Five great and different experiences of Peru! This is a first class itinerary which gave us five 'mega day' experiences of Peru, each of which was quite different from the others: seeing the wonderful condors in Colca Canyon; visiting the families on a reed island in Lake Titicaca; walking the last part of the Inca Trail and seeing Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate; seeing the great colonial religious art and architecture in Cuzco and spending time in the rain forest on a tributary of the Amazon. These memorable experiences were separated by other days travelling through scenic landscapes, visiting interesting sites and staying in some great hotels. The Colca Lodge and ICH Lodge on the river were both wonderful. Bar one that I've reported to Exodus, the others were all solid four star hotels with comfortable rooms and good food and locations. The food in Peru is generally good and we had tasty lunches and dinners out. I'll pass on the guinea pig next time though!
An amazing wildlife experience This trip delivered in bucket loads. There was wildlife everywhere we looked. Copious capybara and caiman. Three fantastic sightings of jaguar (a mother and two cubs and two solitary jaguar) and three amazing sightings of giant otter groups. Birds everywhere including imperious jabiru storks, kingfishers, herons, hawks and jacana. And it was great to be in a remote location on the Paraguay River. Apart from the odd fisherman in small boats, there was only our boat and one other from the lodge on the water. Most of the time we had the river to ourselves. The second lodge is a little busier and not quite so remote, but we still saw lots of wildlife including tapir, collared peccary, crab-eating foxes and a stunning southern tamandua.
Amazing Trip in the Amazon, on the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu and Lake Titicaca. 3 nights in the Amazon were unbelievable, so much to see and do and our Amazon guide Roland was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. He made everything easy. Hiking the Inca Trail through the scenery of the Andes mountains was awesome and our guide Ollie was also amazing at looking after us and explaining the history of pre Inca civilisations and the Incas. Our home stay with villagers on Lake Titicaca was also a fantastic experience, watching the sunset and learning about their lifestyle on Amantani island. Also the time spent in Lima, Cusco and Puno was also very enjoyable for more of a city feel and they are beautiful cities.
