Peru – Cultures & Landscapes Photo Tour 2024

Today is an arrival day in Lima for ORYX’s Peru photo tour. After being picked up at the airport, you will be transferred to your hotel and tonight at dinner, this exciting Peru photo tour will be discussed in more detail.

Our Peru photography tour commences by embarking on a full day tour that will explore and highlight all the must sees found in the city of Lima.

This morning we will leave Lima very early and drive approximately 3.5 hours to Paracas National Reserve. En-route, we will stop at Pisco Airport and fly to the Nazca Lines, which will be roughly 1.5 hours in duration. The Nazca Lines are a collection of giant geoglyphs—designs or motifs etched into the ground that were created by the ancient Nazca culture, and depicting various plants, animals, and shapes. The 2,000-year-old Nazca Lines can only be fully appreciated when viewed from the air given their massive size. We then continue onward and after settling in at our hotel and lunch, we will visit the Paracas National Reserve, which is known for its beautiful desert beaches hugging the Pacific Ocean.

Our Peru photography tour continues after breakfast when we board a comfortable and private speed boat and visit the Ballestas Islands. With a feel somewhat like Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, our private tour will show off the splendour of these islands and the fantastic mammals and birds including South American Fur Seal and South American Sea Lion, Humboldt Penguin and the stunning Inca Tern. After our island venture, we will head back to mainland and to Lima Airport and fly to Cusco. Upon arrival, we will drive to Sacred Valley in order to acclimatise to the altitude.  

Today on our Peru photo tour we will explore the picturesque Sacred Valley of the Incas. Comprising of rolling green hills and ancient architecture, it is also home to the photogenic Maras Salt Mines, which feature thousands of individual salt pools on a hillside, dating back to Incan times. At a time to be advised, we will catch a train to Aguas Calientes and enjoy an afternoon excursion to Machu Picchu, Peru’s most well-known landmark. Known as the “lost city of the Incas”, a local guide will take us through this magnificent archaeological location, and we will then spend some time capturing all of its splendour.

This morning on our Peru photography tour, we will again visit Machu Picchu, the country’s most well-known landmark. We’ll have time to “lose ourselves” in the ancient city, capturing interesting angles and enjoy the stunning vistas of this site. After visiting, we will take the train back to Ollantaytambo and transfer to our hotel where we will overnight.

After breakfast, we will head to a market for portrait photography as try to capture authentic portraits of the locals as they sell various wares. We then embark on our 1.5 hour scenic drive to reach our “host family” in the Sacred Valley area. After a welcome tea, we will be lead to the community school for some lovely photography time with the children followed by lunch. We will then drive up higher into Sacred Valley to capture the marvellous scenery that surrounds us. We may also do some more portraiture before returning to Cusco in time for dinner.

We have a full day Cusco tour ahead of us during this portion of our Peru photography tour, and options include the Museum of Qorikancha, street photography, the market at San Pedro and the neighbourhood of San Blas.

On our last full day of our Peru photo tour, we will visit the famous Rainbow Valley, which is also known as the “Mountain of Seven Colours.” The mountain is famed for its natural, multi-colored beauty at a staggering 5,200m above sea level. This rainbow-like appearance is created by the sediment of minerals throughout the area giving the mountain the turquoise, lavendar, gold and other colors. With Llamas, horses, and alpacas dispersed all over the range, and with local communities still living almost the same life as before, it’s not hard to see why this coloured mountain was listed in National Geographic’s “Top 100 Places To Visit Before You Die.” Being such a tourist draw card, the site can have a hundreds of visitors per day but we will visit the other side of the mountain, which harbours far less visitors but still offers a stunning photographic opportunities.

This morning after breakfast, we fly back to Lima where our wonderful Peru photography tour comes to an end.