The Amazon and Machu Picchu

10 Days / 09 Nights
Lima – Puerto Maldonado – The Tambopata Jungle – Sacred Valley – Machu Picchu – Cusco – Lima

Experience a compelling blend of wild, unspoiled nature and fascinating historic reminders of vanished civilizations during this sample tour of the Amazon and the Peruvian Andes. Start in Peru’s Amazon jungle, where the biological diversity is simply unparalleled – one in ten of the world’s known species live here! After exploring the depths of the rainforest, move onward to the heartland of the Inca Empire. Meet skilled local craftspeople and cuddly camelids in the peaceful and pastoral Sacred Valley, see stupendous views of the looming needle-like Andean peaks, and marvel at the precarious setting of the ancient kingdom of Machu Picchu. Finish up your customized tour of Peru in history-layered Cusco, where the Inca, colonial, and modern worlds intersect.

DESTINATIONS
HIGHLIGHTS
  • Stroll through the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway comprised of seven hanging bridges, eight treetop platforms, and two observation towers.
  • Go fishing, search for nocturnal creepy-crawlies, and take part in other thrilling jungle excursions.
  • Immerse yourself in local life with visits to remote Andean villages that are, for most travelers, uncharted territory
  • Visit the characteristic Sacred Valley towns of Pisac and Ollantaytambo.
  • Embark on a private city tour of Cusco, whose fascinating streets feature a unique concoction of Inca ruins and colonial constructions.
  • Scale the ancient stone stairway up Machu Picchu’s iconic peak, Huayna Picchu.
  • Tour Machu Picchu with your very own expert guide to explain the history, architecture, and theories surrounding the site, before wandering independently among the magnificent ruins the following day.
  • Discover the delights of Peruvian cuisine at the country’s finest dining establishments.
  • Enjoy enriching experiences with local artists at their workshops.

    LET’S PLAN YOUR TRIP

    *We'll be in touch within one business day, matching you with an expert Kuoda travel designer who will turn your travel dreams into reality. Contact us today!
    Your Trip
    Your Details

    ITINERARY
    Arrive at your hotel in Lima after your international flight from your home country!
    When your international flight arrives in Lima, look for your Kuoda host holding a sign with your name on it! We know you’ll most likely be a little tired after your long flight, so we’ll save you the stress of trying to navigate and bring you straight to your hotel adjacent to the airport where you can shake off that icky flight feeling with a shower and a sleep. Relax into the evening and enjoy a good night’s rest before your flight to Puerto Maldonado early in the morning!
    Lima Peru private travel
    Fly to Puerto Maldonado and onto your Amazon Jungle Adventure!

    Your Kuoda host will take you to the airport early in the morning for your flight to Puerto Maldonado. Once you touch down there, the Inkaterra team will be waiting for you and transport you by boat to the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica lodge in Tambopata for an Amazon luxury travel experience. A delicious lunch companied by chilled juices will be served when you arrive at the lodge.

    Get settled in before a guided jungle walk along the Reserva Amazonica natural area, where you will find Shihuahuaco trees that can slowly grow to the heights of 50 meters (164 feet) and a truck diameter of 1 meter (3.3 feet) over the course of 700 years. Learn about the strangler fig trees, or matapalos (literally “killer stick) and spot exotic jungle birds and insects.

    As the sun set, take a ride on the Twilight River excursion – a guided boat ride downriver from the Inkaterra lodge. Here you will have the opportunity to witness the transformation of the Amazon jungle from a diurnal to a nocturnal world. You will enter a world inhabited with animals, amphibians, reptiles, and insects that have adapted to the life in the darkness.

    Tonight, fall asleep to a symphony of jungle sounds!

    Tambopata Peru
    A day enjoying jungle excursions, river otters, and canopy views!

    Early this morning after breakfast, visit Lake Sandoval. Glide in a wooden canoe, across a beautiful mirror-like oxbow lake, which is home to the endangered river otter, as well as red howler monkeys, red-bellied macaws, anacondas, sick-neck turtles, and more!

    Walk off lunch by exploring Inkaterra Canopy Walkway. The center consists of eight observation platforms, located 30 meters up in the jungle canopy and linked by suspension bridges. Be on a look-out for toucans, woodpeckers, trogons, monkeys and the three-toed sloth. After your descent from the Canopy, stroll along the Anaconda Walk and observe various species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and abundant flora and trees of this seasonal flooded marshland.

    Tambopata Peru travel
    Dark-Water Creek walk and nighttime jungle excursion!

    It is an early wake up again today, as you hop back in the boat to explore the Gamitana creek. For one and half hour, you will explore the rainforest along the banks of a winding dark-water creek that is home to piranha, caiman, turtles, and birds. Afterwards, visit Gamitana Model Farm and learn about an Amazon model farm and get the chance to make your own plaintain flour used to make bread for breakfast at the lodge.

    After lunch, it is a 35 minute boat ride upstream to the Hacienda Concepcion – an extraordinary botanical garden with over 200 different species of the rainforest plants. Return to the lodge, this evening, experience the Rainforest by Night through the Inkaterra Ecological Reserve. During this two hour exploration, venture into the forest and spot creatures that only come out to play at night.

    Tambopata Peru
    Fly to Cusco, visit a wonderful local project that promotes sustainable weaving practices, and relax into the breathtaking Andean countryside.

    After breaktast this morning, bid the Amazon rainforest goodbye as your boat takes you back to Puerto Maldonado.  You will have time to visit the city’s Butterfly Farm, before the Inkaterra Team brings you to the airport for your flight to Cusco.

    From Cusco, a guide will accompany you to the stunning Sacred Valley, whose bucolic farming and weaving towns – a few thousand feet lower in elevation than Cusco – are ideal for acclimatizing. On the way out there, stop at Awanakancha Living Museum. At this “living museum,” you’ll come face-to-face with some of South America’s most endearing inhabitants, including alpacas, llamas, vicuñas and guanacos, as well as learning about traditional weaving.

    Awana Cancha Cusco
    Visit to Ollantaytambo’s iconic ruins and Pisac market

    Today, your customized tour of Peru will take you into the Sacred Valley to the time-warp town of Ollantaytambo, where original Inca town planning – including the street canals – remains in place. Climb up past the fertile agricultural terraces, where locals tend to crops such as corn, potato and quinoa. Soon, you’ll reach the remains of the Inca Temple of the Sun, whose elevated position provides stellar valley views. A guide will show you around the rest of the ruins pointing out the storehouses where the Incas would have kept their crops as well as the quarries from where the giant stones were procured for the construction of this very complex.

    Return to the valley to the small town of Pisac where you will visit the village and its vibrant artisan market. Here, stalls are stacked with all kinds of interesting items, from curious vegetables and plant-based dyes to artful textiles and ceramics. After shopping in the market, make your way up to the ruins which sit on a ridge overlooking the town. Admire the stonework and gaze over the terraces where the Incas themselves developed many of the thousands of potato species which Peru now famously produces.

    Upon completion of your tour, we will bring you back to your hotel for an evening spent at leisure.

    Ollantaytambo Cusco Peru
    Take a morning train through the cloud forest and visit the Machu Picchu Citadel!

    Prepare for a climactic day! In the morning, we will board the train in Ollantaytambo for our journey to Machu Picchu. Watch the cloud jungle pass by through the large glass windows! Upon arrival to Aguas Calientes, we’ll tuck in to an early lunch in order to refuel before ascending to Peru’s lost citadel.

    After a bus ride to the gates of this wonder of the world, you will pass through the main gates with your private guide to finally emerge at the top of the world – Machu Picchu. The incredible Inca stone construction will be spread below, alternately hidden and revealed by clouds. Your expert guide will give you a private tour of the ancient city.

    Upon conclusion of your tour, return for an evening in Aguas Calientes. Enjoy an excellent dinner on-site at your hotel and fall into bed, lulled to sleep by the sound of the cloud forest around you.

    Machu Pichhu Peru experiences
    Hike one of the coveted, limited-entry hikes, Huayna Picchu!

    Today you have the option to hike two different trails – Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain, so it’s completely up to you on how you would like to culminate your Machu Picchu luxury tour. Feeling adventurous? Consider hiking the steep slope of neighboring Huayna Picchu, which offers unrivalled views over Machu Picchu. Please note that only a limited amount of hikers are allowed to climb Huayna Picchu each day and tickets will need to be purchased in advance along with your Machu Picchu entrance.

    In the afternoon, reconvene in Aguas Calientes and board the return train to Ollantaytambo. Your Kuoda host will meet you at the station and bring you to your hotel for a well-deserved good night’s rest.

    Huayna Picchu Peru
    Explore the inviting cobblestone streets of historical Cusco on a private city tour!

    It’s time to get acquainted with Cusco, a gorgeous city that wins the heart of most every traveler that passes through it. Get to know the real Cusco during a private tour. After breakfast, meet your guide and wander among the archaeological remains of Sacsayhuaman, where the Incas staged a great battle against the conquistadors. Return to the city and roam the atmospheric streets of the bohemian neighborhood of San Blas, which is known for its free-spirited scene. Explore Qoricancha and the Santo Domingo monastery (a colonial structure built on top of the ancient Inca temple of the sun); see where the locals make their grocery runs at the open-air San Pedro market and pass the famous 12-angled stone, whose image appears on the bottle of the local Cusqueña beer.

    At the end of the tour, your guide will suggest places to visit for lunch

    Qoricancha Cusco Peru
    Tour the inspired streets of bohemian Barranco and bid farewell to Peru!

    Going home is the worst part of any private Peru vacation, but at Kuoda, we’ll do our best to make it as smooth and hassle-free as possible. First, we’ll bring you to Cusco airport for your return flight to Lima. In Lima, a Kuoda host will meet you and take you to the seaside bohemian district of Barranco. See the streets of Barranco come alive as you visit a number of local art galleries and shops that support local artisans. Finally, enjoy a first-class gourmet meal featuring world-renowned Peruvian flavors in a restaurant of your choosing before returning to the airport for your journey home! Buen viaje!

    Like the sound of this Amazon and Machu Picchu private tour? Get in touch with Kuoda and we’ll start crafting your very own customized private travel experience to Peru!

    Barranco Lima Peru
    INCLUDED
    • Personalized itinerary planning
    • A Kuoda host to assist you in every location
    • The majority of meals in the itinerary
    • Daily activities and excursions as indicated in the itinerary
    NOT INCLUDED
    • International flights to and from your home country
    • Travel insurance
    • Meals not specified
    • All gratuities
    PRICE REFERENCE
    An exemplary way for any adventure seeking traveler to experience the best of the region! This sample itinerary is just the way for you to get inspired.
    ACCOMMODATIONS
    • Our staff handpicks the best hotels to ensure you get ultimate comfort and character during your stay.
    • Talk with your Kuoda Travel expert to help find the right hotels for you during your personalized luxury tour.
    TALK TO A DESTINATION EXPERT
    LET’S PLAN YOUR TRIP
    REACH OUT TO A TRAVEL DESIGNER

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    Urb. Marcavalle N-25, Cusco - Peru
    113 Baldwin Blvd. Lake Worth, FL 33463