PeruNorth's musings on events & destinations in Northern Peru, Amazonia ... and beyond. Detailed tour reviews.
Bruce and Martha, an adventurous couple in their 60s from Tennessee, put together an ambitious itinerary with PeruNorth, eschewing Machu Picchu to take in lesser-visited parts of Peru that encompassed a full range of the country’s contrasting geography: coast, desert, mountains and jungle.
Melissa & George Kaiser of Bend, Oregon made a five-week trip to Peru in February / March, 2024
Melissa had been to school in Lima in the late ‘60s, and was keen to reconnect with the country of her youth!
PeruNorth organised the middle three weeks:
first an epic two-week overland trip from Lima to Mancora, taking in many of the coastal archaeological highlights along the way
then a week spent in Arequipa and Colca Canyon.
Here are their thoughts on the experience:
Elaine from Los Altos Hills, CA originally planned a solo Galapagos & Peru trip for March 2022, but had to postpone on medical grounds. She was finally able to make the trip, in the company of Morriss, in February 2024
Their itinerary included Lima, Cusco and - quite unusually - time at both an Amazon lodge in Southern Peru and on an Amazon cruise in Northern Peru.
Their original visit to Machu Picchu was cancelled, but luckily they had extra time in their itinerary and were able to rearrange.
Here are her thoughts on the experience.
Roberto and Paola from Turin, Italy got in touch with PeruNorth in February 2023 looking for a 24-day itinerary to take in the archaeological and natural highlights of Northern Peru, along with some time in or around an Amazonian reserve, such as Pacaya-Samiria.
Here are their comments about the trip, along with a selection of photos they took:
Belen Market (Mercado de Belén) is a famous and bustling market located in the Peruvian Amazon city of Iquitos.
Two Canadian students, Patrick Duke and Austin Pugh, spent 6 days at Muyuna Amazon Lodge in September 2022. Here is what they said about the experience:
‘We had an amazing time in the Amazon with Muyuna.
Carnival - the exuberant celebration that precedes the Christian observance of Lent - is most closely associated with Brazil, and especially Rio de Janeiro with its famous Sambodromo floats and dancers. Nonetheless, there are carnival festivities throughout Latin America, with Peru being no exception.
Arguably the best-known in Peru is the Carnaval de Cajamarca, a vibrant and colorful festival celebrated in the city of Cajamarca.
Rochester, NY native, Margaret Riley, took here niece, Jessica, on holiday to Peru as a graduation present in June 2022. Their 10-day itinerary took in:
The Sacred Valley
2-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Cusco
Palccoyo (an alternative Rainbow Mountain)
Here is what they had to say about the experience:
“Our trip to Peru was remarkable.
Read the testimony of Sam Watkins, a UK national living in Malaga, Spain, who travelled solo to Northern Peru in July 2022.
He stayed in the little-visited village of Cuispes, from where he visited Yumbilla, Cristal, Medio Cerro and Gocta waterfall.
He did a day trip to El Tigre Sarcophagi; and finished by visiting the Chachapoya citadel of Yalape (in lieu of Kuelap that was closed owing to restoration work).
The last night was spent in Chachapoyas city; and much of the transport was by mototaxi, in order to keep costs down.
