WHY THIS TRIP?
The beautiful “White City” of Arequipa and the nearby Colca Canyon is the perfect place to start or finish a trip to Peru. The exploration of Arequipa and the Colca Canyon is ideal for acclimatising oneself to the rarefied air of the Andes or for relaxing in hot-springs following your Amazonas Explorer adventure. The road to Puno has now improved sufficiently to make the overland journey to Puno and Lake Titicaca a viable extension.
LOCAL OPERATOR: AMAZONAS EXPLORER
For more than 30 years Amazonas Explorer has used a different approach in leading high-quality trips and adventures in South America. While the company had its beginnings in adventure tourism, its success in building a strong team of knowledgeable guides has enhanced its ability to offer a range of innovative cultural tours. By raft, bike, foot, horse and even paddleboard, travelers are immersed in their surroundings to explore in unique ways the highlights of southern Peru, the company’s home turf. Every adventure with Amazonas Explorer is treated with impeccable care and top-notch services, all focused on the client’s comfort and safety.
Elise E –
It was a fantastic trip- the people, culture, food, history and spectacular scenery were great. The itinerary worked out perfectly and wouldn’t change a thing- except probably the night in Agua Calientes. The local Amazonas guides really made the history and their country come alive to us. It was a much more enriching trip because of them.
Loved Casa Andina in Arequipa and lodge in Colca Canyon; and we booked ourselves, but fyi- the Tambo del Inka is one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at globally. I’d go back to all these hotels in a second. Next time would just do day trip from Tambo to Machu Picchu because the train is so easy from there- and the night in Aqua Calientes was miserable from the noise and wasn’t worth the hassle as was totally fogged in the morning so didn’t see the sunrise anyway. I have a feeling that is more often the case than not (Machu Picchu being foggy in the morning); not a problem, just not worth the lack of sleep and moving hotels to catch the sunrise in my opinion unless the weather is more predictable at other times of the year. There are lots of people at Machu Picchu but I must say I was really impressed with how organized they were getting them up, in and out so wasn’t as aggravating as I was expecting at all and was quite painless surprisingly. Seeing the condors was really neat- and our hike along the canyon rim afterwards was great.
everything was organized and ran so completely smoothly it was impressive. I must make a note of how impressed we were with the drivers along with the guides. The drivers were all so professional, pleasant and extremely safe (we noticed some other tour companies where the driving was not that safe) and were thankful to be with ours for sure. They also took such pride in their work and literally cleaned the car while we were stretching our legs at a rest stop. Impressive.
Very impressed with Amazonas