Postcards from Peru: The itinerary (1)

In the summer of 2024, we spent 3 weeks in the stunning country of Peru. It is of course famous for Machu Picchu, the famous ruins of the Incan empire. But when we started planning our trip, we realised that there was just so much more to explore in the country, 3 weeks were just not enough! We visited the coastal desert, the Amazon forests, the Andes, and each place felt like we had landed in a completely different country! I had wanted this to be a go-with-the-flow, slow and low agenda trip as much as possible, so we did some but not too much planning beforehand, and kept things easy going. And so we ended up experiencing the country more deeply than usual. We loved our time in Peru and can’t wait to be back.


High level itinerary

Day 1- 5: 4 nights on the coastal plains, starting in Lima, then Paracas, Huacachina Oasis, and finally back to Lima
Day 6-8: 4 nights in Puerto Maldonado in the Peruvian Amazon forests
Day 9-10: 2 nights in Cusco
Day 11-15: 4 nights on the Salkantay trail (of which two were in camps and two in Aguas Calientes)
Day 16-17: 3 nights back in Cusco
Day 18 - 21: 4 nights in Puno (of which two were on Lake Titicaca and two in Puno town)


Detailed itinerary

Day 1: We flew from Amsterdam to Lima, flying 3 hours over the Amazon forest (they are nearly twice the size of India!) and the Andes (which create the coastal plains of Peru). We stayed at Hotel Andesmar Miraflores, in the Miraflores area of Lima

Day 2: Lima. We took a 3 day Peru Hop bus tour around Lima. We drove to Paracas, a seaside town near the Paracas National Reserve. On the way we stopped at Hacienda San Jose, where Spanish conquistadors owned and ran plantations during the colonial period. In the evening, we explored the seaside town, staying at Hotel Riviera Inka Paracas

Day 3: Paracas. We explored the Ballestas islands which are known as a 'poor man's Galapagos'. These are a group of islands with millions of birds and aquatic life, including penguins and sea lions! We drove through the Paracas National Reserve, a desert land that gets no rain all year. Then we were off to the Huacachina Oasis, stopping at a Pisco vineyard on the way. We explored the sand dunes around the oasis at sunset, staying overnight at Hotel Curasi

Day 4: Huacachina Oasis. We drove to Nazca and did a small plane ride to see the Nazca lines from the air, shapes created in the desert land by a prehistoric civilisation from Southern Peru, more than 2000 years ago. Then we were on the road for 9+ hours from Nazca to Lima, staying again at Hotel Andesmar Miraflores 

Day 5: Lima. We explored Lima and then took a flight to Puerto Maldonado, a city in the Amazon forest. We reached at night and checked-in at our lodge, the Hacienda Herrera Tambopata, on the Madre De Dios river, for the next 4 nights

Day 6-8: Puerto Maldonado. We did a few activities to explore the Amazon forest. A night walk around the Hacienda, a walk in the neighbouring forest, boating on lake Sandoval, a sunset ride on the Tambopata river and a visit to the Chuncho Macaw Clay Lick. We spotted many animals during those safaris like the black caimans, white caimans (similar to crocodiles), red howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, capybaras, turtles, sloths, agoutis and possums. And of course, spotted (but mostly heard to the sounds of) loads of birds, especially macaws, hoatzins and oropendolas. And learnt about many insects, like praying mantis and different kinds of spiders 😂. And of course heard about the typical Amazonian trees and creepers

Day 9-10: Cusco. We took a flight from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco. It's a high-altitude city at about 3,400 metres. It was the capital of the Incas and later became a Spanish city. It is steeped in history, culture with every street reflecting its rich Incan and colonial past. During our stay there, the Corpus Christi festival was ongoing, being celebrated across town by the locals, every day, with loads of religious processions, music and dancing. So we spent most of our time enjoying the festival, while also walking around, shopping and exploring all Cusco has to offer. We stayed at the Hotel Tika Wasi Casa near Centro Historico 


Day 11-15: Salkantay trail

Aguas Calientes is the entry town to Machu Picchu and the only way to get there is by hiking or taking a train as there are no roads to get there. So we hiked the Salkantay trail for 4 days to reach Aguas Calientes. On the trek, we walked for about 15-20 kms daily, ascending about 500 to 1000 meters daily, and at night stayed in tents and huts on the way. We walked through valleys, rivers, forests and snow-covered mountains and it was so amazing to experience nature like this

Day 1 of Salkantay trail: Cusco. We started from Challacancha and ended our day camping in Soraypampa. We walked a total of 13 kms ascending 700 meters during the day, from 3600 meters to 4300 metres up to the Humantay lake, finally camping at 3900 metres at Solaypampa. The walk was through green forests and valleys, with a hike to Humantay lake and finally camping with a view of llamas and alpacas in front, snow covered peaks all around and bright stars above

Day 2: Soraypampa. This was the toughest of all days. We walked past high snow covered peaks, valleys, rivers, lakes, the Salkantay pass and cloud covered forests, finally camping at Challhuay, in huts above a river valley. We hiked for 12 hours, walking 22 kms, going up from 3900 metres to 4600 metres at the Salkantay pass and then down to 2900 metres

Day 3: Challhuay. Today was mostly walking along the Urubamba river, through forests and around the Machu Picchu mountain. We passed by some remote houses on the mountains, existing far away from everyone. At the end, we reached Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu village which is the base for visiting the ruins

Day 4: Aguas Calientes. We stayed at the Hotel Intiwatana el Tambo in town. We bought tickets for Machu Picchu, walked around a bit but mostly spent the day resting our feet and recovering from the strenuous hike

Day 5: Aguas Calientes. On the last day we hiked up 400 metres to reach Machu Picchu. They are ruins of an Inca centre of education and religion from the 1500s which were lost and then re-discovered in 1911. The Spanish never found this city, so they could not destroy it. There are temples, houses, palaces, terraces, schools, granaries and other remains here. Nestled in the hills, it's gorgeous. And then we hiked back, taking a train and then a bus to come back to Cusco


Day 16 – 17: Cusco. Back in Cusco, we visited some local spots like the Convent of Santo Domingo built over the Qorikancha temple and Cristo Blanco. We joined in the final days of the Corpus Christi festival, shopped and explored Cusco. We stayed at the El Balcon hotel near the Plaza des Armas

Day 18-19: Uros Islands, Lake Titicaca. We took a 10.5 hour long day train from Cusco to Puno. We passed through stunning scenery with Andean valleys, grasslands and mountains, mostly at heights above 4000 metres. There was entertainment on the train, with music and dances from different festivals of Cusco and Puno. In Puno, we stayed for two nights at Uros Titicaca The Best Lodge. These are on floating islands in Lake Titicaca, made of grass reed, which are made by the Uros people as they prefer to live on the lake rather than on land. Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world, at 3800 metres. When there, one of the days, we visited Taquile, an island on Lake Titicaca to see the local Incan culture

Day 20-21: Puno. We stayed on land in Puno, at the Hotel Hacienda Puno Centro Historico. It is a small town on Lake Titicaca, with not a lot to do. So we just walked around the port, shopped a bit and enjoyed the Morenada festival, which was going on at that time

Day 22: I flew back from Juliaca to Lima and then to Amsterdam. In Lima, I had lunch along the waterfront, in the nearby Callao neighbourhood


Peru: Lima and coastal Peru (2)

Peru: Amazon (3) 
Peru: Cusco (4)
Peru: Salkantay to Machu Picchu (5)
Peru: Around Puno (6)
Peru: Impressions (7)