Home of to the mystical mountain-top site of Machu Picchu and the source of the Amazon River, Peru boasts some of the world’s premier attractions – and our compare trip Peru page helps you get there on the right itinerary for you.
Inca citadels, colonial architecture and the mighty Amazon on tour comparison Peru
Tours of Peru offer visits to two of South America’s most fascinating, famed sites: Machu Picchu and the Amazon, with itineraries starting and ending in Lima, Iquitos and Cusco. When you compare tour package Peru you will find everything is taken care of, with scheduled train transport to Machu Picchu, organised allocations of trekking permits, and registered guides for treks, safety and emergency back-up, and the guarantee of well-treated porters. Some operators also supply hiking equipment such as boots and jackets.
In the Amazon, travellers enjoy exclusive accommodation in eco-lodges and specialised riverboat tours, all under the guidance of certified Amazon Reserve naturalist guides. Along with these two premier attractions that simply must be ticked off every travellers’ bucket list, there are community-based restaurant dinners, Lake Titicaca boat cruises, and stopovers at Pisac market, along with optional excursions such as flights to Nazca Lines, day trips to Sacred Valley and cooking classes.
Ready to plan your trip? Visit our tour comparison Peru and find the right itinerary for you.
Want a taste of that insider Peru tourism knowledge we mentioned before? We have collected the best facts from real life tour guides. Impress them on tour with how much you already know.
- The famed Inca Trail that leads to Machu Picchu is comprised of the Mollepata, Classic and One Day trails, with advanced booking a must due to the limited number of trekkers allowed and the trail’s popularity.
- Salkantay and Lares provide alternate trekking routes to Machu Picchu, both of which are quieter than the Inca Trail.
- Some of Peru’s most interesting city-based attractions include the colonial squares and trekking base of Cusco, the market stalls of Pisac, the grandiose architecture of capital Lima, and the floating reed houses at Uros.
- For those adverse to hiking, Machu Picchu’s train station can be reached on the luxury Orient Express’ Belmond Hiram Bingham, named after the American explorer who brought the citadel to global prominence.
- Notable natural attractions in Peru include the hot springs at Aguas Calientes; the world’s highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca; the Andes mountain peaks; the vast Colca Canyon ridges; wildlife at Ballestas Islands (Peruvian Gallapagos); the snow-capped mountains of Cordillera Blanca; the perfect surfing waves at Máncora; and the conical volcano El Misti in Arequipa.
- The Sacred Valley is home to more than ‘just’ Machu Picchu, with the ruins of Ollantaytambo and Choquequirau a major drawcard, along with the Inca salt mines of Maras.
- Peru also boasts some serious desert, like the sand dunes in Huacachina and the plains of Nazca Lines, best seen from the air.
- The city of Puerto Maldonado serves as the gateway to the Amazon basin, from its position in the Amazon rainforest at the confluence of the Tambopata and Madre de Dios rivers.
- Peru is home to several indigenous groups, including two of the world’s best known civilisations, the Aztecs and Incas, along with the Quechua.
- Footballer Nolberto Solano and surfer Sofia Mulanovich are two of Peru’s most prominent athletes.
- Actor Benjamin Bratt, author Richardo Palma, photographer Mario Testino, economist Hernando de Soto and literary figure Mario Vargas were all Peruvian.
- The classic English children’s literary character, Paddington the Bear, was from ‘deepest, darkest Peru’.
- Pachamama is the goddess of the indigenous Andes people, who is also known as the mother of earth and time.
- Marinera folkloric performances and late night ‘peñas’, which involves a house band and a fair dose of partying, offer the perfect opportunity to soak up some Peruvian musical culture.
- Alpaca were bred specifically for their wool, and the fibre was used for thousands of years by the Amerindians of Peru before becoming the well-known product it is today.
Courtney Gahan is a serial expat, traveller and freelance writer who has bartered with Moroccan marketeers, seen the sun rise at Angkor Wat and elbowed her way through crowds on NYE in NYC
