Quito to La Paz: Amazon & Ancient Cultures — Self-Launched

Land at Mariscal Sucre airport and take an official taxi or the Aeroservicios bus into the historic centre (~£4). Check into a hostel in La Mariscal or Centro Histórico, acclimatise gently at 2,850m, and join a free walking tour or simply wander Plaza Grande at dusk. Buy a local SIM (Claro/Movistar, ~£8) and pick up a waterproof poncho for the Amazon.

🚌Airport taxi/bus ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm, Centro Histórico (~£11/night)

• →Historic centre wander
• →Free walking tour (tip-based)
• →Local SIM setup

Take an early bus from Quito's Terminal Quitumbe to Tena (~6-7 hrs, ~£8). In Tena arrange a pickup truck or local taxi to Pimpilala community (~45 min, ~£6) and stay with a Quichua family in rustic wooden huts — many families offer full-board stays for ~£18-22/night including meals. Bring cash; there are no ATMs in the village.

🚌Bus Quito–Tena ~£8 + local truck ~£6

🛏Quichua family wooden hut, full board (~£20)

• →Scenic Andean-to-Amazon bus ride
• →Quichua community homestay

Spend the day with a local guide on rainforest nature walks, learning about medicinal plants, chonta palm, and Quichua traditions (~£10-15 for a guided walk). Optional afternoon at the Amazoonico-style animal rescue centre near Tena (~£8 entry) if you can arrange transport back to the road.

🚌On foot / local truck

🛏Quichua family hut, full board (~£20)

• →Guided rainforest nature walk
• →Medicinal plant talk
• →Optional animal rescue centre

Rent a bike locally (~£8/day) and cycle to Shandia with a community guide. Learn cacao processing and chocolate-making, eat a lunch of fresh local produce, and overnight at the community-run Shandia lodge (~£18-25 with meals, booked directly or via Tena tour offices).

🚌Bike rental ~£8

🛏Shandia community lodge (~£22)

• →Bike ride to Shandia
• →Cacao & chocolate demonstration
• →Community lodge overnight

Return to Tena and catch a bus south via Puyo to Baños (~4-5 hrs, ~£7). Baños sits beneath Tungurahua volcano at 1,800m — perfect for adrenaline. Settle into a hostel and book tomorrow's activities (canyoning ~£22, rafting ~£25, zipline ~£18, bike rental ~£5).

🚌Bus Tena–Baños ~£7

🛏Hostel dorm, Baños (~£10)

• →Bus through the Oriente foothills
• →Book adventure activities

Pick your poison: canyoning in the Cascadas de Chamana, white-water rafting on the Pastaza, or the Ruta de las Cascadas bike ride ending at the famous 'Swing at the End of the World' (~£2 entry). Evening soak in the Termas de la Virgen hot springs (~£3).

🚌Local buses/taxis ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm, Baños (~£10)

• →Canyoning or rafting
• →Ruta de las Cascadas bike ride
• →Hot springs

Bus to Cuenca (~6 hrs via Riobamba/Alausí, ~£9). The route passes Chimborazo and Cajas-adjacent highlands. Arrive and settle into a hostel in the colonial centre; the city's cobbled streets, flower markets and four rivers are a UNESCO site.

🚌Bus ~£9

🛏Hostel dorm, Cuenca (~£11)

• →Highland bus journey
• →Colonial centre stroll

Spend the day at the Museo Pumapungo (free) and the Inca ruins of Ingapirca (day trip ~£12 return) or just enjoy the markets. Catch an overnight bus towards the Peruvian border and on to Máncora (~12-14 hrs, ~£16-20) — book with a company that crosses at Huaquillas and issues the through ticket.

🚌Overnight bus ~£18

🛏Overnight bus

• →Museo Pumapungo
• →Optional Ingapirca ruins day trip

Wake up on the Peruvian coast. Máncora is a fishing village turned surf town — check into a beach hostel or hammock spot (~£9-14/night). Do the border crossing formalities en route; keep your passport handy. Spend the afternoon swimming and eating fresh ceviche (~£4).

🚌Local mototaxi ~£1

🛏Beach hostel (~£11)

• →Beach time
• →Ceviche lunch

Take a beginner surf lesson (~£15 for 2 hrs with board) or a beach yoga class (~£6). Otherwise it's a lazy day: hammock, smoothie bowls, sunset at Las Pocitas.

🚌On foot

🛏Beach hostel (~£11)

• →Surf lesson
• →Yoga class
• →Sunset at Las Pocitas

More beach time in the morning, then an overnight bus to Trujillo (~9 hrs, ~£12). Book a cama/semi-cama seat with Cruz del Sur or Oltursa for comfort.

🚌Overnight bus ~£12

🛏Overnight bus

• →Beach morning
• →Overnight coach

Visit the enormous adobe city of Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America (~£3 entry plus ~£3 local bus). Snap photos at the yellow colonial cathedral on Plaza de Armas, or take a combi to the surf village of Huanchaco for a reed-boat ride and ceviche.

🚌Local buses ~£5

🛏Hostel dorm, Trujillo (~£10)

• →Chan Chan archaeological site
• →Huanchaco beach
• →Plaza de Armas

Full day in Trujillo — the Museo de la Tumba Real at Huaca de la Luna is worth it (~£4). In the evening board an overnight bus to Lima (~9 hrs, ~£13).

🚌Overnight bus ~£13

🛏Overnight bus

• →Huaca de la Luna museum
• →Overnight coach to Lima

Arrive early and check into a hostel in Miraflores or Barranco (~£12). Wander bohemian Barranco's colourful mansions and street art, then a sunset pisco sour overlooking the Pacific (~£5). Eat ceviche at a mercado stall (~£4).

🚌Metropolitano bus ~£2

🛏Hostel dorm, Lima (~£12)

• →Barranco street-art walk
• →Pisco sour at sunset
• →Mercado ceviche

Take a Peruvian cooking class through GetYourGuide (~£35-45, 4 hrs, market visit included) or explore the Museo Larco (~£6) and Plaza de Armas. Evening in Miraflores' Parque Kennedy.

🚌Local buses/taxi ~£5

🛏Hostel dorm, Lima (~£12)

• →Peruvian cooking class
• →Museo Larco
• →Miraflores sunset walk

Bus to Ica (~4.5 hrs, ~£8) with Peru Hop or Cruz del Sur, then a short taxi to the Huacachina oasis (~£2). Book a sunset dune buggy and sandboarding tour (~£15-20 via GetYourGuide or on arrival).

🚌Bus ~£8 + taxi ~£2

🛏Hostel at the oasis (~£11)

• →Oasis arrival
• →Sunset dune buggy & sandboarding

Morning trip to the Ballestas Islands from Paracas to see sea lions and pelicans (~£20 boat tour; ~1 hr from Huacachina). Stop at a Pisco winery en route back (~£6 tasting), then an afternoon bus to Nazca (~3 hrs, ~£6).

🚌Bus Paracas–Nazca ~£6

🛏Hostel, Nazca (~£9)

• →Ballestas Islands boat tour
• →Pisco winery tasting
• →Bus to Nazca

Choose a light-aircraft flight over the Nazca Lines (~£80-100, plus ~£10 airport tax) or a cheaper desert cemetery and pottery tour (~£15). Try pachamanca (earth-oven) lunch (~£6). Evening overnight bus to Arequipa (~9 hrs, ~£15).

🚌Overnight bus ~£15

🛏Overnight bus

• →Nazca Lines flight or cemetery tour
• →Pachamanca lunch
• →Overnight coach

Arrive and check into a hostel near the plaza (~£10). Explore the Santa Catalina Monastery (~£9), walk the sillar-stone streets, and eat at a picantería — try rocoto relleno or adobo arequipeño (~£5).

🚌Local taxi ~£3

🛏Hostel dorm, Arequipa (~£10)

• →Santa Catalina Monastery
• →Picantería food crawl
• →Plaza de Armas

Join a 2-day Colca Canyon tour booked directly or via GetYourGuide (~£35-50 including transport, guide and one night in Chivay). Watch for vicuñas and alpacas on the altiplano, lunch in Chivay, and optionally soak in the La Calera hot springs (~£3).

🚌Tour minibus (included)

🛏Guesthouse, Chivay (included in tour)

• →Colca Valley viewpoints
• →Vicuña spotting
• →Hot springs

Early start to the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint to watch Andean condors rise on the thermals, then return to Arequipa with stops at villages and pre-Inca terraces. Evening out in Calle Zela.

🚌Tour minibus (included)

🛏Hostel dorm, Arequipa (~£10)

• →Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint
• →Village stops
• →Calle Zela night out

Free morning — the Museo Santuarios Andinos (Juanita ice maiden, ~£5) is excellent. In the evening take an overnight bus to Cusco (~10 hrs, ~£15). Book ahead in high season.

🚌Overnight bus ~£15

🛏Overnight bus

• →Museo Santuarios Andinos
• →Overnight coach

Arrive at 3,400m and take it slow. Check into a hostel in San Blas (~£10). Register your Inca Trail permit details with your local trek operator, buy a Boleto Turístico (~£18 for multiple sites) if you plan to use it, and drink coca tea. Free afternoon wandering the plazas.

🚌Local taxi ~£2

🛏Hostel dorm, Cusco (~£10)

• →San Blas wander
• →Coca tea & acclimatisation
• →Trek briefing

Optional full-day Rainbow Mountain trek at 5,036m (~£25-35 via GetYourGuide, 3am start) if you're well acclimatised, or a gentler day: Qorikancha (~£5), San Pedro market, and Cusco's cafes.

🚌Tour minibus or local bus ~£3

🛏Hostel dorm, Cusco (~£10)

• →Optional Rainbow Mountain trek
• →Qorikancha
• →San Pedro market

Collectivo from Cusco to Pisac (~£2, 1 hr) for the ruins and market, then on to Ollantaytambo (~£2) — a living Inca town with a dramatic fortress (~£6 entry). Book a weaving co-op visit in Ccaccaccollo (~£10) and try Sacred Valley craft beer (~£4). Overnight in Ollantaytambo to be near the trailhead.

🚌Collectivos ~£5

🛏Hostel dorm, Ollantaytambo (~£10)

• →Pisac ruins & market
• →Ollantaytambo fortress
• →Ccaccaccollo weaving co-op

Your 4-day Inca Trail permit (~£300-350 with a licensed local operator including guide, cook, porters, meals, permits and re-entry; book 4-6 months ahead as permits sell out) begins. Van to Km 82 and hike gently through the Urubamba valley past Llactapata to the first camp at Wayllabamba (3,000m).

🚌Operator van to Km 82 (included)

🛏Inca Trail camp (included)

• →Inca Trail hiking
• →Llactapata ruins
• →Camp at Wayllabamba

The hardest day: climb to Warmiwañusca (Dead Woman's Pass, 4,198m), the trail's high point, then descend to camp at Pacaymayo. Take it steady, drink water, and let the porters do the heavy lifting.

🚌On foot

🛏Inca Trail camp (included)

• →Dead Woman's Pass ascent
• →Cloud forest hiking

Cross the Runquraqay pass (3,950m) and a second pass at 3,700m with Cordillera Vilcabamba views, then descend through cloud forest past Phuyupatamarca ('town above the clouds') to camp near Wiñay Wayna (2,650m).

🚌On foot

🛏Inca Trail camp (included)

• →Runkurakay ruins
• →Phuyupatamarca
• →Wiñay Wayna ruins

Up at 3:30am to reach the Sun Gate for sunrise over Machu Picchu, then descend for a guided tour of the citadel (Circuit 3 for trail hikers, or book Circuit 2 in advance). Bus down to Aguas Calientes (~£10), then the PeruRail/Inca Rail train back to Ollantaytambo (~£45-60) and a collectivo to Cusco (~£3). Celebrate in Cusco.

🚌Bus ~£10 + train ~£50 + collectivo ~£3

🛏Hostel dorm, Cusco (~£10)

• →Sun Gate sunrise
• →Guided Machu Picchu tour
• →Train back to Cusco

Rest and recover. Visit the Inka Museum (~£4), Mercado San Pedro for a cheap menú del día (~£3), and a rooftop bar on the Plaza de Armas at sunset.

🚌On foot

🛏Hostel dorm, Cusco (~£10)

• →Inka Museum
• →San Pedro market
• →Rooftop sunset

Bus across the Altiplano to Puno on Lake Titicaca (~6-7 hrs, ~£15 with Cruz del Sur or Tour Perú; tourist buses with stops cost a bit more). Arrive at 3,800m — take it easy, and book a Lake Titicaca homestay for tomorrow.

🚌Bus ~£15

🛏Hostel dorm, Puno (~£9)

• →Altiplano bus journey
• →Lake Titicaca shoreline

Boat to Taquile Island to see the famous textile cooperatives and have lunch (~£5), then cross to Amantaní for a family homestay (~£25-35 including boat, meals and accommodation, booked via Puno agencies). Learn about highland rural life and share dinner with your host family.

🚌Shared boat (included)

🛏Amantaní family homestay (~£30 with meals and boat)

• →Taquile Island weaving co-ops
• →Amantaní homestay
• →Family dinner

Return via the floating Uros Islands (~£3 entry) with your boat. Back in Puno, optionally visit the Sillustani chullpa funeral towers (~£12 half-day tour) or rent a kayak on the lake (~£8).

🚌Tour bus/boat ~£10

🛏Hostel dorm, Puno (~£9)

• →Uros floating islands
• →Optional Sillustani tour
• →Lake kayaking

Full-day bus around Lake Titicaca and across the Bolivian border at Desaguadero or Kasani (~£15-20, 7-8 hrs; carry your exit/entry paperwork and a small border fee). Arrive in La Paz — the world's highest capital at 3,650m. Check into a hostel in Sopocachi or the historic centre and take the Mi Teleférico cable car (~£0.50).

🚌International bus ~£18

🛏Hostel dorm, La Paz (~£9)

• →Lake Titicaca border crossing
• →Mi Teleférico cable car
• →Sopocachi night out

If time allows, wander the Witches' Market and the Valle de la Luna (~£3), or book a Death Road bike descent for a final adrenaline hit (~£35). Head to El Alto airport for departure — note the ~£20-25 departure tax if not included in your ticket.

🚌Airport taxi ~£6

🛏—

• →Witches' Market
• →Optional Valle de la Luna
• →Airport transfer