Yine Tours & Activities

THE YINE COMMUNITY TOUR

3-days of Rainforest Culture

Day 1 - The Yine Lodge, to Diamante & Yine pottery

Your hosts, an English-speaking guide and a Yine guide, welcome you at the attractive and comfortable bungalows of the Yine Lodge. After settling in, they explain about the lodge and the Yine Tour programme, as well as giving you an introduction to the Yine culture.

In the afternoon, you travel by peque (16HP) boat for about 1,5 hour up the Alto Madre de Dios River to visit the native community of Diamante. You are welcomed in the village with their special drink, masato, made with fermented yucca. The tour through the village lets you see the virtues of rainforest life, and highlights the problems facing a people caught between their own culture and traditions, and the imposing Western way of life.

In the hut of one of the Yine artisans you can participate in the traditional ceramics and fabric painting activities. After seeing the example of the Yine women, you can make your own.

At night, Yine women offer to paint your arm (or head!) with huito paint in traditional Yine designs and explain their significance. Afterwards, your guides explain foot prints of animals, edible fruits and roots, and other things to prepare you for tomorrow´s "hunting expedition" in the forest.

Day 2 -To Diamante through the forest and back by river

This morning you set off with your two guides to hike the trail from the Yine Lodge to the Yine Community of Diamante. As you pass a variety of habitats, the Yine guide points out plants and trees that have special uses and meanings. Using what you learnt the night before, and seeing how the Yine move through the forest, you can get an understanding of how dificult it is to survive in the rainforest. In the rainy season, an alternative circuit may have the be followed when the forest is inundated.

Arriving at the village, a delicious traditional meal with fish is waiting for you at the house of one of the elders of the village. This is your opportunity to ask more about the history of the Yine. The Pantiacolla and Yine guide are there to help with the translations.

In the afternoon, you return to the Lodge in a spectacular way: each of you has a small dugout canoe, with paddler, waiting to take you down the Alto Madre de Dios River. The Yine have long been known as shrewd boatmen, able to read the significance of every little swirl and swell of the water. Of course, you can give it a try as well!

Day 3 - Bow and arrow shooting and return to Cusco

This morning, you can test your aim with a bow and arrow, under the supervision of a Yine teacher. It takes on average two hours to learn to use the bow and arrow, after which there is a contest. A set of authentic bow and arrows, constructed by Yine craftsmen, is the award for the most able participant.

Departure Dates:

The lodge is open continuously, and the 3-day Yine Tour can start any day of the week.  However, the flights depend on a minimum occupany of four passengers to or from Boca Manu. Therefore, if you have to make use of the flights, check availability. Of course, you can take the cultural 3-day Yine Tour as an extension to your ‘normal’ ecological Manu Tour.

Costs:

The Yine Tour is $290 per person, minimum of two persons, and the Cusco-Boca Manu flight is approminately $120 per person, one way.

If you take the Yine Tour as an extension to a Pantiacolla ecological tour, there are no extra costs for flights involved.

The Yine Tour includes:

 ·         English-speaking naturalist guide

·         Yine guide

·         2 nights at the Yine Lodge

·         Excursions and activities mentioned in the programme

·         Meals at the Yine Restaurant