Andes to Amazon

This spectacular descent from Peru's Andean mountains through cloudforest and down into the rainforest takes in some of the cultural, historic and natural highlights of this glorious country. It is a wonderful trip for seeing the legendary Inca sites, the colonial cities and rural villages as well as the bird life, plant life and wildlife of these diverse regions and ecosystems.

You start in the former capital of the Inca empire, Cusco, with its wealth of ancient Inca architecture and Spanish colonial buildings, then you head to the Sacred Valley, travelling through rural towns and villages en route. You'll have plenty of time to absorb the culture of the region, explore historic sites, and shop for handicrafts etc., before you take a train journey through the Andes to the lost city of the Incas, Machu Picchu. Then you descend through a rich variety of landscapes to the Amazon basin.

You will see valleys at high altitude where farmers eke a living from this tough terrain, grasslands and elfin forest, the unique cloudforest, tropical valleys where fruits and coca are cultivated, and you'll end in the prolific, lush Amazon rainforest. You'll stay in lodges in fantastic locations, including Manu Wildlife Centre, which is in one of the bio hotspots of the world and offers some truly amazing wildlife viewing. You'll travel by road, by train and by boat and return from the forest by plane before enjoying a day in cosmopolitan Lima. This is a cultural, nature and wildlife adventure par excellence and one with a real sense of journey.