From Mystical Heights to Amazon Nights
Itinerary
Days 1-3 – Markets & Plazas of Lima
A proud Latino city, often cloaked in mist from the Pacific Ocean and with a famed food scene, Lima fizzes with energy and is more than just a handy starting point for your holiday. You’ll spend 2 nights in a cosy hotel in a pleasant part of town, and you’ll be shown around the lively Miraflores food market and the charming colonial centre by your local Limeño guide, before setting off to explore the city independently.
Days 3-7 – Coastal road to Nazca
Today you will be collected from your hotel and transferred to the bus station for the six hour trip by comfortable Royal Class bus to Ica for the next part of your Peru adventure. On arrival in Ica you’ll make your own way to the desert oasis of Huacachina, roughly 40 minutes further on by taxi.
Spend a few days seeing the other side of Peru – a surreal mix of enigmatic etchings, giant sand dunes, sea lion colonies and desert lagoons. Surf down the golden dunes and drift around the Islas Ballestas, spotting wild dolphins and penguins. It’s a bizarre and beautiful adventure. Whisking you from Lima to Arequipa over five days, this trip will show you the hidden surprises of the Peruvian coast. You’ll stop for 2 nights at the oasis town of Huacachina and 1 night in Nazca, where you’ll have the chance to see the mysterious Nazca Lines.
Next you will make your own way to the bus station for the overnight Royal Class bus to Arequipa. The journey will take roughly 9 hours. On arrival, early the next morning, you’ll be met and transferred to your hotel. If you can’t check in straight away, why not leave your bags behind and head out and explore for your first taste of this incredibly beautiful city.
Days 7-9 – Culture and Cookery in Arequipa
Arequipa is an understated highlight of Peru – an attractive city with a distinct personality and a striking volcanic backdrop. Wander along cobbled streets to the local market and enter an explosion of colour, sounds and smells, before exploring the nooks and crannies of the fascinating Monasterio de Santa Catalina. During your time here you’ll also step inside a local home and learn the secrets of how to cook perfect quinoa, chicha or caldo verde from your Arequipeño host.
Days 9-11 – Condors in the Colca Canyon
Early this morning you’ll be picked up in Arequipa for the five hour drive across the Altiplano to Coporaque. You can doze off for the first couple of hours, until the bus starts to wind its way up into the mountains.
Around twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, the Colca Canyon slices through the Andes and affords some of the most spectacular views on the continent. Joining a small group, you’ll begin with a scenic drive past volcanoes, lakes and grazing alpacas, before arriving at your lodge in the town of Coporaque. In the afternoon you can relax or head out hiking through this striking landscape with your guide.
In the morning you’ll head to the deepest part of the canyon – a nesting site for the huge Andean condor, where they glide on thermals close above your head. In the afternoon you can hike or relax in the nearby hot springs, before meeting Josefina and Oswaldo, who live in the valley and will host you tonight in their simple farmstay. After a tasty breakfast prepared with local ingredients, you’ll spend a couple of hours helping out (as best you can!) on the farm, before you continue you Peruvian journey.
Days 11-13 – Typically Titicaca
Next, you’ll be picked up at your hotel in a shared minivan for the drive to the busy harbour city of Puno which will take about 4 to 5 hours.
You’ll spend the next 2 nights in the youthful town of Puno, from where you’ll set off on a boat trip to the islands and communities of Lake Titicaca. Meet the locals who call this place home, visit a floating reed island, help prepare your lunch using underground ovens, and sit back as you glide across the still waters. Titicaca was a sacred place for the Incas, believed to be the birthplace of the sun, and the lake remains one of the most peaceful and beautiful spots on the continent.
Days 13-15 – Explore the Cobbled Streets of Cusco
After a good night’s rest and substantial breakfast, you’ll make your own way to the bus station. There are several ways to get from Puno to Cusco, but we’ve arranged the comfortable express bus, which takes about 7 hours. On your arrival a Spanish speaking driver will be waiting at the bus terminal to take you to your hotel in Cusco.
Explore Cusco, the Inca heartland and a city of colourful contrasts. During this trip, you’ll spend two nights in Cusco, the gateway to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. Travellers from all over the world meet here before heading into the mountains, making it a lively hub of restaurants, bars and museums. Scattered with Inca ruins and colonial churches, it’s a brilliant place for an atmospheric wander.
Days 15-20 – Lares Trek – Authentic Andes
You’ll get a minibus transfer to the starting point of the Lares Trail, the journey should take around 4 hours to your starting point.
Take the mountain paths less travelled on the Lares Trail – a great alternative to the busy Inca Trail, you’ll pass remote villages and lakes nestled between snowy peaks. If you’re after an authentic taste of life in Andes, this is the trek for you. You’ll join a small, guided group for 3 days of trekking through dramatic landscapes, camping under the stars, meeting the Andean locals and generally feeling a million miles away from it all.
Your trek finishes in the charming little town of Ollantaytambo, where you’ll spend the night easing back into civilisation before hopping on the train towards Machu Picchu the following day. You’ll spend the evening in Aguas Calientes, where you’ll find plenty of other excited travellers enjoying the town’s restaurants and bars, and waiting to see the Lost City for the first time. You’ll head up early the next morning to try and beat the crowds, and to see the site as the morning mist disappears.
After a tour with an official guide, you’ll head back down in time to catch your afternoon train back to Cusco.
The train journey is around 4 hours through the Peruvian landscape, and when you arrive in Cusco a taxi will be waiting to take you to your hotel where your luggage and a comfy bed will be waiting.
Days 20-23 – Into the Amazon – Jungle Lodge
The next morning we’ll arrange a transfer to the airport, in time for the 1-hour flight to Puerto Maldonado.
Spend a few nights sleeping in a comfortable lodge in the heart of the mighty Amazon rainforest, feeling a million miles away from civilisation. Travelling to your riverside base by boat, you’ll head out with expert local guides, on foot and by boat, to explore the jungle and the incredible Amazonian wildlife. Your lodge is owned by the Native Community of Infierno, so you’ll also meet the people who call this amazing place home. All meals and activities are included during your stay.
The wildlife is a major reason to visit the Amazon of course, and around Tambopata you’ll see monkeys, macaws, parrots, toucans, capybaras, caimans and various spiders and insects. There’s also a chance that you might spot a jaguar by the river, meet the group of giant otters who live nearby, or even fish for piranhas!
After an early breakfast, it’s time to pack your bags and sail back along the Madre de Dios to Puerto Maldonado where your Peru holiday ends. From here you will fly to Lima, which will take about 2.5 hours before connecting on to your international flight home.
Accommodation
For this itinerary we offer the following options
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