The journey of more than 900 miles (1,500 km) from Lima to Puerto Maldonado is certainly dramatic. Disembarking from your plane or bus, you're suddenly surrounded by sweltering rainforest, with access to river lodges on the Tambopata and Madre de Dios rivers.
This 6-day itinerary starts in Lima, visits Machu Picchu, and ends in Puerto Maldonado, where you'll spend your days viewing wildlife on jungle excursions, and your nights in the comfort of an eco-lodge. See here for more on the best things to see in the Peruvian Amazon.
By Plane
Duration: 1.5 hours
Direct flight time from Lima to Puerto Maldonado is around 1.5 hours, and easily the speediest way of reaching Puerto Maldonado from the Peruvian capital. There are 2-3 direct flights daily with LATAM, the most dependable carrier. From the airport in Puerto Maldonado, Padre Aldamiz International Airport (PEM) it is 4.5 miles (7 km) into central Puerto Maldonado, one of the easiest airport-to-city journeys in Peru.
A further four to five other flights head to Puerto Maldonado from Lima with a stop of anything from 30 minutes to three hours in Cusco along the way: handy if you just missed one of the direct flights.
There is also the option of flying to Cusco, disembarking to see the sights in that region, and then continuing to Puerto Maldonado by plane on another day.
By Bus via Arequipa and Juliaca
Duration: 2 days
This road route, a combination of Hwy Pan-Americana Sur and Hwys 34A, 34B and 30C (the Carretera Interocéanica), is usually considered the quickest road link. Travel time without any stops is 28 hours on this route but several stops are needed because of the length of the journey.
There is no one central bus station in Lima; different companies depart from different terminals around the city. Whilst this is the only road route that offers direct connections from Lima to Puerto Maldonado, it is harder to find a bus in Lima going direct to Puerto Maldonado that it is doing the reverse journey. In Puerto Maldonado the Terminal Terrestre (bus terminal) is 4 miles (6 km) northeast of the city center.
If you are focusing on the south of Peru, this route works well, and the journey can be broken at Ica, Nazca, Arequipa, or Juliaca.
By Bus via Cusco
Duration: 2 days
This is the other main road route, generally around an hour longer than the above road route, but it does offer the advantage of being able to stop off and see sights in Cusco and the Sacred Valley along the way. Going this way, there is no direct bus: even if you do the first part of the journey to Cusco (24-30 hours) you will need to change in Cusco for the 10-hour journey to Puerto Maldonado.
There is no one central bus station in Lima; different companies depart from different terminals around the city. Whilst this is the only road route that offers direct connections from Lima to Puerto Maldonado, it is harder to find a bus in Lima going direct to Puerto Maldonado that it is doing the reverse journey. In Puerto Maldonado the Terminal Terrestre (bus terminal) is 3.75 miles (6km) northeast of the city center.
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