Amazon to the Andes — Self-Launched

Land at Jorge Chávez International (LIM) and take an official Green Taxi or the Airport Express Lima bus to Miraflores (~£6-9, 45-60 min). Check into a hostel or budget hotel near Parque Kennedy. Spend the afternoon walking the clifftop malecón and Parque del Amor over the Pacific, then eat your first ceviche at a neighbourhood cevichería (Miraflores markets are cheaper than the tourist strip). Evening: wander to Parque Kennedy and the Barranco bohemian quarter for a cheap pisco sour. Book your Cusco flight tonight if not already done.

🚌Airport Express Lima bus to Miraflores ~£7

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Miraflores (~£16-22 pp in a private twin, less in dorm)

• →Malecón clifftop walk
• →Parque del Amor
• →Barranco street food and pisco
• →Ceviche dinner

Morning flight Lima to Cusco (~£45-70 one-way with Sky or LATAM if booked early; take the earliest flight and keep the day light). Taxi to the historic centre (~£3). Check into a guesthouse in San Blas. Do NOT plan anything strenuous — altitude at 3,400m bites. Afternoon: gentle wander of Plaza de Armas and the Qorikancha exterior. Coca tea, plenty of water, early night. Optional 4-hour cooking class in San Blas (~£25) is a good low-effort afternoon if you feel fine.

🚌Domestic flight + taxi ~£55

🛏San Blas guesthouse, private twin ~£15-20 pp

• →Flight to Cusco
• →Plaza de Armas and San Blas wander
• →Optional Peruvian cooking class

Skip the guided tour and take the local bus from Cusco's Puputi/Arcopata terminal to Pisac (~£2, 1.5 hrs) for the famous market and the hillside ruins. From Pisac, a colectivo to Calca (~£1.50) and onward to the Ccaccaccollo weaving community — the same women's co-op the group tour visits — where weavers sell textiles directly (~£3 entry/workshop donation). Lunch at Parwa Community Restaurant in Lamay (farm-to-table, ~£8 set menu), reachable by any Calca–Ollantaytambo combi. End in Ollantaytambo: explore the ruins and storehouses (entry on the Boleto Turístico, 130 PEN ~£27 for 10 sites), grab chicha at a local chichería, and sort your trek briefing and gear rental tonight.

🚌Local buses and colectivos ~£6 total

🛏Ollantaytambo hostel private room ~£14-18 pp

• →Pisac market and ruins
• →Ccaccaccollo women's weaving co-op
• →Parwa Community Restaurant lunch
• →Ollantaytambo fortress and storehouse hike

Book your 4-day Inca Trail with a licensed Cusco operator directly (recommended, ~£420-520 pp including permits, guide, porters, cook, meals, tents, duffel and return train) or via GetYourGuide; permits must be bought in your name 4-6 months ahead. A shared van from Ollantaytambo to Piscacucho/Km 82 takes ~40 min. Checkpoint formalities, then a relatively easy 11km day of gentle climbs alongside the Cusumayo stream, passing the ruins of Llactapata. Camp at Wayllabamba (3,000m). Pack light — 6kg goes in the porter duffel.

🚌Shared van Ollantaytambo to Km 82 (included in trek package)

🛏Camping — tents provided by trek operator

• →Inca Trail checkpoint at Km 82
• →Llactapata ruins
• →Trek to Wayllabamba camp

The hardest day: a long, steep 1,200m ascent to Warmiwañusca (Dead Woman's Pass, 4,198m) — start at dawn, walk slowly and steadily, and rest at the camps. Descend to Pacaymayo camp (3,600m). Most hikers are in camp by early afternoon. Bring your own water purification tablets and snacks; coca leaves help.

🚌On foot

🛏Camping at Pacaymayo

• →Climb Dead Woman's Pass 4,198m
• →Descend to Pacaymayo camp

Cross Runkurakay pass (3,950m) with views of the Cordillera Vilcabamba, drop through cloud forest past the Runkurakay and Sayacmarca ruins, then over the second pass (3,700m) and the spectacular Phuyupatamarca — the 'town above the clouds'. Descend steps into the cloud forest to camp at Wiñay Wayna (2,650m). The long, dramatic day of the trek.

🚌On foot

🛏Camping at Wiñay Wayna

• →Runkurakay pass
• →Sayacmarca ruins
• →Phuyupatamarca
• →Wiñay Wayna ruins

Leave camp pre-dawn to reach Inti Punku (Sun Gate) as the light hits the ruins, then walk down to Machu Picchu. The guided site tour is included in your trek package (Circuit 3 for Inca Trail hikers — pre-book your circuit choice). Spend the afternoon down in Aguas Calientes: soak at the hot springs (~£4), then take the Expedition train back to Ollantaytambo and a shared van/bus to Cusco (train ~£55-70 included in most trek packages; book separately if not). Take the 4pm or 6pm departure and you're in Cusco by evening.

🚌Train + shared van to Cusco (usually bundled with trek)

🛏Cusco hostel/guesthouse, private twin ~£15-20 pp

• →Sun Gate sunrise
• →Guided Machu Picchu circuit
• →Aguas Calientes hot springs
• →Scenic train to Ollantaytambo

Recovery day. Browse San Pedro market for tamales and fresh juice (~£3 breakfast), visit the Inka Museum (10 PEN ~£2) or Qorikancha (15 PEN), and drink coffee in San Blas. If you're still feeling energetic and acclimatised, a pre-dawn Rainbow Mountain day trip (~£30 booked locally or on GetYourGuide) is possible, but most people are glad of the rest day after the trek. Optional Cusco cooking class ~£35. Or take a combi to the Sacsayhuamán and Qenqo ruins (Boleto Turístico covers entry).

🚌Walking plus occasional taxi ~£4

🛏Cusco guesthouse ~£15-20 pp

• →San Pedro market
• →Inka Museum
• →San Blas cafés
• →Optional Rainbow Mountain day trip
• →Optional Cusco cooking class

Short morning flight Cusco to Puerto Maldonado (~£50-70 with LATAM/Sky). Book a 3-day/2-night all-inclusive jungle package with a locally-owned ecolodge on the Madre de Dios or Tambopata river (typically £180-260 pp including boat transfer, all meals, boots and naturalist guide — book direct or via GetYourGuide). Motorised canoe ~1-2 hrs upriver to the lodge. Settle in, then an afternoon walk on the trails with the resident naturalist, followed by a night walk with torchlight for tarantulas, tree frogs, snakes and owls.

🚌Domestic flight ~£60 + included boat transfer

🛏Jungle ecolodge, twin/dorm rooms, ~included in package

• →Flight to Puerto Maldonado
• →Motorised canoe upriver
• →Afternoon jungle trail walk
• →Night walk with naturalist guide

Full day of jungle excursions: early boat to a macaw clay lick (ask your lodge — Condenado or Chuncho are the famous ones), then a walk to an oxbow lake where you paddle a catamaran looking for hoatzins, caimans and giant river otters. Learn medicinal plant uses with your guide. Afternoon hammock time and a swim in a local stream. After dinner, a caiman-spotting cruise by motorised canoe with spotlight — their red eye-shine on the riverbanks is unmistakable.

🚌Included boat transfers

🛏Jungle ecolodge (included in package)

• →Macaw clay lick (season/weather dependent)
• →Oxbow lake catamaran
• →Medicinal plant walk
• →Night caiman-spotting cruise

Morning excursion or birding from the lodge, then boat back to Puerto Maldonado for your afternoon flight to Lima (~£60-80). Settle back into Miraflores or Barranco for a final night: seafood dinner in Barranco or a ceviche lunch spot, and a wander around the Mercado de Surquillo if you arrive early enough. Note Lima flights from Puerto Maldonado can be delayed by weather — allow buffer before an international departure.

🚌Boat + flight + taxi ~£75

🛏Miraflores/Barranco hostel, private twin ~£16-22 pp

• →Sunrise birding
• →Return boat to Puerto Maldonado
• →Flight to Lima
• →Barranco dinner

Depending on your flight time, squeeze in a final surf lesson at Punta Hermosa or a morning walk along the malecón before heading to the airport (~£7 by Airport Express bus). No visa fee for UK passport holders for tourism under 183 days.

🚌Airport Express bus ~£7

🛏—

• →Optional surf lesson
• →Malecón walk
• →Airport transfer