Absolute Peru — Self-Launched: Lima to Lima, 21 Days

Land at Jorge Chávez (LIM) and take an official airport taxi or Airport Express Lima bus (about £6–8) to Miraflores or Barranco. Check into a hostel dorm or private room, sort out a Peru SIM/eSIM, withdraw soles, and use the day to acclimatise with a walk along the Malecón clifftop and dinner at a menú del día spot.

🚌Airport bus/taxi approx £7

🛏Hostel in Miraflores/Barranco, dorm £10–14 or private twin £22–30

• →Malecón clifftop walk
• →Barranco street art and Puente de los Suspiros

Spend the morning on a self-guided city walk: Plaza de Armas, the catacombs at San Francisco convent (£2) and lunch at a mercado. Afternoon take a Cruz del Sur or Oltursa bus to Paracas (about 4 hrs, £10–14 for a semi-cama seat). Book the Ballestas boat for tomorrow morning at your hostel — no need for an agency.

🚌Cruz del Sur/Oltursa bus Lima–Paracas approx £12

🛏Hostel/guesthouse in Paracas, £12–18

• →Historic centre and San Francisco catacombs
• →Mercado lunch

Early shared-boat tour of the Ballestas Islands from the Paracas pier to see sea lions, boobies and the Candelabra geoglyph (£13 at the pier). Then a short colectivo or bus to Ica/Huacachina for sandboarding and dune buggy (£10–12) and a swim. Late afternoon bus to Nazca (about 2.5 hrs, £5–7).

🚌Local colectivo to Huacachina £2; bus Ica–Nazca £6

🛏Guesthouse in Nazca, £10–15

• →Ballestas Islands boat tour
• →Huacachina dune buggy and sandboarding

Optional early flight over the Nazca Lines (about £75–90, book the day before; book with a licensed operator and check safety records). Then a shared taxi or tour vehicle to the Chauchilla desert cemetery and a working potter's studio (about £10–15 for the vehicle; cemetery entry £2). Evening: overnight Cruz del Sur bus to Arequipa, roughly 9 hrs, reclining seat about £20. Leave big luggage at the Nazca guesthouse if needed.

🚌Overnight bus Nazca–Arequipa approx £20

🛏Overnight bus

• →Nazca Lines overflight (optional)
• →Chauchilla cemetery
• →Potter's studio visit

Arrive early and take a cheap taxi to the historic centre. Easy acclimatisation day: the Santa Catalina Monastery (£10), the Museo Santuarios Andinos with Juanita the ice maiden (£6), and the mirador at Yanahuara. Book tomorrow's Chivay/Colca collectivo and a Cusco–Machu Picchu train if you haven't already. Eat rocoto relleno and alpaca skewers at a picantería.

🚌Taxi and local walking £3

🛏Hostel in Arequipa centre, dorm £9–12 or private £20–26

• →Santa Catalina Monastery
• →Museo Santuarios Andinos
• →Yanahuara viewpoint

Local bus or shared van from Arequipa's Terminal Terrestre to Chivay, about 3–4 hrs through vicuña country (£5–7). Check into a simple hostal and spend the afternoon in the La Calera hot springs (£2). Buy your Cruz del Cóndor transport ticket tonight or join a shared tour van for tomorrow morning.

🚌Bus Arequipa–Chivay approx £6

🛏Hostal in Chivay, £10–16

• →La Calera thermal baths
• →Vicuña spotting en route

Leave at 6am for the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint to watch Andean condors ride the thermals over the canyon — shared tour vans from Chivay cost about £12–15 return, or join a day tour continuing to Puno. Continue by bus to Puno (about 5–6 hrs from Chivay via Arequipa/Julia, £8–12) or take a direct Chivay–Puno tour bus. Evening wander to the Plaza de Armas and the lakefront.

🚌Shared canyon transport £14; onward bus to Puno £10

🛏Hostal in Puno, £10–15

• →Cruz del Cóndor condor viewpoint
• →Puno lakefront and markets

Book a two-day community tourism trip direct with a Puno operator (about £30–40 incl. boat, meals and homestay) or arrange a homestay bed with a family on Amantaní. Visit the floating Uros islands by boat, then cross to Amantaní where you'll be met by your host family, share dinner, dress in local costume and learn some Quechua and Aymara songs.

🚌Boat transfers included in the island tour

🛏Family homestay on Amantaní, £12–18 incl. dinner and breakfast

• →Uros floating islands
• →Amantaní homestay with host family
• →Pachamama viewpoint walk

Morning boat to Taquile island for a walk and lunch with a weaving cooperative, then back to Puno by late afternoon. If time allows, take a local taxi or tour van to the Sillustani burial towers (chullpas) for sunset (£8–10). Repack tonight for the Cusco bus.

🚌Boat included; Sillustani taxi £9

🛏Hostal in Puno, £10–15

• →Taquile island and weaving cooperative
• →Sillustani chullpas

Take the scenic tourist-class bus (Cruz del Sur or similar, about 6–7 hrs, £12–18) or the cheaper local night bus. The route over the altiplano passes Andean villages and, on tourism buses, stops at Pukara, Raqchi and Andahuaylillas. Arrive Cusco late afternoon — take it easy at 3,400m, drink coca tea and have a light dinner.

🚌Bus Puno–Cusco approx £15

🛏Hostel in Cusco historic centre, dorm £9–13 or private £22–30

• →Altiplano scenery and optional route stops

Choose one: the Rainbow Mountain day hike (about £25–35 with a shared tour van, leave 4am), a Peruvian cooking class (£25–35), or a slow self-guided day — San Pedro market, Qorikancha (£3), Sacsayhuamán (buy the Boleto Turístico, £17, which covers multiple sites) and café time. Also pick up your Inca Trail briefing from your trek agency tonight.

🚌Local walking and taxis £4

🛏Hostel in Cusco, £9–13

• →Rainbow Mountain hike or cooking class
• →Qorikancha and Boleto Turístico sites
• →San Pedro market

Do the Sacred Valley by local transport: colectivo from Cusco to Pisac for the ruins and market (£2), then colectivo to Urubamba (£2) and Pisac/Urubamba to Ollantaytambo. Stop at the Ccaccaccollo women's weaving co-op and the Huchuy Qosco Parwa community restaurant (book lunch by phone or via your agency) — both community projects G Adventures seeded with Planeterra, and both open to independent visitors. Afternoon climb the Ollantaytambo storehouse trail above the ruins (£5 entry).

🚌Local colectivos approx £6 total

🛏Guesthouse in Ollantaytambo, £12–18

• →Pisac ruins and market
• →Ccaccaccollo weaving co-op
• →Parwa community restaurant lunch
• →Ollantaytambo storehouses hike

Your licensed trek agency picks you up at 5am for the drive to KM82 (Piscacucho). Cross the Urubamba and walk gently uphill past Miskamayo and Patallacta ruins to Wayllabamba camp (3,000m). Porters carry up to 6kg of your gear in a duffel; you carry a daypack. All trek logistics, permits (£185–230, must be booked 3–6 months ahead with passport details) and meals should be booked through an authorised agency.

🚌Trek agency transfer from Ollantaytambo

🛏Camping (tent, mat; sleeping bag rental £10–12)

• →Inca Trail day 1
• →Patallacta ruins

The big day: climb steadily through cloud forest to Warmiwañusca / Dead Woman's Pass at 4,198m, then descend to Pacaymayo camp (3,600m). Pace yourself, drink water, and take the pass slowly — altitude is the challenge, not distance. The trek cost below covers all four days including permits, guides, porters, cooks, food and the Machu Picchu entry.

🚌On foot

🛏Camping

• →Warmiwañusca (Dead Woman's Pass)
• →Cloud forest trekking

Cross the second pass, explore the round tower of Runkurakay and the cloud-forest site of Sayacmarca, then the long stone staircase down to Phuyupatamarca and on to Wiñay Wayna camp. This is the most spectacular day for ruins and orchids. Early night — tomorrow starts at 4am.

🚌On foot

🛏Camping

• →Runkurakay and Sayacmarca ruins
• →Wiñay Wayna ruins

Pre-dawn start to reach Inti Punku, the Sun Gate, as the light comes over Machu Picchu. Guided tour of the citadel (Circuit 3 for trekkers), then bus down to Aguas Calientes. Book the Expedition train back to Ollantaytambo in advance (£45–60; add a taxi or colectivo to Cusco £3–8). Hot shower, real bed, big dinner.

🚌Bus Aguas Calientes–town £10; train to Ollantaytambo approx £50

🛏Hostel in Cusco, £9–13

• →Sun Gate sunrise
• →Guided Machu Picchu tour

Slow day: laundry, a long breakfast, maybe the Museo Inka (£3) or a chocolate workshop. Late afternoon fly Cusco–Puerto Maldonado (about 45 mins, £60–90 with LATAM/Sky if booked ahead) or take the long overnight bus option. Your jungle lodge arranges a morning pickup from the airport or bus terminal.

🚌Domestic flight Cusco–Puerto Maldonado approx £75

🛏Hostel in Cusco, £9–13

• →Museo Inka
• →Cusco cafés and markets

Lodge transfer by road to the river, then motorised canoe up the Madre de Dios to your eco-lodge (3-day/2-night packages with transport, meals and guides run about £180–260 — book direct with a lodge such as those around the Tambopata reserve, or a reputable Puerto Maldonado agency). Afternoon introductory walk, then a naturalist-led night walk looking for tarantulas, owls, frogs and snakes.

🚌Lodge road + canoe transfer included

🛏Amazon eco-lodge, screened room (included in lodge package)

• →Canoe transfer
• →Naturalist night walk

Full jungle day: morning canoe to an oxbow lake for giant river otters, hoatzins and macaws, a canopy walkway or tower for birds-eye views, and a talk on medicinal plants. At night, a motorised canoe cruise along the river banks with a spotlight for caimans and night birds.

🚌Canoe trips included

🛏Amazon eco-lodge

• →Oxbow lake wildlife
• →Canopy walkway
• →Caiman-spotting night cruise

Dawn birdwatching from the lodge, then canoe and road transfer back to Puerto Maldonado. Fly back to Lima (£50–80) and check into a hostel in Miraflores. Optional last-night pisco sour and ceviche at a Huarique, or the Circuito Mágico del Agua if you have energy.

🚌Flight Puerto Maldonado–Lima approx £60; airport taxi £7

🛏Hostel in Miraflores, £10–14

• →Dawn birdwatching
• →Lima evening out

Breakfast, last souvenir stop at the Mercado Indios in Miraflores, then the Airport Express bus or taxi to Jorge Chávez for your international flight. If you flew into Cusco rather than Puerto Maldonado, adjust the last two days but keep a buffer before long-haul.

🚌Airport bus/taxi £7

🛏None

• →Mercado Indios souvenir shopping