G Adventures Peru Family Journey: Machu Picchu to the Amazon

• Venture into mysterious Machu Picchu, exploring Inca ruins and hiking the surrounding slopes in search of stunning views
• Visit a women’s weaving cooperative and a community-run restaurant to experience Andean culture
• Discover the biodiversity of the Peruvian Amazon, exploring rainforest trails, oxbow lakes, and treetop canopies
• Learn about the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere while peering through telescopes at the Cusco Planetarium.

• Your Journeys Highlight Moment: Cusco Planetarium, Cusco
• Your G for Good Moment: Ccaccaccollo Community and Women’s Weaving Co-op visit, Ccaccaccollo
• Your G for Good Moment: Parwa Community Restaurant the Sacred Valley, Lamay
• Arrival transfer
• Sacred Valley tour including Ollantaytambo ruins
• Guided tour of Machu Picchu
• San Pedro Market visit
• Machu Picchu Museum visit
• Three-day (2 nts) excursion to an Amazon rainforest lodge
• Internal flights
• All transport between destinations and to/from included activities
• Hotels (8 nts), Amazon Lodge (2 nts)
• 9 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 3 dinners
• 2 Chief Experience Officers (CEOs) throughout, local guides

Day 1 Lima

Arrive in time to meet your fellow travelers for a welcome gathering this evening. Your arrival transfer is included.

Day 2 Lima / Sacred Valley

Board an early flight to Cusco, the gateway to Peru’s Inca heartland. Take in spectacular Andean scenery as you drive north into Urubamba Valley—also known as the Sacred Valley of the Inca. Arrive at Piuray Lake, an azure oasis framed by snowcapped peaks. Enjoy a lakeside lunch and opt to go paddleboarding or kayaking, soaking up the mountain views. Continue to your hotel and settle in before dinner.

Day 3 Explroe the Sacred Valley

Begin the day with a visit to a G Adventures–supported women’s weaving cooperative, where you’ll observe traditional weaving and dying techniques and meet some of the weavers. Next, test your Spanish skills as you bargain with vendors at the famed Pisac Market—a wonderland of colorful Quechua handicrafts. Break for a farm-to-table lunch at the G Adventures–supported Parwa Community Restaurant, tasting Peruvian dishes while learning how this resident-run restaurant helps fund community projects. In the afternoon, opt to relax at your hotel or visit the Inca ruins of Moray and the salt pans of Maras.

Day 4 Sacred Valley / Aguas Calientes

Explore the former Inca stronghold of Ollantaytambo, stepping back in time amid ancient terraces, storehouses, and an enormous temple-fortress. Then hop aboard a train for the journey through the Urubamba Valley to the end of the line: Aguas Calientes, a frontier town nestled beneath Machu Picchu. The afternoon is free for optional excursions, including a waterfall hike and a visit to nearby hot springs.

Day 5 Machu Picchu

Rise and shine! After a light breakfast, head to Machu Picchu to see the citadel in the early morning light, before the crowds arrive. Spend the morning exploring the ruins with your guides and pondering the mysteries of this “lost” city of the Inca, forgotten at the Spanish conquest and rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham with support from National Geographic. Enjoy free time to explore on your own. This afternoon, return by train to Ollantaytambo and transfer to Cusco.

Day 6 Cusco

Set out to explore the beautiful streets and plazas of Cusco, once lavishly adorned with Inca gold that was stolen by the Spanish during the conquest. Visit the sprawling San Pedro Market, where you’ll find everything from pickled snakes to savory tamales, and visit the Machu Picchu Museum to see an array of Inca artifacts that were discovered at Machu Picchu. Later, enjoy a star-filled evening at the Cusco Planetarium, learning about the importance of astronomy to the ancient Inca and peering at the glittering night sky through high-powered telescopes.

Day 7 Cusco / Tambopata Natural Reserve

Today, set out to discover a wilder side of Peru! Catch a morning flight to Puerto Maldonado, then continue by motorized canoe along the Tambopata River to your jungle lodge in the Amazon rainforest. Have lunch on board the boat and keep an eye out for wildlife and birds along the way. Upon arrival, settle into your thatched lodging, situated near Tambopata National Reserve—a biodiversity hotspot. In the afternoon, join a naturalist guide to seek out the wildlife of the rainforest—from colorful butterflies to huge spiders—and learn the uses for medicinal and other forest plant resources through traditional techniques.

Day 8 Discover Tambopata Natural Reserve

Grab your binoculars and head out with naturalist guides to explore the rainforest’s complex ecosystems. Search the forest canopy where colorful toucans, boisterous howler monkeys, and sloths may be spotted. Hike to an oxbow lake, and paddle dugout canoes to glimpse river otters, turtles, and, if you’re lucky, an anaconda or two! This evening you’ll venture out in a motorized canoe to spot the jungle’s elusive nocturnal species. If you’re lucky you’ll spot caimans, the smaller cousins of alligators, hiding along the muddy banks.

Day 9 Travel to Lima

Enjoy a final breakfast at your lodge, then board a motorized canoe and return upriver to Puerto Maldonado. Fly to Lima and check in to your hotel. This evening, celebrate your adventure at the farewell dinner.

Day 10 Lima

Depart at any time.

PHYSICAL RATING: 3 – AVERAGE

Some tours may include light hiking, biking, rafting, or kayaking in addition to walking.

Please note, prices listed are guide prices only and are based on 2 people sharing and don’t include any additional supplements. Holiday prices are fluid and dynamic and may be changed at a moment’s notice, prior to booking, at which point they are confirmed. Please call the team free on 0800 707 6229 for more departure dates available and a quote.