Peru beyond Machu Picchu with Journey Latin America

Peru is one of South America's most popular tourist destinations and with the introduction of British Airways' direct flight to Lima earlier this year, there are no signs of any slowdown. Specialist tour operator Journey Latin America has launched three new Peru holidays that will take visitors off the crowded tourist track, swapping the busy Inca Trail with the Ausangate and Santa Cruz treks and substituting Machu Picchu with Kuelap – less crowded but equally stunning.

The 11-day Active Peru: The Ausangate trek holiday is a chance for guests to experience a lesser-visited part of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Beginning with two days of acclimatisation in Cusco, guests will enjoy a guided walking tour of the city and its surrounding Inca ruins before entering the Sacred Valley and visiting the Inca sites of Maras and Moray. At 6,384m, snow-clad Mount Ausangate is the highest mountain in the region and the five-day guided trek below its northern face is little trodden: en route through the Vilcanota range, guests will cross three high-altitude passes, with views of gigantic glaciers, icy lakes and jagged peaks. The area is full of wildlife, isolated farmsteads and traditional indigenous villages. Accommodation throughout the trek is in remote, basic but comfortable lodges run by the local communities.  The holiday costs £2,115 per person and includes good-value hotels and basic mountain lodges, transfers, domestic flights, excursions, full board during the trek and breakfast daily. International flights are extra.

The 10-day Active Peru: The Santa Cruz trek holiday is an awe-inspiring trip designed for experienced mountain or hill walkers who want to experience the beauty and solitude of Peru's northern Andes. The Cordillera Blanca is known for its plunging valleys dotted with glaciers and turquoise glacial lakes: the first two days of this holiday are a fantastic introduction to the region with time to acclimatise during a day at leisure in the town of Caraz and an excursion to the electric blue Laguna Parón, the largest lake in Huascarán National Park. The four-day guided Santa Cruz trek covers 40km of terrain and will see guests walking between 5km and 12km per day as they pass through ever-changing landscapes of snow-capped peaks, glittering lakes and sprawling valleys. Each night guests will camp in large tents, evening meals will be cooked for them and their luggage will be transported from camp to camp. The holiday costs £1,040 per person and includes good-value hotels, comfortable camping, transfers, excursions, full board during the trek and breakfast daily. International flights are extra.

The 15-day Treasures of Peru: The archaeological riches of the north holiday explores the history and culture of little-visited northern Peru. With at least as much to offer as the more celebrated south and with far fewer tourists, this holiday travels through deserts and mountains exploring sites such as the pre-Columbian ruins of Caral, believed to be the largest metropolis of the ancient Americas; the Chimú desert adobe city of Chan Chan; the mummies of Leymebamba; the cliff-side sarcophagi of Chachapoya warriors at Karajía; the pre-Inca walled city of Kuelap, known as the 'Machu Picchu of the north'; and the Moche sites of El Brujo and Sipán whose impressive museums house vast collections of relics and riches. Guests will also have time to enjoy a hike to Gocta Waterfall in the cloud forest of the mountainous Chachapoyas region, rich in birdlife and natural beauty. The holiday costs £3,995 per person and includes good-quality accommodation, transfers, excursions and breakfast daily. International flights are extra.

*Notes to the editor

• A cable-car linking Kuelap with the town of Nuevo Tingo is due to open by the end of 2016 and will reduce the journey time by approximately one hour and offer outstanding mountain views.

About Journey Latin America   

Journey Latin America is an award-winning tour operator with over 36 years of experience creating tailor-made holidays and group tours to all of Central and South America as well as Antarctica, Cuba and Mexico. The holiday firm has over 60 members of staff who have all lived, worked and/or travelled extensively throughout the region and as such can offer first-hand knowledge based on personal experience. All holidays are ATOL protected.

For more information on Journey Latin America visit www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk or telephone: 020 8600 1881

Press contacts:

Jenny Powles, Head of Press

Laura Rendell-Dunn, Press Manager

press@journeylatinamerica.co.uk

020 8747 1881