The first stop on our Lima city tour is Huaca Pucllana, a huge archaeological site in Miraflores, one of Lima’s most popular districts. Huaca Pucllana was an important ceremonial and administrative center of the Lima culture, which developed along this part of the Peruvian coast between 200 AD and 700 AD. This sacred place was built from seven staggered platforms surrounded by a plaza and large walls. It’s a very impressive site, and certainly not what you expect to find in lively Miraflores!  

After exploring Huaca Pucllana with your bilingual guide, we’ll drive to the historic center of Lima, all of which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. We’ll go to the beautiful Plaza de Armas (Lima’s main square) which is surrounded by impressive colonial and Republican-era buildings, many of which have ornate wooden balconies. Some of Peru’s most important buildings surround the square, including the Government Palace, Cathedral of Lima, Archbishop's Palace of Lima, the Municipal Palace and the Palace of the Union, we’ll visit the Cathedral of Lima, which was completed in 1649. It’s a huge structure, with a large central nave and 14 side chapels. Inside, we’ll see the sculptures and paintings that decorate the interior. The cathedral is also home to the tomb of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro.  

Next we’ll walk one block to the Convent of Santo Domingo. Founded in the 1530s and completed in 1766, it is one of the most important religious buildings in Peru, and its large bell tower is a landmark in the historic center of Lima. As we walk around the interior of the convent, we’ll see the beautiful Sevillian azulejos (ceramic tiles) that decorate the walls, dating from 1604 and 1606. There is also a series of paintings that present passages of the life of Saint Dominic, the founder of the Dominican order, which date to around 1608.  

Next we’ll head to the private Larco Museum, which is one of the best museums in the country. Here you can see a wide range of pre-Columbian art and artefacts, including ceramics, textiles, metalwork and more. The museum is most famous, however, for its incredible – and quite X-rated – gallery of pre-Columbian erotic pottery. These ceramics display sexual acts between men and women, as well as homosexual acts, in at times explicit detail and in various postures, at the end of the tour, we will return to your hotel. 

A representative of Valencia Travel Cusco will pick you up from the hotel and take you to the airport where you will take your flight to Cusco!  

After your arrival to Cusco, your cultural excursion will begin when we pick you up in Cusco and drive you out to the Ccaccaccollo Community. When we arrive, we’ll meet some of the locals who live in the community, which is home to some 50 families. Here, the two main activities are farming and weaving, with the men working the land while the women doing the weaving.  The weaving techniques have been passed down from one woman to another for centuries, and today Ccaccaccollo produces some of the most amazing textiles in Peru. During your visit, you’ll be able to attend a talk and see a demonstration about how these textiles are made, learning all about the ancient techniques that are still used today, one of the Quechua-speaking weavers will tell us (through a translator) about the secrets of the traditional iconography used in their designs, and will show you the entire manufacturing process from the shearing of the wool to spinning and the washing of the wool with natural soap. You’ll also learn about the plants and flowers that are collected to use as dyes. You can also have a go at weaving a blanket, a poncho, a chullo hat or one of the many other items made by the women weavers of Ccaccaccollo.  

After the weaving, you’ll have the rest of the day to explore the community at your leisure, getting to know the locals and seeing what else they do to keep the community thriving. And, of course, you’ll be able to purchase the amazing high-quality textiles on offer, helping to support the community directly. We’ll drop you off at your hotel. Then spend the remainder of the day at leisure. 

We’ll pick you up from your hotel at 08h30 and then set off towards the Sacred Valley. In Pisac, we will visit the colorful traditional market, where you can browse the array of local artisan work and other souvenirs – which of course you can buy to take home with you. We’ll spend about 30 minutes here, and then head up to the ruins of Pisac which sit atop a hill at the entrance to the valley. 

At the Pisac archaeological site, we’ll explore the extensive ruins and enjoy the beautiful views across the valley. You’ll be given a guided tour of the ruins, passing through various structures that once served as homes, storage rooms and temples, and you’ll see Inca altars, carvings, tunnels, caves and the famous Intihuatana, the “hitching post of the sun.” We’ll explore Pisac for about 90 minutes. Alternatively, if you’d like to spend more time in the market in Pisac instead of seeing the ruins, you can talk to your guide and arrange a time and a place to meet when the tour group returns through the market after the ruins. 

After visiting Pisac, we have visit to the nearby Potato Park! The Potato Park is a community-led and rights-based conservation project where approximately 2,300 of the 4,000 known potato varieties in the world are grown. You can meet the local community, learn about the unique process of potato cultivation, and learn the stories that lie behind each humble potato. 

 We’ll now head on towards Urubamba, where we’ll stop for about 45 minutes for lunch (not included). After another 30-minute drive, we’ll reach the wonderful Inca town and archaeological site of Ollantaytambo. Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of the Inca emperor Pachacuti, who conquered the region and built the town and a ceremonial center. We’ll spend about an hour exploring these magnificent ruins, visiting the amazing Temple of the Sun and seeing massive blocks of rock that were perfectly carved and polished by master Inca stonemasons. Ollantaytambo is also a fine example of Inca agricultural construction and hydro-engineering, with a complex series of stone water fountains, channels and agricultural terraces, the latter organized by elevation to create different microclimates for crop experimentation.  

We’ll see the extent of the water system when we return to the town, where fast-flowing water channels built by the Incas are still in use today. Walking to the town square, we’ll have great views of the ruins above us, as well as Inca granaries and store houses built on the sides of the surrounding mountains. Here we can also watch the daily life of Ollantaytambo, where many of the locals still wear traditional dress, after the visit to Ollantaytambo, return to hotel in Sacred Valley. 

Our Machu Picchu adventure begins in Cusco, as we pick you up from your hotel in the morning (the exact time will depend on the train schedule). We then head to the train station and board the train for a scenic 2.5-hour journey to a point known as Kilometer 104. This is where we start our short Inca Trail trek.  

From here, we have a walk of about four hours up to the Inca site of Wiñay Wayna ('Forever Young'), at about 2,680 meters (8,792 feet) above sea level. Wiñay Wayna is an impressive Inca ruin built into a steep hillside overlooking the Urubamba River. It consists of an upper and lower section of housing or storage, connected by an Inca staircase and a cascade of water channels and fountains. Almost the entire hillside above and below the structures is covered by beautiful Inca agricultural terraces. As well as being an agricultural center, Wiñay Wayna was also a religious or ceremonial site 

After exploring Wiñay Wayna, we’ll continue our trek all the way to Inti Punku (the Sun Gate). From the Sun Gate, you’ll have your first, dramatic view of Machu Picchu. It is believed that Inti Punku was once the main entrance to Machu Picchu. The site was dedicated to Inti, the Inca sun god, and was positioned on a ridge near Machu Picchu at just the right location to allow the rising sun to pass through the gate each year on the summer solstice.  

We’ll continue our trek down towards Machu Picchu, moving tantalizingly close to the famous citadel. But before we reach Machu Picchu, we’ll take a side path off the trail and head down to Aguas Calientes, leaving our exploration of Machu for the following day, when we’ll have more time to explore. Aguas Calientes is the town below Machu Picchu, and this is where we’ll have dinner and take you to your hotel. You’ll probably want to have an early night, as we wake up early the next day for our exploration of Machu Picchu. 

Maximum altitude: 2,700 m / 8,792 ft 

Minimum Altitude: 2,100 m / 6,900 ft 

Approximate walking time: 5-6 hours 

Walking Distance - 10km / 6.3 miles 

To best appreciated Machu Picchu, we’ll wake up early in the morning so we can get to the citadel in good time. You’ll have time for breakfast first, and then your guide will pick you up from the hotel at around 5:40 a.m. We’ll then walk to the bus departure point for the short but zigzagging ascent up the road to Machu Picchu.  

We’ll then pass through the gates into the Machu Picchu archaeological site. Here you’ll begin your guided walking tour with an experienced and highly knowledgeable guide. Our tour of Machu Picchu will last about two hours, and will take you to all the most famous and most spectacular parts of the extensive archaeological complex. These include the House of the Guardian, Intihuatana, Temple of the Sun, Sacred Plaza and other key locations. And as we walk around, we’ll have spectacular views across the agriculture terraces of Machu Picchu and across to the surrounding mountains and plunging gorges. After the guided tour you’ll have time to explore Machu Picchu as you please, perhaps walking to some less visited parts such as the Inca Bridge.  

At around 14h00 you will enjoy the buffet Lunch at the famous Belmond Sanctuary Lodge which is right beside the Citadel, soon it will be time to go back down to Aguas Calientes and catch your train back to Cusco. Your train ride to Cusco will be aboard the exclusive and luxurious Belmond Hiram Bingham. Enjoy the sophisticated dining car as well as the bar car. There will be special Peruvian cocktails and live music in the bar car. Upon your arrival at the Poroy station you will be picked up and driven back to your hotel. 

Our Cusco city tour begins in the morning, when we’ll first head to the wonderful Koricancha, next door to Santo Domingo Church. According to the chroniclers who wrote during the period directly after the Spanish Conquest, the Koricancha was the most sacred and most important temple in the Inca Empire. Its walls were covered with gold, and life-size statues of plants and animals – all made of pure gold and silver – decorated its rooms and hallways. Sadly, this wealth was stripped out by the Spanish conquistadors. It remains a magnificent temple, however, and your guide will take you around the Koricancha, showing you details that you almost certainly miss if you visited without a guide.  

After visiting the Koricancha, we’ll head to Cusco Cathedral, located on the Plaza de Armas. Built between 1560 and 1654 on top of the foundations of an existing Inca temple, this spectacular cathedral houses many works of art by the Cusco School of painters, and its main altar and pulpit are covered in gold and silver relief work. Look carefully and you’ll also see elements of indigenous religious symbolism incorporated into the church by the native people who worked on its construction, such as the carved head of a jaguar on the doors.  

Our next stop is the imposing Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman, which sits on a hill above Cusco. Here you will see some of the finest examples of Inca stonework and construction, including massive rocks that were carefully cut and perfectly fitted together to form the walls. From here you’ll also have beautiful panoramic views of Cusco.  

After exploring Sacsayhuaman we’ll head up the hill to the Tambomachay Archeological Complex. The exact purpose of this site is unknown, but it may have functioned, at least in part, as an Inca spa. Inca hydro-engineering is apparent here, with a series of aqueducts, canals and waterfalls running through the terraced rocks, Tambomachay is the last attraction on our city tour, after which we’ll head back down into Cusco and drop you off at your hotel. 

We will pick you up from your hotel around 08h00 to take you to Moray “The Inca agricultural greenhouse or laboratory.” We will drive for about 1 hour and 20 minutes through the snow-capped peaks of the Andes, through lush yellow fields of wheat, past some villages.  Finally, you will arrive at the fascinating display of terraces in Moray. Moray boasts three amphitheatre-like terraces made by the Incas. These terraces, which are carved deep into the earth in a bowl shape, were thought to be used to determine the optimal conditions for growing crops. When we finish exploring Moray, we will continue and visit the salt mines of Maras, which is about 2 miles away.  This village is known as a former salt-producing center that is thought to date back to pre-Inca times. There are over 3000 salt pools all carved into the mountainside; the highly salty water emerges at a spring, a natural outlet of the underground stream. The flow is directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down onto the several hundred ancient terraced ponds. The water, which is exposed to the sun, leaves salt on the land.  

Afterward, visit the village of Ccorcco (Chincheros) to the north west of Cusco. This picturesque village was an important Inca centre and is known for the traditional Andean weaving techniques still used by its people & eating a delicious Pachamanca lunch. 

Pachamanca comes from the Quechua language pacha “earth”, manka “pot”. It’s a traditional Peruvian meal that is prepared with the aid of hot stones. The earth oven is prepared by heating stones. Here they used granite, since it’s very common. First, dig out a wide hole in the ground and arrange the stones over them like a makeshift oven. Next, start a fire inside it. When the stones reach the proper temperature they are ready to be used in cooking food. 

After this fantastic visit, we will drive back to hotel. 

We will pick you up at 06h00 and take you to the Train station in Cusco. The route covered by the Titicaca train is considered by many travel magazines to be one of the most beautiful in the world, with a trip that lasts ten and a half hours. At the start of the journey, passengers are welcomed at the Wanchaq Station (Cusco), where local musicians will provide background music as you board the train. Once aboard, you can enjoy the two dining cars decorated in the style of the Pullman cars of the 1920s. Also, during the trip, you will have the finest in gourmet food. Once you arrive in Puno, the folklore capital, you will be taken to your hotel where you will stay the night. At night, keep to the main, lit areas. The main street will be obvious and there are lots of little restaurants there.  

Our full-day trip begins at around 07h00 when we pick you up from your hotel in Puno. We’ll then head down to the port and board our comfortable motor launch to ride out to the island of Taquile.  

Taquile is one of the most beautiful islands in Peru, where the traditional way of life is still very much alive. We’ll meet some of the master weavers of this ancient Andean community, whose textiles are considered among the best in the country. According to legend, the Incas themselves learned how to weave from the artisans of this island. On Taquile, the men are the weavers, and the women spin the yarn.  

After seeing the weavers and exploring the beautiful island, we’ll head down to the small port on Taquile at around midday and head by boat towards the Chucuito Peninsula. This is in the Aymara region of Lake Titicaca and it represents the communal identity of the Peruvian-Bolivian altiplano. We’ll visit the small and rarely visited rural community of Luquina, where we’ll enjoy a wonderful buffet lunch at the local fisherman’s house.  

Later in the afternoon, as we begin heading back towards Puno, we’ll visit the amazing Floating Islands of the Uros people. When we arrive at the floating islands, you’ll probably be amazed by the scale of these floating reed constructions. The Uros originally built these islands for defensive reasons: if a threat appeared, they could move their island homes to a safer location. The islands are made from the totora reeds that grow around the lake, and each island is in a constant state of reconstruction, as old reeds are preplaced by new.  

Stepping onto the islands is quite an experience, as the springy reed floor feels strange beneath your feet. We’ll explore the main island, and see the houses, watchtowers and other structures, all built of reeds. One of the locals will then give a brief presentation about how the islands are made, and then you can meet one of the local families to see how they live, after visiting the Uros islands, we’ll head back to Puno, where we’ll take you to your hotel. 

Our trip to Sillustani begins when we pick you up from your hotel in Puno at around 8 a.m. We’ll then drive for about 40 minutes until we reach a traditional family home, where we can see some of extraditions of the region. We can participate in an ancient pago a la tierra, in which we pay tribute to the land and to Mother Earth. We’ll also see herds of alpacas as they graze on the land.  

Moving on, we’ll take a boat out to Umayo Island, an island in Lake Umayo, next to the Sillustani archaeological site. The island is a protected reserve, and here we can see wild vicuñas, vizcachas and other animals. We’ll then continue by boat to Sillustani.  

We’ll have plenty of time to explore Sillustani and see the chullpas, which display contrasting pre-Columbian architectural styles from civilizations such as the Pucara, Tiahuanaco, Ccolla and the Incas. Made of stones weighing up to six tons, many of which are perfectly aligned with one another, these funerary towers are very impressive. The largest tower took around 50 years to complete. There are more than 90 structures in total, some small and some very large. Mummified bodies were buried inside the funerary towers, and placed in a fetal position along with various possessions that would accompany them to the afterlife. The small entranceways into the towers were aligned towards the sunrise, helping the spirits of the deceased travel to the Sun God.  

 After your guided tour of Sillustani, on the way, we’ll pass through spectacular scenery, and we’ll stop at a rural homestead to learn more about life on the high Andean plains. Here we’ll have a typical Andean lunch with some fascinating produce from the region, including chuño potatoes, which are freeze-dried at night, and local cheese.  

After lunch, we can take you to the airport for your flight to Lima. On arrival at Lima airport a transfer will be arranged to the hotel where the rest of the evening is at leisure. 

This morning you will be picked up from the hotel and transferred to the airport.