Peru
| country: | Peru |
| location: | Inca Trail, Peruvian Amazon, Machu Picchu |
| departures: | 2008: 2 Aug, 13 Sep, 4 Oct, 1 Nov, 20 Dec, 22 Dec |
| price: | From £1500 (15 days) excluding flights. We can help arrange flights from the UK. Minimum 2 persons. Please note tailormade itineraries also available. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Home to several layers of civilisations, Peru proudly showcases its pre-Incan, Incan and Spanish heritage – and it does so in breathtakingly beautiful locations.
Our trip takes you to the highlights: trek the Inca trail, see the sunrise over the lost city of Macchu Pichu and visit the Inca Capital of Cuzco and the Amazon. The community development project here can include environmental, repair and renovation, and teaching aspects.
This trip takes you through the capital, Lima, and by plane to Cuzco, a city at 3,400m with a wonderful blend of colonial and pre-Columbian architecture, cobbled streets, ruins, churches and atmosphere.
After a tour of Cuzco, we spend a day in the Sacred Valley, including the pretty town of Ollantaytambo. Then, your four day Inca Trail trek begins. This hike takes you along the Urubamba River, through jungle, cloud forests, and village life. We visit ruins, and Phuyupatamarca (the City above the Clouds) before reaching, on the final day, Intipunku (the Gate of the Sun), to watch the sun rise over Machu Picchu and the surrounding Andean mountain peaks. We explore the ruins of this holy site in an unhurried visit before catching a train back to Cuzco. Upon your return to Cuzco, after a day’s rest, your community development placement commences in a nearby village.
You can spend 4 days with an organisation such as Peru’s Challenge where you can help teach - if your Spanish skills are up to it (you will have had lessons on your hike), or you can help build, clean, paint or garden, working alongside the locals! Peru’s Challenge is a not-for-profit organisation working with volunteers to create opportunities for children living in the Andes of Peru, focusing on health and education.
After four days of rewarding service, we take another flight into the lowlands of the Amazon jungle to Puerto Maldonado. We will explore the rainforest by foot and dugout canoe with guides who are passionate about sharing their knowledge of the surrounding wildlife. During your stay, you can also select from other activities such as jungle hiking, talking to researchers, or fishing for piranha! Your adventure ends in Lima.
Group size is 4-12 people. Accommodation is in superior hotels and 5 star guesthouses, and tents during the Inca Trail, and meals are included as per the itinerary. A good level of fitness is required for this trip. Please note that most trips need to be booked four months in advance to ensure reservations on Inca Trail hike.
Our trip takes you to the highlights: trek the Inca trail, see the sunrise over the lost city of Macchu Pichu and visit the Inca Capital of Cuzco and the Amazon. The community development project here can include environmental, repair and renovation, and teaching aspects.
This trip takes you through the capital, Lima, and by plane to Cuzco, a city at 3,400m with a wonderful blend of colonial and pre-Columbian architecture, cobbled streets, ruins, churches and atmosphere.
After a tour of Cuzco, we spend a day in the Sacred Valley, including the pretty town of Ollantaytambo. Then, your four day Inca Trail trek begins. This hike takes you along the Urubamba River, through jungle, cloud forests, and village life. We visit ruins, and Phuyupatamarca (the City above the Clouds) before reaching, on the final day, Intipunku (the Gate of the Sun), to watch the sun rise over Machu Picchu and the surrounding Andean mountain peaks. We explore the ruins of this holy site in an unhurried visit before catching a train back to Cuzco. Upon your return to Cuzco, after a day’s rest, your community development placement commences in a nearby village.
You can spend 4 days with an organisation such as Peru’s Challenge where you can help teach - if your Spanish skills are up to it (you will have had lessons on your hike), or you can help build, clean, paint or garden, working alongside the locals! Peru’s Challenge is a not-for-profit organisation working with volunteers to create opportunities for children living in the Andes of Peru, focusing on health and education.
After four days of rewarding service, we take another flight into the lowlands of the Amazon jungle to Puerto Maldonado. We will explore the rainforest by foot and dugout canoe with guides who are passionate about sharing their knowledge of the surrounding wildlife. During your stay, you can also select from other activities such as jungle hiking, talking to researchers, or fishing for piranha! Your adventure ends in Lima.
Group size is 4-12 people. Accommodation is in superior hotels and 5 star guesthouses, and tents during the Inca Trail, and meals are included as per the itinerary. A good level of fitness is required for this trip. Please note that most trips need to be booked four months in advance to ensure reservations on Inca Trail hike.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Lima city tour (D) |
| Day 2: | Fly to Cuzco; City tour (B) |
| Day 3: | Sacred Valley/Ollantaytambo (B,D) |
| Day 4-7: | Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (B,L,D) |
| Day 8: | Rest day in Cuzco (Rafting Option) (B) |
| Day 9-12: | Community Development near Cuzco (B,L,D) |
| Day 13: | Fly to Puerto Maldonado, Amazon (B,L,D) |
| Day 14: | Amazon, Tambopata Forest (B,L,D) |
| Day 15: | Amazon, fly back to Lima; tour ends (B) |
avoid disappointment - book your Inca Trail holiday in time
Over the last few years, the Peruvian government has imposed increasing restrictions on tourism on the Inca Trail in order to protect it from overuse. The aim is to minimise ecological impact and erosion, mainly by having limited access and improving the quality of the operators. There are now only a very limited number of trekking permits available - 500 per day (around 200 for travellers and the rest for staff) - and they are being issued on a first-come-first-served basis. In order to avoid disappointment we recommend booking well in advance (up to a minimum of 3 months in peak season), unless you are extremely flexible over your travel dates.how this holiday makes a difference
 Social or cultural impact and local employment: We have a strong stance on responsible tourism and we follow sustainable criteria and guidelines in our everyday work, whether inside our office or travelling. We provide basic training in Spanish and indigenous languages, as well as provide cultural and etiquette preparation. Through these and other ways, we actively encourage our guests to understand the peoples they meet as a way of improving understanding of mankind, and we stress the importance of following conscientious travel behaviour. Our staff are paid well above average wages and have contracts of employment with agreed conditions of service. We use and train local guides on all our trips, who are selected for their knowledge of the area and high degree of understanding of the country's flora, fauna and local culture. This tour spends 4 rewarding days volunteering in Cusco. You can help teach - if your Spanish skills are up to it (you will have had lessons on your Inca Trail hike), or you can help build, clean, paint or garden, working alongside the locals! Our volunteer partners in Cusco create opportunities for children, focusing on health and education. This should prove to be the highlight of your trip as you get to interact meaningfully with the local community, and make a positive impact in their lives – although it is likely that you will feel that it is you that has benefited the most from the experience. A minimum of 10% of our profits goes straight into funding our Community Development volunteer project partners. All costs of materials and administration are included in the trip price, and, where appropriate, we employ expert local craftsmen to handle the tricky parts of repair and renovation work. Environmental impact: All our trips are 100% carbon neutral – meaning that even though you don’t book your flights through us, we will pay for the equivalent number of trees to be planted to cancel the CO2 emissions from the flights, and also from the tour vehicles. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |