Volunteer in Peru, home to Machu Picchu and a fascinating Andean country alive with cultural stimulation. With magnificent ruins of ancient cultures, Although Peru is rich in natural resources and offers a great many places to visit, many of Peru’s citizens are poor and live in unfortunate conditions. Thirty-six percent of the population lives under the poverty line. Take an adventure to Peru, a popular destination for volunteers who seek a balance of exciting activities and meaningful projects to share their love, passion and assistance with poor children and impoverished communities. Peru’s other main attractions are other archaeological remnants of pre-Columbian cultures as the center of Inca's Empire; amazing food experiences; examples of colonial architecture and their natural resources (a paradise for the ecological tourist).
Volunteering in Peru offers exciting opportunities for volunteers to explore an amazing country and - the archeological capital of the Americas. IFRE's Peru volunteer projects are located in Cusco, a major tourist destination in Peru. Volunteer placements in Peru are also available in Urubamba, Trujillo and Arequipa.
Volunteer Work Projects and Locations
IFRE’s Peru volunteer projects funnel support to local orphanages, street children, schools, health projects, conservation and construction projects in the Cusco, Urubamba, Lima and Junín areas.
Start Dates: Volunteer programs starts on the following (first and third Monday of each month)
IFRE is a 501(c)3 organization, so the program fee should be tax deductible. IFRE Volunteers is proud to offer an extensive assortment of programs at very reasonable prices (and may rank “best priced and best value” among the many volunteer abroad organizations in the USA/Europe/New Zealand). Our programs are now more affordable than ever. We are proud to focus on the humanitarian aspect of our business, not the profit. We work very hard and smart to keep costs down, especially for the volunteer, as we know the value of volunteers’ donated time and efforts. We remain devoted to maintaining both the quality of the program and the safety of all volunteers involved. Below is a brief summary of the program fee and services that IFRE Volunteers offers.
IFRE fees comprise of two separate fees. An application fee of $349 USD (covers advertising, staff/office expenses, etc.) and a nominal weekly program fee (covers room/board, insurance, field support, etc).
* Spanish language (group) $8 per hour
* Spanish language (Individual): $13 per hour
*Please add $7 per day for Medical, Conservation and Construction Projects
Additional costs for volunteers:
International flights, visa, daily personal expenses on beverages/entertainment , laundry, telephone, immunizations.
Spanish Language Program
Are you considering improving your Spanish language skills? Then IFRE's Peru Spanish Language Program is the perfect choice.
IFRE currently offers highly affordable Spanish language classes in Peru. These classes are exclusive to IFRE volunteers participating in our volunteer program. In Peru, IFRE collaborates with a highly reputable Spanish school. They employ qualified and experienced Spanish teachers and offer the most intensive and effective Spanish courses in Peru. In this program is structured so that volunteers can work at their volunteer project and learn Spanish simultaneously. For example, volunteers can take Spanish classes from 9:00-11:00 a.m. (before lunch) followed by volunteer activities. Alternatively, volunteers may take Spanish classes from 3:00-4:00 a.m. (after a day of volunteer work). Most of the projects are located close to the Spanish school, so it is possible for volunteers to design a personal schedule. IFRE invites volunteers to improve their Peru experience by learning or improving Spanish skills.
Most volunteers placed in Cusco projects stay at our home base – a permanent home set aside for international volunteers and manned with a local staff. Our home base provides a same-gender shared room and shared bathroom with running hot water and a “western” style toilet. Volunteers will have the ability to do laundry at the home base. Volunteers receive three prepared meals per day. If volunteers will be out of the house during lunch hour, volunteers can request a lunch "to go" that volunteers can take with volunteers or eat out. Meals are cuisine, which is traditional to Peru.
Our Cusco home base is located in the center of beautiful Cusco city. Most of our volunteers’ projects are located within 2-5 miles of the home base. Therefore, volunteers can simply walk to their projects or take a local taxi. Most necessary services for travelers are located within 2 km of the homebase: internet cafés, restaurants and grocery stores.
Occasionally, depending on volunteer traffic, available projects or distance to a volunteer’s assigned project, we may also place our volunteers with carefully pre-screened host families. Our host families are socially respected and experienced hosts of international volunteers. They have strong interest in our volunteers’ safety and well-being and demonstrate this with caution and care. In most host family situations, volunteers will share a room with another volunteer of the same gender. Volunteers receive three meals a day. Our host families do not offer laundry services, but some will happily take up the task for a small fee. This is up to volunteers to negotiate upon arrival. If volunteers choose to do their own laundry, most families are happy to let volunteers use their washbasins where volunteers wash by hand then line-dry their clothes.
Throughout the volunteer project, our local staff stays in contact with volunteers either with face-to-face visits or via email/telephone. Volunteers are always welcome at the local office in Cusco. If project placement is local, we request that volunteers stop by the office once a week to keep us posted on how they are doing with their home stay and project. If project placement is very far, then our local staff members maintain communication by either email and/or phone and try to visit every 2-4 weeks if possible.
Volunteer Program Free Time
Always keep in mind that IFRE can help launch an amazing Machu Picchu quest from Cuzco! In the meantime, there are amazing activities in and around Cuzco. Check out the Plaza de Armas. This beautiful square (lit up at night) is lined by churches, shops, restaurants and bars. It is a great place to spend an afternoon. The historical center of Cusco is a beautiful, but hectic experience with all the street vendors. Coffee shops are abundant in the Plaza de San Francisco area. There are options for whitewater rafting nearby to Cusco. Upstream are the Chuqicahuana or Cusipata sections of the Rio Urubamba/Vilcanota where the water is clean and the rapids are excellent fun, up to class five depending on what time of year it is. Alternatively, try inflatable canoeing on the Piñi Pampa section of the Rio Urubamba where slow and relaxed self-paddling is not as crazy as class 1 and 2 rapids. Also nearby is the 3 or 4-day Rio Apurimac raft trip. Rio Apurimac is called the true Source of the Amazon and one of the Top 10 rafting rivers in the World. Non-wet mobile adventure options include renting motorcycles or downhill mountain bike tours. On the other hand, simply opt to tour the countryside on a rented mountain bike, set a leisurely pace and pack a picnic.
The mission of IFRE Volunteers is to offer the most affordable as well as the highest quality volunteer and humanitarian abroad experiences - enabling us to make a contribution for all of humanity in its quest to make the world a better place. Through our volunteer and humanitarian trips abroad, we aim to spread love and compassion worldwide while improving the lives of destitute children and less-fortunate communities. We at IFRE also seek sustainable solutions in the fields of education, healthcare, conservation efforts and development issues through international volunteering.
Volunteer in Peru, home to Machu Picchu and a fascinating Andean country alive with cultural stimulation. With magnificent ruins of ancient cultures, Although Peru is rich in natural resources and offers a great many places to visit, many of Peru’s citizens are poor and live in unfortunate conditions. Thirty-six percent of the population lives under the poverty line. Take an adventure to Peru, a popular destination for volunteers who seek a balance of exciting activities and meaningful projects to share their love, passion and assistance with poor children and impoverished communities. Peru’s other main attractions are other archaeological remnants of pre-Columbian cultures as the center of Inca's Empire; amazing food experiences; examples of colonial architecture and their natural resources (a paradise for the ecological tourist).
IFRE is a 501(c)3 organization, so the program fee should be tax deductible. IFRE Volunteers is proud to offer an extensive assortment of programs at very reasonable prices (and may rank “best priced and best value” among the many volunteer abroad organizations in the USA/Europe/New Zealand). Our programs are now more affordable than ever. We are proud to focus on the humanitarian aspect of our business, not the profit. We work very hard and smart to keep costs down, especially for the volunteer, as we know the value of volunteers’ donated time and efforts. We remain devoted to maintaining both the quality of the program and the safety of all volunteers involved. Below is a brief summary of the program fee and services that IFRE Volunteers offers. 
that IFRE can help launch an amazing Machu Picchu quest from Cuzco! In the meantime, there are amazing activities in and around Cuzco. Check out the Plaza de Armas. This beautiful square (lit up at night) is lined by churches, shops, restaurants and bars. It is a great place to spend an afternoon. The historical center of Cusco is a beautiful, but hectic experience with all the street vendors. Coffee shops are abundant in the Plaza de San Francisco area. There are options for whitewater rafting nearby to Cusco. Upstream are the Chuqicahuana or Cusipata sections of the Rio Urubamba/Vilcanota where the water is clean and the rapids are excellent fun, up to class five depending on what time of year it is. Alternatively, try inflatable canoeing on the Piñi Pampa section of the Rio Urubamba where slow and relaxed self-paddling is not as crazy as class 1 and 2 rapids. Also nearby is the 3 or 4-day Rio Apurimac raft trip. Rio Apurimac is called the true Source of the Amazon and one of the Top 10 rafting rivers in the World. Non-wet mobile adventure options include renting motorcycles or downhill mountain bike tours. On the other hand, simply opt to tour the countryside on a rented mountain bike, set a leisurely pace and pack a picnic.