Peru Andes & Amazon

1Why Peru Andes & Amazon?

Peru has the largest single concentration of UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Americas, the highest navigable lake in the world, the deepest canyon in the world, the largest rainforest in the world, and one of the world's great cuisines. The 14-day route below hits the headline sights — Lima, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, the Amazon, Lake Titicaca — and adds the off-the-radar stops where most 7-day itineraries don't reach.

2The 14-day loop

3Why Peru still works

Peru is the third-most-visited country in South America (after Brazil and Argentina), and the only one with the full package: high-altitude Andean culture (Cusco, 3,400 m), the Amazon basin (Puerto Maldonado), the Pacific coast (Lima, 0 m), and Lake Titicaca (3,800 m, the highest navigable lake in the world). The food alone — ceviche, lomo saltado, ají de gallina, causa limeña, pisco sour — is worth the trip. The catch: the altitude hits everyone, the Sacred Valley is more crowded than you expect, and the Amazon is the best value in South America. The 14-day route below is the standard 2-week loop, with the Amazon added.

4Lima — eat, then acclimatize

10 million people, 0 m to 1,500 m (the city is built on cliffs above the Pacific), and a food scene that's been winning the World's 50 Best for the last decade. One full day.

• Barranco & Miraflores: the modern neighbourhoods, with the cliff-top Malecón (Pacific views), the Bridge of Sighs, and Lima's best restaurants. Walk at sunset.
• Larco Museum: the best pre-Columbian collection in Peru, with 5,000+ years of ceramics, gold, and textiles. €10. Allow 2 hours.
• Centro Histórico: the colonial centre, with the Plaza Mayor, the Cathedral, and the catacombs of San Francisco. Half-day.

Food

Ceviche at La Mar (best in Latin America by many accounts, lunch only). Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian) at Maido (World's #1 restaurant 2023, €150 set menu, book months ahead). Anticuchos (beef-heart skewers) at La Mar or any market stall. Pisco sour at Bar Capitán Meléndez (the original, since 1930s).

5Cusco — 3,400 m and the Inca capital

The capital of the Inca Empire (1438–1533), built at 3,400 m altitude. The first 24–48 hours are the hardest — give yourself time to acclimatize. Don't drink alcohol, don't eat heavy, walk slowly. The locals chew coca leaves (legal and traditional); the tea (mate de coca) is offered in every hotel.

Cusco itself is small enough to walk in 2 days. The Plaza de Armas is the centre, surrounded by the Cathedral and La Compañía. The San Blas neighbourhood (the bohemian hillside) has the best cafés and viewpoints. The San Pedro market is the best food and souvenir market in Peru.

Where to stay

Plaza de Armas (centre, walkable): Hotel Novotel Cusco (€80–120), El Mercado Hotel (€60–90). San Blas (hilltop, view, charming): Antigua Casona San Blas (€50–80), Palacio del Inka (€150+, splurge).

6The Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu

Below Cusco, the Sacred Valley (Valle Sagrado) is the heart of the Inca Empire, with the most important archaeological sites within a 1-hour drive.

• Pisac: a market town with a famous Sunday market and a hilltop Inca cemetery with thousands of pre-Columbian tombs. 1.5h from Cusco.
• Ollantaytambo: a living Inca town (one of the few), with an unfinished 15th-century temple-fortress on a 600-m cliff. 2h from Cusco. This is where you board the train to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo).
• Moray & Maras: 1.5h from Cusco, concentric Inca agricultural terraces (Moray, 1,500 AD) and 5,000+ traditional salt evaporation ponds (Maras) on a hillside.

Machu Picchu

The most famous archaeological site in the Americas, and the only one that consistently exceeds expectations. A 15th-century Inca citadel on a 2,430-m mountain, hidden from the Spanish and rediscovered in 1911. Two ways to visit:

1. The train + bus: Ollantaytambo → Aguas Calientes (1.5h train, $60–100), then 30 min bus up the hill to the entrance. The standard route.
2. The 4-day Inca Trail: the classic multi-day trek, 42 km, camping, finishing at Machu Picchu at sunrise. Book 4–6 months ahead, $700–900, age 18+.

Get to the gate by 6 am opening. The first 2 hours are empty, the light is perfect, and you'll have 90% of the site to yourself.

7The Amazon — 3 nights in a lodge

Peru has 60% of the Amazon basin, and the easiest access is from Puerto Maldonado (1.5h flight from Cusco). Most lodges are 1-hour boat rides from town, deep in the Tambopata or Manu reserves. A 3-night package (€400–800 all-in) is the right pace.

• Macaw clay lick: 100+ scarlet and blue-and-yellow macaws eating mineral clay every morning. Most lodges have a 30-min walk to a hide.
• Jungle walks: 2–3 hour guided walks in primary rainforest, with puma tracks, tapir dung, and 1000+ butterfly species.
• River cruise: 1-hour motorised canoe down the river, with otters, caiman, and pink river dolphins.
• Night walk: 1-hour headlamp walk after dinner, with tarantulas, tree frogs, and kinkajous.

Recommended lodges

Posada Amazonas (community-owned, mid-range, €400), Refugio Amazonas (slightly upmarket, €600), Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica (luxury, €1,200). All book through Picchotrip or direct.

8Lake Titicaca — the highest navigable lake

3,800 m altitude, on the Peru–Bolivia border, the largest lake in South America. The Andean spiritual centre: the Inca believed the creator god Viracocha rose from its waters to bring light to the world.

• Uros floating islands: 1-hour boat ride from Puno to the artificial reed islands, home to about 1,200 Uros people. They make the islands and their boats from totora reeds, which they re-layer every 3 months. The visit is touristic but fascinating. €40.
• Taquile Island: 2h further by boat, a Quechua-speaking community with a textile tradition so refined that UNESCO declared it Intangible Cultural Heritage. The men knit the most intricate hats in the world (the chullo, with earflaps that indicate marital status). Allow 4–6 hours including the boat and lunch.

9When to go

Peru has three main climate zones and three different best times:

• May – September: the dry season, 18–25 °C in the highlands. The best for Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Lake Titicaca. High season, book 2–3 months ahead.
• October – November: shoulder season, some rain, fewer crowds. Still a good time.
• December – April: rainy, hot, humid. The Amazon is at its fullest (best for wildlife). The highlands are wet, Machu Picchu cloudier. The classic Inca Trail normally closes for maintenance in February; confirm the operator and park calendar for your route and dates.

10Altitude prep

Cusco is 3,400 m. Some travellers develop altitude illness after arrival; symptoms and susceptibility vary. The fix:

• Day 1–2 in Cusco: rest, walk slowly, drink water, no alcohol.
• Coca tea: legal, traditional, mild effect, every hotel offers it. Drink freely.
• Diamox (acetazolamide): 125 mg twice daily, starting 24 hours before arrival. Available over the counter at any Peruvian pharmacy. Cheap and effective.
• Eat light: skip the heavy meals for the first 48 hours.

11Daily budget

Peru is mid-range South America — cheaper than Chile, more expensive than Bolivia. Honest breakdown:

Build a budget using the dedicated budget guide. Its amounts are illustrative allowances; obtain current quotes in the local currency for your dates.

12Hidden detours

• Huacachina: 5h south of Lima, a desert oasis with sand dunes you can sandboard down. Day trip from Ica, 2 nights.
• Chachapoyas: in northern Peru, the "cloud people" pre-Inca fortress of Kuelap (built 500 AD, larger than Machu Picchu) and the Gocta waterfall (one of the highest in the world, 771 m). Few tourists. 4 days.
• Colca Canyon: 4h from Arequipa, twice the depth of the Grand Canyon, with condors flying overhead at the Cruz del Condor viewpoint. 2 nights.

13Solo-friendly?

Yes, very. The tourist trail is well-trodden, the hostels in Cusco have active social scenes, and the Amazon lodges are essentially solo-friendly by design (you share a boat with other guests). Safety varies by neighbourhood, activity and current conditions. Check destination-specific travel advice and plan transport and accommodation carefully. The biggest practical challenge is the altitude — give yourself 48 hours in Cusco before the Sacred Valley. Read more in our solo travel guide.

14What I wish I'd known

Three things:

• Don't book the Inca Trail last-minute. The 200 permits per day sell out 4–6 months ahead for the high season. If you can't get a permit, do the Salkantay Trek instead (5 days, equally beautiful, no permit required).
• Discuss altitude prevention and any medication with a clinician before travelling; energy drinks are not a treatment. Cheaper, and your local pharmacy may not have it.
• Skip the floating reed island "sleepover" tours. The community is a tourism product now, and the 2-hour visit is enough. Don't pretend you're having an authentic experience sleeping in a reed hut — spend that night in Taquile, where the culture is real.