Peru Tours: Trekking Adventures and Andean Culture

As South America’s third-largest nation, Peru spans 1,285,216 km². The Andes run through the country from north to southeast and drop eastward into the Amazon basin, which covers about 60% of the territory. Adventure tours follow that map: trekking routes and Andean culture in the mountains, rivers and rainforest in the lowlands.

Cusco, the former Inca capital at about 3,400 m, our tours in Peru cross mountain passes and farming villages to reach Machu Picchu (2,430 m), a 15th-century citadel listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. Inca culture is part of the walk: stone storehouses, farming terraces, and stretches of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road network of about 40,000 km.

For high-altitude trekking in Peru, the Salkantay route is the classic. Salkantay Peak rises to 6,271 m, the highest in the Vilcabamba range, and the trail crosses its pass at 4,636 m, close to the turquoise Humantay Lake and its glacier. From the pass, the path drops more than 2,000 m into cloud forest and coffee farms, while the Llactapata Pass (2,736 m) gives you the first view of the citadel.

If you want villages more than altitude records, the Sacred Valley and Lares route delivers a deep immersion in Peruvian traditions. Each day you choose between a hike and a cultural visit: the craft stalls of Pisac market, the circular Inca terraces of Moray, the Maras salt mines, interactions with remote mountain communities, or a Pachamama ceremony. Ending in Ollantaytambo, a living Inca town, the Lares trek still leads hikers to mountain elevations exceeding 4,200 m.

Comfort is a separate choice from the trail. Walk from lodge to lodge in Peru, and you sleep in mountain lodges with hot showers and outdoor hot tubs. Other trips use basic guesthouses or campsites, which cost less and are often the only option on routes where no hotels exist.

If you want even more culture and adventure, your tour in Peru can go beyond Cusco. Huaraz (3,050 m) is the base for the Cordillera Blanca, the range of Huascarán (the highest peak in Peru at 6,768 m). Iquitos, the largest city in the Peruvian Amazon, can only be reached by plane or boat and is the gateway to river and rainforest trips.

Two facts shape every plan in the mountains: altitude, which starts at about 3,400 m in Cusco and climbs from there, and the Peru dry season, from April to October. Want to add more rainforest or wetlands to your vacation? Many guests combine it with our adventure trips in Brazil!