Essential Peru

Name: Essential Peru
Brand: Exodus
Rating: 4.7 (159 reviews)

159 reviews

Activity

Culture

Overview

Discover the highlights of southern Peru, from Nazca to Arequipa

Journey through the vastly contrasting visual and cultural landscapes of Peru, including coastal desert, snow-capped Andean peaks, the altiplano and cloud forest. Along the way, visit world-renowned highlights, including: the mysterious Nazca Lines; Machu Picchu; Lake Titicaca, where we spend the night in an island homestay; and the 9,843ft (3,000m) deep Colca Canyon. We also encounter traditional culture, condors, llamas, and a warm welcome from the Peruvian people.

Key Information

Trip Code: APD
Ways to Travel: Guided Group
Countries: Peru
Carbon Footprint: 26kg CO2e per person per day

What's Included

All accommodation: 1 Superior night (hotel), 12 Classic nights (hotels), 1 Simple night (homestay)
All breakfasts, one lunch and two dinners
Immersive itinerary with all transport and listed activities
Expert tour leader to enhance your adventure
Arrival and departure transfers

Don't Forget To

Request a single room if required, purchase travel insurance and arrange any visas and vaccinations.

Highlights

Discover the best of Peru, from world-famous landmarks to Andean peaks, cloud forest and the islands of Lake Titicaca
See the Nazca Lines, one of the great archaeological mysteries
Explore the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, a New Wonder of the World
Stay with a local family on the traditional island of Amantani in Lake Titicaca
See condors soaring on the morning drafts at the Colca Canyon
Wander through the colonial city of Arequipa and the Santa Catalina Convent

Itinerary

First Destination: Lima
Next Destination: Lima

Meals included:Dinner

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

First Destination: Lima
Next Destination: Lima

Welcome to Lima, the busy capital of Peru. There’s plenty of adventure on your trip, but today’s all about settling into the hotel. You will be met at the airport and transferred to our hotel in the Miraflores district of Lima.

Around 6pm, say hola to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead.

Your tour leader then ensures a big Peruvian welcome by arranging a group dinner.

Want more time in Lima? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

Accommodation: Hotel El Tambo 1 (or similar)

Meals included:Dinner

We set off early this morning (around 5.30am) and drive south from Lima until we reach the port of Paracas (a four to five-hour drive). The Ballestas Islands lie a short distance off the coast here and are home to one of the highest concentrations of seabirds in the world – we visit them by boat.

On the outward journey, we pass the curious pre-Inca Candelabra geoglyph, a huge (more than 490ft/150m high) three-pronged trident shape etched into the sandy hillside, the origin and purpose of which remains unknown (although there are many theories). Upon reaching the islands we explore the caves and rock archways by boat and observe the sea lion and fur seal colonies as well as humboldt penguins and an array of birds such as cormorants, pelicans, tendrils, and Peruvian blue-footed boobies.

We take open-top motorised boats, which are shared with members of the public (occasionally the sea is too rough and the boats can’t operate). Take heed of seabirds above – it is advisable to wear a hat. The boat trip lasts around two hours. Back on dry land, we drive for an hour or so to Ica, the heart of the Peruvian wine-growing region, where we spend the night.

Accommodation: Hotel Villa Jazmin (or similar)
Upgrade to a deluxe king room today – speak to your sales representative for more details

Meals included:Breakfast

We drive towards Nazca, stopping to visit the viewing platforms overlooking the Nazca Lines. These are one of the great archaeological mysteries, consisting of enormous drawings and patterns etched in the desert sand.

In the afternoon, there is usually time to take a scenic flight over the Nazca Lines (additional cost), weather permitting. Due to the small planes used, this is not suitable for those with a fear of flying or who suffer from travel sickness. As an alternative, your leader can help arrange optional visits to the nearby burial grounds, Antonini Museum or the planetarium.

Accommodation: Casa Andina Hotel/Alegria (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

We turn inland from the coastal desert today, climbing high into the Andes on a long (around 12 to 13 hours) but spectacular drive. We’ll pass through the largest vicuña reserve in the country, so look out for these smaller wild relatives of the llama. This region has only recently become easily accessible to tourists due to an upgrade of the Abancay/Chalhuanca road. The altitude here can make physical exertion difficult; the highest point we reach today is Negro Mayu, a pass at 15,092ft (4,600m) above sea level. We recommended that you rest in the evening. Tonight, we stay in Abancay on the road to Cuzco.

Accommodation: Hotel de Turistas Abancay (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

Transfer (six to seven hours) to Cuzco this morning, stopping to visit the Inca Saywite stone and Tarawasi ruins. The glaciated summits of the Vilcabamba mountain range and the descent into the Apurimac River valley demonstrate the dramatic contrasts of the Andes; expect stunning scenery throughout today’s roughly seven to eight-hour drive.

It is recommended to take it easy upon arrival into Cuzco and to drink plenty of water to allow your body time to acclimatise to the altitude (11,155ft/3,400m).

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Andina Standard Catedral (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

To help you acclimatise, we embark on a relaxed walking tour this morning, which takes in the historic buildings and winding streets of Cuzco. The rest of the day has been left free for exploring on your own. The Plaza de Armas is a fantastic spot for people watching, and the Koricancha Sun Temple in the Santo Domingo Church and monastery is worth a visit. The Mercado San Pedro is the place to try local produce and there are many handicraft markets to shop for souvenirs, such as alpaca jumpers and scarves.

Outside the town are more Inca ruins, notably the fortress of Sacsayhuaman where the Inca armies made their last stand against the conquistadors. A combined entrance fee (tourist ticket) for these sites and many others is recommended – please see the Optional Excursions section below for prices. Sightseeing excursions to places outside Cuzco, including the Sacred Valley of the Incas, are also available. Please ask your tour leader.

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Andina Standard Catedral (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

For most people, the highlight of the trip is the visit by train to one of the greatest ruins in the world, the lost city of Machu Picchu. This is one of the architectural and engineering marvels of the ancient world, in a mountain setting of staggering immensity. The Spaniards never found it; the Incas left no records of it, so Machu Picchu remains a great enigma, a city lost for centuries in the jungle until it was rediscovered in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham.

We transfer (approximately two hours) to Ollantaytambo railway station to catch a train to Aguas Calientes (the town below Machu Picchu). The railway line follows a beautiful route through the Urubamba River valley. In the afternoon, we take a short bus ride up the winding road to Machu Picchu for a guided tour of the ruins. Visiting in the afternoon tends to be quieter than the mornings and the mist that shrouds the ruins at dawn has usually dispersed.

Please note that exploring the ruins involves a reasonable amount of walking, including up and down steep and uneven stone steps.

Accommodation: Terraza de Luna (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

This morning has been left free for you to relax and enjoy the buzz of Aguas Calientes. Alternatively, if you have already purchased a second entrance ticket to Machu Picchu, this morning is free for you to explore the once-lost city on your own. Please read the Is This Trip for You section for information on booking your tickets.

In the afternoon, we board the train back to Ollantaytambo and then continue by minibus to Cuzco, arriving in the late evening.

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Andina Standard Catedral (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

We have a final chance to enjoy the sights and shopping of this beautiful city. If you would like something more active, there is an array of optional activities available from Cuzco that your leader can organise. These include paddleboarding on a lake, mountain biking, or a combination of via ferrata and zip-lining in the Sacred Valley.

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Andina Standard Catedral (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

Today we travel for around 10 hours along the Vilcanota River and onto the altiplano, the high plains separating the Andes from the jungle. Although it is quite a long drive, the views are often spectacular. There are scheduled stops at interesting sites to help break up the day and we will get to appreciate the immensity of the Andean landscapes. This afternoon, we arrive at the shores of Lake Titicaca (12,467ft/3,800m above sea level) and board a boat for our trip to Amantani Island. A hike around the island offers great views across the lake, while the night spent with a local family is a fantastic cultural insight into lives very different to our own. A packed lunch is included today.

Accommodation: Amantani Island homestay (basic)

Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We explore the island in the morning before boarding our boat for the three-hour journey to Puno on the lakeshore. On the way, we visit Uros Island. The Uros have been living on reed rafts for centuries, and although many have now moved to the mainland there are still a couple of thousand who remain on the islands. A reasonable amount of their income is now provided by strictly regulated tourism, but they also still fish the lake and barter with mainland communities for daily essentials.

Accommodation: Casona Plaza Hotel (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

Today we head across the altiplano again. This time we cross to the southwest, heading back towards the coast to the high Colca Canyon (a five to six-hour drive). En route, we see vicuñas and possibly flamingos, crossing the Patapampa Pass (15,781ft/4,810m) before descending into what is considered the second-deepest canyon in the Americas (the deepest, the Cotahuasi Canyon, is also in Peru). There is time in the evening for an optional visit to the hot springs near the main town of Chivay (11,926ft/3,635m) – a warming pleasure after the chill of Lake Titicaca.

Accommodation: Hotel Pozo del Cielo (or similar)
Upgrade to a superior room today – speak to your sales representative for more details

Meals included:Breakfast

Rise early to view condors soaring on the morning drafts rising out of the canyon. We then ascend out of the canyon and cross Patapampa Pass on our way to Arequipa, a journey of four to five hours.

Known as the White City, due to the pale volcanic stone used to construct many of its colonial buildings, Arequipa has a pleasant climate and is surrounded by towering volcanoes, including the near-perfect cone of El Misti.

Accommodation: Su Majestad Hotel (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

In the morning we visit the huge, serene convent of Santa Catalina. Built in 1580 and only opened to the outside world in the 1970s, it offers a rare insight into the lives led by the nuns and has changed little through the centuries. There are still around 20 nuns living in the northern corner of the complex. In the afternoon or evening we fly to Lima where we will transfer to our hotel in Miraflores.

Accommodation: Hotel El Tambo 1 (or similar)

Meals included:Breakfast

You’ve explored a New World Wonder, seen the Nazca Lines and stayed on a Lake Titicaca island; but today, we start our return journeys home, although there may be time for optional tours of Lima, including visits to the Gold Museum and tours of the historic downtown.

Alternatively, speak to your sales representative to join our add-on tour to the Amazon rainforest – an into-the-wild adventure to explore lakes, rivers and jungle trails in search of incredible wildlife.

Meals included:Breakfast

Dates & Prices

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Call us on 1 844 462 4317

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Accommodation

Hotels and Titicaca homestay

The properties selected for this Peru exploration are a blend of three-star quality and comfort, often within easy walking distance of the local attractions. Our Lima hotel is a welcome escape from the city bustle, while our Cuzco hotel is centrally located in the historic centre. A highlight of this tour is our ‘live like a local’ Amantani island homestay, which allows us to experience Andean warmth and hospitality.

Upgrade your room on Day 2 and Day 12 of the itinerary – speak to your sales representative for more details.

Below are some of the standout places we stay:

Lima: El Tambo 1 (night 1)

Essential Peru

El Tambo 1 (uno) is our three-star Lima hotel in the lively tourist district of Miraflores. It has a restaurant and lovely small bar near the courtyard garden, plus easy access to local sites, such as Kennedy Park, the Larcomar Shopping Center and the Miraflores clifftop promenade where you can enjoy great views of the Pacific Ocean.

Ica: Hotel Villa Jazmin (night 2)

Essential Peru

Surrounded by dunes and pisco distilleries, Hotel Villa Jazmin is an oasis of comfort in Ica. After a day of touring in the desert sun, Villa Jazmin invites you to relax by the pool and enjoy a cold drink from the bar (we recommend a pisco sour made with locally produced pisco).

Amantani island: Homestay (night 10)

Essential Peru

Our trip includes an unforgettable homestay with a local family on Amantani island. This wonderful community project has guests staying with multiple families; the hosts share in the proceeds, which benefits both the Amantani community and the visitors who enjoy and learn from this unique cultural experience.

Colca Canyon: Hotel Pozo del Cielo (night 12)

Essential Peru

Experience the charm of Hotel Pozo del Cielo as we visit Colca Canyon and the surrounding communities. With an inviting ambiance, panoramic views and warm hospitality, it has cosy rooms, a relaxing bar and a restaurant serving Peruvian delicacies.

Worth knowing

On our way from Nazca to Cuzco, we overnight in Abancay. Our Hotel de Turistas Abancay hotel is basic, yet functional for a restful overnight stay.
Amantani homestay: The rooms are basic but clean and the beds have sheets and plenty of blankets to keep you warm. There are shared drop toilets but no showers.
Single rooms can be booked for single supplement, subject to availability at the time of booking. This supplement covers single rooms throughout the trip, except for the homestay on Amantani island.

Post-trip Extensions

Exclusive Add-ons

Amazon Rainforest Add-on (post-tour, from Lima)

Easily accessible via a short flight to Puerto Maldonado from Lima, the Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world and home to an astonishing array of wildlife and plant species. Spending three nights at a lodge in the incredibly rich Tambopata Reserve, we use motorised canoes to explore lakes and rivers, and follow jungle trails to explore dense forests.

The detailed itinerary can be found here, or speak to your sales representative for more details.

Essential Information

Trip Expert

Kristen Whitla

Travel Copywriter

Introducing Kristen Trading Ireland’s drizzle for dry heat, Kristen spent years working as a writer and English teacher in Seville, Budapest and Hong Kong.

This trip is graded Activity Level 3 (Moderate). For more information on our trip gradings, visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip, please contact us.

Walking: Cuzco, Arequipa and many of the Inca sites (including Machu Picchu) are built on hillsides and sightseeing often involves walking up and down steep streets or on uneven steps or terraces. As such, you should have a good level of mobility and a reasonable level of fitness.

Altitude: This trip spends time above 9,842ft (3,000m); please refer to the Altitude Warning within the Trip Notes for more information and advice on how to limit the effects of altitude sickness. The tour allows for gradual acclimatisation, visiting Abancay (7,874ft/2,400m) before moving on to Cuzco (11,155ft/3,400m), then Lake Titicaca (12,467ft/3,800m). Although we do not linger there, the maximum altitude visited on this trip is at Patapampa Pass (16,109ft/4,910m), which we drive over near Chivay, Colca Canyon. Please ensure your travel insurance covers you up to this altitude. It can be cold at these altitudes, particularly from May to August (although these months benefit from lower rainfall). You should bring appropriate clothing.

Maximum altitude: 16,109ft (4,910m)
Maximum sleeping altitude: 14,436ft (4,400m)

Journeys: This is a busy itinerary encompassing the highlights of southern Peru with some long drives and early starts. The longest travel days are Day 4 (11-12 hours) and Day 10 (10 hours). However, our private buses are comfortable and the scenery is outstanding, plus there are several stops to break up long journeys. The road between Nazca and Cuzco becomes increasingly winding as we climb higher into the mountains, and this, combined with the increase in altitude, may affect you if you are prone to travel sickness.

Strikes: Strikes are not uncommon in Peru and while these are generally peaceful protests, they can result in roadblocks and disruption to travel. In this event, your leader will amend your itinerary if necessary to minimise the impact.

Visiting Machu Picchu a second time: If you wish to visit Machu Picchu twice, you need to purchase a second entrance ticket. Tickets are sold out months in advance, so please let us know upon booking whether you would like a second ticket and we will do our best to secure one for you. You need to provide us with your preferred entry time (6am, 7am, 8am or 9am). The second visit takes place on the morning of Day 8 and we aim to secure a different circuit, subject to availability. You will not have a guide with you for your second visit.

Please note, it is essential you read the Machu Picchu regulations in the Important Information section of the Trip Notes before you book this trip.

Key information

Start hotel: Hotel El Tambo Uno, Avenida la Paz 1276, Miraflores 15074, Lima
Phone: +51 1 2194080
Recommended arrival time: You can arrive at any time today. There will be a welcome briefing around 6pm this evening.
Airport: Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM)

Getting to the start hotel

The start hotel is approximately 45 minutes’ drive from the airport. Exodus provides free arrival transfers to the start hotel from the airport for all customers. If you would like further information on joining this trip, please speak to your sales representative.

Catching your return flight

Exodus provides free departure transfers for all customers to Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) from the end hotel.

Please note, unless specified otherwise, the transfers will be to the start (or pre-tour) hotel and from the end (or post-tour) hotel and will be on the date on which the tour starts/ends; transfers to other hotels in the same city and/or on different dates may attract an extra charge. Transfers should be booked with your sales representative at least two weeks before the tour starts.

There are no mandatory vaccination requirements. Recommended vaccinations are: polio, tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis A. Zika virus, a mosquito‐borne viral disease, is a known risk in places visited on this trip. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available. We therefore strongly recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

If you are travelling to the Tambopata reserve in the Amazon rainforest, the risk of malaria is slight, but you may wish to consult your doctor for further advice. We also strongly recommend that you obtain a yellow fever vaccination. Dengue fever and chikungunya are known risks in the Amazon region. Both are tropical viral diseases spread by daytime biting mosquitoes. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available for either, and therefore the best form of prevention is to avoid being bitten. We recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites: always apply insect repellent and wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers while in the rainforest to avoid being bitten.

Methanol: The FCDO warns travellers to be cautious of methanol poisoning when travelling in destinations visited on the trip.

Peru

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Peru. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/americas/peru
Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/peru
United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/peru/entry-requirements
USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Peru.html

Hotel breakfasts are normally simple buffet-style affairs, usually including bread/toast and jam, cereal, sometimes eggs or a cooked dish, sometimes fruit, tea/coffee and fruit juice. Regrettably, we cannot guarantee that wheat- or gluten-free products will be available for breakfast in all locations – if you have an intolerance you may wish to bring your own breakfast food from home. Where lunch and dinner are not included we’ll visit a variety of local cafes and restaurants.

Peruvian cuisine is loved for its flavours and originality; it’s well worth digging into the local delicacies. Among these are ceviche (seafood or fish marinated in lime juice), lomo saltado (a Peruvian take on a beef stir-fry), and various hearty soups including the delicious quinoa soup. Other dishes include roasted cuy (guinea pig), alpaca steak. To drink, there’s pisco sour, the national beverage.

The tap water in Peru is not safe to drink. Free drinking water will be provided in large containers, so please bring a refillable bottle with you.

The diverse geography of Peru results in a very varied climate between different regions. Lima and Paracas fall within the coastal desert region of Peru, with a mild climate and very little rain all year. From April to November, the sky is almost always grey and cloudy and the air is humid. Average daytime temperatures in Lima remain between about 18C-24C (64F-75F) during this period, with July and August typically being the coolest. Nights are also mild – typically 15C-18C (59F-64F). From December to March, the skies in Lima are clear and temperatures at their warmest, but elsewhere in the country this is the rainy season.

Cuzco and the Andes have a temperate climate. December to March is the rainy season in Cuzco/the Andes and April to November is the dry season; characterised by clear skies and strong sunshine in the mornings, sometimes clouding over as the day progresses. Daytime temperatures are usually pleasant (around 20C/68F on average) but night times only 5C-10C (41F-50F), except for May, June, July and August when days are cooler and nights are often close to, or a few degrees below, freezing. In the Andes, however, anything is possible at any time of year, including cloud, rain or even snow, and rapid, unexpected changes.

Lake Titicaca and Colca Canyon are high (12,460ft/3,800m and 11,810ft/3,600m above sea level respectively). The sun is strong but the air can be cold, and nights can be close to freezing. You will need to bring warm layers and a waterproof or windstopper. Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu are in the cloud forest with large amounts of precipitation all year round as clouds move up from the Amazon Basin. Rain here can be heavy but is seldom prolonged. Cold fronts sometimes occur from July to August.

Peru is affected by the El Niño weather phenomenon where warming of Pacific Ocean surface water off South America drives a shift in the atmospheric circulation resulting in abnormally high levels of rainfall over parts of South America. These events occur at irregular intervals of two to seven years, and last nine months to two years. In El Niño years, temperatures in Lima can be much warmer than described above but it still rarely rains in Lima.

Be sure you understand how much driving there is.

Kasia Woch

Added September 2024

What a great trip!

During the two very busy weeks we basically saw most of Peru - starting from Lima - making our way through the mountains via Cuzco and ending up with Lake Titicaca and Arequipa. Wonderful scenery across, tons of archaeological ruins visited along the way and we get to know Peruvian...

Richard Fairgrieve

Added April 2024

Essential Peru

I have enjoyed every Exodus trip I have done and this was no exception. It was a busy trip with several long travelling days in a very comfortable coach, but the journey was always broken up with numerous stops and the scenery was amazing.

Most Inspirational Moment

Machu Picchu was iconic but the highlight was watching the condors in the Colca Canyon. Awe inspiring!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Renzo was an excellent group leader, personable, professional and knowledgeable. He was always available, took us to some excellent restaurants and had a lovely sense of humour. Very much like every Exodus leader I have travelled with and there have been numerous.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t be put off by the long days, this is a brilliant way to see the amazing sights in Peru.

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Essential Peru

Activity Level

Comfort Level

Activity

Overview

Discover the highlights of southern Peru, from Nazca to Arequipa

Key Information

What's Included

Don't Forget To

Highlights

Itinerary

Dates & Prices

Skip the hassle: We’ll handle your trip from start to finish, with competitive flight prices, dates that suit you, 24-hour support, loyalty discounts, and peace of mind for delays or disruption.

Your Group, Your Adventure

Accommodation

Hotels and Titicaca homestay

Post-trip Extensions

Amazon Rainforest Add-on (post-tour, from Lima)

Essential Information

Trip Expert

Key information

Getting to the start hotel

Catching your return flight

Peru