Location
  • Peru
    • Cusco
Length
1 to 52 weeks

Program Details

Language
English
Age Min.
16
Timeframe
Short Term Spring Break Summer Winter Year Round
Housing
Host Family Hostel

Pricing

Starting Price
2070
Price Details
Prices vary depending on project and number of weeks
Visit website for more details on costs
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Meals Transportation Wifi
What's Not Included
Airfare Travel Insurance Visa
Feb 14, 2022
Feb 23, 2022
19 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

At Projects Abroad we’re passionate about travel with a purpose. Since being founded in 1992, more than 120,000 volunteers have traveled to Peru and 20+ other destinations around the world.

With an extensive coastline, a vast area of Amazon rainforest and the Andes, Peru gives you the opportunity to visit South America and see much of its character in one country: wildlife, beaches, historical sites and mountains.

We have exciting, worthwhile projects for you to join - our Archaeology project to learn more about the Incan & Wari civilization, work in the heart of the Amazon in our Rainforest Conservation program, or help improve the lives of local children in a Childcare or Sports project. You can also intern in Medicine & Healthcare fields and boost up your resume!

Whichever program you choose, you’ll be supported by our dedicated staff and partners who make sure that all our volunteers contribute towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • Choose a project you are passionate about that fits your interests
  • Select your own start date and duration
  • Get 24/7 support from the local staff and head office team
  • Make a difference where it is needed most
  • Enjoy Peruvian wildlife, world heritage sites, and rich culture

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Program Reviews

4.76 Rating
based on 37 reviews
  • 5 rating 78.38%
  • 4 rating 18.92%
  • 3 rating 2.7%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Impact 4.45
  • Support 4.75
  • Fun 4.55
  • Value 4.6
  • Safety 4.7
Showing 1 - 8 of 37 reviews
Default avatar
Giacomo
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Volunteering Basketball Program in Peru

Excellent organisation and a very supportive family s/o to Patrick Ruiz for making this program incredible!
The program was very fun and interesting, seeing another culture and try to gain a lot of experience by helping them develop their skills.
Peru is an incredible country for volunteering and you will never regret the travelling.
In the future I hope I can re-volunteer and connect with the great people that I knew during my staying and see another time all the kids that I helped during the basketball practices.

35 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Victoria
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Medical Internship

I’m very thankful for my trip to Peru. It gave me some clarity on what I want in the future, I felt very safe there, the country was beautiful and filled with culture and history, and my house family was the absolute best. My host family and those that worked for the organization were available at any moment and were so willing to help with anything. This internship confirmed that I definitely want to do medicine overseas. I always look back through my pictures and feel very thankful for the opportunity and the growth I experienced there.

What was your funniest moment?
I found myself laughing with the other volunteers all the time. I also remember times when there would be street performers that would do things intentionally to make other people laugh which of course, worked.
20 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Isabel
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Peru

The project offers more than just the work experience. The project was incredible at giving the volunteers a social outlet with one another, which made the whole trip amazing. They also regularly gave advice on the places to visit, and guided us to others that could safely take us around. The archaeology program was amazing, and more hands on than I had imagined. If you do the archaeological project, you will have the opportunity to work with ancient artifacts and explore the most beautiful ruins.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
My advice to future travelers; let yourself become completely immersed into the culture. Don’t hold back, and don’t let yourself get too caught up in your own expectations to enjoy the curveballs.
19 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Caroline
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Peru Taricaya Conservation Project

I travelled to Peru to participate in Projects Abroad's Wildlife Conservation project in the Amazon Rainforest. As an 18 year old girl travelling on her own for the first time, I could not have felt more safe, welcomed, and impactful on my project. Mikaela, the volunteer coordinator is an amazing, reliable, and responsible girl who made the adjustment as smooth and comfortable as I could have hoped. Not only did I make connections with other volunteers, I also had the opportunity to make friendships with South Americans living and working at the reserve. My six weeks spent in Peru were an amazing experience. The week days can be hard work, especially in the heat, but the evenings and weekends are relaxing and tons of fun! The Amazon, along with its biodiversity, is disappearing at an alarming rate. Taricaya Reserve definitely deserves the work and resources provided to it by volunteers.

54 people found this review helpful.
Response from Projects Abroad

Hi Caroline,
I'm so glad to hear that you had such a rewarding experience on the Conservation project in Peru. You made a worthwhile contribution to our ongoing sustainable goals – you were really appreciated by the local community. You are very welcome to volunteer or Intern with Projects Abroad again!

Irazema Arizabal, Country Director for Peru

Default avatar
Anon
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Extraordinary Experience

I don't have much time, so this reviiew will be short.
That being said, I can't put into words how much working with Project Abroads has helped me develop as a character.
On my trip to Peru I met unique people, experienced different cultures, and ate some great food!
On the way there you can see many phenomenal works such as Macchu Picchu along with other temples.
I live in a small town in the USA, and my experiences there are limited.
I practically live in a bubble, but my experience in Peru has changed my perception of the world (in a good way!).

. .

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
Alpaca meat, Guinea Pig meat, eggs with chicken, along other things.
22 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Lucia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Inca & Wari Archaeology Project

I took part in this program in 2017.
When I was young, I dreamed of being an archaeologist and my dream came true in Perù.
We did many things in the field: measurements, excavations, cataloging, cleaning and the fatigue of work was shared with the group.
Staying in a host family gives me the opportunity to discover and meet Peruvian culture up close.
Cusco is an amazing city rich in history and monuments. During the weekends I visited Machu Picchu (of course) and I saw from there the sunrise, then Arequipa, the White City, and Lake Titicaca.
It was the first time I travelled alone on the other side of the Ocean, from Italy, and I didn't know what to expect. At the airport, PA staff welcomed me and organized a tour of the city in afternoon, in order to allow me to move on my own.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
The first time I found a small decorated pot shard.
54 people found this review helpful.
Response from Projects Abroad

Hello Lucia,

Thanks for leaving your review about our Incan & Wari Archaeology in Peru. It’s warming to hear about your story, what an experience you’ve had – I’m sure you’ll remember it for a lifetime! You are most welcome to volunteer or Intern with us in the future.

Irazema Arizabal, Country Director for Peru

Default avatar
Sophie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Nutrition project in Peru

I volunteered through Projects abroad's nutrition program in Cusco. The contact with Project abroad's team in Cusco was fantastic and supportive, and the experience itself completely eye opening and thoroughly enjoyable! I spend most days in a Wawawasi, getting and idea of the typical foods and recipes used, as well as some of the challenges face by the group leaders there. We spent some time in the local markets too to become familiar with the produce available and prices. Towards the end of the placement I delivered a couple of presentations on the importance and strategies to increase the micronutrient content of the meals as part of the work to reduce childhood anaemia, and having analysed the menu at the Wawawasi provided some suggestions on portion sizes etc

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
Worked harder before going to get my Spanish up to scratch!
53 people found this review helpful.
Response from Projects Abroad

Hi Sophie,
Thank you, for your brilliant review. It's warming to know that we are able to provide such beneficial experience for both the volunteer and the recipient community. Your hard work and effort towards the Nutrition project in Peru is greatly appreciated. We hope to see you again on one of our projects or internships.

Irazema Arizabal, Country Director for Peru

Default avatar
Alicia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Awesome time helping archaeologists in Peru

I have a PhD in archaeology, and so when a one-month career break became possible I jumped at the chance to volunteer on an international project. Projects Abroad were so easy to deal with, and within a week my trip to Cusco was all booked.

A friendly volunteer coordinator met me at the airport, my host family were absolutely top notch, and the induction to getting into and around Cusco my the lead on the archaeology team was perfect. Soon I had a local sim card and phone number, and was all ready to go.

Made lots of friends, and had a life-changing experience. The archaeology in Peru is *amazing* and it was a total privilege to work with professional archaeology teams on World Heritage sites in and around the capital city of the Incan Empire.

Highly, highly recommend this programme!

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?
Occasionally the buses in Cusco were really full, and I felt a bit claustrophobic. This turned into an excellent adventure. If I needed to, I got off one bus and waited for the next. Learned to navigate my way round the city quite quickly, and got lots of extra people watching in as well. Remember waiting at one bus stop with a lady carrying a tray of guinea pigs... taking them to market!
53 people found this review helpful.
Response from Projects Abroad

Hi Alicia,
I'm so glad to hear that you had such a rewarding experience on the Archaeology project in Peru. You made a worthwhile contribution to our ongoing sustainable goals – you were really appreciated by the local community. You are very welcome to volunteer or Intern with Projects Abroad again!

Irazema Arizabal, Country Director for Peru

Questions & Answers

During my stay in Peru, I didn't travel to the rainforest, but I would think it is best to dress in layers depending on the weather and time of year travelled there (nothing too heavy as it will probably get warm there). Also, definitely important to have bug spray/mosquito repellent or some kind of netting for protection from the different insects in the rainforest.

I did my volunteer abroad 7 years ago and at the Animal Conservation in Peru so my perspective may be a little different, but while I was there volunteers are supervised to an extent. However volunteers are left alone when not working which is quite often, and its hard for new volunteers who don't know much of the area. Doing more group activities not related with volunteering would help people...