Peru Family Tour 17 Days / 16 Nights

Day 1: Arrival in Lima

Welcome to Lima, international gateway to Peru. These next few days are packed with adventure, but tonight, we’ll meet you upon arrival at the Lima airport and take you to your hotel for a good night’s rest after your flight.

Day 2: Arrival in Arequipa

Pearly white stone architecture, fantastic year-round weather, and delicious culinary specialties make Arequipa a favorite destination for local and international travelers alike. Fly in to Arequipa and check-in to your hotel.

Day 3: Arequipa city tour

Meet your guide for a closer look at Arequipa’s mestizo baroque architecture. Visit San Ignacio Chapel, the imposing Basilica Cathedral, and Santa Catalina Monastery. The tour ends with a drive to one of the city’s lookout points for views of the city framed by Misti Volcano.

Day 4: Colca Canyon Tour

Your bus journey to the Colca Canyon begins early in the morning. About 2 hours from Arequipa, you’ll stop in Lagunillas to observe birds nesting in the picturesque lagoons. The next stop is at Pampa Cañahuas, where traditional “mate de coca” tea is served to alleviate the effects of high altitude. The final stop at the Patapampa Volcano overlook gives you time to snap photos of the majestic landscape.

The winding road into the canyon provides even more majestic vistas of an ancient landscape inhabited for thousands of years before the Inca Empire rose to power. The bus arrives in the Plaza de Armas of Chivay. Transfer to your lodge and enjoy the rest of the evening at your leisure.

Day 5: Colca Canyon Tour & Arrival to Puno

Andean condors are the illustrious residents of the Colca Canyon. Wake up early this morning for a drive to Cruz del Condor, one of the best viewpoints over the canyon. The sight of the soaring birds with wings spanning their fullest length against the backdrop of the Colca’s deepest depths will leave you breathless.

Return to Chivay for lunch and then begin the drive to Puno (touristic bus). On arrival, settle into your comfortable hotel and enjoy the vast twinkling sky over Lake Titicaca.

Day 6: Lake Titicaca Tour

Sailing on the waters of Lake Titicaca is an experience like no other. Depart from Puno port to begin your waterborne exploration of Lake Titicaca. Step onto the spongy surface of the Uros Floating Islands and learn how islanders use the totora reeds in all aspects of their daily lives. Continue to Taquile Island to see how indigenous people maintain their traditions on a rocky island on the world’s highest navigable lake. In the late afternoon, return to Puno and your comfortable hotel.

Day 7: Bus from Puno to Cusco

Sit back aboard your comfortable first class bus and give free rein to your imagination as you cross the mountain highlands on the way to Cusco. You might not guess it by looking at the sparse landscape, but this region has been a pathway for cultural and economic exchange as well as imperial conquests for thousands of years. The bus will make a few stops along the way for guided visits to important pre-Columbian and colonial sites, including Raqchi and Andahuaylillas.

Day 8: Cusco City Tour

Your tour today will introduce you to the remarkable history of Cusco as visible in its monumental architecture, richly ornamented churches, and present-day Andean cultural practices.

Begin in the UNESCO-recognized historic center. Visit the majestic Cusco Cathedral and the Qoricancha or Temple of the Sun. Then drive into the countryside to see the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Tambomachay, and Pukapukara.

Day 9: Sacred Valley Tour

The Sacred Valley was the spiritual center of the Inca Empire, where all-powerful emperors built private estates, temples, fortifications, and thousands of agricultural terraces.

Join your guide for a jaunt through the Sacred Valley’s remarkable places. Explore the Pisac ruins and shop at the famous artisan market in the village plaza. Scale the heights of Ollantaytambo fortress and be sure to explore the stone-lined streets of the village where water still flows through Inca-built channels.

Day 10: Inca Jungle – Santa Maria

Today our guide will pick you up from your hotel to start your adventure, you going to aboard the Van and drive to the point where you going start the downhill.

The guide will provide you the helmet, gloves, body protection, legs protection, the Van is going to follow you until Santa Maria where you going to spend the night.

The accommodation here is basic, is not possible to offer you luxury accommodations, there are only hostels.

Day 11: Inca Jungle – Santa Teresa

Breakfast

Rise and shine at 5.30am, shake off any weariness from your limbs with the finest indigenous coffee prepared by your landlady.

Under dawning skies you´ll begin your walk which gets progressively steeper until arriving at a welcoming family restaurant in Santa Rosa, where you can relax in hammocks admiring the coca plantations and enjoying refreshments while being entertained by the family monkey.

After a short while you will board the real Inca Trail, which winds around precipitous slopes and sheer drops for approximately half a miles – be warned this is not for people who suffer from vertigo! The descent continues for just over two hours until you reach Qellomayo village, where you will have lunch. Make sure you have saved enough energy for the final stretch, a riverside walk along the mighty Vilcanota River until reaching the hot springs of Colcamayo – one of the best in the region.

Rejuvenate in the heavenly hot waters and forget your weariness in these natural, beautiful settings.

Overnight in Basic Hostal.

Day 12: Inca Jungle – Aguas Calientes

The walk today will be really easy, you going to see a lot of nature and walk close to the river.

The guide will take you to Aguas Calientes, on the route you will see lots of nature, you can also see some coffee plantations.

Upon arrival at Aguas Calientes the guide will take you to the selected hotel where you will have time to relax from this adventure and load energies for the next day.

Day 13: Machu Picchu Tour  – Cusco

For 400 years, the “lost city of the Incas” remained hidden atop a mountain ridge until it was revealed to the world on the pages of National Geographic in 1911.

Your day begins with an early morning bus transfer up to the ruins. Your tour guide will lead you on an unforgettable walk through Machu Picchu’s stone-lined paths, along the terrace edges, to the base of structures that testify to the extraordinary skill of its builders.

After snapping some final photos, board the shuttle bus back to town and transfer to the train station for your return to Cusco.

Optional: Hike Huayna Picchu to get a bird’s eye view of the ruins or take the Machu Picchu Mountain hike to appreciate more of the surrounding scenery. Permits are limited and must be booked in advance, so let us know asap if you’re up for the challenge.

Day 14: Arrival to Puerto Maldonado

With two-thirds of the nation’s territory covered in rainforest, one could say that no trip to Peru is complete without a visit to the Amazon.

Catch your flight to Puerto Maldonado to begin your jungle adventure. Meet the lodge staff upon arrival and transfer to the port for a boat ride to your Amazon lodge.

After lunch, take advantage of your surroundings. Activities may include hikes to explore the rainforest ecosystem or a canoe ride along the Madre de Dios River.

Day 15: Amazon Tour

Your excursions today will acquaint you with the diverse wonders and habitats of the southern Peruvian Amazon. Early in the morning, your naturalist guide will take you on a walk to the nearest riverbank or lagoon where jungle critters are especially active. In the afternoon, you might visit a nearby canopy tower where viewing platforms high above the ground allow you to glimpse a whole different side of the Amazon.

Your exact itinerary may differ depending on weather conditions and activities offered by your lodge.

Day 16: Amazon Tour

Continue your Amazon exploration with trail hikes to learn more about rainforest ecology and keep your eyes peeled for monkeys, birds, and sloths.

Depending on your lodge, you might also visit a local jungle farm or a native community. In the evening, go on a night walk to see critters that only come out after dark; or just rest, relax, and enjoy the company of your fellow travelers back at the lodge.

Day 17: Amazon Tour

After a final breakfast at the lodge, board a boat for the journey back to Puerto Maldonado. On arrival at the port, meet your transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima.

Connection onward to your next destination