Machu Picchu and the Amazon in One Trip: Order, Days and Flights
Yes, you can see Machu Picchu and the Amazon rainforest in one trip, and it is easier than most people expect: the Tambopata rainforest is reached through Puerto Maldonado, a flight of 45 minutes to 1 hour from Cusco or about 1 h 30 min from Lima. With 8 days you can do Cusco, Machu Picchu and three days in the jungle; with 10 days you add the Sacred Valley and a slower pace. Most travellers do the Andes first and finish in the rainforest, and the season that suits both is June to September. We are a local agency in Cusco: we do not sell a fixed Amazon tour on this site, but we build combined trips around our Machu Picchu packages. Below we explain the order, the days, the flights and the practical details we discuss with every traveller who asks us for this combination. For the reserve itself, read our Tambopata guide.
Machu Picchu and the Amazon at a glance
| Cusco and Machu Picchu | Tambopata rainforest | |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway | Cusco airport | Puerto Maldonado airport, then road and boat to a lodge |
| Altitude | Cusco 3,400 m (11,150 ft); Machu Picchu 2,430 m (7,970 ft) | Under 200 m: lowland Amazon |
| Climate | Cool to cold, strong sun, cold nights | Hot and humid all year, with occasional cold fronts |
| Dry season | May to September | June to September |
| Days to plan | 4 to 6 (Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu) | 3 to 4 (2 nights minimum) |
| Flights | Lima to Cusco, then Cusco to Puerto Maldonado: 45 min to 1 h | Lima to Puerto Maldonado: about 1 h 30 min |
| Main health point | Altitude | Mosquitoes; yellow fever vaccine recommended |
Can you combine Machu Picchu and the Amazon in one trip?
You can, and it is one of the most rewarding ways to see Peru, because in a little over a week you go from Inca stonework in the high Andes to a lowland rainforest lake full of birds. The reason it works is geography and flights. The southern Peruvian Amazon, around Puerto Maldonado in the Madre de Dios region, is close to Cusco in a straight line, and there are direct flights between the two cities. That means you do not need to go back to Lima to change planes, and you do not lose a day in transit.
There are other jungle regions in Peru, such as the northern Amazon around Iquitos, but from Cusco the logical choice is Tambopata. It is the closest rainforest with a good choice of lodges, it has a protected area managed by SERNANP (the Tambopata National Reserve), and the river trip from Puerto Maldonado is short enough that you are watching wildlife on your first afternoon.
What makes the combination demanding is not distance but contrast. You pack for frost in Cusco and for 30-degree humidity in the jungle; you deal with altitude in the Andes and with mosquitoes in the lowlands; you sleep in a city hotel and then in a lodge where electricity may run only a few hours a day. None of this is difficult if you plan for it, and that is what the rest of this article is about.
Altitude first or jungle first: which order is better?
This is the question we are asked most, and the honest answer is that both orders work, but for different reasons. A popular claim online is that you should go to the jungle first "to rest before the altitude". That is not quite right: Puerto Maldonado is at sea-level altitudes, so a few days there do nothing to acclimatise you to Cusco. Whenever you arrive in Cusco, your body starts adapting from zero.
Andes first, jungle last is the order most of our travellers choose, and the one we usually recommend. You fly Lima to Cusco, spend your first days acclimatising in Cusco and the Sacred Valley (which is lower than the city), visit Machu Picchu, return to Cusco and fly to Puerto Maldonado. The rainforest becomes the relaxed end of the trip: warm, low and easy on the lungs after a week at altitude. From Puerto Maldonado you fly straight back to Lima for your international connection.
Jungle first, Andes last makes sense in two cases. The first is if you arrive in Lima tired from a long flight and prefer to start somewhere hot and low before the effort of Cusco. The second is if your trip ends with something in the Andes you do not want to rush, such as a trek or Lake Titicaca. In that version you fly Lima to Puerto Maldonado, spend three days in the jungle, fly Puerto Maldonado to Cusco and finish with Cusco and Machu Picchu. Just remember that the first night in Cusco will feel the same as if you had come straight from Lima.
What we advise against is splitting the Andes in two, for example Cusco, then the jungle, then back to Cusco for Machu Picchu. You would have to re-acclimatise and you would add an extra flight for no real gain. Whatever order you choose, read our guide to altitude sickness in Cusco before you go: it is the part of the trip that most affects how you feel.
How many days do you need for Machu Picchu and the Amazon?
Think of the trip as two blocks. The Andes block needs at least four days on the ground: one to arrive and adjust in Cusco, one for the Sacred Valley on the way to Aguas Calientes, one for Machu Picchu and the return, and one for Cusco itself. Five or six days is more comfortable, because the first day at altitude is not a day to do much.
The jungle block needs at least three days and two nights. Lodge programmes are built around the river: on the first day you fly in, travel by road and boat, and often do a first walk or a night activity; the second day is the full day, usually with Lake Sandoval or a clay lick; on the third morning you have an early activity and head back to Puerto Maldonado for your flight. With four days and three nights you add a second full day, which is what you need if you want to reach one of the more distant clay licks or simply see more wildlife. Programmes of two days exist, but most of that time is spent travelling.
Add one day at the start for your arrival in Lima, and the realistic minimum is 8 days for Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu and Tambopata. 10 days is the length we suggest when people ask us, because it leaves room for the Sacred Valley and a slower first day at altitude. With 12 days or more you can add Lake Titicaca, the Paracas coast or a trek. If you are still deciding how long your whole trip should be, our 10 days in Peru itinerary and 7 days in Peru itinerary show how we plan the Andes part in detail.
Sample 8-day Machu Picchu and Amazon itinerary
| Day | Where | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lima | Arrive in Lima; short visit to the city or rest |
| 2 | Cusco | Fly to Cusco; easy afternoon walk to acclimatise |
| 3 | Sacred Valley | Sacred Valley sites; train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes |
| 4 | Machu Picchu | Guided visit to Machu Picchu; train and transfer back to Cusco |
| 5 | Tambopata | Fly Cusco to Puerto Maldonado; road and boat to the lodge; afternoon walk or night activity |
| 6 | Tambopata | Full day: Lake Sandoval by canoe, forest trails, night walk |
| 7 | Tambopata | Early wildlife activity; free time at the lodge |
| 8 | Lima | Boat and transfer to Puerto Maldonado; fly to Lima for your connection |
Sample 10-day Machu Picchu and Amazon itinerary
| Day | Where | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lima | Arrive in Lima; historic centre or Miraflores |
| 2 | Cusco | Fly to Cusco; rest, then a gentle walk around the centre |
| 3 | Cusco | City tour: Qorikancha, the cathedral and the ruins above the city |
| 4 | Sacred Valley | Pisac, the valley and an overnight in the Sacred Valley |
| 5 | Aguas Calientes | Ollantaytambo; train to Aguas Calientes |
| 6 | Machu Picchu | Morning visit to Machu Picchu; train back to Cusco |
| 7 | Tambopata | Fly to Puerto Maldonado; boat to the lodge; afternoon trail |
| 8 | Tambopata | Lake Sandoval, canoe and observation points; night walk |
| 9 | Tambopata | Clay lick or canopy activity; river trip at dusk to look for caimans |
| 10 | Lima | Fly Puerto Maldonado to Lima; end of the trip or connection home |
How to adapt these itineraries
The Andes part of both tables follows the logic of our 7-day Peru tour and our 9-day Peru tour, which also includes Ica and the coast. Neither package includes the jungle, but either can be extended with Tambopata days at the end: you finish the Machu Picchu part in Cusco and fly on to Puerto Maldonado instead of back to Lima.
If you prefer the jungle first, simply move the three or four Tambopata days to the start, after day 1 in Lima, and fly from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco. The number of days does not change. If you want to hike to Machu Picchu, the Inca Trail adds at least two days to the Andes block, and in that case the rainforest at the end is a very welcome rest for tired legs.
How to get from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado
By air. This is the only option that makes sense on a trip of eight to ten days. The flight from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado takes 45 minutes to 1 hour, and from Lima to Puerto Maldonado about 1 h 30 min. There are also flights in the opposite direction on both routes, which is what allows the jungle-first version of the trip. The Cusco route has fewer flights than Lima to Cusco, so book it at the same time as the rest of your trip and try to land in Puerto Maldonado by late morning: the lodge boats need to arrive before dark, and arriving early means you do not lose the first afternoon. Our Cusco airport guide explains how the airport works and how early to arrive.
By road. Cusco and Puerto Maldonado are connected by the Interoceanic Highway, which crosses the high Andes and drops down through the cloud forest into the lowlands. Buses run the route and it is a spectacular change of landscape, but it takes most of a day or a whole night, and you arrive tired. We only suggest it to travellers with plenty of time who specifically want to see that descent.
From the airport to the lodge. Puerto Maldonado is the starting point, not the destination. On arrival, the lodge staff pick you up, often stop at their office so you can store luggage you will not need, and drive you to a river port. From there a motorised wooden boat takes you up the Tambopata or the Madre de Dios river. Depending on the lodge, the boat ride can be short or last a few hours. This is why lodges ask you to travel light: in many cases they will suggest you leave your big suitcase in Puerto Maldonado and take only a soft bag into the forest.
What you do in Tambopata on a combined trip
Three or four days in Tambopata are not about one big sight, as Machu Picchu is, but about time spent in the forest with a naturalist guide. The rhythm is set by the animals: early starts, a quiet middle of the day when it is hot and the wildlife rests, and more activity in the late afternoon and at night. Programmes vary from lodge to lodge, but these are the activities that appear in almost all of them.
Lake Sandoval. The best-known lake in the Tambopata National Reserve, an oxbow lake ringed by palms. You walk along a forest trail and then explore the lake in a wooden canoe, looking for giant otters, hoatzins, herons, turtles and monkeys in the trees along the shore. It is close to Puerto Maldonado, which is why it fits even into short programmes.
Macaw clay licks. Exposed riverbanks where macaws and parrots gather to eat clay, usually early in the morning. Some are close to the lodges and others are farther up the river and need a longer programme; we explain the difference in the next section.
Night walks and night boat trips. After dark the forest is a different place: frogs, insects, spiders, sleeping birds and, from the boat, the reflecting eyes of caimans along the riverbank. For many travellers this is the most memorable part of the stay.
Forest trails, towers and canopy walkways. Depending on the lodge, you may climb an observation tower or a canopy walkway to see the treetops, visit giant trees, or learn about medicinal plants. Some programmes also include a visit to a local farm or a native community.
Can you see the macaw clay licks on a short trip?
This is where the length of your jungle stay really matters. The large clay licks that appear in documentaries, such as the Chuncho and Colorado clay licks, are reached by boat and lie well up the river from Puerto Maldonado. Visiting them usually requires a programme of at least three nights, a lodge located on the right stretch of river, and a very early start.
On a three-day, two-night stay you will normally see smaller clay licks or parrot licks nearer to the lodge, and plenty of macaws flying over the river, but not necessarily the big spectacle. If the clay lick is the main reason you want to go to the jungle, tell us when you plan the trip and we will choose the length and the lodge with that in mind. Activity at the licks also changes with the season and the weather, so no guide can promise a full cliff on a particular morning.
Best time to combine Machu Picchu and the Amazon
The two regions share roughly the same calendar, which makes planning simpler. In the Andes the dry season runs from May to September, and in Tambopata the drier months are June to September. The overlap, June to September, is the best time to combine both: clear mornings at Machu Picchu, cold but sunny days in Cusco, and firmer trails and lower rivers in the rainforest. It is also the busiest time, so Machu Picchu tickets, trains and jungle lodges should be booked early.
May and October are good shoulder months. May is still dry in the Andes while the jungle is drying out; October brings the first rains to both regions, usually as showers rather than all-day rain.
From December to March both regions are in the rainy season. Machu Picchu stays open, the landscape is green and there are fewer visitors, but you should expect rain most afternoons. In Tambopata the rivers rise, some trails become muddy or flooded, and lodges may adjust their activities. It is still possible to go, and some travellers like the quieter, greener forest, but you need to be flexible.
One detail that surprises people: during the Andean winter, cold fronts from the south known as *friaje* can reach the Amazon and drop the temperature in Tambopata for a few days. If you travel between May and September, pack one warm layer for the jungle as well. For the Andes in more detail, see our guide to the best time to visit Machu Picchu.
What to pack for Machu Picchu and the Amazon
- Layers for the Andes: a warm fleece or light down jacket, a hat and gloves for early mornings and nights in Cusco.
- Light long sleeves and long trousers for the jungle: loose, quick-drying, in neutral colours; they protect you from sun and mosquitoes better than shorts.
- A rain jacket or poncho: useful in both regions, in any season.
- Comfortable walking shoes with good grip for Machu Picchu and the trails; many lodges lend rubber boots for muddy paths, but check when you book.
- Insect repellent with an effective active ingredient, and high-factor sunscreen: the sun is strong at altitude and on the river.
- A small torch or headlamp for night walks and for lodges with limited electricity.
- Binoculars if you have them; they make a big difference with birds and monkeys.
- A soft daypack and a small duffel for the jungle, so you can leave your main suitcase in Puerto Maldonado or Cusco.
- Your passport, which you need for flights, trains and the entrance to Machu Picchu, and a dry bag or plastic bags to protect it and your electronics from humidity.
- Any personal medication, plus whatever your doctor recommends for altitude and for the jungle.
Health: altitude, yellow fever and mosquitoes
A trip that combines the Andes and the Amazon has two separate health topics, and it helps to keep them apart. In Cusco and at Machu Picchu the issue is altitude. Take the first day easy, drink water, avoid heavy meals and alcohol at first, and talk to your doctor before the trip if you have heart or lung conditions. The CDC's guidance on high-altitude travel is a good reference, and our altitude sickness guide covers the practical side.
In Tambopata the issue is mosquitoes. According to the CDC's travel health information for Peru, the yellow fever vaccine is recommended for travellers aged 9 months or older going to areas below 2,300 m in several regions, Madre de Dios among them, which is where Tambopata and Puerto Maldonado are. The same source says it is not recommended for travel limited to Lima, the city of Cusco, the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. The vaccine is not required to enter Peru, so this is a recommendation for your own protection, not a border rule.
If you decide to get the vaccine, plan ahead: it should be given well before travel, it is not suitable for everyone, and in some countries it is only available at designated clinics. The CDC also lists the lowland areas east of the Andes, Puerto Maldonado included, as areas with malaria transmission. Whether you need antimalarial tablets for a short lodge stay is a decision for a travel health clinic, based on your itinerary and your medical history; we are a travel agency, not doctors, so please check with a professional several weeks before you leave.
On the ground, the best protection is simple: long sleeves and trousers at dawn and dusk, repellent on exposed skin, and sleeping under the mosquito nets that jungle lodges provide. Drink bottled or treated water in both regions, as you would anywhere in Peru.
Tambopata or Manu: which jungle should you choose?
Travellers who research the Peruvian Amazon from Cusco soon come across Manu National Park, a vast protected area that UNESCO lists as a World Heritage Site. Manu is extraordinary, but it is a different kind of trip. Most Manu programmes go overland from Cusco, crossing the Andes and the cloud forest before reaching the rivers, and the deeper parts of the area need many days of travel. It is a wonderful choice for people who want an expedition and have a week or more just for the jungle.
Tambopata suits the combined trip much better. You fly in under an hour from Cusco, you can be on the river the same day, and three or four days are enough to see Lake Sandoval, a clay lick and a lot of wildlife. Lodges range from simple to comfortable, and the logistics fit neatly after Machu Picchu.
To be transparent: Tambopata is the jungle we work with. If your heart is set on Manu, we will tell you honestly how many days you need and whether it fits your dates. For most travellers with eight to twelve days in Peru, Tambopata is the sensible choice.
Is it worth adding the Amazon to a Machu Picchu trip?
If you have at least eight days, we think it is. Machu Picchu and Cusco show you Peru's history; the rainforest shows you its nature, and the contrast between the two is what makes the trip memorable. It also changes the pace: after early trains, guided visits and altitude, three days of canoe rides, forest walks and evenings listening to the jungle feel like a real holiday.
It is less worth it if your trip is very short. With six days or fewer, adding the jungle means rushing Cusco and Machu Picchu, and you would spend a large part of the jungle days on boats and planes. In that case we would rather you enjoy the Andes properly and keep the Amazon for another visit.
It is also worth being honest about wildlife. Tambopata is rich in animals, but this is not a zoo: what you see depends on the season, the weather, the time of day and luck. Birds, monkeys, caimans and insects are very likely; giant otters, tapirs and big cats are a bonus. Good guides make the difference, and that is one of the things we look at when we put a programme together.
How we organise a combined Machu Picchu and Amazon trip
There is no ready-made Machu Picchu and Amazon tour on this website, and that is deliberate: the right lodge and the right number of jungle nights depend on your dates, your budget and what you most want to see. What we do is start from one of our Peru packages, which cover Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, and add a Tambopata lodge programme with flights, transfers, meals and a guide.
To quote a combined trip we need four things: your travel dates, how many days you have in total, whether you prefer the Andes or the jungle first, and anything you particularly want to see, such as a large clay lick. Contact us with those details and we will send you a proposal. For more on the Machu Picchu side, our guides on how to get to Machu Picchu and the Machu Picchu circuits explain the logistics, and our Machu Picchu page and Cusco page cover the destinations.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do I need for Machu Picchu and the Amazon?
The realistic minimum is 8 days: one in Lima, four for Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, and three days and two nights in Tambopata. We recommend 10 days so you have time to acclimatise in Cusco and a full extra day in the jungle.
Should I visit Machu Picchu or the Amazon first?
Both work. Most travellers do Cusco and Machu Picchu first and finish relaxing in the jungle, then fly from Puerto Maldonado to Lima. Going to the jungle first does not help you acclimatise to Cusco, because Puerto Maldonado is at low altitude, but it can be a gentler start after a long international flight.
How long is the flight from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado?
Between 45 minutes and 1 hour. From Lima to Puerto Maldonado the flight takes about 1 h 30 min. From Puerto Maldonado you continue by road and boat to your lodge.
Do I need a yellow fever vaccine for Tambopata?
It is not required to enter Peru, but the CDC recommends it for travellers aged 9 months or older going to areas below 2,300 m in Madre de Dios, the region where Tambopata is. It is not recommended for trips limited to Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu. Ask a travel health clinic well in advance.
What is the best month to combine Machu Picchu and the Amazon?
June to September, when both the Andes and Tambopata are in their dry season. May and October are good shoulder months. December to March is rainy in both regions.
Tambopata or Manu: which is better with Machu Picchu?
For most combined trips, Tambopata. It is a short flight from Cusco and three or four days are enough. Manu is a longer, mostly overland expedition from Cusco that needs many more days.
Can I see the macaw clay lick on a 3-day jungle trip?
Usually you will see smaller clay licks and many macaws in flight, but the large clay licks up the Tambopata River normally require at least three nights and a lodge on the right stretch of river.
Do you sell a Machu Picchu and Amazon package?
We build it to measure: we take one of our Peru packages with Machu Picchu and add a Tambopata lodge programme with flights, transfers and a guide. Contact us with your dates for a proposal.
Official sources: SERNANP, Peru’s protected natural areas service · SERNANP: Tambopata National Reserve master plan diagnosis 2011-2016 (Spanish) · CDC Travelers' Health: Peru · CDC Yellow Book: High Altitude Travel and Altitude Illness · UNESCO World Heritage: Manu National Park
