The Karikuy Peru Volunteer Program

The Karikuy Peru Volunteer Program returns in 2023 after a brief break to improve the infrastructure to house more volunteers at a time. Our 2023 season begins in May with lodging at just US$70 a week!.

You will be expected to work Monday through Friday on our projects which include our travel blog, fundraising and running our Humanitarian programs. On the weekends you are free to travel throughout Peru visiting locations such as Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines.

In addition to having the opportunity to live like a local, volunteers will receive help planning trips across Peru and be given special prices on services through Karikuy Tours Peru. This is great opportunity for bloggers and journalists as well as the passionate travelers who wants to have an in depth look at Peruvian Culture. We have includes more details on becoming a Peru volunteer below. What are you waiting for? Apply and become a Peru Volunteer today!

Our Peru Volunteer Reviews

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I was a Peru volunteer with Karikuy for over 2 months in the summer of 2011. It was definitely one of the best and most memorable experiences abroad I've ever had! Because I am interested in archaeology, my work for the program consisted of researching different archaeological sites across the country and writing about them for Perupedia.

In addition to writing, I was able to explore Lima, and even travel to several different cities to see some of the sites I was researching in person! Perhaps the best part was being able to room with and meet so many people from around the world! Julio was an excellent host, and it was great to be able to learn about and experience Peru with the guidance of a native Peruvian!

If you're looking for an opportunity to practice your Spanish, visit some beautiful places, and immerse yourself in Peruvian culture, this is the program for you!

Kate Padula

June 2011

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​If you're looking for a unique way to explore Peru and experience it in a different light to the average tourist, then volunteering is the way to go. I found that researching and blogging for Karikuy gave me access to a truly authentic side of Peru, living amongst the locals and gaining an insight into how they live. Using Lima as a base, I spent weekends and any chance I could get travelling throughout Peru. Julio was a friendly, knowledgeable host who gave up his time to make sure us volunteers experienced Peru to the max.

Eleanor Tan

November 2010

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I was the Peru volunteer guinea pig so as to speak, though perhaps that's a bad analogy to use here since the guinea pig is often cooked for meals in Peru. My time volunteering with Karikuy was actually much more pleasant than that. The structure is set up so that you will really get out of the experience what you put into it.

One of my main draws to the program was experiencing a different culture and way of living. The people were friendly, the food was good, the sites are worth seeing, and the work environment is relaxed (and often more like a vacation). I stayed for a month, but easily could have stayed longer, if not for prior plans and plane tickets to travel elsewhere.

If you're looking for a unique way to experience Lima, the tourist options of Peru, as well as get unique insights into Peruvian living that the average tourist never sees, give the Karikuy Peru volunteer experience a go! Plus, all the while you get to work on the Perupedia project to help others learn about Peru. Who knows, maybe you'll see me back there sometime too.

Josh Lowe

September 2009

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Volunteering with Karikuy truly lets you experience all that Peru has to offer. You can take the trek to Machu Picchu that isn't swarming with tourists, visit the country's lesser known sites and cities, and explore every aspect of your home base: Lima. After 1 month, I feel like I got a taste of everything here...the people, the landscape, the food, and yes, the pisco....and hope to one day be back for more!

Holly Brinkman

September 2010

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I volunteered at Karikuy for three weeks as part of a ten-month trip around the world, including four months in South America. Myself and my girlfriend Ania wanted something relevant to our careers in the media and found Julio through Volunteer Latin America (VLA). I enjoyed our experience very much.

I must confess that not everything about the placement was what I expected it to be, but if the last ten months have taught me anything, it's that almost nothing is as you expect it will be and you will have a better time if you go into things with 'a clean mental pallet'.

I found Julio to be welcoming and writing articles for Perupedia and blog posts for Karikuy was exactly my sort of thing! Living in the neighborhood of Planeta with Julio was also great. They were so generous and hospitable and I feel like I've seen the authentic Lima Peru that other backpackers don't see. It was also great to meet and socialize with other travelers during our stay.

Watching movies, playing video games and going out for dinners, drinks and tours in Lima was much more fun when shared with our new friends! As well as running the Peru volunteer program, Julio also booked our Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu, as well as our flights from Cusco to Lima and our hostel in Cusco.

Julio and his associates were so helpful: for example Oscar who picked us up from the airport in Cusco and dropped us back for our return flight; and Bruno, our guide for the four-day trek to Machu Picchu, who was simply excellent.

Our week or so in Cusco is one of the highlights of my entire ten-month trip and it wouldn't have been the same without the organization and effort from Julio et al. We've already passed Julio's details on to several other travelers we've met in Colombia who are heading south to Peru. I say to you what I said to them: highly recommended!

Stuart Duggan

July 2011

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The Peru volunteer programme at Karikuy is one-of-a-kind in the flexibility it provides. One works according to his area of expertise or interest - anthropology in my case - and contributes to Perupedia with the help of his or her personal knowledge and experiences.

Of course, said set of knowledge and experiences is greatly expanded by the truly immersive experience at Karikuy; one stays with a family in a Lima neighbourhood no tourist gets to see, marches off on excursions to the farthest corners of the country, and makes use of Mr Tello's travel expertise and contacts across Peru to make the most out of his stay.

In my four weeks with Karikuy I have scaled the heights of Marcahuasi, danced with Virgen del Carmen celebrants in the Sacred Valley, cheered amidst football crowds from local club matches to the World Cup finals, and had much, much more food than I probably should have.

In all, I recommend Karikuy to those looking for something beyond the run-of-the-mill straitjacket Peru volunteer programme, but who prefer instead a programme flexible to one's interests, schedule and skills.

Francis Sin

December 2010

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I had the unique experience of participating in the Karikuy Peru Volunteer Program for a solid 4 months, during which it became apparent to me that this was not your average volunteer experience.

The program offered me the unique opportunity to explore this beautiful country from a safe and welcoming home base filled with warm people, delicious food (which at some point became addictive) constant support from Julio and the other Peru volunteers and of course genuinely good fun.

The program has challenged me and what I thought I knew about myself, the world and the people in it. And now, having recently returned to Canada, I can definitely say that I've been motivated to continue my exploration of Peru in the near future. This would not have been possible without the Karikuy experience - the ultimate gateway for all that is Peru 🙂

Christina Baker

September 2010