If you’ve spent any time in Lima and started googling “weekend getaway in Peru that isn’t Cusco” then let me introduce you to Oxapampa. A quaint, German-influenced town sitting somewhere between the Andes and the Amazon – somehow simultaneously jungle AND mountains, which shouldn’t work but absolutely does.
It’s not on the typical tourist trail. You won’t find it on most Peru itineraries. But if you’re in the country for any stretch of time, it should be near the top of your weekend escape list, especially if you’re based in Lima and looking for something that doesn’t involve a flight.
Here’s everything you need to know.
How to get to Oxapampa from Lima
Spoiler: there are no flights. No train either. The only way to get here is an overnight bus from Lima to Oxapampa, which honestly is half the experience.
Expect to pay around $25 for an almost-lie-flat bed. Pack a backpack to prop your legs up, an eye mask, water and snacks, and if you’re prone to motion sickness, some anti-nausea pills – the road gets pretty winding in places. The journey takes around 12 hours, though I’d treat any arrival time listed online as a rough suggestion rather than a hard fact. You’ll get there when you get there.
The good news: it’s genuinely not a bad overnight bus as overnight buses go. You arrive in the morning, fresh-ish, with a whole day ahead of you.
Where to stay in Oxapampa
There’s a hospedaje (guesthouse or basic lodging) at pretty much every turn in Oxapampa, and they’re all fairly similar – wooden, simple rooms, homely feel, nothing flashy. Prices are low across the board, think $20-30 max.
I stayed at Tunki Lodge, which is slightly pricier than the others I saw online, but came with larger rooms, a restaurant, a pool, and a sauna. It ended up being way less ‘higher end’ than it looked online, but it was fine. Bring ear plugs, the walls, windows and ceilings are thin…
The other big bonus: Tunki Lodge offers daily tours for around $10 per person and arranged everything in advance. Similar tours I saw on GetYourGuide were more like $50. The trade-off however is that they’re very local – I’m talking families of eight, dogs on the bus, the full authentic experience. Great if that’s your thing. Potentially less comfortable if you don’t speak Spanish and want air conditioning. Or personal space.
Things to do in Oxapampa
Oxapampa itself isn’t a town you sightsee in the traditional sense. There isn’t a classic list of monuments to tick off. It’s more a base for visiting the surrounding nature, nearby villages, and the genuinely bizarre and delightful things scattered around the area.
The Oxapampa day tour
If you’ve just arrived on the overnight bus, this works out perfectly. Tours typically leave around 10:30am, just enough time to freshen up, change, and eat breakfast (more on that in a second).
The day takes in:
- El Tiroles – a haven of artisanal food and drink. Local beers on tap, things to taste, and a bit of German-inspired folk dancing. Gimmicky in the best possible way.
- An upside-down house – I genuinely cannot explain this. It exists. You’ll see it.
- Souvenir shops – the kind where you can sit outside with a beer and let other people browse. Ideal.
- Chontabamba plaza – a surreal collection of plastic horse, cow, and Jesus statues. No further explanation available.
- A local aguardiente distillery – tastings very much encouraged.
- A waterfall and pool – the coldest water I have ever encountered in my life. Completely beautiful. Go in anyway even if it’s just your feet.
- A local artisanal beekeeping farm – surprisingly interesting, even if bees aren’t usually your thing.
- The Oxapampa mirador – a viewpoint on wooden stilts, with 1800s-style German fairground rides randomly nearby. I have questions, but also I had a great time.
This really is a great way to see everything the nearby area has to offer. And you can do half day version that skips the waterfall, bees, and mirador if you really want. But definitely do something that isn’t just sitting in the town centre…
Day trip to Pozuzo from Oxapampa
This was the other thing I really wanted to do, and I’m glad I made it happen. Early start, think 5am, partly due to traffic, partly due to road works making the roughly 2-hour journey even slower on those narrow mountain roads. The ride is cramped. The roads are genuinely something else. But Pozuzo is worth it. This was another tour arranged by the hotel. Very local, and a very reasonable $10.
If Oxapampa feels German, Pozuzo feels more German, which makes sense, given it was literally settled by Tyrolean and Prussian colonists in the 1850s. Around 300 settlers made the journey, and their descendants are still here today. The town plaza even has a model of the boat they arrived on, and the Museo Schafferer documents the whole story. Genuinely interesting, even if history museums aren’t usually your thing.
Other highlights on a Pozuzo day trip:
- La Poza de Agua y Sal (saltwater pools) – emerald green, freezing cold, completely refreshing. Pack a towel. Worth being a bit soggy all day for.
- The Dörcher brewery – home of the best craft beer in the region (maybe even the country), with tropical fruit flavours that you wouldn’t expect but absolutely work. I did a flight of six. To try all of the flavours of course. For Science. No regrets.
- The Emperor William I suspension bridge – the symbolic entrance to town and worth a photo.
- Traditional Lunch – choose from all things hearty and Austro-German. The schnitzel was genuinely better than some I tried in Vienna.
Pozuzo doesn’t need a full itinerary, it’s a small town. But between the cold river swim, the craft beer, delightful food, and the history that genuinely surprises you, it more than justifies the early wake-up.
Practical tips for visiting Oxapampa
Bring cash, in small bills. This is non-negotiable. Entry fees at pretty much every site need to be paid in cash, and nobody will accept large notes. I only had 100s and spent a genuinely stressful chunk of the day trying to get change sorted. A kind stranger on my tour helped me out, but without him I’d have stayed in the bus at half the stops.
Eat the Oxapampa breakfast. It is fried and enormous. It might give you a heart attack. However, it is absolutely worth it. I read about it as the key attraction before I arrived and it did not disappoint. A hearty mix of tamale, egg, thick bread slices with jam and cheese, chorizo, cassava, and onion. Do not skip it.
Try the German craft beer. There are more varieties than you’d expect, and they’re excellent. Especially the fruit ones. This is not optional. Honestly I would go back just for the beers.
Anti-sickness tablets for the bus from Lima. The road winds significantly in places. If you’re at all prone to motion sickness, take something before you get on.
Speaking Spanish helps a lot. Not just for ordering food, but for getting the cheaper local tours, chatting to your guides, and generally getting more out of the experience. Google Translate covers the basics, but you’ll miss a lot of the good stuff without it.
Best time to visit Oxapampa: The dry season runs roughly April to November, which is the most straightforward time for roads and outdoor activities. The rainy season (December to March) makes the Pozuzo road especially challenging – worth checking conditions before you go.
Is a weekend trip to Oxapampa worth it?
Yes, genuinely. It’s the kind of place you’ll probably only visit if you’re already in Peru for a while, and that’s fine. It’s not competing with Machu Picchu. It doesn’t need to.
What it is, is a genuinely surprising, genuinely weird, genuinely lovely corner of a country that still has endless places most people never get to. The landscape doesn’t make sense (jungle AND mountains), the German heritage in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon doesn’t make sense, and the plastic Jesus statues in Chonabamba definitely don’t make sense. But it all comes together into something that does. Go.
FAQ: Visiting Oxapampa, Peru
How do you get from Lima to Oxapampa? Overnight bus – the only option. Around 12 hours, costs roughly $25 for a semi-lie-flat seat. Cruz del Sur is the most reliable operator, and you can book through their website.
Is Oxapampa worth visiting? Yes, especially if you’re based in Lima long-term and want a proper weekend escape that feels nothing like the rest of Peru. The German heritage, jungle-mountain landscape, and day trip to Pozuzo make it genuinely unlike anywhere else in the country.
How do I get around Oxapampa? Easy, you walk! It is a tiny village, you can walk around it in 20 minutes. If you get desperate though, there are plenty TukTuks around. Some will even take you all the way to Pozuzo if you don’t have other transport.
Can you do a day trip to Pozuzo from Oxapampa? Yes. It’s about 2 hours each way on narrow mountain roads. Most tours leave around 5am and return in the afternoon. Book through your hotel for a fraction of the GetYourGuide price. Bring cash and a towel. You can also hire a driver either via tour hotel or a taxi on the street. Or take a TukTuk, if you’re feeling brave.
Do you need to speak Spanish in Oxapampa? It helps enormously, especially for booking local tours and getting around. Google Translate will cover the basics, but you’ll miss a lot of the richer experience without some Spanish.
What should I pack for Oxapampa? Small bills in cash (crucial), anti-nausea tablets for the bus, a towel and swimsuit for the waterfall and Pozuzo pools, and layers – the temperature can swing between warm jungle days and cooler mountain mornings and evenings.
Where should I go after Oxapampa? Explore more of Peru! Why not head south – check out my guide on Puno and Lake Titicaca →
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