Explore Peru
The 21-Day Best of Peru
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You’ve heard of the Eco-Challenge and the Ironman, so we now present the Peru Challenge. This 21-day tour is for the extraordinarily ambitious and energetic. More than anything, it is proof of all that Peru has to offer—and it still leaves out a lot.
The odyssey unfolds chronologically among Peru’s ancient ruins and colonial cities, with a dab of Amazon and a dash through the desert for balance.
Day 1
Begin by flying into Lima and catching a connecting flight to Peru’s north, where you will spend two nights at Huanchaco, a beach-side fishing village near Trujillo.
Day 2
During the day you can see colonial Trujillo, the Moche pyramid of Huaca de la Luna, and the Chimú city of Chan Chan.
Day 3
In the morning see Trujillo’s Museo Cassinelli, then hop on a bus for Chiclayo (three hours). Hire a private car and head to a country inn at Túcume (45 minutes), where you will stay two nights sleeping in the bucolic countryside near the pyramids.
Day 4
After seeing the Lords of Sipán treasures at the Museo Tumbas Reales, visit the Sicán pyramids at Batán Grande and the new Museo Sicán.
Day 5
Fly from Chiclayo to Lima. Here you begin the Gringo Trail, the time-honored backpacker’s route to Cusco. Take a bus to Pisco (three hours) and short combi ride to the beach town of El Chaco, where you stay two nights.
Day 6
Explore Reserva Nacional Paracas. Watch sea lions and perhaps endangered Humboldt penguins, picnic on a wilderness beach and return to your hotel for sunset over the Pacific Ocean.
Day 7
Take a bus to Nasca (2.5 hours) to visit Museo Antonini and aqueducts and stay the night. Or take a bus to Ica (one hour), for a tour of pisco bodegas and sandboarding on the dunes above Lake Huacachina, where you stay the night. You choose.
Day 8
Take a morning overflight of the Nasca Lines from either Nasca or Ica. Take the bus to Arequipa from Ica (eight hours) or Nasca (6.5 hours). Check in for two-night stay in Arequipa.
Day 9
Tour sophisticated Arequipa, a sparkling white city best known for the 17th-century Monasterio de Santa Catalina.
Day 10
Flight or bus trip from Arequipa to Puno (seven hours).
Days 11–12
Explore Lake Titicaca with a day tour of Amantaní and the Uros Islands. Return to Puno for the night, or consider a stay with a family on Amantaní.
Day 13
Continue onward to Cusco. From Puno you can either take a direct, nonstop train or a tour bus that allows you to see the ruins along the way (nine hours).
Day 14
Take a combi from Cusco down to the Sacred Valley to see the ruins and market of Pisac, where you will stay the night.
Day 15
Head to the ruins of Moray and Ollantaytambo. Tour Ollantaytambo, then take an afternoon train to Machu Picchu and overnight in Aguas Calientes.
Day 16
From your base in the nearby town of Aguas Calientes, rise at dawn to be alone for sunrise at Machu Picchu. Spend the morning at Machu Picchu, then hop on the afternoon train to Cusco.
Days 17–18
Tour the Cusco area, where you will have two days to soak in the churches, the artisan neighborhood of San Blas, and the fortress of Sacsayhuamán.
Days 19–20
As a final treat, take a morning flight (30 minutes) to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon for a two-night stay at a jungle lodge.
Day 21
From Puerto Maldonado catch a morning flight to Lima’s airport, where you can leave your bags for a quick peek at the city center and a gourmet dinner in Miraflores. Then hop a red-eye for home.
© Ross Wehner and Renée del Gaudio from Moon Peru, 2nd Edition
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