Join us on this great value trip as we discover the highlights of Peru including its impressive mountain citadel, Machu Picchu. We sail on Lake Titicaca, visiting the Indian communities on Uros and Taquile Islands, where we overnight with a local family. We also discover the colourful cities of Cusco and Arequipa and search for condors at the majestic Colca Canyon.



Using some simple hotels, public transport and with ample free time to choose your own adventure, this is a great way to see Peru on a shoestring. Not only discovering the highlights, including Machu Picchu and the majestic Colca Canyon, this trip gets you to the heart of Peru, with a homestay on Lake Titicaca and a trip to one of Cusco's best food markets.
  • From Puno we take a boat trip on Lake Titicaca to explore the floating reed islands, home to the Uros people who live on the lake itself. Their islands are made from totura, a reed-like papyrus that grows in the shallows and is used in most aspects of their life, including the construction of their boats and homes.
  • Arrive in Lima, Peru's capital, which was founded in 1535AD by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Today it is a modern, cosmopolitan city, but in the old centre there are obvious reminders both of its colonial and pre-hispanic past. Its location on the shores of the Pacific Ocean mean that you can easily escape the busy traffic of the city for a little calm on nearby coastal walking paths.
  • We cross the Patapampa pass with a brief stop at the trip's highest point (4910 m) before beginning our descent to the town of Chivay
  • We visit the Colca Canyon. A spectacular river gorge, the Colca Canyon measures twice the depth of the more famous Grand Canyon and at one time it was believed to be the deepest gorge on earth (until it was eclipsed by the deeper Cotahuasi Canyon).