Machu Picchu & Galapagos

• Accommodation: 14 Classic nights (hotels, lodges and guesthouses)
• Travel by flight, minibus, train and boat
• Group normally 6 to 16, plus leader. Minimum age: 16
• Optional one-day Inca Trail hike (request on booking)

Hotel breakfasts are normally buffets with toast, cereal, eggs, fruits and tea/coffee. Please note, we cannot guarantee wheat-/gluten-free products are available for breakfasts in all locations in Peru – you may wish to bring your own breakfast food if you have an intolerance. The included lunches are usually a set menu with two or three options. If you hike the Inca Trail, you also have a packed lunch that day. Peru: Food and drink can vary in price enormously in Peru. As a guideline, allow about US$25-US$28 per meal to eat at good restaurants (excluding alcohol). Cheaper food is abundant at small cafes, although sanitary conditions cannot be guaranteed. Bottled water and soft drinks are available for around US$2-US$4. Ecuador and Galapagos: Drinks and incidentals are quite expensive in the Galapagos, as everything is imported from the mainland. Please note, the choice of meals in some areas of the Galapagos can be limited but special dietary requirements can usually be catered for if we are advised at the time of booking. When flying to and from the Galapagos, snacks are usually included on the flights. Budget for around US$20-US$25 per meal.

Cuzco and the Andes: April to November is the dry season. Expect strong sunshine in the mornings, sometimes clouding over as the day progresses. However, as in all mountains, the weather is variable at all times of year in the Andes, which includes cloud rolling up from the Amazon basin, rain or even snow, and rapid and unexpected changes! During the dry season, temperatures can dip at night to around the freezing mark (and sometimes below).

Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu: Within the cloud forest, these experience experience large amounts of precipitation all year as clouds move up from the Amazon Basin. Rain can be heavy but is seldom prolonged.

Quito: Maximum daytime temperatures are almost constant throughout the year at 20C (68F), nights 8C (46F). Expect some rain in February to May and October to November; storms, though heavy, are generally short, and Quito is considered to have quite a pleasant climate.

Galapagos: You can visit at any time of year, though the weather patterns are complicated and cannot be reduced to easy formulas. The weather is controlled by the two main ocean currents of the region: the Humboldt, bringing cold water from the Antarctic, and El Niño, which brings tropical water from the Gulf of Panama. How close to the Galapagos they converge (which varies from year to year) is the key to the weather.

Dry season (normally late May to early December): In this period, it is not necessarily dry, as there is a persistent light mist (garua) and often light drizzle, and the higher mountain slopes are covered in cloud and fog or rain. The winds are in the southeast and are higher than at other times, so seas can sometimes be choppy – anyone worried about seasickness might be better advised to avoid it. Daytime maximum temperatures lie between 27C and 31C (81F and 88F), the cooler months being July to November. In July and August, the fairly strong winds introduce a chill factor, and it can feel quite cold at nights, though throughout the year the official night temperatures vary between 19C and 24C (66F and 75F).

Wet season: Depending on how close the convergence of the two currents comes to Galapagos, there may or may not be a wet season from January to April or May. Approximately every seven years, El Niño hits the islands and there are heavy rains in these months. In other years, rain usually falls sporadically from otherwise clear skies. The ocean temperatures are higher, with generally calm seas and strong sunshine: pleasant, but potentially very hot. Apart from an El Niño year, the weather is usually better from December/January to April/May than at other times even if there is some rain, and most people would regard these months as the best time to go.

This trip is rated Activity Level 3 (Moderate). For more information on our trip gradings, visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip, please contact us.

Walks: This trip spends time at altitude. Though you do not need to be particularly fit, there is some walking on rough ground and sharp rocks due to the volcanic nature of the Galapagos. The ability to withstand high temperatures and swim will increase your enjoyment of the trip.

Itinerary: It is not always possible to follow a strict schedule due to weather and sea conditions – sometimes it is better to do the planned activities in a different order (but almost always on the same day as the activity is planned).

Important information on Inca Trail Permit availability: Access to the Inca Trail is strictly limited to 500 people a day, including support staff, and we will purchase the requisite Inca Trail Permit on your behalf. Permits are issued from October each year on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis; to avoid ‘stockpiling’, individual traveller passport details are required at the time of application, so we can only apply for these once you book with us. For these reasons, we highly recommend you book your Inca Trail trip as far in advance as possible.

Therefore, while a specific departure date may show as ‘Guaranteed’ on our website, Inca Trail Permits remain subject to availability, and we cannot guarantee they will be available on any given date.

In the event permits are sold out for the departure you are looking at, we will discuss alternative options such as a different travel date, alternative trek or a refund of any monies paid. We highly recommend you do not book any non-refundable flights until your place and permit are secured. If you are in the UK, booking your flights through Exodus means we take care of all of this for you, giving you full peace of mind over your Inca Trail arrangements. For more details on booking flights with us, see our flights page.

Please note, it is essential you read the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu regulations in the Important Information section of the Trip Notes before you book this trip. 

Flights: Flights between Peru and Ecuador are included in your trip based on a set flight schedule and cost. Depending on flight availability at the time of booking, there may be a supplement to pay. If applicable, this will be communicated to you at the time of booking.