Most people fly from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado. But what if I told you that there’s a better way to get to the amazon rainforest from Cusco? The Interoceanic Sur (Interoceanic Highway) that runs across the continent is one of the most scenic roads in Peru.
The road from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado, running via the sacred mountain of Ausangate which is home to the 7 Lakes of Ausangate and the famous Rainbow Mountain, is one of Peru’s most beautiful drives. It’s a road trip that as an expat resident of Peru, I believe everyone should experience at least once!
On this road trip you’ll ascend from 3600 meters above sea level to over 4900 meters at Ausangate. Before dropping down through cloud forest to sea level once more at Puerto Maldonado in the amazon jungle.
You’ll experience the mountains and the high altitude glaciers, rivers and lakes. Before dropping down through terraced mountains, cloud forests and roadside waterfalls as the jungle around you grows ever more dense and green.
On the Interoceanic Highway you can see it all in the span of less than 12 hours. As the road from Cusco to the jungle is less than 500km (310 miles). Here’s what the road trip looks like and why I recommend every tourist visiting Peru experience the road from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado at least once in their lifetime!
The road from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado in the Peruvian amazon rainforest
My Prefered Itinerary
I’ve taken this road trip from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado more than a few times now. I’ve done the straight through 12 hour drive more than once.
Yet on the last couple of trips we’ve stopped off and broken the driving component of the trip down into a couple of days. And breaking the road trip down into 2 days is my prefered way to experience this particular journey.
When going by car from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado the trip feels much longer and more tiring than you would expect on a 12 hour road trip. And this is a result of not only the terrain, but the sensory overload that happens along this route.
You will see so much on the road from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado that I strongly recommend breaking the driving component of the journey down into two days. And I recommend staying overnight in Pacchanta on Ausangate and taking the opportunity to experience the 7 Lakes.
So, with that said, my prefered itinerary for the drive from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado takes 2 days and it looks like this:
Day one:
- Early morning drive from Cusco to Pacchanta (4 hours) arriving before 10am
- Late breakfast at Pacchanta
- Hiking the 7 Lakes of Ausangate
- Dinner at Pacchanta and staying overnight
- A night in Pacchanta’s thermal baths with a beer or wine.
Pacchanta not only has thermal hot springs but it is also the start of the 7 Lakes of Ausangate hiking trail. If you stay overnight in Pacchanta, you can do the most scenic hike in the Cusco region, while spending the night sitting in the thermal pools staring up at a night sky that is entirely free of light pollution.
You will see more stars from Pacchanta at 4310 meters above sea level than you could possibly imagine. And during the day, you can hike the 7 Lakes of Ausangate trail that goes up and over more than 5200 meters above sea level.
The 7 Lakes of Ausangate is one of the most spectacular trails I’ve done while living in Peru. You hike past lakes of different colors, past bubbling streams and to stunningly beautiful lookouts. You’ll see glaciers and get to watch the colors of the countryside change, as the sun bounces off the mountains.
Day two:
- Breakfast in Pacchanta
- Leaving Pacchanta before 9am
- Brief stop at the summit for pictures
- Lunch in Santa Rosa or Quincemil townships
- Brief stops at the old bridges, waterfalls and small communities for pictures
- Arriving in Puerto Maldonado between 4pm and 5pm
The first hour of day two, is the last part of the trip that is at altitude. Immediately after going over Ausangate you will begin winding your way down the mountain. And the countryside will begin to come more alive as you wind your way down into the amazon jungle.
On this side of Ausangate, when you start your descent you’re above the clouds. And as you wind your way back down through the clouds and cloud forests, the mountains come alive with small towns and unnamed archeological sites as the huge terraced hillsides stretch out before you.
It is spectacular country to drive through. It really is gods country. And the terraced hillsides and as yet unexplored archeological sites etch a permanent reminder into the hillside of long lost civilisations.
The terraced hillsides in this part of Peru leave a permanent reminder that the population in this country declined by more than 80% in the first century after the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores. Prior to the Spanish, these hillsides were alive with communities and people. Today, along most parts of the road, all that remains are the archeological remnants.
Which tour guide did I go with?
I’ve been friends with Marco of Bloody Bueno Peru for the better part of 20 years. And all of the video footage in this article was taken from Marco’s cars. The last 4 or more of my trips along this road have been to go fishing in Puerto Maldonado with Marco. We took his vehicles and I highly recommend him.
Now, Bloody Bueno Peru doesn’t offer this road trip as a dedicated tour. But they do have the 7 Lakes of Ausangate combined with Vinicunca ‘Rainbow Mountain’. And they do have tours in Puerto Maldonado. So if you got both, I’m sure you could convince him to combine them and drive. He loves this road trip.
Yet, no matter what tour company you decide to go with, there are a few points I need to make. And they are:
- The bus from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado only runs at night and it doesn’t stop along the way – you won’t see any of this from the bus
- You can hire a car and drive yourself, but I strongly advise you not to try and drive this route yourself – the roads in Peru can be dangerous
- Only go with reputable drivers who have proof they know this road.
- Do carry an emergency disposable can of oxygen (from a drugstore in Cusco)
- Always have travel medical insurance when visiting the amazon rainforest or high altitude locations
Travel Tip: The road from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado has some of the best selfie spots in Peru. But if you’re an inexperienced driver and have not driven in Peru, I would strongly recommend going with an experienced tour operator who knows this route well and having them do the driving. This Interoceanic Sur in Peru is not a road for inexperienced drivers.
The four stages of the road trip from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado
There’s four distinct stages of roadside when going overland from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado. Not only does the scenery change drastically, as the plant and animal life completely morphs into something different from the previous stretch of road, but the road itself changes.
Some sections of the road are steep with high altitude mountain views out over the countryside. On other sections of the road you’re submersed inside the mountains. And on each of the four distinct stretches of the road trip, the incline changes and the amount of hairpin turns either increase or completely disappear.
On the Interoceanic Sur road to Puerto Maldonado, the first sections are relatively straight, with the middle sections bringing constant 180 degree turns. And the last section is once again completely flat, but scattered with townships and illegal gold mining activities.
While the last section is relatively short and ugly, it brings opportunity to reflect on the impact humans are having on the amazon rainforest, the lungs of the world. Having driven through such beautiful countryside and jungle, whenever I get to La Pampa I’m always in shock at how ugly the local population can make a stretch of land in such a short period of time.
La Pampa is what the entirety of Peru might look like in the not to distant future if illegal logging, illegal mining and other illegal activities are allowed to continue flourishing under corrupt governments. Imagine emerging from lush green jungle into an open sea of sand, replete with roadside shanty shacks, tuk tuk taxis and garbage strewn roadside.
The jungle in and around ‘the pampa’ is permanently dead. Thanks in no small part to the noxious chemicals and pollution from all the illegal strip mining for gold. Seeing La Pampa and what the people have done to the amazon rainforest, adds impetus to visit the amazon in Peru and experience it’s biodiversity, before the jungle is gone forever.
Cusco to Ausangate
The first section of the road is the stretch from Cusco to Ausangate. And if you’re staying overnight in Pacchanta like I recommend, then you’ll take a short detour at Tinki up to Ausangate and Pacchanta where the 7 Lakes of Ausangate hiking trail starts.
Now, with the exception of one rather large mountain that you’ll need to go up and over, the road is relatively straight. The scenery is high altitude grassland and rolling hills with small lakes and streams and the road is peppered with small andean townships.
During this section of the road trip, I recommend stopping at the original Inka gate to Cusco and on the high altitude lookouts. I’d also recommend paying attention to each of the little andean townships as you drive through.
Each little townsip you drive through has it’s own local specialty. And like the markets in Cusco where there’s distinct sections with different specialties, each of the little towns specializes in one thing.
You’ll drive through bread towns where every vendor is selling bread. You’ll drive through towns selling trout, raising alpacas or Cuy (guinea pig). And it’s fascinating to see each small town along the way.
Ausangate to Quincemil
Leaving Pacchanta you will need to backtrack back to the township of Tinki on the Interoceanic Sur. And roughly 15 minutes after turning back onto the interoceanic highway you’ll approach the peak of the road. At a little over 4900 meters above sea level (3 miles).
At the top you have a stunning lookout over Ausangate and the backside of it’s glaciers. It’s one of those spots that everyone traversing the road from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado stops to take pictures. It’s a spectacular view.
Once you’ve gone over the top, it’s all downhill until you reach Puerto Maldonado at sea level. And within 15 minutes of going over the top you’re plunging through the clouds as the hillside gets increasingly more green.
From the top at a little over 4900 meters above sea level you’re descending to Quincemil at 750 meters above sea level. All in about 130 kilometers (80 miles) that consists of constant 180 degree turns.
The scenery is spectacular as the mountains rise up around you as you descend from Ausangate. And the mountainsides along the valley as you descend are covered from top to bottom in ancient agricultural terraces and tiny, precariously placed townships.
You should also keep your eyes peeled for archeological sites. You’ll see signage along the road indicating as yet unexplored archeological sites and monuments. Most are still covered in centuries of plant and grass overgrowth.
Quincemil to Santa Rosa
The road between the townships of Quincemil and Santa Rosa is primarily cloud forest. The mountainside around you is strewn with beautiful waterfalls that are sometimes hundreds of meters high.
Everywhere you look on this section of road you will recognise popular houseplants. Yet if you’re a lover of rare and highly collectable houseplants like I am, you’ll spot all kinds of rarities just growing beside the road or on entry to Quincemil. In their natural habitat they grow basically anywhere and everywhere.
By about the time you get to Quincemil you’re likely getting ready for lunch. Given it’s location, Quincemil has an abundant supply of fresh Paco and trout. Both of which are accompanied by locally grown vegetables. It’s a great place to stop for lunch.
Yet, my preference is to snack in the car and stop in Santa Rosa. Which is the last town along the route before you drop out of the jungle hills into the flat lands for the final stretch to Puerto Maldonado.
If you do decide to stop in Santa Rose, I’d recommend visiting the Restaurante Vista Alegre. They’ve got great cheap food and cold beer.
Yet your third option is that you can also grab takeaway food from one of the small towns. And stop by one of the many waterfalls for lunch and take a dip to cool off.
Santa Rosa to Puerto Maldonado
The last small stretch of road from Santa Rose to Puerto Maldonado is where you’ll encounter the township of La Pampa. It’s an ugly scar on the otherwise beautiful rainforest of Peru.
While driving along this section of road, don’t switch off and ignore what you’re seeing. When you drive through La Pampa, pay attention. This section of road is what all of Peru might look like within the next decade or two. That is, unless the government finally cracks down on illegal mining, logging and decides to do something about the pollution that is occuring in this country.
Once you get close to Puerto Maldonado and the protected Tambopata Region, the forest comes back full force. You’ll see the jungle rise up in front of you once more. And this marks the end of your road trip and the beginning of your jungle adventure in the Peruvian Selva!
Safe Travels and enjoy Puerto Maldonado – the gateway to the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest!
