Upgraded - Discover Peru + the Amazon

This escorted tour by Explore Worldwide traces Peru’s varied landscapes and cultures over 17 nights, starting in Lima. The itinerary begins with a dive into the sensory overload of Surquillo Market and the creative corners of Barranco before flying to Arequipa. Here, the city’s white volcanic stone architecture and the sprawling cloisters of Santa Catalina Convent are highlights, overshadowed only by the volcanic backdrop.

After a journey across the Altiplano and the immense Colca Canyon – deeper than the Grand Canyon and a favoured spot for Andean condors – the tour reaches Lake Titicaca. Passengers visit the reed islands of the Uros and the Quechua-speaking community on Taquile Island before boarding the Titicaca Train to Cusco, with dining cars, live music and wide open views of the high plains.

From Cusco the tour explores the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu with included visits and options to climb nearby peaks. An extension takes to the Amazon basin near Puerto Maldonado for three nights in a lodge reached by motorised canoes. Plans here rest on local guides’ itineraries, balancing birdwatching, canoe trips and a walk on a canopy walkway. Generator-powered electricity is restricted to certain hours, a reminder that this is a remote wilderness stay rather than a city hotel.

These are the places the trip visits, in order. Explore Worldwide publishes the day-by-day itinerary on its own site.