6 Week Peru Backpacking Itinerary
We visited Peru in between Bolivia and Ecuador (heading North), arriving mid feb and leaving late March. We loved Peru for it’s diversity. It has mountains, deserts, beaches, surf, rainforest and more.
It was beautiful, 6 weeks absolutely flew by.
Find all our Peru blog posts HERE
Itinerary:
Puno (2 nights)
Arequipa (3 nights)
Colca Canyon Trek (1 night)
Arequipa (1 night, after trek)
Cusco (7 nights)
Inca Trail/Machu Picchu Trek (3 nights, w/ Peru Treks)
Cusco (2 nights)
Huacachina (2 nights)
Punta Hermosa (2 nights) Surf town, skip unless looking for waves
Lima (2 nights)
Huanchaco (8 nights) Waited here for a surf board to be made for Sean. Groovy surf town if you’re into surfing, otherwise you can probably skip it.
Máncora (4 nights)
On the shores of Lake Titicaca lies the town of Puno. Though not much to do for a tourist in the city centre, there are a couple of cool day trips worth checking out.
Where We Stayed:
San Antonio Suites
– Hotel pretty close to the Plaza de Armas and the centre of town.
– Great breakfast buffet
What to do in Puno:
– Uros Floating Islands
– Taquile Island
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Arequipa is Peru’s second biggest city. It is known as the white city as many of it’s colonial buildings are built from local volcanic rock and sparkle in the sun.
The city is beautiful and on a clear day from the roof top of our hostel we could see 2 volcanoes near town. Pretty amazing view for eating breakfast.
Where We Stayed:
Mercarderes Backpackers
– Friendly staff
– Sizeable rooms
– Free breakfast!
What to do in Arequipa:
– Free walking tours!
– Colca Canyon trek (possible to DIY!)
6 hours outside of Arequipa is the Colca Canyon and valley, arguably the worlds 2nd deepest canyon (depending on where you get your information from). Check out our blog post on our Colca Canyon 2 Day trek.
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Famous for being the meeting point before embarking on the Inca Trail this cute town has lots to offer. With a great city centre and loads of ruins nearby you can be amused in Cusco for at least a week.
Where We Stayed:
Milhouse
– Free Breakfast
– Clean rooms
What to do in Cusco:
– Sacred Valley (visit ruins in a day trip or go and stay in villages)
– Hike to Saqsaywaman Ruins
– Free walking tours!
– Chocolate Museum
– The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (or another trek similar, i.e. The Salkantay)
Check out our post on The Inca Trail & Machu Picchu
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Groovy little oasis town outside of Ica. Not much to do except sand board and dune buggy but a fun stop nonetheless, I mean.. It’s an oasis!
Where We Stayed:
Carola del Sur
– Nothing special, a little attitude from one of the staff members (upgraded us without telling us and tried to overcharge us after..)
– Pet tortoise, super cute (and well loved)
– Good pool, very necessary as temperature in the desert are extreme during the day
What to do in Huacachina:
– Hike the sand dunes
– Sandboard
– Dune buggy
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Large city! We stayed in the classic touristy area, Miraflores. Nice city with great exercise areas and running paths all along the cliff!
Where We Stayed:
Loki
– Hated it!
– Got woken up at night by drunk staff pouring rum over us.. Not great. Definitely better hostels in the city!
What to do in Lima:
– Walk (or run) the cliffs!
– Visit the cat park (just a normal park full of random cats)
– Free walking tours
– Swim at the rocky and cold beach. Still a swim!
– Not sure, cities aren’t our thing and we really only had one day here.
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Small beach side town outside of Trujillo. We were only here for 8 nights because we were waiting for a surfboard to be made for Sean. Nothing special but a fun left hand beach break.
Where We Stayed:
Casa Fresh
– Fun!
– Good rooms with great staff
– Right across the road from the beach
What to do in Huanchaco:
– Surf
– Hike up to the church
- Eat ceviche
BLOG POST ON HUANCHACO HERE
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Small beach side town on the far north coast. Infamous for partying and drugs we found a sweet little getaway at Kontiki Bungalows. This was lucky as Sean ended up spending a night in hospital due to food poisoning!
We had heard mixed reviews about Mancora and weren’t sure what to expect. Some of the locals can be pretty heavy in and out of the water so best to stay out of their way.
Where We Stayed:
Kontiki Bungalows (see photos below, super stunning!)
– Amazing
– Best view from our entire trip
– Super friendly staff
What to do in Mancora:
– Surf
– Party
- Lay in the sun
BLOG POST ON MANCORA HERE
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And again, if you have any questions shoot us an email, leave a comment or contact us on Facebook at Facebook.com/looktheworldintheeye and we’ll get back to you ASAP!