FAQs

What you pack depends on where you are going and what activities you are doing.

Peru has a wide variety of climates, due largely to the huge altitudinal range it covers. On the coast or in the jungle it might hit the high 30s, while on the same day it could be less than zero on the high treks in the Andes.

During the day hopefully, it will be generally sunny enough for shorts and T-shirts, though having a fleece and rain gear handy is advisable.

It will get cold, especially in the evenings (as low as -5°C/-9°F if your trip involves camping in the mountains) so bring a warm fleece jacket, a good waterproof and some warm clothes including thermal underwear, gloves, a scarf, and woolly hat as well as one set of smarter clothes for Cusco.

Machu Picchu does have some sand-flies and clients are advised to wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts to avoid bites.

Although we provide water throughout, we highly recommend bringing a filter bottle, as this allows you to easily filter water yourself in your hotel, in the airport, anywhere in fact. This is one we have a good relationship with.

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GENERAL

Cultural

•  Smart clothes for nightlife
•  Comfortable clothes for journeys
• Warm night-clothes
• Sunglasses with retaining string
• Hat for the sun
• Water-bottle
• Head Torch
• Suntan lotion Factor 40+ / lip balm
• Personal toilet kit
• Book, notepaper & pen
• Camera & spare memory
•  Money belt
• Personal first aid kit to include painkillers, plasters (band-aids), moleskin, antiseptic cream, after-bite, anti-diarrhea tablets, throat lozenges, re-hydration salts & personal medication. (we carry an extensive first aid kit and oxygen on all trips, but these are generally for emergencies only)

Machu Picchu

• Trekking trousers
•  Long-sleeved T-shirt
• Raincoat / poncho
• Shoes with a good grip
• Day-sack ( put things inside a plastic bag inside it)
• Insect repellent
• NOTE- Trekking-poles are not allowed unless you need them ( old age or illness)

TREKS

We recommend you split your luggage into three parts:

a)  Daypack

• You will need a day-sack of approximately 30 litres/8 Gallons capacity to carry your personal belongings whilst trekking.
• These items include water, snacks, camera, sun-block, insect repellent,
• Essential clothing .. warm-hat, gloves, sun-hat, sun-glasses, jumper, waterproof jacket & waterproof-trousers, thermal underwear.
• While the weight of what you carry in your daypack is up to you, the lighter it is, the more pleasant your trek will be.

b) Main luggage to be left behind

• Any non-trekking equipment such as heavy suitcases, travelling clothes, Cusco evening wear, books should be left in secure deposit in the hotel in Cusco.
• If you are staying in a different hotel post to pre-trek, then your guide will arrange for the luggage to be moved.

c) OVER-NIGHT CAMPING EQUIPMENT.

Your over-night camping gear should contain:

• Evening warm clothes
• Spare trekking clothes
• Sleeping bag
• Wash-bag, etc

Here the two treks differ:

LARES TREK.

• Your over-night camping gear will be transported to the campsite each night in the support vehicle.
• Technically we limit this to 12 kilos/26.5 lbs, but again the less you can bring the more space will be in the vehicle and your tent.
• We will then provide a soft 40 liter/10.6-gallon kit bag for your overnight clothes and a plastic bag for your sleeping bag.
• On arrival to the Ollantaytambo train station, the luggage can be split further.
• Any sleeping bags, dirty trekking clothes or warm kit can return to Cusco, leaving just hand luggage and your day-sack to go to Machu Picchu.

INCA TRAIL

• On the Inca Trail, your over-night camping bags are carried by porters
• Each porter is limited to 20kg/44 lbs and the number of porters per group is also limited
• As a result, your overnight bag is strictly limited to 5kg/11 lbs maximum per person
•  The porters’ packs are weighed at several stations en-route so this is strongly enforced.
• We will provide a soft 40 litre/10.6 gallon kit bag for your over-night clothes and a plastic bag for your sleeping bag.
• The 5kg/11 lbs can be achieved by sensible packing of two sets of trekking clothes, a spare T-shirt, one set of evening warm clothes and limited toiletries.
• If you need to take more weight you must carry it yourself

Inca Trail packing list

• Sleeping bag (0°C / 32°F)
• Trekking trousers
• Shorts ( or can use zip-off trousers)
• Long-sleeved T-shirts
• Thin fleece or jumper
• Warm fleece or down jacket
• Warm hat, gloves, scarf
• Socks/underwear
• Thermal underwear
• Raincoat / rain trousers / poncho
• After trekking trousers & t-shirt
• Good, well worn-in hiking shoes or boots
• After trek shoes  or sandals
•  Small Towel
• Trekking-poles & rubber tips
• Day-sack & rain-cover
• Insect repellent
• Sun cream and lip salve

Choquequirao  or Ausangate packing list

Ausangate can get very cold at night

Choquequirao, which can get very hot during the day

• Sleeping bag (0°C / 32°F for Choquequirao), (-5°C / 23°F or -10°C / 14°F for Ausangate)
• Trekking trousers
• Shorts ( or can use zip-off trousers)
• Long-sleeved T-shirts
• Thin fleece or jumper
• Warm fleece or down jacket
• Warm hat, gloves, scarf
• Socks/underwear
• Thermal underwear
• Raincoat / rain trousers / poncho
• After trekking trousers & t-shirt
• Good, well worn-in hiking shoes or boots
• After trek shoes  or sandals
•  Small Towel
• Trekking-poles & rubber tips
• Day-sack & rain-cover
• Insect repellent
• Sun cream and lip salve
• Swimming costume

Lares Trek plus One Day Inca Trail packing list

The Lares trek has a weight restriction of 12kg in the support vehicle. In Ollantaytambo, after the Lares Trek, your baggage will be reduced further to a 5kg / 11lbs overnight bag for the Machu Picchu Hotel. The camping gear will return to Cusco to await your arrival there.

• Sleeping bag (-5°C/ 23°F)
• Trekking trousers
• Shorts ( or can use zip-off trousers)
• Long-sleeved T-shirts
• Thin fleece or jumper
• Warm fleece or down jacket
• Warm hat, gloves, scarf
• Socks/underwear
• Thermal underwear
• Raincoat / rain trousers / poncho
• After trekking trousers & t-shirt
• Good, well worn-in hiking shoes or boots
• After trek shoes  or sandals
•  Small Towel
• Trekking-poles & rubber tips
• Day-sack & rain-cover
• Insect repellent
• Sun cream and lip salve
• Swimming costume

Multisport

 Watersport  1D – Raft  – kayak –SUP

Water-sports: wet suits, splash jackets, life jackets, helmets, and wetsuit boots are provided.

• Thermal top
• Swimsuit
• Towel
• Sun cream
• Insect repellant
• optional compact camera ( guide can put in a waterproof box)

Apurimac River Rafting

In the Apurimac canyon, both on and off the river, we recommend you wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers to avoid the strong tropical sun and persistent sand-flies.

Wet suits, splash jackets, and wetsuit boots are provided. We also provide dry bags to store your gear in and Pelican cases for cameras whilst on the rafts.

• Long-sleeve Thermal top for under the wetsuit
• Swimsuit
• Small Towel
• Sleeping bag / Sheet (0ºC / 32°F)
• Post river change of clothes (lightweight and long-sleeved)
• Sleepwear
• Thin fleece jumper
• Beach shoes – Old trainers / Tevas & socks
• Headtorch
• Insect repellent (High DEET)
• After-bite
• Suntan lotion factor 40+ / Aftersun
• Lip-balm
• Sunglasses with string or strap to attach to your head
• Peaked cap
• Water bottle with retaining string
• Book, pen & paper
• optional camera & spare battery & sufficient memory
• Personal toilet kit
• Spare contact lenses / Glasses
• Personal first aid kit to include painkillers, plasters (band-aids), moleskin, antiseptic cream, after-bite, anti-diarrhoea tablets, throat lozenges, re-hydration salts & personal medication. (We carry an extensive first aid kit on all trips, but this is generally for emergencies only)

Mountain Biking/ Ebiking 1 Day

Biking: full-suspension mountain bikes, bike helmets & gloves are provided.

• Long-sleeved T-shirt
•  Cycling shorts
• Fleece jacket
• Suitable footwear                                                       –

Bike 3 D & Bike Manu

Biking:

• Water Bottle / Camel-bak
• Biking T-shirts (long-sleeved)
• Raincoat / rain trousers / poncho
• Bike Shorts
• Biking trousers ( optional to protect against insects)

Singletrack biking

• Mountain bike      (Quality, double-suspension, down-hill bike) …optional hire
• Helmet (Full-face recommended)
• Glasses / goggles
• Biking gloves (Short & long-fingered)
• Bike Shorts
• Biking trousers ( optional)
•  SPDs pedals / shoes / Toe clips /DH Shoes
• Water Bottle / Camel-Bak
• Biking T-shirts (long-sleeved)
• Raincoat / rain trousers / poncho
• Full body armour – recommended
• Basic repair kit: pump, spare inner tubes, and brake pads
• (We provide a general toolkit on all trips, but please bring any specialist spare parts for your bike with you)

AMAZON

Tambopata River Rafting

On the Tambopata river expedition, we will be experiencing all extremes of Peruvian climate, from freezing Altiplano to the steamy rainforest. In the jungle, both on and off the river, we recommend you wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers to avoid the strong tropical sun and persistent sand-flies. Baggage that is not required on the river, will return with the support vehicle to meet you at the end in Pto Maldonado.

General:

• Comfortable clothes for journeys
• Smart clothes for towns
• Peaked cap
• Socks/underwear
• Sunglasses with retaining string
• Water bottle ( perhaps with filter)
• Suntan lotion factor 15+ /Aftersun
• Lip-balm

Puno / 4WD:

• Trekking trousers
• Long-sleeved T-shirts
• Warm fleece or down jacket
• Warm hat, gloves, scarf
• Raincoat
• Good worn-in hiking shoes or boots

Rafting: Helmets, Life-jackets and splash jackets are provided

• Complete thermals (top & long John’s)
• River Shorts (fast drying)
• River sandals / old trainers
• Socks for under sandals- (insect protection)
• After river change of clothes & shoes (light weight and long sleeved)
• Spare set of clean clothes for jungle lodge
• Swimsuit 
• Raincoat / Poncho
• Fleece jacket
• Insect Repellent (High DEET) 
• Head torch & spare batteries
• Sleeping bag (0ºC / 32°F) & sleeping sheet
• Small towel
• Synthetic thermals are far superior to cotton shirts. Cotton has no thermal properties when wet and tends to rot in the jungle.
• Note: Light-coloured clothes do not attract the sand-flies as much as dark-coloured clothes

Personal gear:

• Binoculars
• Pocket knife
• Spare Glasses / Lenses
• Camera
• Money belt
• Book, Notepaper & Pen (optional)
• Personal toilet kit
• Personal first aid kit to include: painkillers, plasters, moleskin, anti-septic cream, after-bite, anti-histamine, anti-diarrhoea tablets, throat lozenges, re-hydration salts & personal medication.  (We carry an extensive first aid kit & oxygen on all trips, but these are generally for emergencies only)

Lodges

• Clean set of long sleeved, light weight shirt & trousers for evenings
• Fleece jacket
• Boots for walking in the day  (Wellingtons in rainy season Nov-April)
• Change of shoes or sandals and socks for evenings
• Rain coat
• Peaked hat
• Binoculars 
• Filter Water-bottle
• Suntan lotion & Aftersun
• Sunglasses/lenses with retaining string
• Sun-hat with retaining string for boat rides
• Personal toiletries and medication
• Camera with sufficient memory cards and batteries
• Strong flash-light  / head-torch
• Insect repellent & After-bite

GENERAL NOTES

• Huayna Picchu peak entrance is not included in your Inca Trail permit. If you wish to climb this peak it requires an extra, limited-availability permit. The cost is approximately US$80 and you should let us know at the time of booking.
• We recommend trekkers take around six hundred soles in local currency for any emergencies and expenses in Machu Picchu.
• We have an extensive tipping document available. If you have not received this from your agent or have misplaced your document please ask your guide for a copy to be provided from the office.
• At every hotel check-in and at your trip briefing, you will be requested to provide your passport to be photo-copied. This is required, by law, for tax purposes.
• We implement a ‘porter protection policy’ that ensures all porters are well treated, paid, insured, fed and looked after. We are a B-Corp that benefits the staff, community and environment.
• Most good quality sporting equipment is unavailable in Peru so if anyone wishes to donate any outdoor clothes, sleeping bags etc they will be gratefully received by any of our staff.
• We support a local native-tree re-forestation program ecoanperu.org and together have planted over one million trees since 2007. We are dedicated to reducing our ‘foot-print’ by reducing waste, sourcing produce as locally as possible, recycling and discouraging the use of plastic bottles.
• We support travelersagainstplastic.org. We have pledged to discourage the use of single-use plastic water bottles. We encourage our clients to bring their own refillable filter-bottles for trips.

SAFETY RESPONSIBILITY OF PASSENGERS:

Clients travelling with Amazonas Explorer are expected to abide by certain basic safety rules including:

• Informing the guide of any medical condition or any other factors that may affect your or anyone else’s safety.
• Respecting the guide’s decisions.
• Being responsible and taking care of individual equipment that is assigned to them.
• Keeping covered to avoid sun exposure and insect bites.
• Drinking plenty of water to avoid sunstroke and dehydration.
• Understanding that you are entering National parks and there are certain rules concerning, litter, restricted areas, waste and wildlife that you must abide by.
• Being honest with yourself concerning how comfortable you are and if your limits are being pushed.
• Advising your guide if any medical emergency arises that it left untreated could jeopardize the safety of the entire group.
• Seat-belts are a legal requirement in all transport in Peru. Clients should ensure they use them or let the guide know if they do not function.

AND LASTLY:

This trip travels through a remote and rarely visited part of Peru and we believe our clients should be aware that the remoteness that makes the Inca Trail so very special could also cause certain problems.

Thus, whilst we endeavour to minimise the chances of anything unexpected happening, it has to be noted that no itinerary can or should be rigidly adhered to. This is the very nature of Adventure Travel and we expect our clients to be prepared for delays and slight alterations in our programmed events.

The Inca Trail involves trekking over several high passes up to 4200m / 13780 feet and involves some very steep descents on old Inca steps-it is recommended that all clients should have some previous trekking experience and should be in reasonable fitness.

There are also some exposed sections of trail that trekkers with severe vertigo will not enjoy. Please note last minute international and internal flight changes, train times changes, also excess baggage charges are out of our control.

In all cases, we will advise you of any changes in the itinerary as early as possible. We have taken all these possibilities into account when planning this expedition and have allowed sufficient leeway to enable us to successfully run this exceptional trip.

The majority of dietary and medical requirements can be catered for, but we must be notified of these at the time of booking. Obtaining the correct vaccinations and visas required for Peru is the individual passenger’s responsibility.

You should also be aware that adventure travel, in particular, trekking, white-water rafting, inflatable canoeing, mountain biking and travelling in remote areas such as Southern Peru, does carry with it certain inherent risks that you, the client, will have to assume.

You will have to take out adequate travel insurance to cover these risks and any costs incurred due to sickness, delayed flights and other factors are out of our control.

Specific to Rafting is the possibility of delays due to the difficulty in reaching the river. Should we deem the rafting portion of the river to be too high to be safely navigated we reserve the right to offer an alternative river.

A pre-departure meeting will be held on the day before departure. It is highly recommended you attend. All clients will be asked to sign a risk assumption form and must provide a photocopy of their passport, Peru entry stamp and details of their travel insurance.

We look forward to seeing you in Peru.

The official language is Spanish. Quechua, the language of the Incas, has finally received some official status and is widely used in the mountains. Aymara is the language of the mountain people of Lake Titicaca and Bolivia. The jungle tribes have their own dialects.

English is not widely spoken outside the tourist industry & the normal tourist routes.

The Peruvian New Sol is the current currency. US Dollars can be used in most restaurants (at a poorer exchange rate). UK pounds and Euros are not recommended.
Current exchange rates:

1GBP = 4.5 soles  and 1US$ = 3.75 Soles (correct as of June 2022)

All large towns and airports have ATM’s that accept Credit (Visa preferred) & normal bank cards (Connect, Cirrus).

Banks will accept paper credit card withdrawals – but the hours and queues are annoyingly unsociable.

Money-changing houses are available in all towns. US Dollars are the preferred currency; GB Sterling is not widely accepted.

Out of towns try to have as many small coins and notes as possible as change is not widely available.

Tipping in Peru

This is a rough guideline to try and help you work out how much you should tip. Remember that tipping is entirely voluntary and how much you give depends on how you feel about the service you have received. (The main exception to this is Inca trail porters where a tip is expected).

As a background, Peru has a minimum salary of 1025 Nuevo Soles (US$277) monthly for a 6 day 48 hour week. However in many of the lower paid jobs (eg waiters, porters etc) this is not always honoured.

3.7 Peruvian Soles to the US Dollar, this makes S/.1 roughly the equivalent of GBP £0.21, USD$0.27 and EUR 0.24. (GBP £1 : PEN S/. 4.69).

Airport Baggage Handlers

Strictly this is not a tip as these people make their living by carrying your luggage from the carousel to your bus. The general rule is between two to five soles per bag.

Hotel Staff:

If the hotel staff are helpful and friendly a tip of roughly two / three Soles per bag for the porters helping carry bags to your room and for the breakfast staff leave on the breakfast table a tip of roughly five Sol per person per breakfast. In many hotels this is not expected but the staff will be grateful.

Drivers

Generally, drivers doing transfers from the airport to the hotel or vice versa don’t expect tips.

However, if you have a driver for a few days then it is generally expected to tip. Again the service supplied (ie did he drive safely, did he help with luggage, was he friendly) should determine the size of the tip. A reasonable average would be a total of 10-60 Soles a day in total from the group.

Specialist Guides

On many trips you will have a number of specialist guides e.g. jungle, rafting, biking, Colca Canyon or Lake Titicaca guides.

In most instances these guides have spent a number of years studying at Colleges or Universities to qualify as guides. Generally these guides will be with you for a few days but sometimes just for a day trip.

As a general guideline it would be expected to tip each specialist guide 70-170 Soles a day in total from the group.

Again the group size, depth of knowledge of their area or specialist skill, command of English and friendliness should help determine the tip. Any assistant guides should receive roughly half the amount of the main guide’s tip.

Inca Trail

The Inca trail, where you will be supported by a full crew of cooks, assistants and a host of porters etc, is far more complicated to organise in terms of tipping.

We recommend that each client contributes 100-300 soles (30-90 US$) into a pot and following the advice of the guide divide it out between the crew of cooks, waiters and porters.

Note: This is one location where tipping is expected.

The general consensus as a percentage of the pot is approximate:  20% Cook, 17% Head-porter, 15% Waiter, 13% Assistant Cook, 13% Toilet manager, 22% split between the normal porters.

The number of porters varies:

Vehicle or Mule Supporte Treks (Lares, Ausangate, Salkantay, etc)

On treks where there is not the same number of staff as the Inca Trail, but there are muleteers, cooks, cooks assistants etc, we recommend that each client contributes around 25-50s/ per day of trekking.

For example, for a 4 day Lares trek it would be suitable to tip 100-250s/ (30-75 US$), whilst an 8 day Choquequirao trek would warrant around 150-500s/ (45-150 US$) of tips.

This should again be pooled into a central pot and then with the advice of the guide divided between the crew. As on the Inca Trail, the cook and head porter, head muleteer gets a larger percentage of the pot.

For tipping the actual trail guides and assistant guides we recommend following the advice for specialist guides above.

Tour Conductors

On some of our bigger tours you will be accompanied by a Tour Conductor who will help deal with all the small problems that crop up when travelling in a foreign, non-English speaking country.

Again it would be expected that the group would tip the tour conductor around 40-200 soles per day. The group size, their friendliness, patience, availability and ability to resolve your problems should help determine their tip.

Restaurants

As with most places in the world it is normal to tip in restaurants if the service was reasonable and the food good. A tip of 5% would be adequate, 10% is normal and 15% would be considered excellent.

Summary

We hope you find the above information useful and do remember this information is a general guide and that tipping is VOLUNTARY.

A doctor should always be consulted for the latest information and what is suitable for you. or you can check these medical websites, Travel Health Pro
and Fit For Travel

Note if you are flying onto or transiting through certain other countries, they may require you have a valid Yellow Fever Certificate if you have been to any area of Peru they deem to be at risk of Yellow Fever.

People have been stopped from boarding the plane which transited through Brasil, and on another occasion boarding a plane to Costa Rica, despite not having been to any yellow fever area in Peru.

Most of the adventure trips are at altitudes greater than 2,800m / 9186 feet above sea level where altitude effects can be felt.

Altitude can aggravate some pre-existing medical condition. Travellers with anaemia, lung conditions, heart conditions, aneurisms, thrombosis and high blood pressure should check with their doctors before undertaking travel at altitude.

All dietary requirements from vegans, Lacto-allergies and general dislikes can be catered for so long as prior warning is given when booking the trip.

Please bear in mind that many of our adventures such as trekking require all food to be carried, by person or horse. So there are limits to what we can carry. If on a group tour, your cook is also catering for a number of other people, so their time is limited.

1 Carnal
2 El Charrúa
3 Osso Carnicería & Salumeria
4 El Hornero
5 La Carreta
6 La Cuadra de Salvador Steakhouse
7 La Cabrera
8 El Parrillón de Pablo Profumo
9 Dondoh
10 La Tranquera

2. Best Chinese/ chifa in Lima 
1 Titi
2 Madam Tusan
3 Hou Wha
4 O-Mei
5 Wa Lok
6 Internacional
7 Royal
8 Salón Capón
9 Lung Fung
10 Kuo Wha
3. Best Italian restaurant in Lima

1 Symposium
2 La Trattoria Di Mambrino
3 San Ceferino
4 Osteria Convivium
5 Dánica
6 La Bodega de la Trattoria
7 Don Vito
8 La Linterna
9 El Italiano
10 Antica Pizzería
4. Best Japanese/ Peruvian- Japanese ( Nikkei) restaurant in Lima

1 Maido
2 Osaka
3 Costanera 700
4 Hanzo Peruvian Japanese Cuisine
5 Edo Sushi Bar
6 Matsuei
7 Toshi Restaurante Nikkei
8 Dondoh
9 Ache
10 Tzuru
5. Best Criolla restaurants in Lima

1 Isolina, Taberna Peruana
2 Fiesta Chiclayo Gourmet Lima
3 José Antonio
4 Panchita – Sazón Criolla
5 Huaca Pucllana
6 Brujas de Cachiche
7 El Rincón que No Conoces
8 La Picantería
9 El Grifo
10 El Señorío de Sulco
6. Best contemporary Peruvian cuisine restaurants in Lima

1 Rafael
2 Central
3 Amoramar
4 Astrid & Gastón
5 La Gloria
6 Cosme
7 Malabar
8 IK
9 Huaca Pucllana
10 Maras

7. Best restaurants for regional cuisine in Lima ( of other regions of Peru)
1 Fiesta Chiclayo Gourmet
2 Amaz
3 El Rocoto
4 El Rincón que no Conoces
5 Don Fernando
6 Huancahuasi
7 El Aguajal
8 El Rinconcito Arequipeño
9 El Tarwi
10 La Paisana

8.Best world food restaurants in Lima 

1 Café Delifrance
2 La Bonbonniere
3 Jerónimo
4 La Tiendecita Blanca
5 Siam Thai Cuisine
6 La Cucharita
7 LaEñe
8 La Fondue
9 Club Suizo
10 Viet, a taste of Vietnam

9. Best fish and seafood restaurants in Lima
1 Costanera 700
2 El Mercado
3 La Mar
4 Pescados Capitales
5 Amoramar
6 Francesco
7 La Picanteria
8 La Red
9 Chez Wong
10 El Kapallaq

10. Best Lima country restaurants in Lima ( type of place you escape the city for Sunday lunch to)

1 La Gloria del Campo
2 Granja Azul
3 Chaxras, Eco Restaurante
4 La Casa de Don Cucho
5 La Ladrillera
6 Balcón del Cielo
7 Kusina Pachacamac
8 Casabierta – Hacienda Mamacona
9 Chalet Belga
10 Los Altos de Mamacona

11. Best café style restaurants in Lima

1 La Tiendecita Blanca
2 Gianfranco Caffé
3 San Antonio
4 La Bombonniere
5 Delifrance
6 Café de Lima
7 El Pan de la Chola
8 Dánica
9 Dolce Capriccio
10 Ana Avellana

12. Best bar/ lounge style restaurants in Lima

1 Bottega Dasso
2 Hotel B
3 Cala
4 La Cucharita
5 Bravo Restobar
6 Bar Olé
7 Lima 27
8 Ayahuasca
9 Antigua Bodega D (La Dalmacia)
10 La 73

The office may be contacted directly in case of emergencies. There are numerous Internet cafes in Cusco for e-mailing home, direct dial phone cards are widely available and telephone calls can be made from most hotels.

Tri-band cellular phones also work in the major cities. On remote expeditions we carry a satellite phone but this is exclusively for emergency use. Wi-Fi is available in most major towns.

The minimum age for the most adventure trips is sixteen years. Occasionally younger clients can be taken prior previous consultation with Amazonas Explorer.
Private trips can be arranged for passengers and friends under sixteen years old.

There is no maximum age limit but individuals are asked to be realistic of their capabilities when choosing an adventure trip.

Family trips are specifically aimed at ten to eighteen years olds travelling with their parents. However we can customize family trips for just about any age and even have equipment for babies and toddlers if required/ we can even provide nannies and baby sitters.

0700 Wakeup call and time to pack up gear and tents.

0800 Breakfast and load support truck.

0830 Begin Biking

1230 – 1330 Lunch break

1530 Stop Biking & set up camp

1800 Dinner

This itinerary is flexible depending on the weather and group health.

0700 Wake-up call and time to pack up your gear.

0800 Breakfast whilst guides load kit on the rafts.

0830-0900 Begin rafting

1100 Snack time

1230 – 1330 Lunch break

1530 Stop rafting and set up camp

1800 Dinner

Rafting is at the speed deemed safe by the raft guides at the water conditions at the time. Plenty of time is allowed for portaging/walking the rapids deemed too dangerous to run.

We pride ourselves on our high guide to passenger staff ratio. Optimal weather and water conditions would give four or six passengers in paddle rafts (raft size depending).

We do not pack eight people into any raft. In high water Oar frames are used for extra safety, these may have two or four passengers. Tail frames are also often used to provide more safety.

Wake up call at 0600 with a cup of tea and bowl of water for washing. You then have one hour to pack up your rucksack before breakfast at 0700. This enables the porters to take down your tents whilst you are eating.

0730 Start trekking.

1100 Snack break

1230 – 1330 Lunch break

1530 Arrival at camp. The porters will have set up camp and have hot drinks and snacks waiting.

1800 Three-course dinner and hot drinks

Trekking is at a leisurely pace with plenty of time for rests and exploring the ruins on route. This itinerary is flexible depending on the weather and group health.

From wonderfully differing backgrounds and countries, our genuinely small groups of 4 – 16 clients, typically share a passion for the outdoors, a healthy appetite for adventure and a love of the good life. No previous experience is necessary for any of our trips unless specified in the adventure.

Camping toilets and toilet tents are provided on all but the remotest expeditions.

On the rafting the river is generally used for washing and clean water supplied for drinking and teeth brushing.

On the Inca trail bowls of hot water are supplied in the morning and night. Clean hand washing water is available at all meal times.

Turn Right at Machu Picchu – Mark Adams

The White Rock – Hugh Thomson

Cochineal Red – Hugh Thomson

The Biking Birder 2016- A Green Birding Quest for 300– Gary Prescott ( Gary is donating one tree to our Lares reforestation project for every book sold).

Trekking in Peru- Hilary Bradt and Kathy Jarvis

Inca Gold – Clive Cussler

Manu – Andre Baertschi & Kim MacQuarrie

Exploring Cusco – Peter Frost

Heart of the Amazon – Yossi Ghinsberg

Running the Amazon – Joe Kane

A Neo-tropical Companion -John C. Kricher

Last days of the Incas – Kim MacQuarrie

Where the Andes meets the Amazon – Kim MacQuarrie and Jordi Blassi

Realm of the Incas – Max Milligan

Inca Kola – Matthew Parris

Birds of Peru (Princeton Field Guides) – Thomas S. Schulenberg

The bridge of San Luis Rey – Thornton Wilder

Touching the Void – Joe Simpson

Into the forests of the night – John Simpson

Field guide to the birds of Machu Picchu – Barry Walker

The Inca Trail, Cusco & Machu Picchu, including High Inca Trail, Salkantay Trek, Lares Trail, Choquequirao and Ausangate Treks and Lima City Guide’ by Trailblazer Guide Books