Premium Peru - 9 Days

Bienvenido! Welcome to Peru! Your adventure begins in Lima, where you’ll be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel for a welcome meeting at 2 pm. After, head out on a downtown walking tour with your leader, admiring Plaza Mayor and visiting the eerie catacombs of Saint Francis Monastery. Continue away from the tourist trail to Alameda de Chabuca Granda – a local favourite – and sample sweet treats like Peruvian doughnuts and mazamorra morada. Tonight, have dinner at one of the city’s best restaurants, where traditional Peruvian dishes are served with modern twists in a one-of-a-kind setting.

Today, you’ll catch a flight to Puerto Maldonado. When you arrive, take a bus to the port where you’ll board motorised canoes and head into the Amazon rainforest. Keep an eye out for macaws, herons, alligators and capybaras along the way. Here, you’ll find Inkaterra Hacienda Concepcion – your Feature Stay for the next two nights. Built in the heart of a 380-hectare private ecological reserve, this unique resort focuses on the conservation of local habitats and features 25 private cabanas plus an on-site team of expert local guides. Enjoy lunch at the lodge, then explore the Concepcion Trails with one of the guides. As darkness falls, you’ll hop on a boat for a twilight ride along the river, trying to spot caimans lurking on the riverbanks on conserving with local Amazonian ingredients at a local restaurant with your group.

After breakfast, board a dug-out wooden canoe and glide across Lake Sandoval, keeping an eye out for potential wildlife sightings, like red howler monkeys, giant river otters and colourful macaws. After lunch, you might like to walk along the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway – a 344 m (1128.6 ft) network of suspension bridges that take you high above the forest floor to some of the best places to spot toucans, woodpeckers, monkeys and three-toed sloths. After, join your group for a short walk to a nearby lake, where you’ll board a boat to watch the sunset as it falls over the Amazon rainforest. Enjoy a cocktail and light bites on board before returning to the lodge for an optional spa experience and a group dinner. Later this evening, go for a night walk to discover the nocturnal activity in the surrounding area and maybe spot some animals you wouldn’t see during the day!

This morning, travel back to Puerto Maldonado, then take a flight to Cusco – the former centre of the Inca Empire. Arrive in the early afternoon before heading out with your leader to discover what the city has to offer. Stop by the stunning Plaza de Armas – the heart of the city, flanked by ornate churches. Visit the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Cusco Cathedral, built on top of an Inca palace and one of the city’s greatest repositories of art. Here, you’ll meet with a local historian who will provide expert insight into the building’s art, architecture and history and the surrounding city. Visit the Coricancha Temple – once the most important temple in the Inca Empire. The evening is free for your own discoveries. Cusco offers no shortage of restaurants and as night falls, the city is swept up in a flurry of live music and late-night street food stalls.

Today is free for you to explore at your own pace. Why not head to the San Pedro market, where you can practice your bargaining skills and take photos, then swing by the Plaza de Armas for another look at the cathedral. Speak to your leader about the optional cooking class at a local restaurant using fair-trade products, or take the half-day Inkilltambo trek, exploring an archaeologic site on the city’s outskirts. Maybe check out the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, where the massive stone blocks that form the walls provide an impressive picture of how greatly developed Inca engineering was.

This morning, travel through the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo, passing maize crops and fertile terraces carved into the valley walls. Visit the AMA Restaurant in Urubamba – this cafe provides employment opportunities and job training for single mothers throughout the Sacred Valley. Enjoy a snack and learn how this inclusive enterprise focuses on economic growth, gender equality and the support of vulnerable communities. Then venture further into the Sacred Valley to meet the Willoq community and gain greater insight into the local lifestyle. Visit a local workshop where you’ll learn about traditional textile techniques that are used by the community – you’ll even have the chance to make your own bracelet with the local women. Sit down for a festive pachamanca lunch. Continue to Ollantaytambo – a magnificent example of Inca urban planning and the perfect warm-up for Machu Picchu. Explore Ollantaytambo’s archaeological site with an expert local guide who will discuss the evidence of the Incas’ engineering skills in the ruins of ancient aqueducts, irrigation canals, dams, terraces and centres of worship dedicated to Pachamama (Mother Earth).

Today, travel from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes in style, boarding the Rail 360° train. High, domed windows offer unbelievable views of the Andes, allowing you to sit back comfortably and take it all in. The train also features an open-air observation carriage to completely immerse you in the remarkable landscape. Disembark the train in Aguas Calientes, drop your belongings at your hotel, then take a short bus ride up the winding road to Machu Picchu, where you’ll be joined by a guide who will take you through the ruins and tell you stories of its history. The true purpose behind Machu Picchu, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, may always be a mystery since no records of the complex exist. Most archaeologists, however, believe it to be the 15th-century headquarters of Emperor Pachacuti. Later, take the bus back down to Aguas Calientes.

Rise before the sun and take the winding road back up to the incredible Machu Picchu. On your second visit, explore more of the extraordinary architecture of the temples, palaces and living quarters. Looking at Machu Picchu as it sits against a backdrop of forested mountains is a truly breathtaking experience. Its mortar-free design is particularly earthquake resistant, and the stones are so precisely cut that, to this day, not even a knife fits between them! Take the bus back to Aguas Calientes, then catch a train back to Ollantaytambo. From here, you’ll make the drive back to Cusco for the evening.

Your adventure comes to an end after breakfast this morning. If you would like to extend your stay in Cusco, just speak to your booking agent ahead of time to organise additional accommodation.