Walk Peru's Inca Trail and Palccoyo Rainbow Mountain

This thirteen-night tour with Explore Worldwide follows a varied route through Peru’s Andes and rich cultural heart. Starting in Lima, the itinerary balances modern city visits—including colonial architecture and street art walks—with high-altitude acclimatisation on the shores of Lake Titicaca. The floating reed islands of the Uros people and the quieter island of Taquile provide insights into traditional ways of life.

The journey continues across the Altiplano by bus or optional train to Cusco, where a guided city walk visits Inca sites and hidden aqueducts. From here, travellers take a less busy track to Palccoyo, where the multi-coloured mountain ridges unfold with fewer walkers than Rainbow Mountain further afield. Finally, the tour traces the classic Inca Trail or an alternate Quarry Trail to Machu Picchu, passing ancient ruins and cloud forest with porters carrying the kit, before finishing with a guided tour of the citadel.

The altitude and long travel days are real but the slow pace through landscapes, markets and ruins gives a thorough introduction to Peru’s varied heritage and geography. Expect straightforward accommodation on trek nights, with well-planned support for walkers along historic, sometimes uneven paths.