9 Day – Peru gastronomy: Cusco and Lima food tour

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 centre 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, at the end of the tour, we will return to your hotel. 

Our culinary experience begins when we head to a typical local market in Lima, guided by our chef. Here we will see many of the unique ingredients that Peru has to offer, not only from Lima but also from the Andean highlands and the Amazon rainforest. The sights, smells and sounds of the market are exhilarating, and we’ll see the huge array of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and more that Peru is famous for.  

As we explore the market, we’ll search for the ingredients that we will use in our cooking class and, afterwards, to prepare a traditional Peruvian lunch. We’ll have various dishes to choose from, which can be decided among the group.  

After buying all our ingredients, we’ll leave the market and head to our kitchen workshop. Here, our chef will teach us to prepare some of the most traditional and delicious dishes from Peru. You might learn how to cook a classic Peruvian ceviche, or a tasty causa limeña, or perhaps a tiradito de pescado or lomo saltado.  

After learning how to cook your chosen dish, it will time for us to relax as we hand over the kitchen to the chef, who will display all his culinary skills as he cooks us a traditional Peruvian lunch. At the same time, the chef will tell us more about Peruvian cuisine, its rich history, and the many unusual ingredients that can be found across the country.  

We’ll all sit down to enjoy our lunch and continue chatting with the chef. Once lunch is over, our culinary experience will draw to an end. Full of newfound knowledge, and full of Peruvian food, it will be time to say thanks and bye to the chef, and then we’ll take you back 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! Arrival to Cusco with a transfer to your hotel; a welcome meeting will be organized by your guide for a quick briefing of the tour. 

Our Cusco city tour begins in the afternoon (13h00), 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. 

At 19h00 - Folklore Show and Dinner  

Head to the Tunupa restaurant, located just the central Plaza de Armas of Cusco (3 minutes walking from Hotel), and get ready for a fabulous buffet dinner. There is a large selection of typical dishes, meat, fish, vegetables, and desserts they are amazing and delicious dishes. The night is more enjoyable when the traditional dance show begins and you can get involved with folk, traditional, classical music, and sweeten your ears with the Andean instruments: Quena, charango, flute, zampoña. If you wish, you can also share the dance floor with the dancers and get a great experience. 

We’ll pick you up from your hotel at around 09h30 and take you to the colourful, bustling San Pedro market in Cusco. This is one of the most interesting markets in Cusco, with a huge array of fresh fruit and veg, meat, souvenirs and handicrafts.  

Before entering the market, your group will meet the chef who you’ll be cooking with later. He or she will give you a brief explanation of the dynamics of the tour. You’ll then be taken around the market and the chef will tell you all about the many ingredients on display, as well as give you some shopping tips. As we explore the market, we’ll pick out the ingredients that we’ll be using during the cooking class. Interacting with the local stall owners is a great opportunity to experience local life, and encounter some very colourful characters.   

At the end of the market tour, we’ll head straight to the chef’s house. You’ll be provided with the necessary clothing, and then you’ll be ready to cook! Your experienced chef will tell you all about the dish before guiding you through each step of preparation. You’ll be using organic products only, many of which are grown in the traditional communities in and around Cusco. Which dish you prepare will depend on the season, but you’ll certainly be using ingredients that are representative of Andean cuisine, such as potatoes and corn.  

Once the class is over, the whole group will help set the table and serve all the dishes that have been prepared. And then it’s time to eat! You’ll all sit down with the chef (and maybe the chef’s family) to eat the wonderful meal that you have just learned how to cook!  

After eating and saying thanks and goodbye to the chef, we’ll take you back to your hotel in Cusco.

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. 

At the end of the tour, transfer to hotel in Sacred Valley. 

From your hotel, we’ll head to the famous Sacred Valley of the Incas. Our first stop is 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.  

After another 1.5-hours 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, and transfer to Train Station Ollantaytambo. The train leaves at 16h43 (time may change depending on availability and changes to timetable). After a 2-hour journey of majestic views you arrive to Aguas Calientes (Hot Springs Town) where you will spend the night, dinner at the Hotel. 

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.  

At around 12h00 you will enjoy the buffet Lunch at the famous Belmond Sanctuary Lodge which is right beside the Citadel. 

Once we’ve finished our tour of Machu Picchu, we’ll take the bus back down to Aguas Calientes where you can relax before we board the train back to Poroy and Cusco. Upon arrival at the station, we’ll be waiting to take you back to your hotel in Cusco, where you can think back to your incredible tour of one of the world’s most famous and most impressive attractions. 

After breakfast enjoy your last day at leisure before transferring to the airport for your return flight home via Lima.