When starting to plan out trip to Peru, we decided to travel in May 2022. This was actually more of a winter feel during this time of the year. We also had to make some last minute changes due to cancellations with some of the tours. There are many different tour options available. I felt like we researched each group very well. This is just our itinerary and there is room for changes and additions.

We had originally planned to hike Manchu Picchu via the historic Inca trail. We were very excited to do a 3 day hike. Many of the group tours offer the Inca trail in 2 or 4 day options. Unfortunately the government regulations changed two weeks prior to our trip cancelling our Inca Trail Trek. We then had also researched the Salkantay Trek that was also an alternative 3 day hike to Manchu Picchu and still had availability for a last minute trip to Manchu Picchu. Although it was not our original plan, we did have a great experience. Anytime we travel we enjoy living every moment of the journey. Sometimes that journey has many bumps along the way. So in the end, just “rush slowly”and be flexible.

Our Peru Itinerary

Day 1: Arriving in Lima

We arrived in Lima around noon and planned the day to explore the city. Our hotel we chose to stay at was Hotel Antigua Miraflores. This hotel had a boutique feel of a colonial bed and breakfast. The hotel was great for helping us schedule our odd departure and arrival times. Miraflores one of the popular tourist districts in Lima. Our hotel was within walking distance of many of the popular sites and restaurants we planned to visit.

Our hotel concierge was able to direct us to a local Peruvian favorite called La Lucha Sangucheira Criollo. This restaurant they had sandwiches and smoothies/milk shakes that were a great start to the day. This was also located right next to the Central Park in Miraflores and Kennedy Park. We did some sight seeing along the way as we walked to Parque de Amor. There is a statue “El Beso” of two lovers intertwined that overlooks the ocean. This is a popular site to watch the sunset.

We ate lunch at Central the #2 restaurant on the World 50 Best. OMG!! This was not just a meal but an experience as Chef Virgilio Martinez uses the senses to take a the gastronomic tour of various elevations. The restaurant was located in the Barranco district near Miraflores. Each table has it own private room during this experience. This was definite our favorite restaurant we have ever had the pleasure of eating at. Make sure you make reservations MONTHS in advance! We were lucky to get a table for a lunch reservation.

After lunch we walked round the Barranco district and found a little bar called Ayahuasca. This was a fun place to have drinks and relax before heading to bed for an early start the following morning.

DAY 2: Peru hop to Ica Desert

Peru Hop is tour group company that provides a great means of transportation while touring various cities of Peru. They have multiple routes and itineraries to chose from. We chose to a take a 2 day trip from Lima to the Ica Desert and on to Nazca to see the Nazca Lines. Our total trip cost was $248 dollars via Peru Hop and well worth it.

The day started early with a 5:30am pick up from our hotel in Miraflores. We were on a large luxury style bus that drove us to Paracas. It was an early day, but the bus ride was about 4 hours and so we were able to catch up on some rest along the way. In Paracas, we took a boat tour to the Ballestas Islands. Peru Hop kept referring to these islands as “the poor man’s Galapagos. We got to see sea lions, a TON of birds and even one of the Nazca lines from the boat. Do not try and bring alcohol on the boat. We tried and failed. We had time to get a Pisca Sour and a bite to eat before heading to the back to the bus to continue to Huacachina.

HUACACHINA. A place like no other. A desert oasis surrounded by the Ica desert. We arrived in time for a sunset dune buggies tour and sandboarding. We are advanced snowboarders and have to say sandboarding was not the same. The sand dunes were not super large that we were at so it was hard to get much momentum behind you to turn correctly. The equipment had also seen better days. We got about two runs down the dunes each. I would maybe not bother spending the extra money if your trying to stay cost conscious. The buggie tour was a blast! The drivers did not hold back. The sunset was beautiful. It did get a little chilly (May is winter). Bring jackets for the evening.

We stayed at the Wild Rover Hostel. This is the party spot so if you are looking for a more quiet night, probably not the hotel to stay. There is a pool in the middle of the courtyard surrounded by a bar and lounge chairs. There are a few restaurants around the oasis to stop and get a bite to eat. We enjoyed pizza and drinks at Huac-fucking-china.

Day 3: Flights over the Nazca Lines

The Nazca lines is a series of giant geoglyphs that has been etched in to the landscape of the Peruvian desert. These were created by moving rocks to the boarder of the lines. It is unknown for sure who and how the lines were created, but are suspected to be dated back to 100 B.C. The Nazca lines have been shaped as various plants and animals, including a whale, money and my favorite a hummingbird.

We were picked up by Peru Hop at 7:45 am to take a smaller bus to the Nazca lines. The total trip was about three hours from the Oasis. We stopped first a view point tower that overlooked one of the geoglyphs. We then went forward to the airport to board a small airplane to see the lines from the sky. If you are prone to motion sickness, make sure you take dramamine prior to the flight. There is a lot of small circles made around each of the lines so that everyone gets the best view. It was such a unique experience and well worth the trip. After the flight, we were able to grab a bite to eat in Nazca prior to our trip back to Huacachina. We had a short stop in Huacachina for another pit stop before continuing back to Lima (arrived around midnight).

Day 3-7: Off to the Amazon

Apparently we did not plan for much sleeping in on our trip. We fly out of Lima at 6:45am to Iquitos a city located along the Amazon river. This is the starting point to travel down the river to see many villages and tribes that live riverside. Again many tour groups offer different stays and experiences. We chose to stay at the Avatar Amazon Lodge. This group offer guided tours along the river each day. They tour guides were very helpful along the wild journey. This is not a luxurious adventure, but roughing-it experience. Make sure to pack lots of layers and bug spray. Looking cute for pictures is going to happen. The instagram photos are definitely not reality.

We arrived at the airport and took a small car to the lodge meeting site. Driving around in Iquitos was very exhilarating. There were small carts pulled by motor bites weaving in and out traffic. We got to the central office for the tour group and loaded our bags onto our own cart/bike to head to the dock. We definitely overpacked. You have to walk along planks to get to the small wooden boat that takes you down the river. The guides laughed as we tried to carry all our luggage.

Before heading to the lodge. The trip by small boat took about two hours total travel time to reach our lodging. We stopped along the way at Fundo Pedrito a small animal farm where we got to see alligators and Paiches. Paiches are large fish that are native to the Amazon River.

The lodge was small and intimate. There were room situated around pool and the main lodge what we ate all our meals. Each room had walls that looked out at the jungle with a thin bug/net covering shading you from the environment. The bed did have an additional bug net to help keep bugs away while you sleep.

Each day we had various activities planned by the tour guides. The first night we were able to go one a boat ride down the river. We were able to swim in the Amazon in an area that they insured us there were no pirañas. Afterward we had dinner and did a night walk in the jungle. We saw many MANY large insects, including bullet ants. These ants were 2inches long and are known to have horribly painful bites. Make sure you wear MULTIPLE layers and bring plenty of bug spray. The bugs were biting us through our thin clothing layers, so make sure you wear thick protective pants/jackets.

The second day in the amazon, we took our small boat out for birdwatching and to look for PINK dolphins along the river. We did see some from a distance. It was a great relaxing morning to start the day. We then traveled down the river to visit the Yaguas an indigenous community that lives along the river. We were able to see how the tribe does some of the daily activities. We saw their tribal dance and got to shot a blow dart. There are 23 native communities that live along the river.

We visited another animal reserve that had multiple monkeys that we were able to get up close and personal with. We fed them fruit and they were very friendly. A short boat trip away we also visited a local animal farm to see macaws, parrots, sloths and even hold an anaconda.

On the third day we took a trip to the deep jungle. This was a 2 hour boat ride down the blackwater river (Yanayacu River). There we hiked to the Lupuma, a giant tree in the center of the jungle. There were vines you could try and swing from, just like Tarzan.

After we returned to the main river to Trapiche in San Juan de Huachalado. This is a small community that makes local alcohol. We got to see the process of making the local drinks and sample a few. They also had some herbal remedies that were used commonly by the local to treat different illnesses.

Iquitos is known around the world as a common location to experiment with ayahuasca. This is a plant based DMT psycedelic used by shaman in spiritualistic ceremonies. The lodge is able to schedule these with local shaman trained in performing the ceremony.

The final day we got to enjoy our time fishing for pirañas on the river before heading back to Iquitos city to fly off to Cusco for the next phase of our trip.

Day 8: Arrive in Cusco

We arrived in Cusco in time to go out for a dinner at one of the many restaurants in the area. We stayed at an amazing hotel (Casa San Blas Boutique) that was located walking distance to the city center. There were local arts and vendors all along the streets. We wished we would be able to take back some of the local art. They do ship outside the country for additional costs. Our hotel was great and kept all our luggage while we traveled around the area exploring Cusco and the Sacred Valley.

Day 9: The Sacred Valley

We had been told by a friend that a great way to see the Sacred Valley was to rent a private car/driver via a company called Taxidatum. This was great because we got to make out own trip at our own scheduled. We did a partial day trip through the Sacred Valley.

We started the trip with a tour of the Chinchero market. This was were we spent time shopping and learning how women weave clothing out of the alpaca wool. It was great to be able to learn about the different feel/quality of the alpaca wool. The women were happy to show up how they spin the wool into the different images/symbols of the design. We got lots of Christmas presents for our family members back home.

We stopped by Chinchero this Andean village that over looks the mountains. There are Incan ruins and a colonial church that sits on the property. It is a great place to take in the beauty and stretch you legs after the drive into the Sacred Valley.

From there we visited Moray. This is the Incan agricultural center. Each terrace was representing a different agricultural climate.

Our final stop for the day before returning to Cusco was to see the Maras Salt mines. These mines are date back to the colonial era. You can walk around the mines and even purchase salt to bring home.

We ate dinner at one of the most recommended restaurants in Cusco called Yaku. We had to meet with our trekking team after dinner and rest up for our EARLY start the following morning.

Day 10-13: The Salkantay Trek

Our day started at 1am from a pick up from our hotel. We got on a van and took a windy road all the way to the Salkantay mountain trail head. We did not give ourselves nearly enough time to acclimate to the altitude. As soon as we got from the car and started toward the campsite we were planning to meet the rest of our group, we could hardly make it 100 yards without being winded. At the campsite, we got to have a quick breakfast before loading out travel bags onto the mules that carried a majority of the equipment. We did keep a backpack.

The weather on the mountains was almost as difficult as the hike itself. When we started the hike at 12,000 feet elevation, we were hiking to 15,000 feet to the peak in the first 8 hours of the trek. It was very cold, sleeting/raining the whole trip up. We did not pack winter clothes for the trip. Definitely recommend bringing gloves due to the extreme weather.

The first day of the trek was the most difficult. We were struggling to keep up with the rest of our group. They had been there the day prior to give themselves more time to adjust to the altitude. The guides would gave us an alcohol smelling elixir that you would rub on your hands and breath in to help open your airways. There was also cocoa leaves that you would chew on to help with altitude sickness. It was a long journey to the top of Salkantay, filled with rough terrain. We did see chinchillas living on the rocky side of the mountain.

Once to the top of the mountain we did snap a few quick pictures before descending to a resting point for lunch. The rest of the day was much more downhill, but our energy levels were pretty depleted due to the lack of sleep and long day trekking.

We walked down the mountain and made our way into the jungle. There was a drastic change in climate. We shed all the extra layers that we had been wearing at the top of Salkantay. We were able to stay with the group easier as we walked the winding roads to the night time campsite. We were able to stay in the new sky domes that overlooks the mountain pass.

The morning when we woke up it was difficult just to move. My personal goal was to stay at the front of the group in order to not fall behind. Casey did way better at keeping up. A majority of this day we did walk downhill. THANK GOD! or Pacha Mama as the locals would say to thank the mountain.

The way down, our guides used local berries as face paint. We stopped at a local fruit stand. We also got to make our own coffee. We picked the beans and roasted and ground the beans to bring home. We made our way along the train tracts through the jungle to Agua Calientes the city that is located near the base of Machu Picchu. It was nice to sleep in a hotel for the night. We got to go out to dinner and enjoy the night with our trekking team. It was a very cute town to explore. We were just unable to do much walking.

In the morning we woke up very excited to finally get to see Machu Picchu. It was the day we had been waiting for. We went early to be one of the first groups. We chose to take the bus to the top. There is a narrow/steep trail from Agra Calientes to Machu Picchu, but our legs were no longer attached to our bodies. We arrived and there was still cloud coverage over the view point. We waited a short bit before continuing into the entrance. Our timing was perfect and the clouds parted in time for us to have the perfect view of Machu Picchu.

We spent about 3 hours visiting the ruins. Our tour guides were told us the amazing history of Machu Picchu and the Inca’s while we walked through and took MANY pictures. We were hesitant to go with a “tour” group, but we learned so much that we would not have visiting on our own. We got plenty of time to explore. It truly was a magical place. There is a humbleness that you feel. I was just in awe of how an ancient civilization had located and build Machu Picchu. It was difficult enough for us to travel to with all the help along the way.

We took the bus back down to Agua Calientes for lunch and drinks. We boarded a train that took us to Ollantaytambo. From there a bus took us to Cusco and back to our hotel for some much needed rest. Our hotel was great and held our luggage while we were out on the Salkantay Trek.

Day 14: Morning in Cusco then Back to Lima

We explored Cusco the during the early morning after getting a good nights sleep. There is plenty of shopping spots around our hotel and the city center. We then caught an afternoon flight back to Lima. Our last night in Lima we decided to eat at the #7 Restaurant on Worlds 50 Best Maido. It was great to have good seafood/sushi. The head chef and owner Mitsuharu Tsumura uses a great fusion between Japanese and Peruvian fusion. He is native to Peru with a Japanese heritage.

After dinner, we headed to our hotel Casa Republican Barranco Boutique Hotel. The service at this hotel was great. They knew we had an early morning flight and had a pre-made breakfast ready for us. We enjoyed our last night on the rooftop bar overlooking the Barranco district.