Tarapoto (Gotca falls) or Arequipa

my kids really want to see the Amazon

What exactly do they want to see? Imo, people too often have a false image of Amazonas, and jungle in general. It's just dense forest, hot and humid. What you usually see in nature programmes, birds and wild animals, can rarely be seen in real, if you are a tourist.
Gocta Falls is an impressing view, because of its height. But, it's not as powerful as other waterfalls that are much smaller in height.
Northern Peru is interesting, but it's difficult to combine with the south in four weeks.
Almost all first time visitors choose southern Peru, or if they have more time (6 weeks or more) they visit the whole country.
In your case, I'd suggest to stick to the south and leave the north for another trip. I wouldn't sacrifice Arequipa and Colca Canyon for Iquitos or Gocta Falls, and not only because that would involve a lot of backtracking.

Hi Fieldgate

Thanks for the advice. Do you know if there are any waterfalls in the South which would make up for missing the falls around Gocta?

Thanks, David

Gocta and the north in general are great, but with a limited time frame its hard to combine north and south.

If your kids want to see the jungle manu national park is a lot more accessible - you can book tours to/from Cusco. With nearly all jungle tours a significant part of the first and last day are spent travelling, so you probably want at least a 4 day tour.

If you want to get off the beaten path there are places between Cusco and Lima (Ayacucho, andahuaylas).

Well, I agree with james2020 that going to Manu national park makes a lot more sense than going to Iquitos. Manu is easily accessible starting from Cusco. Iquitos is a big city stuck in the Amazon basin. Think of it as a jumping off place, so to get to a jungle lodge you'd need to travel half a day from Iquitos.

But if you want to make a less touristed place part of your Peru experience, going to Tarapoto would be a good idea. That's 3/4 of the way into the Amazon basin. And it's not just Gotca falls you can see; there are several other waterfalls, and almost no tourists.

An alternative would be Chachapoyas, which has nowhere near so many tourists as Cusco, plus there are various waterfalls you can see in the surrounding countryside, and the Kuelap ruins from there too.

Hi James2020 and Mstep

Thanks for the great tips.

• my logic for Iquitos over Manu was that for Manu you lose 2 days travelling and then it's "only" jungle, whereas Iquitos the flights are 2 hours and then you can do some days trips (ok, not in the heart of the jungle but it'll fool the kids ;-)), plus you have the Amazon (dolphins - my kids are all girls) and maybe see some old rubber plantations. Is Iquitos a fun experience?
• Mstep you talk about Chachapoyas as an alternative to Tarapoto. Is it not easy to combine? Flights to Jaen are pricey so one option was to fly to Tarapoto, spend a couple of days there, then take a bus to Chachapoyas and a couple of days there, then back by bus overnight..

Thanks for all your help guys, this is invaluable!

Regards, Dave

Imo if you want to do the jungle you should go to a lodge and sleep there to get the full experience. Some activities like cayman spotting, or catching if your guide is adventurous, and spear fishing are night time activities. Plus hearing the jungle sounds as you lie in bed is amazing. With day trips you are going to waste a lot of time "commuting" from the base further into the jungle and back.

Yes, from Cusco you are looking at a lot of the first and last day being spent travelling, but you would likely lose a day each way getting to/from Iquitos. Even if you get the earliest flight, by the time you've collected your bags, got to your hotel etc. you might be too late for a day tour. That's without considering the possibility of plane delays.

The amazon is not necessarily the best place to see animals. You certainly can't guarantee sightings, especially of dolphins. If you want to see animals the condors at colca canyon are very impressive (but again no guarantee).

If you stay south you should have time for Arequipa and lake Titicaca. Something like this:

5 days arrive in Lima, pick up hire car paracas, haucachina, nazca,
13 days cusco (your original plan with extra 4 days for manu tour).
2 days puno/Titicaca floating islands
5 days Arequipa
Then any spare days in Lima (nice enough city but most people are happy enough with just one or two days there). If you have kids definitely do the fountains (magic water circuit).

We had 30 days and did combine the north and the south but we did not go to the Amazon or Lake Titicaca. We loved northern Peru (Trujillo, Lambayeque, Chachapoyas, Leymebamba, Cajamarca... 11 days). The rest of our trip was 9 days for Cusco/Sacred Valley/Machu Picchu, then Arequipa and trekking in the Colca Canyon (6 days), Huacachina, Paracas and 1 day Lima.

We used Chachapoyas as a base to visit Gocta Falls (we did the loop and loved it) and Kuelap (amazing). Gocta Falls is not far from Chachapoyas (between Chachapoyas and Pedro Ruiz... an hour or so from Chachapoyas by bus). But it is a long way from Tarapoto. I don't know if there is anything worthwhile in Tarapoto.

I have not been to the Amazon but I believe Tambopata is much easier to get to and less expensive as well. Also, you need at least 5 days if you choose Manu (more would be better) so as you don't have that much time Tambopata may be the better choice. Here is an interesting post:
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g2656664-i26800-k7673727-Where_in_the_Peruvian_Amazon_Iquitos_Manu_or_Tambopata-Amazonas_Region.html

Thanks for all this advice.
So in the end it boils down to a choice between jungle (Manu/Tambopata) or the northern falls. I will mull over this for a while.
One other question i have is about getting around by road. Has anyone hired a car for a significant drive? Any tips there? Can you actually get any sleep on these overnight busses?

Thanks, David

I can sleep on those busses better than in my own bed. When I'm travelling.