Route and transportation in northern Peru

Hi there,

I traveled through southern Peru in November 2024 and now I’d like to explore the north. We’re a group of 5 people for a 15-day trip.

Iquitos or Nauta for the Amazon rainforest—I saw that you have to fly there. Chiclayo Chachapoyas Kuelap Leimebamba Cajamarca Trujillo And if we have time, Huaraz for the Andes cordillera.

No problem taking overnight buses—they save a lot of time. Or renting a car and figuring it out as we go.

We’d also love to take the train from Lima to Huancayo, but it seems complicated—I don’t understand when it runs.

Thanks for your help! Best regards,

Hi Nicole,

Yes, to get to Iquitos you’ll need to take a flight from Lima to Iquitos. Once there, you’ll find various lodges for an Amazon jungle experience.

For the other sites, you can head up from Lima to Huaraz (there are overnight buses), then from Huaraz to Trujillo. Visit the sites in Trujillo, continue to Chiclayo, and from Chiclayo take an overnight bus to Chachapoyas. By staying overnight in Chachapoyas, you can do day trips to the regional sites. For the route from Chachapoyas or Leymebamba to Cajamarca, I don’t recommend the bus—opt for a private transfer instead. From Cajamarca, you can take a flight back to Lima (or an overnight bus).

That said, 15 days seems quite short to do it all.

Best regards, Martina

Hello,

I’m replying about the Lima/La Oroya/Huancayo train. I took it a long time ago and thought it no longer existed. But it’s still running! Just be careful with altitude sickness—you go from sea level to the Ticlio Pass (4,900m).

All the info is here: https://www.peru-excepcion.com/escapades/en-train-de-lima-a-huancayo/

The company that manages this line:

www.ferrocarrilcentral.com.pe

PS: I just read on the company’s website that the travel schedule for this line has been canceled due to climate change... Personally, I’d send them an email to confirm. There’s a form for that.

thanks for this valuable info

hi there—your 15-day itinerary looks *really* tight, and you’ll have to make some tough choices and drop a few options. As NordPerou mentioned, the country is huge; just getting from Lima to Trujillo takes several hours. Then if you want to visit Iquitos, that’s a full day there and a full day back by plane, and if you stay 2 days on-site that’s already 4 days gone.

Hi, Should I include 2x1 overnight layovers in Lima in the 15-day count?