Locations

The conservation project is based in Ollantaytambo, considered to be one of the last Inca strongholds and it is known the Inca fought some of their strongest battles against the tyrant Spaniards. There are also several silo type structures that was used to hold much of the Inca peoples food and a large amount of agricultural terracing where the crops were grown.  Participants are housed in double or triple rooms at a local hotel with group meals seven days a week.

The Condor Lodge Conservatory is located just outside the city of Cusco in an area called Apurimac. The terrain here is extremely steep, formed by narrow, deep valleys with impressive abysses, cold plateaus, and high-mountain peaks. The Apurimac River Canyon is a most extraordinary sight. Additionally, Abancay, the capital of Apurimac, is a beautiful Colonial city protected by the mighty snow covered Mount Ampay (5,235 masl), located in the sanctuary of the same name. The sanctuary contains, besides other snow capped mountains, mountain forests, beautiful lakes, and species of flora and fauna like the intimpa pine tree, the Andean fox, and the Andean deer.

The inhabitants of this municipality make a living primarily through agriculture, and they are descendents of diverse ethnic groups who were known for their warrior spirit. The area was also the scene of bloody confrontations between the rival neighboring tribes of the Chancas and Inca.

The Condor Lodge Conservatory is a young organization comprised of a dedicated, multidisciplinary group of professionals willing to contribute to the preservation of the Amazonian and Andean ecosystems. The major commitment is to preserve the overall regional wild life while specifically focusing on the endangered Andean condor and its behavior in its natural habitat. The work of the Conservatory is broad in scope and includes such activities as the recovering and care of the Andean condor in the Apurimac Canyon area – one of the deepest canyons in the world. Main objectives of the Conservatory are two-fold, first, to promote the preservation of the Andean resources, and second to encourage and practice responsible ecotourism.