Activities in Peru
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TOP SELLER
Machu Picchu Day Trip from Cusco
14 hours (Departs Cusco, Peru)
by Viator
Take an all-inclusive day trip to breathtaking Machu Picchu from Cusco. Visit the world-famous Incan ruins and learn about the city, its history and the people …Not LP reviewed
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Reserv Cusco Ltda
Offers cheap Sacred Valley mountain-biking trips and Inka Jungle Trail tours, which start with mountain biking downhill from the Abra de Malaga, then trekking to Aguas Calientes to reach Machu Picchu.
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Amigos
- Cuzco, Peru
- Activities › Other
A long-established non-profit school with an admirable public-service record.
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CEICA
It charges S400 for 20 hours of private lessons per week and can arrange family homestays including/excluding meals for S265/173 a week. Call in advance and they’ll pick you up from the airport or bus terminal.
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Samana Spa
- Cuzco, Peru
- Activities › Other
For some pampering or a post-trekking splurge, a blossoming number of spas offer massage services, one of them being the luxurious Samana Spa. Beware of cheap massages touted in the street; there are reports of massages getting much more, er, intimate than expected.
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Amauta Spanish School
Big, professional and popular. Also offers Spanish programs in the Sacred Valley and the Amazon jungle.
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Naturaleza Activa
A favorite of those seeking adventure tours, and offering a full range of trekking, climbing and mountain-biking options. One popular tour is a three- to four-hour bike trip down El Misti (US$45) including transportation and bike, helmet, guide and snacks. It’s also possible to rent mountain bikes for S9 per hour. Guides speak English, French and German.
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Zarcillo Connections
Zarcillo has daily tours to the Islas Ballestas and Reserva Nacional de Paracas with guides who speak English and some French and Italian, too. It occasionally takes groups to Tambo Colorado and will arrange customized trips to Nazca. Mountain bikes may also be rented per day.
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Cañón del Colca
Easier treks in the Cañón del Colca can be more beautifully lush during the wet season, however more remote trails, especially those in the Cañón del Cotahuasi become inaccessible during the wet season. Our best advice is that if you're already an experienced trekker and you're trekking in a well-traveled area like the Cañón del Colca, you don't need to go with a guide at all. Hiking from village to village is the simplest DIY trekking option.
In the Cañón del Colca, the main roads are scenic routes, though there are dozens of more challenging trails. The roads are a good, easy way to experience village life at a slower pace, although they are dusty and passing traf…
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Birding in Peru
Englishman Barry Walker, owner of the Cross Keys Pub, is a self-confessed 'birding bum' and the best resident ornithologist to give serious birders plenty of enthusiastic advice. He has also written a field guide, The Birds of Machu Picchu, and runs a tour agency, Birding in Peru, for bird-watching trips all around Peru, as well as into Bolivia and Chile.
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Temple of Pachacamac Half-Day Tour from Lima
3 hours (Departs Lima, Peru)
by Viator
Join a half-day tour to the famous Pachacamac Temple, located only a short distance from Lima. Built by different leaders throughout the centuries and between t…Not LP reviewed
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Amazonas Explorer
This professional international operator with top-quality equipment and guides offers rafting trips on the Ríos Apurímac and Tambopata. Private trips on even more remote rivers, such as Río Cotahuasi near Arequipa, can also be arranged. Also offers excellent two- to 10-day mountain-biking adventures.
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Río Chili
The Río Chili is the most frequently run local river, with a half-day trip suitable for beginners leaving almost daily from April to November.
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Llama Path
Friendly, small trekking company that has received good reports from some travelers.
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Enigma
Specializes in tailor-made treks for small groups, and in alternative tourism.
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River Explorers
- Cuzco, Peru
- Activities › Other
Runs all sorts of sections, including trips of up to six days on Río Apurímac.
reviewed
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Semana Santa
Ayacucho's Semana Santa celebration, held the week before Easter, has long been considered Peru's finest religious festival and it attracts visitors - though relatively few foreigners - from all over the country. Rooms in the better hotels are booked well in advance, and even the cheapest places fill completely. The tourist office has lists of local families who provide accommodations for the overflow.
Each year, iPerú prints a free brochure describing the Semana Santa events with street maps showing the main processions. Visitors are advised to use this detailed information. The celebrations begin on the Friday before Palm Sunday and continue for 10 days until Easter Sun…
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El Misti
Looming 5822m (19,101ft) above Arequipa, the city's guardian volcano El Misti is the most popular climb in the area. At the top is a 10m (33ft) iron cross, which was erected in 1901. Below the summit is a sulfurous yellow crater with volcanic fumaroles hissing gas, and there are spectacular views down to the Laguna de Salinas and back to the city.
El Misti is technically one of the easiest ascents of any mountain of this size in the world, but it's hard work nonetheless and you normally need an ice ax and, sometimes, crampons. It's best climbed between July and November, with the later months being the least cold. There are several routes, but none are clearly marked and…
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Rancho Santana
One of the best ways to visit this area is on horseback from Rancho Santana in Pacora, about 45km northeast of Chiclayo. Readers rave about their experiences riding typical Peruvian pacing horses at this Swiss-owned ranch, which also has a comfortable whitewashed villa with a big swimming pool; a real treat is fresh milk and sweet mangos and other tropical fruits always on hand. The owners are highly knowledgeable of Lambayeque cultures and will pick you up in Chiclayo for half-day to five-day cabalgatas (horse rides) through the Pomac Forest, Batán Grande and the pyramids at Túcume. The owners care for their horses exceptionally well and can make even the most inexperien…
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Takiwasi Centre
Brujos play a pivotal role in the pueblos of the jungle. A few kilometers north of Tarapoto, in a small jungle village, you'll find the Takiwasi Centre . Started in the early 1990s by French physician Jacques Mabit, this rehabilitation and detox center combines traditional Amazonian medicines and plants, as used by brujos or curanderos (healers), with a tailored combination of psychotherapy.
This treatment is not for the fainthearted: intense 'vomit therapy' and ayahuasca (hallucinogenic brew made from jungle vines), are used as part of the healing process. Rehabilitation programs run for nine months and cost around USaround S/500, though no one is turned away for lack of…
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Dawn on the Amazon Tours & Cruises
This small outfit offers the best deal for independent travelers. The Amazon I is a beautiful 33ft wooden craft with modern furnishings, available for either day trips or longer river cruises up to two weeks. Included are a bilingual guide, all meals and transfers. You can travel with host Bill Grimes and his experienced crew along the Amazon, or along its quieter tributaries (larger cruise ships will necessarily stick to the main waterways). Dawn on the Amazon has exclusive permission to go twice as far into Pacaya-Samiria reserve as any other tour company. The beauty of these cruises is in their flexibility: many cruise operators have fixed departures and itineraries bu…
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Madre de Dios ferry
The Madre de Dios ferry, at Puerto Capetania close to the Plaza de Armas, is a cheap way of seeing a little of this major Peruvian jungle river, which is about 500m wide at this point. The river traffic is colorfully ramshackle: peki-pekis (canoes powered by two-stroke motorcycle engines with outlandishly long propeller shafts) leave from the dock regularly, tracking at an almost impossible angle of 45 degrees to counter the strong river current. Brazil-bound drivers can ferry their vehicles across on wooden or metal catamarans to a rather desultory-looking ferry ‘terminal’ on the opposite side. Commit the sight to memory – when the Interoceanic Hwy comes to town, a huge …
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Arequipa Canyon Trekking
The spectacular canyons offer many excellent hiking options. Trekking agencies can arrange a whole array of off-the-beaten-track routes to suit your timescale and fitness level. Although you can trek year-round, the best (ie driest) time is from May to November. There is more danger of rockfalls in the canyons during the wet season (between December and April).
If you're nervous about hiking solo or want to tackle more untrammeled routes, there are dozens of tour companies based in Arequipa that can arrange guided treks. Be sure you book with a reputable company, never exchange money with touts on the street and always ask to see your guide's guiding card and booklet list…
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Arequipa Mountain Trekking
Superb mountains for climbing surround Arequipa. Adequate acclimatization for this area is essential and it's best to have spent some time in Cuzco or Puno immediately before a high-altitude expedition. Lack of water can also be a problem, as can the icy temperatures, which sometimes drop to -29ºC at the highest camps. The best months for mountain climbing are between April and December.
Though many climbs in the area are not technically difficult, they should never be undertaken lightly. Watch for the symptoms of altitude sickness and if in doubt, go back down. You should be well-informed about medical and wilderness-survival issues, as many guides are dangerously untra…
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Amazon Golf Club
Amazing as it may seem, you can play a round or two on the nine holes of the wonderful Amazon Golf Club, the only course in the entire Amazon. Founded in 2004 by a bunch of nostalgic expats, the 2140m course was built on virgin bushland and it boasts, apart from its nine greens, a wooden clubhouse. Hole 4 is a beauty: you tee onto an island surrounded by piranha-infested waters. Don’t go fishing for lost balls! When fully completed the clubhouse will also include a bar (it already has a fridge full of beer) and the grounds will feature a swimming pool and a tennis court. Meantime see cofounder Bill Grimes at the course city office for information on how to get some swingi…
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