KEI organizes cultural activities and field trips during the program. Transportation, lodging and admission for planed activities are included in the program fee. Below are the most commonly organized excursions and activities. KEI reserves the right to change planned excursions for destinations of equal value and interest. Excursions may change based on availability, local festivals and interest. Academic year and multiple term students participate on planned excursions during their first term of study.

Lima

Included with programs in Lima.

Lima traces its origin to an indigenous village of the Incas Empire. Today, it serves as the political, economic and cultural capital of Peru. Lima is a multiethnic metropolis with numerous cultural, architectural and historic attractions. The center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. A city tour of Lima is scheduled at the start of the program.

Cuzco

Included with programs in Lima and Cuzco.

Cuzco is the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Perched in the Urubamba Valley a top the Andes mountain range, the city offers a mix of Inca, Spanish colonial and modern eras. Cuzco was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983 by UNESCO.

Machu Picchu

Included with programs in Lima.

Machu Picchu, often referred to as “The Lost City of the Incas”, is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built between 1438-1472 as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti. Hidden on a mountain ridge (7,970 feet above sea level) 50 miles northwest of Cuzco, Machu Picchu was never found by the Spaniards. Although known locally, Machu Picchu was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham.

Sacred Valley

Included with programs in Lima.

The Sacred Valley is a region in Peru’s Andean highlands. Its fertile soil formed the heart of the Inca Empire and allowed it to expand. Even today the Sacred Valley is an important agricultural zone and you can see a wide variety of crops being grown along it’s length.

Pachacamac or Paracas Nature Reserve

Included with programs in Lima.

Pachacamac is an archaeological site 40 km southeast of Lima in the Valley of the Lurin River. Numerous pyramids have been uncovered at the site, although many were irreversibly damaged by El Nino. The site is also significant for its cemetery and multicolored fresco of fish from the Early Intermediate period (c. 200-600 CE).

Paracas National Reservation, located in Ica, functions to protect the sea ecosystem and the historical cultural heritage of the region. The reserve is home to many species of wildlife, a cultural museum and a mysterious Geoglyph called the Paracas Candelabra.