2 Week Peru Itinerary – Inca Trail and Amazon Jungle

As far as trips go, my two weeks in Peru achieved a level of legendary status that I nor my companions will ever forget.  It was my first trip to South America and I will certainly say not the last. Whether it was spotting macaws early in the morning, meeting local families, wandering ancient ruins, or exploring the depths of the jungle, Peru’s magic and mystery will leave you in awe.

Planning a trip to Peru is no doubt daunting because there’s so much to see and when you’re constrained on time, you have to anchor the trip to a few primary activities or destinations.  For this specific 2 week Peru itinerary, the focus from the get go was the Inca Trail and the Amazon Jungle.

This 2 week Peru Itinerary is meant to be a hub of information to help you figure out your own trip to this beautiful country.  You’ll find the high level day breakdown and if you’re looking for more information, links to other blog posts have more details.

Highlights of 2 week itinerary

• All of the Inca ruins we encountered along the Inca Trail
• Machu Picchu – I mean how could you not be blown away
• Hanging out at our lodge in the Amazon – Refugio Amazonas
• Chuncho Claylicks for macaw bird watching
• Salineras Salt Mines – Think rice paddies but with salt
• Cooking class in Cusco
• Spending time with a local family of the Maucau Community

Full 14 Day Peru Itinerary

In the past I’ve put my itineraries in table format.  Let’s try something different here and break things out by day to make it easier to read and also allows me to provide a bit more detail.

Table of Contents

• Day 1 – Flying into Lima
• Day 2 – Cusco
• Day 3 – Cooking in Cusco
• Day 4 – Sacred Valley with KB Tambo
• Day 5 – Sacred Valley with Andean Encounters
• Day 6 to 9 – Inca Trail
• Day 10 – Recovery in Cusco
• Day 11 to 14 – Amazon Jungle

Day 1 – Flying into Lima

Flying out from Toronto the previous day, we landed in Lima at 12:45AM.  It’s not the ideal flight but one of the limited direct flight options.  Upon landing, we grabbed a cab straight to our hotel, Casa Wayra B&B in Miraflores.  This was a cheap stay in a good location.

Exhausted, we ended up sleeping until the late afternoon.  Our plan for the first day was to take it easy and explore whatever we could.  We honestly didn’t have anything fixed planned but instead asked the receptionist of our B&B for suggestions.

Famished and wanting to try at least one of the highly rated restaurants in the area, we cabbed over to La Mar.  We arrived right around noon which was the perfect time to get there because the restaurant was fully packed a short time later.  The food here incredible.  The cerviche and causa here did not disappoint.

For the afternoon, we spent most of our time at Huaca Pucllana exploring the remains of a clay & adobe stepped pyramid from a Pre-Incan era.  I didn’t even know about this place before but am so glad we stumbled upon it.  It’s near the outer edge of Miraflores.

After that, we walked over to the “downtown” part of Miraflores.  There was lots to look at here and even better people watching.  This is where we found the famous cat park.  There were cats EVERYWHERE.

We eventually made our way down to the beach but by then the sun was rapidly setting and we only caught the silhouette of surfers in front of the purple drawn sky.

For dinner we walked back up to the Parque Central de Miraflores area and ate at Sangucheria la Lucha which was casual spot I was dying to try after reading all the reviews.  I can’t remember exactly what I ordered but I remember I just couldn’t stop raving at how good it was.  On top of that, the folks working there spoke English and were very friendly.

Day 2 – Cusco

Early in the morning, we ordered a cab to take us to the airport where we caught an Avianca flight to Cusco.  Since we were way too early to actually check into our hotel, Yanantin Guest House (now called Hostal Illapa Inn), we dropped our bags off and proceeded to wander around the city.

The great thing about Cusco is how easy it is to get anywhere on foot.  One of the big highlights of the day included our tour of Qurikancha which was once the site of the most important temple in the Inca empire.  It was later converted to a colonial church and convent of Santo Domingo but within its walls are the remnants of masterful stonework that at one point was gilded with gold.  The history here is quite fascinating.

We also tried to make it to the Mercado Central de San Pedro but by the time we got there, most of the shops were closed.  We elected instead to try a few fruit shakes and bowl of chicken noodle soup.

In search of some souvenirs, we also dropped by a few open air markets that were clearly built for tourists.  We were bombarded with anything and everything made with Alpaca wool.  I ended up picking up a pair of gloves here.

One task we had to make sure we fit in was the dropping by of the Alpaca Expeditions office to pay off the remaining balance of our Inca Trail trek.  We also booked our pre-trek briefing session when we were there.

Eventually we ended up at the Plaza de Armas where I did a little bit of photography.

For dinner, we ate at Morena Peruvian Kitchen which hit the spot for its authentic cuisine and reasonable pricing.  The Lomo Saltado dish I had was probably the best I had throughout the whole trip.

Day 3 – Cooking in Cusco

On our third day, we were waiting for our other friends to fly in so we spent the morning exploring new neighborhoods within Cusco.  One area I read about was San Blas so after breakfast we walked over there.  Perched on a bit of a hill, there was a small square by the church which made for a bunch of good photos.

Every trip, I always try to make sure we do something a bit more hands on.  Having such a good experience with our cooking class in Chiang Mai, I thought it’d be a great idea to try something similar in Cusco.  So after we met up with our friends, we made our way over to the Marcelo Batata Culinary Experience.

The 5 hour class (2-7PM) was quite the thorough experience that truly gives you a better appreciation of Peruvian food and how to properly taste them.  You start off by learning about the history of food in Peru before going into a makeshift mini marketplace to see, feel, and smell the core ingredients to Peruvian cuisine.  Along the way, they feed you delicious hors d’oeuvres.

The real cooking comes into play when we had a chance to make our own ceviche and lomo saltado.  In between we also got to do a fruit tasting and mix our own pisco sour.

Jose was a great instructor and I can’t say enough good things about this cooking class.  If you have an extra afternoon and you want to take it easy, this is a great option.

Day 4 – Sacred Valley with KB Tambo

As part of our acclimatization process, we planned 2 days in the Sacred Valley with two separate operators.  This particular part of the trip was difficult to plan because there are so many companies offering tours here.

In the end we opted to do the first day with a company called KB Tambo because they offered a “Super Day” private tour option that had all the things we were looking for that included an English speaking guide and driver.  They were also accommodating in terms of making tweaks to the itinerary.

Our final super day itinerary looked like this:

Local fabric market

Chincheros

Salineras Salt Mines

Moray

Ollantaytambo

At the end of the night, we were dropped off at Tambo del Inka in Urumbamba (Marriott property) thanks to my buddy’s SPG points.  I would say this is one of the most incredible properties in the Sacred Valley.  I was very impressed.

Day 5 – Sacred Valley with Andean Encounters

For our second day in the Sacred Valley, we wanted to go a little off the beaten path.  There were less options for this and one company that really stood out was Andean Encounters.   What stood out the most from them was that one of his itineraries included time with a local family.  I did something similar in Thailand and it’s truly a special experience when you can get a glimpse into the daily life of those that live in the mountains.  So when I saw the “Ankasmarka Ruins, Maucau Community and Lares Hotsprings” tour, we jumped on it.

The day trip looked like this:

Calca Market – Stephano walked us through the market and also picked up the fish we’d ultimately eat for dinner

Ankasmarka – As a spot that’s out of the way for most tours, it was just us in these incredible Pre-Incan ruins.

Maucau Community for lunch – A humbling experience and enlightening to learn what life is like in the mountains.

Lares Hotsprings – A relaxing way to end off our trip.

Dinner at a local restaurant along our way back to Cusco.

After arriving back in Cusco at roughly 8PM, we checked into the Palacio del Inka which was much nicer than the guest house we stayed at earlier in the trip.  This was made possible by my friend’s Marriott points so it always pays to collect.

Thankfully, Alpaca Expeditions was kind enough to accommodate our late arrival.  Our guide, San Juan, was waiting for us in the lobby where he gave us a full briefing of what the trek was going to be like and also gave us our green duffle bags where we had to pack everything that wasn’t going in our daypack.

While not ideal, the rest of the night ended up being a big scramble to repack everything we had.  In one bag, we had to shove everything we didn’t need on the Inca Trail to leave behind in the hotel.  And then we had to strategically pack our green duffle because we were only allowed 4kg of personal articles. We knew we didn’t have too much leeway here because the government would be weighing all porters upon entry.  Luckily the hotel had a scale in the bathroom so we kept taking turns weighing, finding out we had too much and then going back to remove more items.

Another thing we did was treat our clothes with Permethrin that night.  Late into the night, I was out on the balcony spraying all of our outerwear.  Since this was something that could last 6 weeks, we figured that it’d be smart for us to coat this for both the Inca Trail and Amazon Jungle.  This was recommended by our local store as something that was effective against mosquitos and wouldn’t have that corrosive effect that 100% deet has.

Sufficed to say, we ended up sleeping later than we had originally planned.

Day 6 to 9 – Inca Trail

Our Inca Trail experience as part of our 2 week Peru itinerary is quite well documented so there’s no point in rehashing everything.  Here’s a list of the posts where you’ll find a wealth of information:

• Ultimate Machu Picchu Inca Trail Planning Guide
• The Truth About Hiking the Inca Trail
• A Visual Journey Along the Inca Trail

Situated in the San Blas region of Cusco, we settled into the Apu Huascaran Hostel after arriving back in Cusco.  I booked this one off of Booking.com last minute and it turned out to be a great place to stay for the 4 of us with its loft style configuration.

Day 10 – Recovery in Cusco

The Inca Trail hike was both physically demanding and exhausting so it was quite the relief to know we had the next day to recover.  Especially with how things played out with my girlfriend twisting her ankle on the last day of the trek, I’m not sure how we would’ve gone on without a day to do nothing.  As for the rest of us, we all had some form of ailment that needed to be taken care of so this was well timed.

It was a lazy kind of day for us.  With nothing planned other than wanting to sleep in, those that were able to walked around Cusco to load up on supplies (ice, meds, snacks) and exchanged for a bit more Peruvian Soles.

A great brunch place we stumbled upon was Jack’s Cafe which had a great menu of Western breakfast items which was a nice change from all the Peruvian cuisine we’ve been having up until that point.

For dinner, we tried Green Point My Vegan Restaurant next door to our hotel which I’d highly recommend.  Healthy foods rarely taste as good as what we had here.

Day 11 to 14 – Amazon Jungle

Like my Inca Trail experience, I put together detailed guides on the Amazon Jungle.  Here’s everything you need to know about our stay at Refugio Amazonas:

• Ultimate Peru Amazon Jungle Planning Guide
• Amazon Jungle – Rugged Adventure Meets Comforts
• Peru Amazon Jungle – A Visual Journey

On our last day in the Amazon and to wrap up our 2 week Peru itinerary, this was was more or less a transit day where we caught a morning flight from Puerto Maldonado to Lima.

From the airport we cabbed to the Sheraton Lima Hotel & Convention Center where our friends were staying the night.  For the two of us, we used it as a place to drop off our bags and freshen up.

Since we were situated in the historical center of Lima, we had the opportunity to walk to wander through the colorful colonial architecture and shopping promenades for a low-key kind of afternoon.  This was also our last chance to pick up souvenirs so we did that as well.

For dinner, we ended up back in Miraflores to dine at Costazul Seafood.  The service was some of the best I had seen in Peru.  He accidentally tipped over my friend’s beer and he immediately apologized, cleaned everything up and then gave the whole table more bottles than we had originally ordered.  I also loved the local atmosphere here.  There was a family sitting behind us and at one point they brought out the guitar and broke into song and dance.  The ceviche here is not to be missed.

At this point, we found out that our 2:15AM flight back to Toronto was delayed a few hours so we head back to the Sheraton for a nap before getting one final cab to the Lima airport.

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