Day 1 · Lima
Arrive in Lima
You are met at the airport and taken to your hotel. The rest of the day is free to rest or take a first look at the old City of Kings, whose historic centre is UNESCO listed.
15 days · 14 nights
The whole of southern Peru by road, from desert coast and canyon to the high lake and the Inca heartland.
Choose your dates when you enquire
Ask about datesA long, varied overland journey. From Lima the route runs down the desert coast to Paracas and Nasca, climbs to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon, crosses the high plains to Lake Titicaca and ends with Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.
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. The rest of the day is free to rest or take a first look at the old City of Kings, whose historic centre is UNESCO listed.
Day 2 · Lima
Begin at the Larco Museum, set in an old mansion over a seventh century temple and known for its gold and silver. Visit Casa Aliaga, home to the same family since 1535, then the Plaza de Armas with the Government Palace and the cathedral. The afternoon is free.
Paracas
Day 3 · Paracas
Take the coach down the coast to Paracas and the rest of the day is yours. Walk the beach, explore the Paracas National Reserve with its sculpted rock and orange dunes, or watch the sun go down over the sea.
Nasca
Day 4 · Nasca
Cruise out from El Chaco to the Ballestas Islands, rocky islets crowded with sea lions, boobies, pelicans and Humboldt penguins, passing the ancient Candelabra geoglyph on the way. In the afternoon, take the coach inland to Nasca.
Arequipa
Day 5 · Arequipa
A 30 minute light aircraft flight over the desert shows the Nasca Lines take shape below: a spider, a condor, a monkey. Then a long coach journey brings you to Arequipa in the evening.
Day 6 · Arequipa
Start on the Plaza de Armas and its cathedral, then wander the coloured lanes of the Santa Catalina monastery, a walled town within the city for centuries. Finish in Yanahuara and Carmen Alto, with El Misti volcano above the rooftops.
Colca Valley
Day 7 · Colca Valley
Drive through Yura and across the Pampa Cañahuas, home to wild vicuñas, to the Patapampa lookout at about 4,910 metres. After lunch in Chivay, the afternoon at your valley hotel is free.
Day 8 · Colca Valley
Watch for condors at the Cruz del Condor lookout over a canyon about 3,400 metres deep. Return through the riverside villages of Pinchollo, Maca, Achoma and Yanque, stopping at the pre-Inca terraces of the Ocolle lookout and the Uyo Uyo site.
Puno
Day 9 · Puno
A free morning at your hotel, then an afternoon drive through the Salinas and Aguada Blanca reserve and the stone forest of Patahuasi, past volcanoes and high lagoons. Arrive in Puno on the shore of Lake Titicaca for the evening.
Lake Titicaca
Day 10 · Lake Titicaca
Sail out to the Uros, floating islands woven from totora reeds by the people who live on them. Continue to Taquile, with its old Inca terraces, for a cultural welcome from the community and lunch on the island before returning to Puno.
Cusco
Day 11 · Cusco
Travel by coach with a guide over the altiplano, reaching 4,313 metres. Stop at Pukara, an early settlement near the lake, the Temple of Wiracocha at Racchi, and the church of Andahuaylillas, known for the art inside, before arriving in Cusco.
Day 12 · Cusco
A free morning in the old town, then an afternoon tour of the Santo Domingo convent on the Coricancha sun temple, the cathedral, and the hilltop sites of Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo and Puka Pukara.
Sacred Valley
Day 13 · Sacred Valley
Visit the weaving town of Chinchero and its seventeenth century church, with the market on Sundays, and the Living Museum of Yucay, where crafts are made the Inca way and the llamas can be fed. After lunch in Ollantaytambo, climb to the fortress, then rest at your valley hotel.
Machu Picchu and Cusco
Day 14 · Machu Picchu and Cusco
Take the train of about two hours to Aguas Calientes and go up to Machu Picchu for a guided visit of the citadel. Lunch is back in Aguas Calientes before the train to Cusco.
Cusco
Day 15 · Cusco
Breakfast, then your transfer to the 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
Paracas · 1 night
Or similar
Nasca · 1 night
Or similar
Arequipa · 2 nights
Or similar
Colca Valley · 2 nights
Or similar
Puno · 2 nights
On Lake Titicaca. Or similar
Cusco · 3 nights
Two nights before the Sacred Valley and one after Machu Picchu. Or similar
Sacred Valley · 1 night
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 journey south, at the same hotel level.
After the journey · +1 day
Stay on for a slow final day in Cusco after Machu Picchu.
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.
A long, varied overland journey. From Lima the route runs down the desert coast to Paracas and Nasca, climbs to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon, crosses the high plains to Lake Titicaca and ends with Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.
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.
Private tour | 15 days | Lima · Paracas · Sacred Valley | Price on enquiry.
River and ocean cruise | 14 days | Lima · Nauta · Arequipa
River and ocean cruise | 13 days | Lima · Cusco · Nauta
Small group tour | 13 days | Lima · Arequipa · Aguas Calientes
