchu. To the other side of the mountain there is a two hours hike to Lucmabamba, two and a half to La Playa and three to Santa Teresa with hot springs. The volunteers have to hike to the top of our mountain to arrive here, and therefore can't bring very heavy backpacks.

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  Can possibly accept pets

  This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

• 

  Hours expected

  Máximo 4-5 horas al día, 5 días a la semana

Feedback (5)