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) and alpaca steak. To drink, there’s pisco sour, the national beverage.

Drinking water is included throughout the trip as the tap water in Peru is not safe to drink; boiled and filtered drinking water is provided on the trek; elsewhere your leader buys large water containers from which you can refill your bottle.

Hotel breakfasts are normally simple buffets, usually including bread/toast, preserves, cereal, sometimes eggs or cooked dishes, sometimes fruit, tea/coffee and fruit juice. Regrettably, we cannot guarantee that wheat-free or gluten-free products are available for breakfast in all locations – if you have an intolerance you may wish to bring your own breakfast food.

Where lunch and dinner are not included in Cuzco/Aguas Calientes, we visit a variety of cafes and restaurants.

During the Inca Trail, hearty breakfasts are served and good-quality cooked lunches and dinners are provided. They usually consist of soup to start, a main course with meat/fish and some carbohydrates, followed by a dessert. Between meals, snacks are also provided. Tea/coffee is brought to your tent each morning and juice or hot drinks are provided with all meals during the trek.

Walk from the famed Kilometre 82 trailhead along the Urubamba River, beneath the ice-fluted peak of Nevado Veronica. Cactus gardens and village hamlets frame the approach to the extensive Llactapata terraces, where stone agricultural platforms cascade toward the river confluence.

Explore the site’s pathways and viewpoints while your leader uncovers how these fields sustained Inca garrisons and travellers. The wide valley, braided river and terraced flanks set the tone for the cultural landscape of the days ahead.

Climb gradually through cloud forest and high pasture to the trek’s iconic high point, where you summit Dead Woman’s Pass. The approach threads original Inca steps and stone causeways, opening to sweeping views across glaciated peaks and deep valleys.

At the crest, breathe the rare air, pause for photos and reflection, and feel centuries of footfall beneath your boots. The descent reveals the scale of Inca engineering etched into the mountainside.

Traverse the round lookout of Runquracay and crest the Runquracay Pass, where the trail transforms into graceful, rolling Inca paving. From here, follow contouring paths to Sayacmarca—the “Inaccessible Town”—perched dramatically above the enveloping cloud forest.

Wander narrow stairways and ceremonial niches as your leader interprets the site’s strategic position guarding mountain routes. On clear days, views to Salkantay hint at the empire’s far horizons.

Arrive at Phuyupatamarca, the “Town Above the Clouds”, where stone stairways, ritual baths and fountains spill along a knife-edge ridge. Tents are pitched high above the valleys, granting an amphitheatre of peaks and plunging green ravines.

As the light softens, a ridge-top camp delivers sunset alpenglow and a crystalline canopy of stars. Dawn reveals terraces and mist lifting off the Urubamba far below—an unforgettable mountain vigil.

Descend the famous stone stairway into lush, bird-song-filled forest to reach Wiñay Wayna—“Forever Young”—a sweeping complex of water channels, temples and sculpted terraces. Trails here weave amid ferns and cloud forest and orchids, a fragile ecosystem protected by the sanctuary.

Explore the ceremonial sector and agricultural slopes, gaining insight into how water, ritual and farming intertwined in daily Inca life on these steep mountainsides.

Follow a near-level contour to Inti Punku (Sun Gate) for the trail’s defining reveal: your first full view of Machu Picchu framed by the sharp summit of Huayna Picchu. In the softer light, terraces and temples glow, and pathways trace the saddle of the ridge.

With fewer crowds at this hour, find space to compose classic photographs and let the immensity of the setting sink in before continuing down to the valley town below.

Return to the citadel for a comprehensive guided tour of Machu Picchu, the Inca masterpiece rediscovered in 1911. Walk ceremonial stairways to the Temple of the Sun, gaze across the Sacred Plaza and the Temple of the Three Windows, and study finely joined ashlar walls.

Your leader decodes engineering feats, agricultural terraces and sacred alignments with surrounding peaks, revealing why this hidden sanctuary endures as the Andes’ greatest enigma.

Gather in historic Cuzco to meet your Tour Leader and traveling companions for a friendly briefing and dinner. Share first impressions of the old Inca capital while you sample regional dishes such as lomo saltado or quinoa soup, and perhaps toast the journey ahead with a pisco sour.

It’s a warm, informative start that sets expectations for trail etiquette, altitude tips and the cultural themes you’ll encounter in the Sacred Valley and beyond.

Explore the Sacred Valley on a curated outing that pairs the colourful Pisac Market with the terraced Pisac ruins above town. Browse textiles and Andean produce before ascending to stone ramparts and ceremonial sectors overlooking the Río Vilcanota.

This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Your leader arranges transport and a local guide, enriching the visit with context on Inca agriculture, trade and valley life.

Visit Qorikancha (Sun Temple), once sheathed in gold, and the Spanish Santo Domingo Convent built directly over its foundations. Admire precision Inca stonework—perfectly fitted walls and trapezoidal niches—that withstood centuries of earthquakes.

This guided visit is at additional cost and bookable on tour. It illuminates the fusion of Inca and colonial worlds that defines Cuzco’s identity.

Stand before Sacsayhuaman, the Inca citadel famed for cyclopean walls of interlocking boulders, some weighing over 100 tons. Rambling terraces and zigzag ramparts command a sweeping view over Cuzco and the surrounding hills.

At additional cost and bookable on tour, this guided excursion delves into military strategy, ceremonial use and the final Inca resistance against the conquistadors.

Clip into a protected route to scale Sacred Valley cliffs via ferrata, ascending metal rungs and traversing cables to lofty viewpoints. Cap the adventure by zip-lining across the valley, soaring above fields and the river below.

Guides, equipment and safety briefings are included. This is at additional cost and bookable on tour—an adrenaline-charged contrast to trekking days with panoramic views as your reward.

Glide across a serene high Andean lake on a guided stand-up paddleboard session, learning basic strokes before exploring quiet reed-fringed shores. Mountain silhouettes and open skies amplify the sense of space and altitude.

All gear and instruction are provided. This active outing is at additional cost and bookable on tour, offering a calm, water-level perspective on Sacred Valley landscapes.

Roll along backroads and mellow trails on a guided mountain biking adventure through adobe hamlets, patchwork fields and river vistas of the Sacred Valley. Expect varied terrain tailored to the group, with plenty of Andean scenery between photo stops.

Bikes, helmets and support are included. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour—a dynamic way to feel the scale of the valley off the trekking path.

Trek the legendary royal highway of the Incas as you join a guided trek across high passes, cloud forests and stone-paved pathways leading toward the Lost City. Enjoy the ease of full porterage, a spacious dining tent and hot drinks brought to your tent each morning, letting you focus on steady walking and mountain views.

Along the route, encounter terraced ruins, orchids and ancient stairways while learning trail lore from your expert leader. Evenings bring hearty Andean meals and the hush of the Andean night sky above camp.