Cusco, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca & The Amazon

After arriving in Lima, the capital city of Peru, you fly on to Cusco, the Inca Citadel nestling amongst the Andes Mountains. You will be met at the airport for the short journey to your hotel in the historic areas of the city. Once there, you can check in, drink some coca tea and begin the process of acclimatising to the altitude. Taking things easy is essential on your first day in the mountains, and a gentle wander around the city in the afternoon is recommended as well as highly interesting. Your first meals at altitude should be light, but there are still plenty of options for lunch and dinner in Cusco.

Your first morning in Cusco can be spent at your leisure, either exploring the city or relaxing at your hotel. Your guided tour of the city and its archaeological sites will begin in the afternoon, starting with a visit to the impressive colonial cathedral, followed by Korikancha (The Temple of the Sun). From here you will travel to the outskirts of Cusco for a tour of the archaeological site of Sacsayhuaman, later visiting the ruins of Puca Pucara, Qenqo, and Tambomachay. The evening is free to enjoy dinner at a restaurant in some historic building set amongst the cobbled streets, or perhaps even at the Pre-Colombine Art Museum.

Today you head up and out of Cusco to the Urubamba Valley. Your first stop will be at the village of Pisac and its local market, with Tuesday, Thursday and especially Sunday being the most colourful days. In the early afternoon you will enjoy lunch with a view of the valley. The afternoon will be spent exploring the impressive ruins at Ollantaytambo, climbing up and down the steep terraces with views down the three valleys that meet there, and made Ollantaytambo a strategic point for any travellers. You finish at your hotel for the evening amongst the scenic splendour of the Sacred Valley.

You leave during the morning for your train ride through the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu. Upon arrival at the station in Aguas Calientes your guide will retrieve your luggage and escort you to your transportation to the magnificent ruins of Machu Picchu. Following a guided tour of the ruins, in which you will learn all about the origins of this archeological wonder, you have the rest of the afternoon free to explore. Transportation is provided to the base of the mountain, from where you can return to your hotel. The evening is free to enjoy dinner in the sheltered little town of Aguas Calientes, with mountains towering all around.

You may want to visit the ruins a second time to catch the magical moments of Sunrise at Machu Picchu, although you need to be prepared for an early start. You may also consider the trek up to Huayna Picchu, the steep little mountain behind the ruins. This hike requires approximately three hours to complete and allows for spectacular views of Machu Picchu and the valleys and mountains, with the train tracks almost directly below. After descending, you may have time to enjoy the hot springs that give the town its name before your train to Cusco departs in the afternoon, arriving in Cusco after dark.

An early start takes you from the bus or train station to Lake Titicaca, with stops at Rachi, Andahuayillas, and La Raya en route. The Inca ruins of Rachi are set amongst the upper reaches of the Urubamba Valley. Andahuayillas contains one of the nicest churches in the Andes, while La Raya is the place where the road and railway reach their highest point before arriving on the Andean Plain, over 4,000m above sea level. Here, you can see a stream coming down between two mountains - a source of the River Amazon. On arrival in Puno you transfer to your hotel overlooking Lake Titicaca with the evening free for dinner with a view of the lake.

In the morning you head out onto the deep, blue waters of Lake Titicaca to visit the fascinating floating Islands of Uros. These islands have been man-made using tortura reeds that grow in abundance around the lake, and the communities there have adapted their lives to floating homes. Your tour will also take you to Isla Taquile where you can explore its tranquil cobblestone streets and learn about the unique local culture that sprung up in the isolated community, whose unique weaving skills make it a Unesco World Heritage site. After lunch on the island, you have a little time to explore further before you return to Puno. The evening is free.

After breakfast, you transfer to Juliaca and then fly to Puerto Maldonado, where you transfer to the Rio Madre de Dios for a 25min journey by motor canoe to the riverside trailhead to Sandoval Lake Lodge. From here the trail takes you on a 3.2km walk through secondary forest until a paddle canoe trip to the lake itself, where a catamaran finishes the trip to the lodge. After lunch you explore the west end of the lake, with a flooded palm forest which contains the largest flock of Red-Bellied Macaws in the world. A night safari takes you to look for rare Black Caimans. A guided night walk takes you into the forest behind the lodge.

Sunrise at the lake might bring an encounter with the family of Giant Otters who are most active at dawn. Most fish-eating water birds feed in the early morning and you should encounter prehistoric-looking Hoatzins. After breakfast a hike in tall virgin forest includes towering Brazil Nut trees and a demonstration of how your hosts collect, open and commercialize this important natural product. After lunch you explore the eastern part of the lake, with five species of resident monkeys, such as the Brown Capuchin and Squirrel Monkeys. After dinner you can to try to spot Black Caimans or take a short night walk through the primary forest.

A dawn walk takes you into the interior of the Mauritia palm forest with its concentration of parrots, parakeets and large and small macaws. Your naturalist guide then takes you through the ancient rainforest and lianas to explain the ecology of the rain forest and its diverse flora and fauna. After lunch there is an option to independently explore some of the forest trails using our trail map. You might stroll through the medicinal plant garden, watch hummingbirds visiting nectar feeders, or tanagers visiting fruit feeders. In the cooler late afternoon you explore the eastern end of the lake under a spectacular sunset before returning to the lodge.

After breakfast you leave around dawn for a final paddle around the west end of the lake to try and glimpse the Giant Otters before returning by motor canoe for the 35min return trip to Puerto Maldonado Airport, and the flight from there back to Lima. On arrival in the Peruvian capital, you may have some time to spare before your overnight international flight home. This can be spent across the road from the terminal building at the Ramada Costa del Sol Airport Hotel, which has spa facilities and a restaurant that are open to non-guests. Your flight away gives you time to reflect on the cultural and natural wonders of your time in Peru.