Nearly all of the rafting and kayaking agencies do bike tours and rent bikes. A highly recommended company is Loreto Tours (Calle del Medio 111, tel. 084/22-8264, loretotours [at] planet [dot] com [dot] pe, US$100 per day for guided tours).

Peru’s best-known mountain biker, Omar Zarzar Casis (omarzarzar [at] aventurarse [dot] com), has written a book describing routes in Cusco and across the country. He is a good English-speaking contact for those planning a major ride in the area.

Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking (Santa Catalina Ancha 398, tel. 084/22-8032, www.gravityperu.com, US$100 per day for guided tours) has great equipment and experienced guides for adventure mountain-biking tours.

Many of the Manu tour operators give clients the option to bike partway down the magnificent dirt-road descent from Acanaju Pass at 3,800 meters into the jungle. This route, which also passes through Pisac and Paucartambo provides a stunning glimpse of more than a dozen ecosystems.

Many agencies also offer mountain-biking in the Sacred Valley, especially on the Chinchero plateau around Moray and Maras, with a final descent past the salt mines (Salineras) to Urubamba.

The Abra Málaga (4,600 meters), which lies along the highway between Ollantaytambo and Quillabamba, is another of Peru’s spectacular mountain-to-jungle descents. This trip is now part of a bus/biking/walking alternative to the Inca Trail, which takes you past the pristine Colcamayo hot springs in Santa Teresa, from where you can either walk or catch the train to Machu Picchu.