I'm flying into Lima on June 30 and departing 3 weeks later from Lima. I'm trying to figure out the best way to spend the 3 weeks. I was hoping to have time to see the desert around Ica, Cusco and Machu Pichu, La Paz, the Uyuni Salt Flats, and a few days in some part of the Amazon (place to be determined). Do you think this would all be possible in 3 weeks? Is there another city or area I should visit instead of the places I mentioned? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Christopher
spirit602
1
goodtimebob
It's very ambitious...maybe doable. Uyuni is a 4 day trip but you have to allow a day each way travel time from La Paz. Jungle...two locations.. out of Cuzco-Puerto Maldonaldo- 4days. Or out of La Paz- Rurre-4 days but a day travel each way. If you have to cut best thing is Ica. That way you can fly Lima- Cusco. There are substitutions..but not really better ones.. all a matter of personal preference.
2
ck514
I agree with GoodtimeBob taht your schedule is very ambitious. One of the problems we had in Peru that there are so many things you "have to see" that you really have to work at sitting back and enjoying/getting to know a place. Make sure you have time to talk to locals, sit outside cafe's or on mountaintops, etc.. Before you know it you'll start feeling like your on a tour bus and just getting off to snap some pictures every half hour.
If you haven't been to a desert before I wouldn't cut out Ica (or rather huachachina).. I thought the sunset was spectacular. Still there's nothing I could cut out of our trip to Peru and we had 4 weeks for one country, so perhaps I'm not the right person to ask.
Chris
3
uhmno
u can fly cusco -> puerto maldonado (jungle), its like a 20min flight for prob around $100 round trip, on your tight schedule if u want to see the jungle i would think thats the easiest thing. u can do a 3 day or 4 day tour with a jungle lodge (where day 1 they pick u up from the airport that morning and day 3 you're flying back to cusco already). 4 days would be better if u could, and if you're just trying to get a taste of the jungle and get some cool pix don't pick the lodge thats 4 hours away from PM by boat like i did, u waste so much time just in travel
ica (to visit Islas Ballestas and the Paracas National Reserve) is way cool but going to take at least 3 days of your trip (u gotta bus lima -> ica 5 hrs day 1, full day tour day 2, bus ica -> lima day 3, and the flights to cusco all leave in the morning so you wouldn't be able to fly to cusco until day 4
uyuni is also a practical thing to cut if your schedule isn't working, you'll need at least 5 days to get there, do the 3 day tour and get back. its not the same in terms of remoteness/vastness but you can visit a salt field in cusco too
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