Peru Panorama: Lake Titicaca & Machu Picchu by Train — Self-Launched

Land at Jorge Chávez Airport and take a taxi or Airport Express Lima bus (about £5) to Miraflores or the more bohemian Barranco. Check into a hostel near Parque Kennedy. Spend the afternoon walking the Malecón clifftop path and watching surfers at the beach below, then eat ceviche and lomo saltado at a local menu del día spot. Book your onward flight to Juliaca for tomorrow evening and buy a BEMBOS-free, cheap SIM (Bitel/Claro) at the airport or a kiosk.

🚌Airport bus/taxi from LIM ~£5

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, Miraflores/Barranco (£10-16)

• →Malecón cliff walk and Parque del Amor
• →Ceviche dinner in Miraflores or Barranco
• →Optional: Lima city walking tour (free-tour style, ~£3 tip)

Use the morning for the historic centre — Plaza de Mayo, the Santa Rosa de Lima convent and the catacombs below San Francisco church (£2 entry). Grab lunch in the Mercado Central. In the afternoon fly Lima to Juliaca (LATAM or Sky, roughly £45-65 booked ahead) — a 1h35 flight, rather than the 21-hour bus. From Juliaca airport, shared taxis or a colectivo to Puno take about 45-60 minutes for £4-6. Settle in, drink coca tea and take it easy at 3,800m.

🚌Flight Lima-Juliaca ~£50; taxi/colectivo Juliaca-Puno ~£5

🛏Hostal in Puno centre, near Plaza de Armas (£9-15)

• →Lima historic centre walk
• →San Francisco catacombs
• →Evening flight to Juliaca
• →Market dinner in Puno

Give yourself a proper acclimatisation day before the lake. Sleep in, then take a half-day afternoon trip to the Sillustani burial towers (chullpas) on the shores of Lake Umayo — book through any Puno tour office on the plaza for about £10-14 including transport and a guide, or a bit less by colectivo to Hatuncolla plus the £2.50 entrance. Back in Puno, eat trucha (trout) from the lake and book tomorrow's Lake Titicaca trip.

🚌Shared van to Sillustani ~£10

🛏Hostal in Puno centre (£9-15)

• →Sillustani burial towers half-day tour
• →Plaza de Armas market browsing
• →Trout dinner

Book a two-day/one-night Lake Titicaca tour with a Puno agency (roughly £35-50 all-in, including boat, guide, Uros entry and homestay with meals) — this is exactly what the group tour does, and it's sold direct to independent travellers all day long. Visit the Uros floating reed islands, learn how the totora islands are built, then continue 2.5 hours by slow boat to Amantaní. You'll be placed with a local Quechua family, eat quinoa soup and potatoes, and can hike up to Pachatata/Pachamama at sunset for a huge altiplano view.

🚌Shared tour boat from Puno (~2.5h)

🛏Family homestay on Amantaní (included in tour) with basic private room

• →Uros floating islands visit
• →Slow boat crossing to Amantaní
• →Homestay with local family
• →Sunset hike to Pachatata temple

Walk down to the family's fields after breakfast, then boat to Taquile Island — famous for its weavers' cooperative (UNESCO-listed textile tradition). Walk the island ridge trail (about 2 hours on a stone path at 4,000m) and have lunch with a Taquile family. Return to Puno by late afternoon. Alternatively, swap to a kayak trip on the lake from Puno if you'd rather paddle than walk. Evening bus tickets for Cusco can be bought on the plaza.

🚌Tour boat back to Puno; walking

🛏Hostal in Puno centre (£9-15)

• →Taquile Island ridge walk
• →Taquile weavers' cooperative
• →Optional Lake Titicaca kayaking (~£15)

Buy a first-class seat on a Cruz del Sur or Oltursa bus from Puno to Cusco (10 hours, about £15-20 for VIP — reclining seats, meals, movies). It's a spectacular ride: you cross the La Raya pass at 4,338m, roll through the altiplano with alpacas and vicuñas, and can hop out briefly at the Pukara museum stop. Alternatively fly Juliaca-Cusco for ~£40 if you're short on time. Arrive in Cusco by evening, check into a hostel in San Blas, and buy your Sacred Valley/Machu Picchu combo arrangements tomorrow.

🚌Cruz del Sur/Oltursa VIP bus Puno-Cusco ~£17

🛏Hostel/hostal in San Blas, Cusco (£10-16)

• →Scenic altiplano bus ride via La Raya pass
• →Pukara archaeological site stop
• →San Blas evening wander

Free walking tours leave Plaza de Armas at 10am and 2pm daily (tip-based, £3-5); they'll take you through the Cathedral, Qorikancha, the San Blas artisan quarter and the Sapantiana aqueduct staircase area. Buy a partial tourist ticket (Boleto Turístico Parcial, ~£12) if you plan to visit several ruins and museums. In the afternoon, book your Machu Picchu entry (machupicchu.gob.pe or via Klook), your train ticket (Inca Rail or PeruRail from Ollantaytambo, ~£55-90 return) and a Sacred Valley shared tour for tomorrow. Eat at a menu-del-día spot and be in bed early.

🚌Walking

🛏Hostel/hostal in San Blas, Cusco (£10-16)

• →Free walking tour of Cusco
• →Qorikancha (Temple of the Sun) ~£3
• →San Blas artisan streets
• →Book Machu Picchu + train tickets

Join a full-day Sacred Valley shared tour (bookable on GetYourGuide or via any Cusco agency, roughly £20-30 including transport and guide, entry fees extra). This covers Pisac ruins and its huge Sunday-through-Tuesday market, the Ccaccaccollo women's weaving co-op (where the Planeterra-supported centre still sells textiles and demonstrates dyeing and backstrap weaving — you can buy direct and support the same community), a pottery-making demonstration, and Ollantaytambo's terraces. Consider lunch at the Parwa community restaurant in Lamay, run independently and open to walk-ins. Stay overnight in Ollantaytambo rather than returning to Cusco.

🚌Shared tour van (~£25), all day

🛏Guesthouse in Ollantaytambo (£10-16)

• →Pisac ruins and market
• →Ccaccaccollo women's weaving co-op
• →Pottery-making demonstration
• →Ollantaytambo ruins at golden hour

Hire a local driver or take a colectivo-plus-taxi combo from Ollantaytambo for the morning to reach Maras (the thousands-of-years-old salt evaporation pans, entry ~£1.50) and Moray (the circular Inca agricultural terraces, ~£4 with the tourist ticket). Independent travellers do this constantly — a private taxi for 4-5 hours costs about £25-35 for the vehicle, split between two or three of you. Stop at Chinchero on the way back for more weaving and the colonial church on Inca foundations. Afternoon back in Ollantaytambo: climb the 200 steps to the Pinkuylluna storehouses for the sunset view, and have a chicha at a local chichería.

🚌Shared taxi ~£10 per person

🛏Guesthouse in Ollantaytambo (£10-16)

• →Maras salt pans
• →Moray circular terraces
• →Chinchero ruins and market
• →Pinkuylluna storehouses hike

Walk the Ollantaytambo ruins in the morning (entry included with your Boleto Turístico or ~£8 standalone). Then catch an afternoon Inca Rail or PeruRail Vistadome/Expedition service to Aguas Calientes — about 1.5 hours through the Urubamba gorge, ~£55 one-way if booked on the operator's site directly. Check into a guesthouse, then walk to the Machu Picchu Museum (entry ~£6), Mandor Waterfalls (~£4) or the butterfly garden. Finish with a soak in the Baños Termales hot pools (~£4) and an early dinner.

🚌Train Ollantaytambo-Aguas Calientes ~£55

🛏Guesthouse in Aguas Calientes (£12-20)

• →Ollantaytambo ruins
• →Scenic train to Aguas Calientes
• →Machu Picchu Museum or Mandor Waterfalls
• →Hot springs

Take the first Consettur bus up to the citadel (about £9 each way) or walk the 1,700 steps up from town. Your timed entry ticket (~£38-45 on the official site or via Klook) covers one of the circuits; independently you'll usually be assigned Circuit 1 or 2. A licensed guide can be hired at the gate for about £20-25 for two hours — split it with anyone else waiting. Consider adding Huayna Picchu or Montana Machu Picchu if you booked early (extra ~£15). Take the afternoon train back to Ollantaytambo and a shared van or bus on to Cusco in the evening.

🚌Consettur bus ~£18 return; train ~£55; van Ollantaytambo-Cusco ~£4

🛏Hostel/hostal in San Blas, Cusco (£10-16)

• →Machu Picchu sunrise entry
• →Licensed local guide at the gate
• →Optional Huayna Picchu climb
• →Return train to Ollantaytambo

Choose your own adventure. The Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) day trip is bookable through any Cusco agency or GetYourGuide for about £22-30 including transport, breakfast and lunch, with a 3am start and a 5,000m summit — book through a reputable operator and check the altitude warnings. Alternatively take a Peruvian cooking class (about £25-35, market visit and ceviche/pisco sour prep), mountain bike around the Sacred Valley, or just potter around the San Pedro market and the Inka Museum (~£2).

🚌Tour van or walking

🛏Hostel/hostal in San Blas, Cusco (£10-16)

• →Rainbow Mountain day hike (~£25)
• →or Peruvian cooking class (~£30)
• →or mountain biking
• →San Pedro market and Inka Museum

Morning flight Cusco-Puerto Maldonado (LATAM or Sky, ~£45-60, 45 minutes). Independent travellers can book a 3-day/2-night Tambopata jungle lodge directly — lodges like Posada Amazonas (community-owned), Refugio Amazonas, Sandoval Lake Lodge and Taricaya run about £110-160 per person all-in for two nights with all meals, guides, boat transfers and excursions. That's the same product the group tour sells at the G Lodge. Motorised canoe down the Madre de Dios and Tambopata rivers. After dark, take a night walk with a naturalist guide looking for tarantulas, tree frogs and snakes.

🚌Flight CUS-PEM ~£50; lodge boat transfer included

🛏Tambopata jungle lodge, dorm or private room, all-inclusive (£55-80/night)

• →Flight to Puerto Maldonado
• →Canoe transfer to jungle lodge
• →Guided night walk

Up before dawn for a parrot and macaw clay-lick or canopy observation tower visit — this is when the wildlife shows. After breakfast, hike to an oxbow lake and paddle a catamaran among giant river otters and hoatzins, learning about medicinal plants from your guide (these are the same excursions the group lodge runs). Afternoon siesta, then an evening motorised-canoe caiman-spotting cruise along the riverbank with a headtorch — you'll see their eyes flash red in the beam.

🚌Canoe and walking with lodge guides

🛏Tambopata jungle lodge, all-inclusive (£55-80/night)

• →Dawn macaw clay-lick or canopy tower
• →Oxbow lake catamaran and wildlife spotting
• →Medicinal plant walk
• →Night caiman-spotting cruise

Early morning boat back to Puerto Maldonado, then your flight to Lima (about £45-60, 1h40). If you have time before your international connection, store bags at the airport or in Miraflores and grab a last ceviche. International flights home are not included in this budget.

🚌Lodge boat + flight PEM-LIM ~£52

🛏None (departure day) — or a hostel if you have a late flight (~£12)

• →Dawn river boat out
• →Flight to Lima
• →Optional last Lima meal