Day 1 · Lima
Arrive in Lima
You are met at the airport and taken to your hotel, about 20 minutes away. The rest of the day is yours.
- Travel
- 15 km, about 20 minutes
13 days · 12 nights
Colonial cities, condors and the high lake, then the Inca heartland.
Choose your dates when you enquire
Ask about datesBegin with two nights in Lima, then fly south to the colonial city of Arequipa. Cross the high plains to the Colca Canyon to watch condors, drive on to Puno for the islands of Lake Titicaca, and take the long road over the Andes to Cusco. The last days cover the Sacred Valley, a night below Machu Picchu and a final night in Cusco.
The same person from your first question to the flight home, with a wedding or vow renewal planned alongside if you like.
How the days unfold. Your advisor tailors the pace, the hotels and the extras to you.
+1 day beforeA night in Lima first
Lima
Day 1 · Lima
You are met at the airport and taken to your hotel, about 20 minutes away. The rest of the day is yours.
Day 2 · Lima
Begin at the Larco Museum in Pueblo Libre, a colonial mansion built on a pre-Columbian pyramid, with a fine collection of pre-Hispanic gold and silver. Visit Casa Aliaga, granted in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro to one of his captains, then walk the colonial centre around the main square and its Cathedral, which took more than 80 years to build.
Arequipa
Day 3 · Arequipa
Fly south to Arequipa (the flight is not included), where you are met and taken to your hotel. In the afternoon, tour the Plaza de Armas and its cathedral, the walled Monastery of Santa Catalina, for centuries closed to the outside world, and the carved Jesuit Church of the Company. End in Yanahuara and Carmen Alto for the view of El Misti volcano above the city.
Colca Valley
Day 4 · Colca Valley
Leave Arequipa through the ravines of Yura and across the Pampa Cañahuas, where wild vicuñas graze. Climb to the Patapampa lookout at 4,910 metres for a ring of volcanoes, then lunch in Chivay before a free afternoon at your Colca hotel.
Day 5 · Colca Valley
Drive to the Cruz del Condor lookout over one of the world's deepest canyons, where condors glide past. Descend through the villages of Pinchollo, Maca, Achoma and Yanque with their colonial churches, with lunch along the way. Finish at the Ocolle lookout above pre-Inca terraces and the Uyo Uyo archaeological site.
Puno
Day 6 · Puno
A free morning at the hotel, then an afternoon drive through the Salinas and Aguada Blanca National Reserve and the stone forests of Patahuasi. Look out for high lagoons, volcanoes and roadside stalls selling textiles on the way to Puno.
Lake Titicaca
Day 7 · Lake Titicaca
A boat from Puno takes you to the Uros, who live on islands woven from totora reeds and build their homes from the same reed. Sail on to Taquile, once part of the Inca Empire, for a cultural demonstration by the islanders and lunch, then return to Puno.
Puno to Cusco
Day 8 · Puno to Cusco
A shared bus runs from Puno to Cusco with stops along the way: the Lithic Museum at Pucara, the La Raya pass at 4,313 metres, lunch in Sicuani, the Temple of Wiracocha at Raqchi and the painted church of Andahuaylillas. The last 40 km bring you into Cusco.
Cusco
Day 9 · Cusco
A free morning, then an afternoon tour from the Santo Domingo Convent, built over the sun temple of Coricancha, to the Cathedral, the ramparts of Sacsayhuamán, the ritual site of Qenqo and the hilltop complex of Puka Pukara.
Sacred Valley
Day 10 · Sacred Valley
Visit Chinchero, a weaving town with Inca remains and one of Peru's earliest churches, then the Living Museum of Yucay to see traditional crafts and feed the llamas and alpacas. Lunch is in Ollantaytambo, followed by a climb up its Inca fortress before you settle into your Sacred Valley hotel.
Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes
Day 11 · Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes
The train runs down the valley to Aguas Calientes, where a 25-minute bus climbs to Machu Picchu. A guide explains the citadel's history and leads you past its main landmarks, then you return to Aguas Calientes for lunch and a free afternoon.
Cusco
Day 12 · Cusco
A free morning: rise early to return to Machu Picchu, or to climb Huayna Picchu, both subject to availability and arranged in advance. In the afternoon, take the train back to Ollantaytambo and transfer to your Cusco hotel.
Day 13 · Cusco
After breakfast, a transfer takes you to Cusco airport.
+1 day afterA last night in Cusco
The hotels for each stop. Your advisor confirms them, or something just as good, for your dates.
Lima · 2 nights
Or similar
Arequipa · 1 night
Or similar
Colca Valley · 2 nights
Or similar
Puno · 2 nights
Or similar
Cusco · 3 nights
Two nights after the road from Puno, and your last night. Or similar
Sacred Valley · 1 night
Or similar
Aguas Calientes · 1 night
Below Machu Picchu. Or similar
Add a few days before or after. Your advisor quotes them with the journey.
Before the journey · +1 day
Arrive a day early and rest before the old town tour, at the same hotel level as the journey.
After the journey · +1 day
Stay on for a slower final day in Cusco, at the same hotel level.
Tell us when you would like to travel. Your advisor confirms dates and hotels, tailors the trip to the two of you, and stays with you until you are home.
Peru
7 days · 6 nights
Lima → Cusco → Sacred Valley → Cusco → Puno
A night in Lima, then up to Cusco for the old Inca capital and a night in the Sacred Valley. A train carries you to Machu Picchu and back to Cusco, before a full day crossing the altiplano to Puno, where a boat takes you to the Uros and Taquile islands on Lake Titicaca.
Peru
13 days · 12 nights
Lima → Cusco → Sacred Valley → Machu Picchu → Cusco → Nauta
You start with a food market and a bike ride through Lima, then head into the Sacred Valley for a llama-escorted walk and a village visit. Machu Picchu comes next, by train or on foot, with a sunrise return to the ruins. You finish with four nights on a small riverboat from Nauta into the Amazon basin.
Peru
9 days · 8 nights
Lima → Sacred Valley → Aguas Calientes → Cusco
Two nights in Lima ease you in, then you fly to Cusco and head straight down to the Sacred Valley for two quiet nights. A night in Aguas Calientes gives you Machu Picchu with time to spare, and three nights in Cusco finish with a horse ride, a walking tour and a free day.
Begin with two nights in Lima, then fly south to the colonial city of Arequipa. Cross the high plains to the Colca Canyon to watch condors, drive on to Puno for the islands of Lake Titicaca, and take the long road over the Andes to Cusco. The last days cover the Sacred Valley, a night below Machu Picchu and a final night in Cusco.
Every trip can be shaped around you before you book.
Arrive early or stay on at the end, in the same hotel or somewhere new.
Your travel expert books flights that fit the first and last day.
Choose a better room or a hotel with a view for the nights that count.
A honeymoon, an anniversary or a birthday, planned into the trip.
Other ways to see Peru, closest in length first.
River and ocean cruise | 13 days | Lima · Cusco · Nauta
River and ocean cruise | 13 days | Lima · Sacred Valley · Yanayacu Yacapana
River and ocean cruise | 14 days | Lima · Nauta · Arequipa
Small group tour | 12 days | Lima · Sacred Valley · Choquequirao
