Meet local hosts in Tambococha for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, welcomed with traditional music and a warm herbal infusion. Learn about seasonal farming and native medicinal plants, practise a few Quechua phrases and try making an adobe brick.

Share a Pachamanca lunch cooked underground over hot stones, a centuries-old Andean method that brings local ingredients and community traditions together. The visit supports sustainable communities.

Ride the PeruRail Expedition Train between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu. Look out across the Urubamba River and steep Andean slopes as the route follows the valley towards the cloud forest.

The journey offers a close view of the landscape that shaped Inca travel and agriculture, with riverside settlements and changing vegetation visible from the train. Rail travel is included in both directions.

Explore Machu Picchu’s stone terraces, stairways and sacred spaces in its mountain setting above the Urubamba Valley. Walk among precisely fitted walls and see how the Inca integrated buildings, water channels and agricultural terraces into the steep terrain.

Built in the 15th century, the citadel remains one of the most striking surviving expressions of Inca engineering. Forested peaks surrounding the ruins give its architecture a powerful sense of place.

Walk the gentle valley paths from Urco towards Calca, passing working farms, eucalyptus groves and Quechua villages. The route offers an on-foot perspective of the Sacred Valley beyond its best-known archaeological sites.

Take in wide Andean views and the scent of eucalyptus while seeing how present-day communities live and farm within this mountain landscape. The walk connects the valley’s scenery with its continuing agricultural traditions.

Visit Vicuñita’s conservation project in the Cusco region to learn how it restores native High Andean plants and trees. Encounter llamas, alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos while discovering the project’s work with Andean camelids.

Spend time learning about local weaving traditions and the fibres that connect these animals to regional textiles. The visit brings together environmental restoration and a living craft passed through generations of Andean communities.

Walk through Cusco’s historic centre, where Inca stonework meets colonial balconies. Cross the Plaza de Armas, step inside Cusco Cathedral to see its gilded altars and paintings, and visit Korikancha, once the Inca Temple of the Sun.

At Korikancha, examine masonry fitted with remarkable precision. Together, these landmarks reveal how Cusco’s Inca and Spanish histories remain visible in the city’s streets, sacred buildings and architecture.

Choose an excursion to Maras and Moray in the Sacred Valley. Moray’s concentric Inca terraces descend into the earth, while Maras is known for its thousands of salt ponds spread across a hillside.

These contrasting sites show inventive ways Andean communities have worked with the landscape: Moray is associated with Inca agricultural experimentation, and salt has been harvested at Maras for centuries. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore the Inca ruins above Ollantaytambo, where terraces rise steeply from a town still threaded with Inca-era streets and stonework. The hillside site offers a closer look at the engineering behind its monumental terraces and ceremonial structures.

Ollantaytambo was an important Inca stronghold in the Sacred Valley. From the ruins, the surrounding mountains frame a settlement where ancient foundations remain part of daily life. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Discover Inca sites near Cusco and explore San Blas’s narrow, colourful streets on this optional excursion. The outing extends your view of the city beyond its central square to nearby archaeological heritage and a neighbourhood associated with local artisans.

San Blas’s hillside lanes and workshops offer a different perspective on Cusco’s living culture, alongside the legacy of its Inca past. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Venture into the high Andes to see Rainbow Mountain’s bands of red, ochre and green. This excursion focuses on the mineral-coloured slopes and the open mountain scenery that surrounds them.

The vivid layers reflect different minerals exposed in the rock, creating one of the region’s most recognisable landscapes. Expect a high-altitude outing where conditions can be cold and changeable. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Visit the Choco Museum in Cusco to taste Peruvian chocolate and learn more about cacao. This optional experience offers a flavour-focused break from the city’s archaeological and architectural sights.

Cacao has deep roots in South America, and Peru produces varieties prized for their distinctive flavours. Discover more about the ingredient behind the chocolate as you sample it during your visit. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Join an Off The Beaten Track tour offered during your time in Cusco. It is an organised alternative to exploring independently, designed for travellers who want to look beyond the city’s best-known stops.

Cusco’s neighbourhoods and surrounding Andean setting offer many perspectives on local life and the region’s layered history. The itinerary does not specify this tour’s stops or activities, so ask your Travel Director for details. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore Peru through its food on a Flavours of Peru experience offered during your stay in Cusco. This organised activity gives you a way to focus on the country’s culinary traditions rather than sightseeing alone.

Peruvian cooking draws on ingredients and influences from the Andes and beyond, making food a window into regional culture. Specific tastings and venues are not listed in the itinerary; ask your Travel Director for details. The experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.