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Peru Vacations - Lake Titicaca or the Amazon?

Author: Gary Sargent - Escaped to Peru / Escaped to Latin America

Peru is an extremely diverse country, with a distinct coastal desert, mountain and jungle regions. It is also a large country and travelling around it can take a long time. A common problem when planning a Peru vacation is deciding which parts of Peru to visit.

Choices may get difficult when you only have time to visit either the beautiful Lake Titicaca or the mysterious Amazon jungle region, bursting with wildlife. If you choose both, you may need to take up extra valuable vacation time, so you may be best to pick one and stick with it. But which one? Use the following 4 steps to help you decide.

Step One: What else do you want to see in Peru?
Perhaps you’ve got a burning desire to see other things in the South of the country; Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu. If this is the case, Lake Titicaca is en route so you’ll spend less time on the road and more time visiting those destinations. The Tambopata Amazon Reserve around Puerto Maldonado is also quick and easy to access from Cusco by a short flight.

On the other hand if you’d like to investigate the Moche culture in the north, do some surfing or go hiking in the Cordillera Blanca, you’ll find that the northern Amazon around Iquitos is much closer.

Have a look at a map of Peru and plot out the locations that you’d like to visit...that will greatly help you make the decision.

Step Two: Think of activities
What do you want to do on your Peru vacation? The country offers activity tours (hiking, surfing, mountain biking, climbing), cultural and archaeological tours (Machu Picchu, the Nazca Lines), and wildlife tours (Iquitos, Puerto Maldonado) to name but a few options.

If wildlife is your thing, a visit to the jungle will present you with more species of flora and fauna that you can shake a stick at (and probably will). However, the cultural aspect of Lake Titicaca and the traditional ways of the people that still inhabit the lake could make a trip there the more attractive option.

Step Three: Will you take a custom tour or group tour?
Are you travelling with your family, in a group, or solo? These factors can affect your choice of tour provider.

Group tour providers offer a range of fixed routes and schedules, generally at a lower cost because group sizes are larger. It may be that you are limited by your group tour schedule, which will dictate if you visit the Amazon or Lake Titicaca.

If you choose a custom tour operator, you’ll have a lot more flexibility to choose your itinerary and route, so the previous steps will be much more important for your decision. By choosing a custom tour operator you can of course combine whichever elements you desire. If you are travelling as a family, custom tours may be your best option.

Step Four: Research
Now the best part - with all these things in mind, get someone else to do the research and see if combining Lake Titicaca or the Amazon is possible!

Contact a tour operator and let them know the details of all the things you’ve figured out above. They can provide suggestions to make your 10 day plans realistic and provide you with costs. The whole process is obligation free, so you’ll basically get expert advice planning your Peru vacation.

Have you visited the Amazon and Lake Titicaca? Which was your favorite?

Gary Sargent is the Managing Director of the Cusco-based Tour Companies Escaped to Latin America and Escaped to Peru which offer custom vacation packages and tours from Mexico to Patagonia. The team at Escaped To Latin America has over 15 years experience in all things Latino. If you would like to recieve our Free Monthly Newsletter please CLICK HERE!