Southern Peru tailor made holiday
| country: | Peru |
| location: | Inca Trail, Peruvian Amazon |
| departures: | This trip can be tailor made anytime between April and November |
| price: | From £2975 (18 days) excluding flights. Price includes domestic Peru flights, deluxe hotels (twin share), guiding, transfers, all entrance fees and porters, train Cusco-Puno, activities and meals as per itinerary |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Enjoy the highlights of southern Peru in comfort. Spot wildlife in the Amazon, explore Cusco and the Sacred Valley with your dedicated guide, walk the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu over four days to avoid the crowds, relax as you travel to Suasi Island in Lake Titicaca.
Highlights
Enjoy the stunning variety of Peru’s cultures, scenery and wildlife. Walk the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu over four days, avoiding the crowds. Explore Cusco, the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu with your dedicated local guide. Delve deep into the Amazon to see amazing wildlife in virgin rainforest. Cross the Altiplano to Lake Titicaca on a luxurious Orient Express train. Stay in a remote but comfortable private island lodge on Lake Titicaca. Relax in the lovely town of Arequipa.
Best time to go: March to November.
Highlights
Best time to go: March to November.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Peru, Lima: Fly to Peru today. |
| Day 2: | Peru, Amazon: Fly to the Amazon this morning. Travel a bumpy road to the banks of the Tambopata River where you board a boat to take you downriver to your very comfortable lodge. (B, L, D) |
| Day 3: | Amazon: Wetlands and lakes: Walk through flooded rainforest to Monkey Island early in the day. This afternoon visit Lake Sandoval to explore by canoe. Expert guides help you spot monkeys, birdlife and the very rare giant otter. (B, L, D) |
| Day 4: | Amazon: Explore the rainforest canopy: Visit an indigenous cultivation plot today to try different types of crops and local fishing techniques. This afternoon you can explore the amazing 344m long canopy walkway of your lodge. (B, L, D) |
| Day 5: | Cusco: Travel from the Amazon to Cusco: Travel back to the airport by boat then fly to Cusco. Acclimatise to the altitude (3,326m) with a stroll through the picturesque streets in the company of your guide who stays with you throughout your time here. (B) |
| Day 6: | Cusco: Discover the Sacred Valley: Spend today with your guide exploring the Inca sites both in and around Cusco and the Sacred Valley nearby. (B) |
| Day 7: | Inca Trail: Start the Inca Trail: Explore the Inca ruins at Ollantaytambo. Start your four day hike with a walk alongside the Urubamba River. Walk 5km, 2hrs, up 50m. (B, L, D) |
| Day 8: | Inca Trail: Steady walk to altitude: Today you walk at relatively low altitude (3,000m) through a pretty wooded landscape camping in a lovely spot at around 3,800m. Walk 10km, 6.5hrs, up 850m. (B, L, D) |
| Day 9: | Inca Trail: High Trail: Today is the hardest day of the trail as you cross over two high passes, effectively hiking an ‘m’ shape. Walk 15km, 8hrs, up 650m, down 850m. (B, L) |
| Day 10: | Inca Trail: Arrive at Machu Picchu: The final day of the trail is the most beautiful, starting with what can be the most stunning sunrise. Arrive in Machu Picchu this afternoon. Walk 11km, 6hrs, down 700m. (B, L) |
| Day 11: | Machu Picchu: Explore Machu Picchu: Enjoy a full guided tour of Machu Picchu this morning. Return to Cusco by train this afternoon. (B) |
| Day 12: | Lake Titicaca: Travel to Lake Titicaca: Travel by Orient Express train from Cusco to Puno on the edge of Lake Titicaca. Sit back, relax and watch the scenery of the Peruvian Altiplano slip by. (B, L) |
| Day 13: | Lake Titicaca: Cross Lake Titicaca: Set off from your hotel to cross the 45 miles of Lake Titicaca to Suasi Island. Stop to visit the floating islands of Uros and the weaver’s island of Taquile. Arrive at the peaceful and beautiful Suasi by lunchtime. (B, L, D) |
| Day 14: | Lake Titicaca: Day to explore Suasi: Spend today relaxing on the island – there are lovely gardens with hammocks, a bonfire powered sauna, canoes and plenty of corners in which to relax. There is a guide on site who runs a variety of more active excursions. (B, L, D) |
| Day 15: | Lake Titicaca: Travel from Suasi to Arequipa: After a very bumpy road trip back to the airport, fly to Arequipa. The city sits in the shadow of several snow-capped volcanoes and is famous for its lovely climate. (B) |
| Day 16: | Arequipa: Day to relax and explore: Today is an opportunity for you to simply relax and take things easy. The Santa Catalina convent is well worth visiting. Arequipa is home to the Alpaca industry of Peru so you will find beautiful garments for sale. The silver is also first rate. |
| Day 17: | Arequipa, Depart: Travel home: Relax in Arequipa this morning before your afternoon flight to Lima and on home. (B) |
| Day 18: | Home: Arrive back home. |
B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner
tailor made holiday
This trip can be tailormade to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more luxurious trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments before relaxing in comfort in some of the best and most characterful local accommodation! Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips.how this holiday makes a difference
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Community
We only run our own dedicated Inca Trail departures exclusively in conjunction with a small family business in Cusco. We have our own team of local guides and porters in place in Peru. We can be sure that we are only working with the best and most experienced guides. It also means that we work with a single community to provide portage services thus ensuring a stable and reliable source of income for local families. Our porters come from the community of Chacllanca, about 45km from Cusco. Generally they are subsistence farmers who supplement their earnings by working on the Inca Trail. Our two head chefs, Virgilio and Herlin are in charge of getting the teams together and are therefore the bosses. Your team of porters is usually therefore made up of friends, family and neighbours who respect one another and work well together. Needless to say, we adhere strictly to the Porter Protection Policies in place on the Inca Trail. On Lake Titicaca we are careful to visit only those floating islands which are genuinely inhabited so you can get a sense of how they actually live day to day and your visit benefits the people you visit. Similarly, we avoid the main visitor site on Taquile Island, instead travelling to the far side of the island which receives visitors usually once a week and is therefore a genuinely interesting opportunity for cultural interaction and again provides an income for communities without being invasive. Environment We take longer to walk the Inca Trail, keeping you away from the overcrowded and environmentally depleted campsites. Instead you stay at peaceful campsites where numbers are very low and therefore environmental impact minimal. We are scrupulous about carrying everything out with us. |
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. |