Hotel breakfasts are normally simple buffet-style affairs, usually including bread/toast and jam, cereal, sometimes eggs or a cooked dish, sometimes fruit, tea/coffee and fruit juice. Regrettably, we cannot guarantee that wheat- or gluten-free products will be available for breakfast in all locations – if you have an intolerance you may wish to bring your own breakfast food from home. Where lunch and dinner are not included we’ll visit a variety of local cafes and restaurants.

Peruvian cuisine is loved for its flavours and originality; it’s well worth digging into the local delicacies. Among these are ceviche (seafood or fish marinated in lime juice), lomo saltado (a Peruvian take on a beef stir-fry), and various hearty soups including the delicious quinoa soup. Other dishes include roasted cuy (guinea pig), alpaca steak. To drink, there’s pisco sour, the national beverage.

The tap water in Peru is not safe to drink. Free drinking water will be provided in large containers, so please bring a refillable bottle with you.

Visit roadside towers overlooking the Nazca Lines to view colossal desert geoglyphs etched into the pampas. From these Pan-American Highway viewing towers, trace figures such as the Tree and the Hands, cut with astonishing precision into rust-red gravel plains.

Learn how the Nazca people engineered these designs between roughly 200 BCE and 650 CE, and how windless conditions have preserved them. Hear theories championed by researchers like Maria Reiche, from astronomical alignments to ritual pathways, while you absorb the scale of the arid landscape.

Explore the enigmatic Saywite monolith, a granite boulder carved with canals, terraces and felines, thought by some to be a ritual model of water and landscape. Continue to the Tarawasi ceremonial complex to examine exquisite Inca stonework and trapezoidal niches.

Set amid high-Andean scenery above the Apurímac valley, these sites reveal the Inca relationship with water, agriculture and sacred geography. Your leader helps decode motifs and masonry techniques that speak to imperial engineering and religious practice.

Join a guided orientation walk through Cusco’s cobbled core, from the arcades of the Plaza de Armas to artisan lanes in San Blas. Get your bearings among markets, cafés and the exterior of the Qorikancha (Koricancha) Sun Temple, where Inca walls anchor a colonial church.

Hear how the Inca capital became a Spanish stronghold, with finely cut foundations supporting baroque facades. Along the way, pick up local tips on altitude, dining and lesser-known courtyards tucked behind wooden balconies.

Ride the train through the Sacred Valley to Aguas Calientes and ascend by bus to the cloud-brushed terraces of Machu Picchu. With your guide, enter the legendary Inca citadel to interpret temples, water channels and stonework framed by Andean peaks.

Hear the story of Hiram Bingham’s 1911 rediscovery and the site’s place within Inca pilgrimage and power. Walk designated circuits past the Temple of the Sun, agricultural terraces and llama-grazed lawns, pausing to absorb orchids, mist and the Urubamba River far below.

Cross the deep blue waters of Lake Titicaca by boat to Amantani, where you’ll be welcomed into an Amantani island homestay. Share simple, home-cooked Andean dishes and stroll terraced hillsides lined with stone corrals and native crops.

In the late afternoon, walk towards the hilltop temples of Pachamama or Pachatata to watch sunset over the altiplano, the lake glowing cobalt beneath snow-flecked peaks. Your hosts introduce local customs, weaving styles and the rhythms of life at 3,800m.

Travel by boat to meet families on the Uros floating reed islands, stepping onto springy platforms woven from totora reed rafts. Learn how homes, boats and walkways are constructed and maintained, and hear stories of traditional lake life shaped by fishing and barter.

Guides explain how a centuries-old way of life adapts today, with regulated tourism supporting community livelihoods. Expect crisp highland air, glinting water and a rare vantage on human ingenuity in a fragile wetland.

Stand at Cruz del Condor as morning thermals rise from the abyss and vast Andean condors lift from rocky ledges. Scan misty canyon walls for silhouettes circling on outstretched wings as the Colca River churns far below.

Your leader shares natural history and Andean lore around this 3,000m-deep canyon, among the world’s deepest. Bring layers and patience—moments of stillness often precede exhilarating fly-bys at near eye level.

Explore the cloistered lanes and painted courtyards of Santa Catalina Monastery, a serene city-within-a-city built from white sillar volcanic stone. Wander silent cloisters, novices’ cells and communal kitchens beneath deep cobalt and ochre walls.

Founded in 1580 and only opened to visitors in the 1970s, the convent offers a rare window onto colonial religious life. Framed by views to El Misti volcano, its stillness contrasts with the bustle of Arequipa outside.

Take a scenic flight over the Nazca Lines in a light aircraft, banking gently to frame the Hummingbird and Spider and other figures etched into the sweeping desert pampas. Aerial views reveal geometric lines and animal forms invisible at ground level.

This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Flights operate weather-permitting; motion sensitivity should be considered. Pilots provide a safety briefing and commentary to help you spot the most famous glyphs.

Delve deeper into Nazca heritage at the Antonini Museum, viewing ceramics, textiles and hydrological models before a guided visit to Chauchilla Cemetery. Among desert tombs, see remarkably preserved mummies and pre-Hispanic funerary traditions sustained by the arid climate.

Curators and local guides outline the Nazca timeline and the significance of textile patterns and grave goods. This optional experience is at additional cost and can be arranged with your leader.

Return for a second entry to Machu Picchu to explore at your own pace as morning mist lifting reveals shifting mountain light. Wander quieter terraces, or choose approved circuits like the Guardhouse viewpoints or the Inca Bridge trail.

Availability is limited and an additional ticket is required; your leader can help arrange this on tour. It’s an excellent chance for extra photography or contemplative time among the stonework.

Clip in for a guided via ferrata climb up an Andean cliff, using iron rungs and cables to reach panoramic ledges, then zip-line the Sacred Valley across multiple spans. Feel exposure and exhilaration on a secure Andean cliffside adventure.

No prior experience required; professional guides fit harnesses and helmets and manage safety lines. Height, weight and weather conditions apply. This optional activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Pedal quiet dirt roads past quinoa fields and adobe hamlets on a mountain biking in the Sacred Valley adventure, surrounded by high-Andean scenery. Meet rural Quechua communities as snow-capped peaks and patchwork terraces unfold around you.

Typical routes include the Maras salt pans and circular terraces of Moray, with a support vehicle and bike/helmet provided. Distances are tailored to ability. This optional ride is at additional cost and can be arranged locally.

Glide across a tranquil lake on paddleboarding on an Andean lake, where glass-still waters mirror ridgelines and fields. Breathe in crisp mountain air as you balance and paddle with guidance from local instructors.

Common venues include Huaypo or Piuray lakes. Wetsuits and equipment are provided; instruction suits beginners and improvers alike. This optional experience is at additional cost and is bookable through your leader.

Ease travel-weary limbs in the hot springs of Chivay, where steaming mineral pools fed by volcanic activity offer high-altitude relaxation amid canyon scenery. Unwind as evening chill settles on the Colca Valley.

Facilities include changing rooms; bring swimwear, a towel and sandals. Entry fees and transport are additional. This optional visit is typically available time-permitting while staying near Chivay.

Explore the Lima Historic Centre with a guide, taking in the Plaza Mayor, ornate balconies and the baroque Convento de San Francisco before descending into the San Francisco Catacombs, an eerie labyrinth of colonial-era ossuaries.

Trace Lima’s evolution from viceroyal capital to modern metropolis through architecture and urban lore. This optional tour is at additional cost and is often arranged during your time in Lima.

Visit the Gold Museum of Peru (Museo Oro del Perú) to admire pre-Columbian gold masks, headdresses and tumi ceremonial blades, alongside silverwork and weaponry from private collections.

Exhibits illuminate Moche, Nazca and Inca metallurgical skill and symbolism, from sun worship to warrior-priest iconography. This optional visit is at additional cost; your leader can help arrange transport and entry while in Lima.

Cruise by open-top boat to the wildlife-rich islets off Paracas, where you can spot sea lion colonies, darting Humboldt penguins and crowds of seabirds threading the air. On the approach, pause offshore to view the giant Paracas Candelabra, a mysterious trident geoglyph carved into a sandy hillside.

Glide beneath eroded arches and along wave-cut caves shaped by the cold, nutrient-rich Humboldt Current. Guides share insights into this protected ecosystem within the Paracas National Reserve and help you identify species against the stark coastal desert backdrop.