Peru is a unique country, blessed by extreme and different landscapes. You can find a glorious sea with generous waves and beautiful beaches stuck to endless deserts from south to north. Close to them, a mountain range slowly fades into mangroves, jungle, and a mystical river, the Amazon, in its east extreme.
Precisely, Cusco is south of this mountain range, on one side of the Amazon strip. Therefore, visiting Machu Picchu and moving the following day to the Amazon jungle to host exotic eco-lodges is totally possible. Therefore, with Machu Travel Peru experts, we bring you the best Amazon tours from Cusco! We invite you to explore this magic green universe.
Some of the best Amazon tours from Cusco
- Puerto Maldonado from Cusco
- Iquitos from Cusco
- 4D – 3N Tambopata National Reserve
- 6D – 5N North Peruvian Amazon
Puerto Maldonado from Cusco
Among the many Amazon tours from Cusco, there will surely be the option of visiting it through Puerto Maldonado. Puerto Maldonado is one of the most popular cities within the Peruvian Amazon. There, you have two great options to explore and visit: the Tambopata or Manu National Park. These two areas host a fascinating amount of Amazon wildlife to observe and take photos of.
Since, geographically, Puerto Maldonado is located next to Cusco. The flight from the imperial city to it takes less than an hour.
Iquitos from Cusco
Iquitos is the other entrance door to the fantastic Amazon. From the Imperial City, you can take a quick flight to Lima and then to Iquitos.
This city is close to the largest river in the world, the Amazon. Besides it, be one of the largest cities inaccessible by land. The only way to get here is by the planet.
Due to the size of the city and the many things to do in Iquitos, it is recommended to take 3 days or more to get to know everything. Beautiful eco-lodges, luxurious cruises, active nightlife, and much more will make this one of the best trips of your life.
4D / 3N in the Tambopata National Reserve
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Puerto Maldonado hosts the fabulous Tambopata National Reserve in the Amazon. The Tambopata area is located on the Madre de Dios River. The river is full of aquatic life, and you can see the amazing caiman crocodile, giant otters river, monkeys, birds, and jaguars, among others. In this sense, our first recommendation is an experience in the jungle in this area of 4 days and 3 nights.
Day 1: Cusco – Puerto Maldonado
Arrive in Puerto Maldonado and start living the adventure in the jungle! After an unforgettable day in the ancient capital of the Incas. You will go to the Cusco airport to take a direct flight to Puerto Maldonado. Usually, there are two daily flights.
The first flight departs at 11:55 am and gets at 12:55 pm. The second flights depart at 14:25 pm and arrive in Puerto Maldonado at 15:25 pm. Once you arrive in Puerto Maldonado, transportation will pick you up to move to the Captain’s port, where you will take a fast boat heading to the jungle inside.
There, the personnel of the lodge will welcome you. And after a delicious dinner, the lodge’s guides will take you on a wonderful night walk. Finally, the activities will end.
Day 2: Sandoval Lake
On this day, you will be able to explore a magic lake in the middle of the Amazon. The Sandoval Lake is a natural paradise that hosts fantastic animals like giant river otters, the fearsome black caiman, and piranhas. Accompanied by adequate professional guides, you’ll explore this paradise safely.
In the afternoon, you will climb up observation towers to get a complete view of the Peruvian Amazon cloud forest. At night, you can take a walk by the Amazon river banks.
Day 3: Oxbow Lake
On this day, you’ll go to Inkaterra Bio Organic Garden, where you’ll learn about the tropical plants of the forest and their medicinal uses, according to the ancient knowledge of Amazon’s local communities.
Next, we’ll visit the Palmetum. This is a local collection of several Amazon palm species for their conservation and refurbishment.
You’ll enjoy paddling a wooden canoe on the oxbow lake. This oxbow lake has a horseshoe shape and is formed by the branches of the old meander of the Madre de Dios River. There, you will appreciate Shanshos, flycatchers, and gray-necked cataras while listening in the distance to the songs of howler monkeys.
At sunset, you’ll enjoy paddling a wooden canoe on the oxbow lake. This oxbow lake has a horseshoe shape and is formed by the branches of the old meander of the Madre de Dios River.
There, you will appreciate clay lick and shanshos, flycatchers, and gray-necked cataracts while listening in the distance to the songs of howler monkeys.
Day 4: Out
Many tour operators have it all covered on the last day of your Amazon experience. Around mid-morning, the transport of the travel agency will pick you up from your lodge and take you along the Madre de Dios River to Puerto Maldonado.
In the city, a shuttle will pick you up and take you to the airport of Puerto Maldonado, ending your unforgettable trip to the Peruvian Amazon.
6D / 5N in the north of the Peruvian Amazon
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The other great entrance door to the north Peruvian jungle is the north extreme city of the city. From this point, you’ll begin your unforgettable experience in another form. We refer to navigating on a luxury cruise through the calm waters of the Amazon River. Following, we present you a common itinerary in this part of the Amazon.
Day 1: Cusco – Lima
Unfortunately, there are no direct flights from Cusco to Iquitos. In this sense, you’ll have to take a flight to Lima. Happily, there are many scheduled flights. On this day, you will have to spend a night in the Peruvian capital.
Of course, you can take advantage in the afternoon to take a city tour in the center of Lima. On the city tour, you’ll enjoy the main square, San Martin Square, and the amazing San Francisco catacombs.
Day 2: Lima – Iquitos
On this day, the transport of your travel agent will pick you up from the hotel heading to Lima airport. At this point, you will take a direct flight to Iquitos. The fight schedules from Lima to Iquitos are many. In this sense, when you arrive in the north jungle Peruvian city, a person will be waiting for you at the arrivals lounge area of Iquitos airport.
He will transport you to the Iquitos historic center for a fabulous city tour. After, you will be moved to the Nauta port town, 90 minutes from Iquitos. There, you will embark on your awesome luxury cruise on the same Amazon river. The cruise crew will welcome you, they’ll show you your room cabin (more similar to a suite).
Of course, a fabulous dinner on board will be crowned on this fantastic day.
Day 3: Pacaya Samiria National Reserve
Your amazing adventure will begin with a boat rider over the Amazon River heading to Caño Belluda. In the dry season, this area offers the possibility of visits to dry forests and flooded forests. The fauna that you will see there will be unique. Also, you can practice bird watching by seeing Hummingbirds, woodpeckers, pygmy marmosets, snail kites, sunbirds, and even blackbirds.
By the way, the Amazon rainy season goes from April to October. Instead, during the Rainy Season, from November to March, you will see monkeys, parrots, macaws, Morpho butterflies, a variety of falcons, such as the “laughing falcon”.
In the afternoon, you will be able to fish Piranhas in the Rio Dorado (Gold River).
Day 4: Zapote and Pacaya rivers
On this day, you will be able to practice Kayak over the calm waters of the Zapote River. During the experience, you’ll appreciate the Giant and prehistoric iguanas resting on some dry logs under the strong sun, very close to the river and squirrel monkeys.
After this experience, you can take a walk on the river bank. In the afternoon, you will visit the Pacaya River, and you will even be able to swim in its calm waters.
Day 5: Amazon Native Community
At Lake Clavero, you can swim in its calm waters and navigate it in friendly boats. In the afternoon, on the Yarapa River, you can practice kayaking and observe fantastic fauna.
Late in the afternoon, you can interact with a native Amazonian community. The local people from the town near Puerto Miguel will share their customs and healing rituals with you.
Day 6: Out
After wonderful days in the jungle, your cruise ship will dock in the town of Nauta. Then a transport will take you by land to the airport in Iquitos to take a transport to Lima. End of services.
STOP BEING AFRAID OF WHAT COULD GO WRONG, AND FOCUS ON WHAT COULD GO RIGHT
As you may have noticed, there are many options for magical destinations full of wildlife for your next tour. And starting with The Imperial City will make your trip a much more incredible one. Do not miss this incredible opportunity to know everything that Peru has to offer.
Remember that if you are looking to learn more about our tours around the Andean country, you can consult with our team of qualified advisers. They will be happy to help you schedule the trip of your dreams. Together with Machu Travel Peru, we look forward to your early visit to Peru.
