Classic Peru 7D/6N
the essentials of Peru in one week

You land in Lima, the Peruvian capital and a benchmark of Latin American cuisine. Our team waits for you at Jorge Chávez Airport to take you to your hotel; ideally your flight arrives before noon, so you have time to settle in before heading out in the afternoon. The tour starts in the historic center, protected by UNESCO, in front of the Plaza Mayor: the Government Palace and the Cathedral frame your guide's story of viceregal Lima.

The next stop is the San Francisco Convent, with its baroque doorway, a centuries-old library and the catacombs that served as a colonial cemetery. Later we jump forward in time toward Miraflores: on the way we see Huaca Pucllana, an adobe pyramid older than the Incas, from the outside, and we finish at the Parque del Amor, on the clifftop. At the end, we return to the hotel.

We leave Lima very early and take the Pan-American Highway south to Paracas Bay. There we board a speedboat around the Ballestas Islands, known as the Galápagos of Peru, home to sea lions, Humboldt penguins and huge flocks of guano birds; along the way the Candelabra appears, a giant geoglyph traced in the sand whose origin no one has solved. Then we continue to Ica and stop so you can have lunch on your own.

The afternoon starts at an artisanal winery, where you see how grapes become pisco and taste several of its versions. Then we reach Huacachina, an oasis surrounded by huge dunes: you ride a buggy that speeds across the sand and slide down the slopes on a sandboard as the sun sets over the desert. After dark we drive back to Lima and drop you at your hotel.

After breakfast we take you to Lima airport to fly to Cusco, which rises at 3,399 m in the heart of the Andes. We meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel, where it's best to spend the morning calmly so your body can adjust to the altitude. In the afternoon we head to the Plaza de Armas to visit the Cathedral, with its Cusco School paintings, and the Coricancha, the great Inca temple to the Sun later turned into the Santo Domingo Convent.

The tour continues in the hills around the city. We visit Sacsayhuamán, whose stone walls fit together without mortar; Q'enqo, a shrine carved into the rock; Puca Pucara, an ancient checkpoint; and Tambomachay, with its fountains devoted to water. Since some spots are above 3,700 m, we walk without hurry. You end the day with a clear idea of how the Incas lived and built.

The most fertile valley of the Inca empire awaits you on a full-day outing. The first stop is Chinchero, known for its weavers, who show how they dye and spin wool with plants and minerals next to a colonial church built on Inca foundations. We continue to Maras, where thousands of salt pools cover the hillside like a mosaic, and to Moray, whose rings of terraces helped the Incas test crops. At midday a buffet lunch awaits in Urubamba.

With renewed energy we visit Ollantaytambo, an Inca town that is still inhabited and keeps its original streets at the foot of a fortress of monumental terraces. The day ends in Pisac, among terraces hanging from the mountain and a craft market full of textiles and ceramics. Being lower than Cusco, the valley also helps your acclimatization; we return to the city at nightfall.

Today is the big day. We pick you up very early and cross the Sacred Valley by road to Ollantaytambo station, where you board the Vistadome Observatory, a train with a glass ceiling, large windows and an observatory car so you don't miss the Urubamba canyon. On arriving in Aguas Calientes you take the bus that winds up the Hiram Bingham road to the gate of Machu Picchu, at 2,430 m.

With your official guide you explore the citadel's most important sectors along one of the established circuits; entry works by circuits and depends on available spots. After the guided tour you have time for photos and to walk on your own. In the afternoon you ride the bus down to town, return on the Expedition train to Ollantaytambo and we drive you to your hotel in Cusco.

The high-altitude adventure begins very early, when we pick you up at your hotel. After about two hours on the road we stop in Cusipata for breakfast and then continue to the trailhead, at about 4,600 m. From there, in 1.5 to 2 hours, you climb to the Vinicunca viewpoint, at 5,036 m, step by step and with rests; if you need it, you can rent a horse for much of the way up.

The reward is a slope painted red, turquoise and gold by minerals, with the snowy Ausangate dominating the horizon. We head down the same route and share a buffet lunch before returning to Cusco. Since you've already spent several days at altitude, you enjoy it much more, and the tour carries trekking poles and oxygen in case they're needed.

On the last day we take you to another Andean gem. We leave Cusco very early heading northwest, have breakfast on the way and reach Soraypampa, at about 3,900 m, where the trail begins. In 1.5 to 2 hours of steady climbing you reach Humantay Lake, at about 4,200 m, a turquoise mirror formed by meltwater from the glacier of the same name, with Salkantay as a backdrop.

After some time for photos and taking it all in, you head back down to Soraypampa for a buffet lunch and return to Cusco in the afternoon. From there we take you to the airport, so it's best to book your departure flight as late as possible or add an extra night. So ends your Classic Peru 7D/6N: a week that took you from the Pacific to the Andean peaks, with Machu Picchu at the heart of the journey.