DAY 1: Arrive in Cusco. Travel to Sacred Valley for a Local Lunch & Pottery Making

On arrival at Cusco airport your guide will meet and accompany you on the 90-minute transfer to the Sacred Valley hotel. It is recommended that your flight arrives by 10 a.m. You are sure to want to stop along the way for photos at the many fantastic viewpoints.

After checking into your hotel you head to a local restaurant for lunch. A visit to a local potter rounds off the day. You will have the chance to craft your own special souvenir under the watchful eye of master craftsmen.

Finally your guide will take you back to your hotel where you can rest for the night and enjoy the peace and quiet of this beautiful rural area.

Overnight in the Sacred Valley: Villa Urubamba or similar
Meals Included: Lunch

DAY 2: Pedal From Pisac Market

Today we drive to the small town of Pisac to enjoy its market day. You can wander amongst the many artisan stalls at your leisure. If you look carefully you may also see some of the elder locals, who have come down from remote hill villages to barter potatoes, carrots and onions in exchange for tropical fruits brought up from the jungle.

We then head to Taray and unload the bikes. We cycle out of the plaza and follow a beautiful dirt road alongside the River Urubamba. Travelling slowly is the perfect way to appreciate the beauty of this traditional agricultural area. Vibrant fields of corn, kiwicha and quinoa line your route as cheery farm workers put down their tools to wave as you pass. En-route we enjoy a picnic lunch.

The fit can cycle all the way back to the hotel, or the support vehicle can take us back at any time.

Overnight in the Sacred Valley: Villa Urubamba or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 3: Kayak or SUP Lake Huaypo & Maras Moray

Today, you head to our watersports centre on the shores of Lake Huaypo for some active options. Set amongst fields of corn with fantastic views across to the snow capped Vilcanota mountains, this is a relaxing rural setting and the perfect place to acclimatise and enjoy some fun on the water. Choose between exploring the lake on our Stand Up Paddleboards or Sit On Top Kayaks. Once fully kitted up in wetsuits, booties and life jackets, your expert guide will give you a full instruction on these easy to use crafts before you head out through the reeds and onto the lake itself.

To paddle across lake Huaypo is a magical experience as you glide along enjoying spectacular views of the Andes mountains and the local farms and hopefully glimpse some of the birdlife that use Huaypo as a migration base including the rare Andean Flamingo. On the far side of the lake, we enjoy some snacks before heading back to our base in time for hot showers and lunch.

Lunch today is a traditional Pachamanca meal. A Pachamanca is a traditional way of preparing food in the Andes. In the absence of a stove an oven is built out of stones, the stones are heated with a wood fire and once brought to a very high temperature. The meat and vegetables are then carefully covered with the rocks.. Herbs are then added and the whole mound is covered by wet sheets and finally a mound of earth.

After thirty-five minutes the meal is ready and we have the pleasure of digging up our delicious potatoes, yams, corn, fava beans, and meat straight from the earth.

There’s time to relax in our hammocks and enjoy the stunning views before we say farewell to Huaypo and take a dirt road to the incredible ruins of Moray. These rarely visited circular ruins are thought to have been agricultural experimental stations in the times of the Incas.

After visiting the ruins, we head back across the plains through the interesting town of Maras to visit the amazing Salineras, a series of salt pans that have been worked since Inca times.

We explore this amazing site before finally returning to our hotel after a full day of fun, culture, fine dining and history.

Overnight in the Sacred Valley: Villa Urubamba or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 4: Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

Today is the day you reach Machu Picchu. Built over 500 years ago this is one of new Seven Wonders of the World. And rightly so. Words do not do it justice.

You take an early train to start your hike along the Inca Trail. A few hours of climbing takes you to the beautiful Inca terraces of Wiñay Wayna where you enjoy a box lunch lovingly prepared for you by Alex our cook. A further gentle two hours, a final set of steps, you pass through the old Incan gateway, turn to your left and there it is: Machu Picchu unfolds before your eyes.

Tonight you spend the night in the town below, perhaps enjoy the medicinal waters of the hot springs, but above all dream about tomorrow and your chance to explore fully the ruins of Machu Picchu.

Overnight in Aguas Calientes: Hotel El Mapi by Inkaterra or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 5: Machu Picchu Ruins: Stones, Sacrifices, & Spectacled Bears

A 20-minute bus ride takes you back to Machu Picchu. Arriving before the crowds your guide will show you around and explain just how the Incas managed to build with such precision and such beauty, on such a remote hilltop.

From altars used for human sacrifices, temples carved in the shape of condors through to stones used to tie the sun, this is a history lesson everyone will enjoy. If you are really lucky you may even see Paddington Bear.

After a fantastic day, in a fantastic place, you board the train to sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery on your journey to Cusco.

Overnight in Cusco: Hotel Quinta San Blas or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 6: Sacsayhuaman, Tunnels, & Chocolate Making

A leisurely day today, beginning after breakfast with a 15-minute drive to the old Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman. Standing guard above Cusco, the huge ramparts boast stones up to 28 feet high weighing 140 tonnes. How the Incas moved them into place remains one of the world’s great mysteries.

After climbing to the top of the ramparts for a spectacular view of Cusco, it is time to play. Sacsayhuaman boasts an impressive system of tunnels just waiting for you to explore. Finally a 20-minute walk takes you back down to Cusco where you are free to relax and enjoy some lunch.

Late afternoon is chocolate time. You probably know you like it, but do you know how it is made? Your hosts will explain where it comes from and the story behind this most popular of foods before helping you make your very own bar of Peruvian chocolate. It’s the perfect gift to take home for a loved one. That is, if you don’t eat it first.

Overnight in Cusco: Hotel Quinta San Blas or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast

DAY 7: Canoes & Camelids

Time to work off all that chocolate. A 40-minute drive takes you to the Pinipampa section of river where you can ride the rapids in your very own inflatable canoe. The safe but fun rapids are perfect for beginners and your expert guides will show you all you need to know. Whatever your age, you are sure to get off the water grinning from ear to ear.

A tasty lunch at a local restaurant then it’s time to meet the locals, the four-legged variety. At Awana Kancha you can feed the llamas and alpacas as well as seeing how the traditional cloth is woven and dyed.

Overnight in Cusco: Hotel Quinta San Blas or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 8: Morning in Cusco: Cobble stones, Culture, & Coffee. Depart Cusco. 

Today you are free to wander around Cusco, explore the cobbled side streets of the San Blas artist district or stare in awe at the Inca treasures in the many museums.

This afternoon we will take you to the airport for your onward journey, perhaps to Lake Titicaca, the Amazon jungle, or even just home.

Meals Included: Breakfast