Peru

Arriving in the vibrant cultural city of Cusco, you’ll be transported from the airport to our hotel located in the beautiful historic center. Our staff will be on hand to check you in and ensure you get situated. Once the entire group has arrived, we’ll gather for a tour orientation in the evening and a delicious welcome dinner in the heart of town.

With so many colorful markets, galleries, cooperatives and intriguing neighborhoods to visit, we’ll embark on a walking tour of this great city. From the historic Plaza de Armas and the colossal Fortress of Sacsayhuaman, to the Golden Temple of the Sun, you’ll enjoy a thorough exploration of this attractive destination with our excellent guide. With a local lunch included and time to interact with all kinds of locals along the way, this is bound to be a fulfilling start to the trip!

In the evening we’ll have a chance to head up to the planetarium to enjoy a couple of hours under the stars. We’ll learn about the Incan civilization and how they were able to monitor seasons and predict weather without any instruments, solely relying on the Earth’s position in the solar system.

Heading into the majestic Andean Mountains, our journey takes us to the heart of the Sacred Valley. Our first destination is Pisac, a town where Incan architecture and Colonial charm blend seamlessly. Strolling through town, we'll dive into its famous artisan market, bustling with jewelry and overflowing with ceramic and textile crafts. We'll also enjoy a lunch consisting of fresh, regional dishes.

Later, we'll journey to Ollantaytambo, a historical town that stands as a testament to Incan ingenuity. We’ll explore the archaeological site that served as a vital rest stop for imperial travelers, with its walls and towers narrating stories of the past. We'll wrap up the day gaining insight into the living art and traditions of the local communities.

Immersing ourselves in the rich traditions of the Quechua community, today we’ll head to a local village in order to understand their celebrated weaving techniques and the vitality of their culture. Our day begins with a warm greeting from the locals in an upper Andean community before we make our way to the cooperative. Here we’ll witness the Andean tradition of weaving, from shearing wool from sheep or alpacas to creating vibrant dyes with local plants, right up to the weaving on the looms where the beautiful textiles come to life.

You’ll then have the chance to engage in a hands-on workshop, trying your hand at knitting your own bracelet. We’ll finish up with a hearty homemade meal at a weaver’s home, with some free time to explore and chat with the community members.

Today we’ll start the day at the salt pans of Maras, a patchwork of thousands of shallow pools that have supplied salt since Inca times. Fed by a natural spring, water is guided through narrow channels into each pan, and the sun does the rest. As it evaporates, crystals form and local families harvest them by hand through a community system. We’ll follow marked paths to viewpoints, learn how the pans are managed, and hear about grades of salt such as the pale pink variety sold in nearby markets.

Later we’ll continue to Moray, a set of circular terraces in deep bowl shaped hollows. Each level has a slightly different temperature, which the Inca used to test crops and adapt them to highland conditions. Afterward we’ll head back to the hotel with the afternoon free to relax and enjoy the hotel’s amenities.

This morning we’ll visit Chinchero, a highland village known for its superb textiles and its market, where families come in traditional dress to trade produce and handwork. From the plaza we’ll continue to a traditional textile center to see how Andean weaving is kept alive today. Artisans will show us how wool from alpaca and sheep is cleaned, spun with a drop spindle, and dyed with natural materials such as cochineal, indigo, and local plants. We’ll learn what the motifs mean and how patterns are read on the loom.

Then we’ll sit with the weavers to try the backstrap loom ourselves. With their help we’ll set up a simple warp, practice the basic techniques, and begin a small band using a few classic designs. We’ll finish with some time to browse the cooperative’s work before returning to the hotel.

Leaving our hotel early, we’ll board the Vistadome train for a 2-hour ride through the Sacred Valley along the Urubamba River, with wide windows for close views of cliffs, fields, and riverside villages. We’ll arrive in Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo, a small car-free town at the base of the mountain.

From here, a short shared shuttle will take us through the mountain’s switchbacks to Machu Picchu, the 15th-century Inca city and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. With our guide, we’ll walk past hillside terraces into the main urban sector to see precision stonework, ritual fountains, and water channels that still run. Highlights will include the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Three Windows, the Sacred Plaza, and the Intihuatana platform where the Incas tracked the sun.

We’ll also talk about how the city was engineered on a narrow ridge between forested peaks and how it stayed hidden for centuries. After the visit we’ll return to Aguas Calientes for a late lunch, then ride the Vistadome back to the valley and drive for about 45 minutes back to our hotel for a restful evening.

Today's adventure will begin at the Urubamba market, the Sacred Valley’s main trading hub, where farmers from high Andean communities set out potatoes, giant ears of corn, quinoa, tropical fruit, fresh cheeses, and mountain herbs. We’ll wander the aisles, chat with vendors, and hear how altitude and climate shape what grows here. Then we’ll continue to the riverside village of Lamay to get a feel for daily life, strolling the plaza and side streets and visiting a family courtyard to see how guinea pigs are raised at home for festivals and special meals.

We’ll also step into a neighborhood chichería, marked by a simple red flag or bag at the door, to learn how sprouted maize is boiled and fermented in clay jars to make chicha de jora and why this corn beer still plays a central role in community gatherings. We’ll finish at the Museo Inkariy, an engaging museum with life-size settings and artifacts that trace Peru’s major pre-Hispanic cultures such as Chavín, Paracas, Moche, Nazca, and Inca, adding helpful context to the places we've seen.

This morning we’ll drive about an hour and a half back to Cusco and head straight to the San Pedro Market. With a local chef as our guide, we’ll move through aisles of Andean potatoes, giant-kernel corn, fresh highland cheeses, herbs, breads, flowers, and fruit from the cloud forest.

With ingredients in hand, we’ll head up to the chef’s rooftop kitchen on the eleventh floor and cook a small menu using regional basics such as quinoa, ají amarillo, rocoto, and river trout, picking up simple techniques and tips along the way. We’ll sit down to enjoy the meal with wide views over Cusco’s red-tiled roofs.

After lunch we’ll check in to our hotel. The rest of the afternoon is free to keep exploring, with options such as visiting Qorikancha, browsing workshops in San Blas, or pausing for coca tea on a terrace.

With our final full day in Peru, you’ll have a chance to create your own experience. Options include wandering Cusco’s historic center, pausing at Qorikancha to see Inca stonework beneath the Santo Domingo convent, visiting one of the city’s museums, or treating yourself at a nearby spa with a coca leaf massage to unwind after the trip. Your tour leader will be on hand to help you arrange your perfect day. In the evening we’ll meet at one of Cusco’s great restaurants for our final dinner together.

You'll be picked up at the hotel for your airport transfer according to your flight time.