Mountain Biking in Peru

Parents planning a family trip to Peru’s capital of Lima can bring some child-suitable fun into their city explorations by biking around metropolitan Lima. Pedal at your own pace and enjoy a leisurely ride around Lima’s wildly varied neighborhoods, stopping for breaks whenever those little limbs begin to tire. Freewheel through the parks and archaeological sites of oceanfront Miraflores and San Isidro, admire the colonial architecture of downtown Lima or revel in the bohemian vibes of laid-back Barranco. Cycling in Lima is one of the best ways to discover Peru’s capital as a family or as a grown-up group.

A two-wheel delight, this beautiful bike ride will take you into the Lurín River Valley. Saddle up in the town of Cieneguilla and spend the day pedaling toward the quaint village of Antioquia, where an assortment of beautifully buildings adorned with hand-painted designs and murals provide abundant photo opportunities. The town also has many delicious fruits – perfect for replenishing any lost energy from the journey. This bike ride is quite physically demanding, but the saddle-top scenery is a fantastic distraction. Kuoda can arrange for you to stay overnight in Antioquia as part of your customized tour of Peru should you wish to.

This leisurely full-day cycling excursion is perfect for travelers who have an inclination to pedal, but fear their fitness levels may not be up to more strenuous routes. Leave Lima behind as you cruise out to the Mala Valley where the easy made-for-pedaling route gently ascends and descends. As well as the fresh air and sense of freedom afforded by the ride, you’ll also get to park the bike to explore local towns and villages, marvel at odd rock formations and ancient petroglyphs and refuel with some of that famed Peruvian cuisine.

Start in the small market town of Cañete and point your handlebars toward Lunahuaná, a picturesque and much-loved weekend escape for Lima dwellers set in the mountainous pisco grape-growing region. You will wheel your way on single-track dirt and paved roads, passing farming fields and country villages, covering 56 miles in total. Arriving in beautiful Lunahuaná and a delicious dinner with some of the most welcoming people in Peru will be the reward for your efforts. Want to incorporate this bike trip into your exclusive tour of Peru? Let Kuoda know – it can be arranged as a single, two-day or even three-day excursion.

This biking-cum-dune-buggying adventure centers on the oasis city of Ica, a verdant anomaly amid the bone-dry desert. Pedal to Ica’s elegant main square, church and superb regional museum before venturing into the desert wilds to the Ocucaje valley. Here, you’ll hop off the saddle and into a dune buggy for an edge-of-the-seat adventure through the sand dunes. Try your hand at some sand surfing, then enjoy lunch and a refreshing dip in a swimming pool before returning to your hotel. This multi-activity desert excursion is an irresistible challenge for cyclists embarking on a personalized tour of Peru.

This family-friendly cycling route has culture at its heart. Cyclists will bike through the barren and beautiful Nazca Desert, stopping to see the ancient aqueducts of Cantayoc, the mysterious geoglyphs that are etched into the rugged desert surface (the Nazca Lines) and museums stocked with fascinating Nazca ceramics and precious gold objects. This enjoyable tour is equal parts culture and adventure. Photo Source: Peru Travel- Ciclismo Nazca

This immensely rewarding bike route takes you along flat, paved roads that make for easy pedaling. You’ll start at the beautiful “White City” of Arequipa (so-called for its gleaming white-stone architecture) and continue out into the picturesque countryside, where pre-Inca terraces line the hills, and on to the towns of Sabardia and Characato where you can immerse yourself in the rhythms of local life. Covering a totally of just under 15 miles, this manageable route is ideal for those on Peru family tours.

This spectacular and exhilarating downhill route is adventure cycling at its most thrilling. It promises tremendous views of volcanic peaks and interactions with local communities. Watch farmers at work as you pedal along dirt roads and careen down the famed Misti Volcano all the way back to Arequipa. Travelers embarking on this biking route will want to bring a camera; the superb volcano vistas beg to be photographed.

The heart-thumping descent down Chachani Volcano is about as thrilling as cycling gets. Fly along serpentine rocky, sand and paved roads all the way down the mountainside and back to Arequipa. With high speeds and tight corners, your concentration will be devoted to the road, so it may be hard to properly appreciate the views. During our personalized bike tours of Peru’s Chachani Volcano, we’ll make sure you pull the brakes every now and then to properly take in the vistas of the imposing Misti Volcano and the valley below.

The odds of seeing wild alpaca, vicuña and even flamingos are high during this family-suitable mountain biking adventure. The first part is gentle – a cruise around the Salinas salt lagoon – but speeds and fun levels will pick up for the second portion: the 25-mile downhill El Simbral. The El Simbral route is suitable for mountain bikers of all levels, but adrenaline addicts who crave even more high-energy thrills can take on additional side trails and challenging shortcuts. This biking route is an especially alluring option for adventure-hungry families on a private tour to Peru.

Two-wheel travel is unquestionably one of the best ways to explore the Colca Valley. Take a two or three-day cycling adventure here during your customized tour of Peru. Start from Papa Pampa (the highest point between Arequipa and Colca) and pedal around the valley environs, where ancient cultures and ways of life thrive unhindered by the passing of time. The views of the incredibly deep canyon whose steep sides seem to drop to nowhere are well-worth breaking a sweat for.

Mountain biking in Peru can’t leave out the Cusco and the Sacred Valley region.  This area is prime mountain biking territory and many cyclist pilgrims come here to explore its network of scenic routes. There’s something for every kind of cyclist, from easy child-friendly rides to hair-raising descents down steep mountain slopes and mammoth two-wheel adventures. With Kuoda’s personalized tours of the region, we can adjust the particular route to suit your group, as well as working in cultural visits to rural Andean communities and tours of ancient Inca archaeological sites.

Cycling is a brilliant way to travel, especially mountain biking in Peru. Not only can you choose a pace that suits you, but you can also engage more deeply with the destination – in this case, Lake Titicaca. You’ll traverse the lake’s shoreline, biking over expansive plains and past typical Titicaca villages where you can experience cultures and ways of life totally unique to this area. Incorporate a bike trip to Lake Titicaca into your private Peru vacation for a chance to see parts of the lake that few other travelers ever get to.