Expedition Peru

If you fancy the idea of an expedition to Peru you will cover much more ground if you travel there as part of an organised expedition. Real Gap's ‘Gap Year Expedition - Peru' programme has been carefully put together to combine the ‘must see' sights. On an expedition to Peru, or South America generally, travel is far easier and more enjoyable if you can speak some Spanish - so Real Gap's ‘Expedition Peru' programme includes Spanish tuition. While it's possible to see a great deal in just one month on an expedition to Peru it would equally be possible to spend far longer exploring the country.

As well as learning Spanish, another great way to immerse yourself in the local culture on a Peru expedition is by getting involved with a worthwhile volunteer Project. The ‘Expedition Peru' programmes provides the opportunity to volunteer on a number of excellent projects - from endangered turtle conservation in the Peruvian Amazon to improving the welfare of porters working at Machu Picchu. The volunteer element of the ‘Expedition Peru' programme is extremely flexible in that you can volunteer for as long as you want on a project that most suits your personal interests.

For many travellers the highlight of an expedition to Peru is trekking the Inca Trail to the ‘lost Inca city' of Machu Picchu in the breathtaking setting of the Andean mountains. Real Gap's ‘Expedition Peru' programme includes a memorable four day trek to Machu Picchu. It is possible to reach Macchu Picchu on an expedition to Peru without trekking for four days (by taking a much more direct and less tiring route). However the route Real Gap's ‘Expedition Peru' programme takes to Machu Picchu enables travellers to take in some breathtaking scenery whilst using many of the original pathways the Incas themselves would have used.

Another essential place to visit on an expedition to Peru is Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake. Titicaca's size means that it looks more like an inland sea than a lake and the stunning mountain views across its waters are another highlight of any expedition to Peru. Travellers on the ‘Expedition Peru' programme enjoy the unique opportunity to visit some of Titicaca's famous floating reed islands.

Other places you definitely shouldn't miss seeing on an expedition Peru gap year include the mysterious Nazca lines carved in to the deserts of western Peru and the beautiful cities of Cusco and Arequipa. However, while the ‘Expedition Peru' programme takes in all of these essential sights, it provides travellers with a far more complete Peru experience by also visiting other places other visitors to Peru simply don't get to. For example just some of the things travellers on an expedition to Peru with Real Gap get up to that you definitely won't see on most other tourist itineraries include:

Experiencing a home stay with a Quechua Indian family, trekking on mountain glaciers and catching a boat out to the Ballestas Islands (whose unique wildlife has been compared to the Galapagos).

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