5 ways to do Peru
THE ADVENTURER: World Expeditions’ Classic Inca Trail
Length: 12 days
Places visited: Lima, Cuzco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu
Highlights:
1. Rest time is factored into the tour to ensure successful acclimatisation in Cuzco prior to the trek.
2. A warm-up walk to the Inca salt pans that are found below Maras, an often unseen highlight.
3. Get up close and personal with lesser-known ruins along the Inca trail as well as glaciers and the Urubamba River.
4. Campsites are chosen carefully, with the crowded sites avoided. A stand-out is Phuyupatamarca, known as the city in the clouds.
Point of difference:
This itinerary incorporates a four-day trek on the Inca Trail after clients have adjusted to the altitude by bookending the trek with stays in Cuzco. There are many biospheres along the trek, including cloud forest, jungle and mountain terrain. The main point of difference is that trekkers see an untouched Machu Picchu at dawn by camping for the night at Aguas Calientes.
Overnight highlight: One night homestay on the Island of the Sun.
Price: $2450
Inclusions: Camping equipment, porters, airport transfers and a gear pack of sleeping bag, warm jacket and sleeping mat.
Start it with: A Galapagos island cruise.
End it with: A Cuzco to La Paz itinerary.
THE FULL PERU: Chimu Adventures’ El Chimu Grande
Length: 21 days
places visited: Lima, Ballestas islands, Nazca, Arequipa, Colca canyon, Puno, Uros islands, Amantani, Cuzco, Sacred Valley, Inca Trail, Machu Picchu, Tambopata
Highlights:
1. Cruise in Paracas Bay and see ancient markings in the cliffs, including the 180 metre Candelabra of the Andes.
2. View the mysterious Nazca lines from the air and marvel at how and why ancient Peruvians etched these designs.
3. Lose yourself in the white city of Arequipa.
4. See condors glide above the Colca Canyon, which is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.
Point of difference:
A three-night stay in the Tambopata eco-lodge, the perfect way to unwind at the end of the tour and well-earned after trekking the Inca Trail over four days. Clients reach the property via canoe, and once there they are ensconced in wilderness. Local wildlife includes tamarinds, capuchins, toucans and butterflies.
Overnight highlight: Stay with a local family on the island of Amantani on Lake Titicaca.
Price: $3850
Inclusions: Internal flights, all meals when camping, porters, camping equipment and transfers.
Start it with: A Santiago stopover.
End it with: A customisable Galapagos tour.
THE CULTURE BUFF: Trafalgar’s In the footsteps of the Incas
Length: 10 days
places visited: Lima, Cuzco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Ollantaytanbo, Juliaco, Puno, Lake Titicaca
Highlights:
1. Take a traditional boat on Lake Titicaca to see the man-made, reed constructed islands built by indigenous Uros people.
2. Learn how to cook ceviche and mix pisco sours with the head chef at the Machu Picchu hotel.
3. Understand the rainbow textiles of Peri by attending a weaving workshop.
4. Take the panoramic Vistadome train through the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu with two days to explore the ancient site.
Point of difference:
Trafalgar’s insider experience program allows guests to interact with locals. On day two of the itinerary guests have lunch at the historic home of a generations-old Lima family and eat Peruvian home-cooked favourites. Then there’s a chance to taste chicha, a Peruvian corn beer, and meet the women-only producers.
Overnight highlight: Palacio del Inka in Cuzco.
Price: $3675
Inclusions: Internal flights, wi-fi and private transfers.
Start it with: A five-day Peruvian Amazon itinerary.
End it with: A five-day Easter Island itinerary.
THE FIRST-TIMER: Adventure Destinations’ Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador
Length: 19 days
Places visited: Lima, Cuzco, Yucay, Machu Picchu, Quito, Galapagos
Highlights:
1. Visit the Pisac market which is only held three times a week and buy the woven items, jewellery and alpaca rugs of local craftsmen.
2. A full day drive through the Peruvian highlands from Cuzco to Puno, through icy mountains and ending at lake Titicaca.
3. Visit Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca, a 45km sail from Puno, where the native Taquilenos are famed for their textiles and clothes.
4. In Lima, visit the Erotic Hall at the Rafael Larco Herrera archaeological museum, which documents ancient Peruvians’ sexual appetites.
Point of difference:
This itinerary is a great introduction to the icons of South America. It also has flights built into the price. Any domestic flights to Sydney are on Qantas while the flight to Lima and return from Quito are with LAN via Santiago. All internal flights, including the legs to the Galapagos, are included.
Overnight highlight: Hotel Aranwa Sacred Valley Hotel and Wellness.
Price: $9549
Inclusions: Airfares from Australia to Lima including domestic flights.
Pre-extension: A three-day Peru South Coast to Paracas and Nazca.
End it with: A six-day Galapagos island-hopping itinerary.
THE FOODIE: Intrepid Travel’s Peru real food adventure
Length: 11 days
places visited: Lima, Ica, Cuzco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo
Highlights:
1. Take to the streets to try local food such as anticuchos (beef skewers), picarones (donuts) and masamorra (purple corn).
2. Cycle the vineyards of the region, known as the land of the sun, followed by a private wine tasting in Ica.
3. Enjoy a sumptuous pisco degustation at Cuzco’s trendy bar Museo del Pisco.
4. Take a cooking class in a treehouse that is one of Peru’s most experimental restaurants after a market trip to procure ingredients.
Point of difference:
Peru’s food is world-renowned, and the country has a foodie scene that has burgeoned in recent years. TV chef Anthony Bourdain has said that Lima is the gastronomic capital of South America. With Intrepid, the adventure is very local and interactive. Clients taste the street food with guides, visit the fish markets and meet food producers and winemakers throughout the journey.
Overnight highlight: Hostal Tika Wasi in Cuzco for garden hammocks and old town views.
Price: $2965
Inclusions: Foodie tours and three dinners.
Start it with: A seven-day Galapagos Escapade.
End it with: A four-day Peruvian Amazon.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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