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

Hotel breakfasts are normally simple buffets, usually including bread/toast and jam, cereal, sometimes eggs or a cooked dish, sometimes fruit, tea/coffee and fruit juice. We cannot guarantee that wheat-/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 trek, hearty breakfasts are served and good quality cooked lunches and dinners are provided. These usually consist of soup or a starter, a main course with meat/fish and some form of carbohydrates, followed by a dessert. 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.

Glide across Lake Piuray on a guided stand-up paddleboard session, learning technique on calm, high-altitude waters ringed by fields and adobe hamlets. The surrounding cordillera frames a serene Andean panorama.

This optional activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour. It’s a tranquil counterpoint to the trek—fresh air, gentle movement, and time to watch ripples crease the lake beneath shifting mountain light.

Explore Machu Picchu with your expert leader, tracing refined dry-stone walls, ritual precincts, and ingenious water channels. Stand by the Temple of the Sun, peer into the Royal Quarter, and contemplate agricultural terraces that cling to a knife-edge ridge.

Hear the story of its 1911 reintroduction to the world by Hiram Bingham and the mysteries that remain—why it was built, who lived here, and how the Incas aligned stone, mountain, and sky into a single vision.

Discover Cuzco’s layered past on a guided stroll through Inca foundations and Spanish plazas, culminating as you step inside Qoricancha, the Inca Temple of the Sun. Admire flawless ashlar masonry and the colonial Church of Santo Domingo rising above it, a striking symbol of conquest and continuity.

Along elegant streets and courtyards, join a guided walking tour that illuminates Cuzco’s role as imperial capital and living Andean city. Hear stories of gold-clad sanctuaries, sacred alignments, and festivals that still animate the historic heart.

Walk a classic highland route between Inca sites, pausing at Tambomachay’s ritual fountains, the red-stone outpost of Puca Pucara, and the carved labyrinth of Qenqo. Continue to Sacsayhuamán, where cyclopean zigzag walls crown Cuzco’s skyline and llamas graze among monumental terraces.

Guided interpretation decodes Inca engineering, water cults, and astronomy while you enjoy a scenic picnic near the ruins. Gentle gradients and big valley views make this an ideal acclimatisation hike rich in heritage.

Hike from Soraypampa into the shadow of Nevado Salkantay, the revered “Savage Mountain.” Trails weave through tawny ichu grass and moraines to a high meadow at Ichu Pata, where glaciers and ice-fluted walls dominate the skyline.

Your leader shares Quechua lore and the mountain’s place in Andean cosmology. Feel the temperature drop and the air thin as the Apus (sacred peaks) close in and camp lights flicker across the valley below.

Ascend to the windswept saddle of Inca Chiriasqa Pass near 5,000m, with 360-degree vistas over Nevado Salkantay and glaciated cirques. The approach skirts glacier-polished rock and alpine tarns before dropping into a broad, elemental valley.

Trace a historic route past a ridge of terminal moraine and an extraordinary Inca canalised river, testament to high-Andean engineering. The landscape shifts from stark ice to sun-warmed puna as you descend toward camp.

Follow a contouring path above a steep valley, keeping company with an ancient Inca water canal as it threads the mountainside. Explore Paucarcancha, a strategic Inca watchtower guarding the approach to the Sacred Valley.

Stone ramparts, trapezoidal doorways, and outlooks over agricultural terraces reveal a frontier post tuned to movement and defense. Continue on foot to Huayllabamba, where Andean village life unfolds amid fields and river sound.

Climb through cloud forest and open puna to crest Dead Woman’s Pass, the highest point of the classic trail at 4,215m. Original Inca stone steps rise steadily to the skyline, where crisp air and wide horizons reward the effort.

Your leader shares the pass’s Quechua name, Warmiwañusqa, and its lore among trekkers. Pause to savor the drama of Andean ridgelines before descending to the valley below.

Cross the airy Runquracay Pass past a cliff-hugging outpost, then explore Sayacmarca—the “Inaccessible Town”—poised above jungle-clad slopes. The trail becomes a beautifully paved Inca highway curving along buttresses and cloud forest saddles.

Arrive on the ridge by Phuyupatamarca, the “Place Above the Clouds,” to watch mists stream through the valleys and sunset gild distant peaks. Stone staircases, ceremonial niches, and orchids frame a day steeped in Andean atmosphere.

Walk a gently undulating path to Inti Punku (the Sun Gate), where the trail reveals your first full view of Machu Picchu with Huayna Picchu rising behind. Late-day light often softens the crowds and enriches the drama.

Pause for photos and reflection as terraces, temples, and green saddles unfold like a living map of Inca mastery. This moment crowns the pilgrimage with perspective and awe.

Visit the terraced Ollantaytambo Fortress, where pink andesite blocks and stair-stepped walls command the narrows of the Sacred Valley. Continue to Pisac Archaeological Park, a hilltop complex of terraces, citadel ruins, and far-reaching views.

Down in the village, browse the colorful Pisac Market, known for textiles and ceramics that reflect Andean techniques. This day blends fortress strategy, agrarian ingenuity, and artisan tradition in one sweeping valley narrative.

Begin your journey with a warm gathering to meet your Tour Director and fellow travelers before sharing a dinner of contemporary Peruvian cuisine. Expect bright citrus, Andean grains, and chef-led takes on classics.

Raise a pisco sour and hear a concise briefing that sets the tone for the trek ahead—altitude tips, cultural insights, and the spirit of Andean hospitality that will carry through the expedition.

Hike to Humantay Lagoon, a turquoise glacial lake cupped beneath serrated peaks. The short but punchy climb rewards with mirror-calm water, scree slopes, and alpine wildflowers framing the shore.

This optional excursion is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Your leader shares context on glacial geology and local customs as you soak in high-Andean stillness and photograph the lagoon’s shifting hues under mountain light.

Explore Tarawasi near Limatambo, noted for its fine Inca stonework and a ceremonial ushnu platform aligned with sacred peaks. Precision-cut blocks and trapezoidal niches reveal the empire’s ritual and administrative reach.

This optional visit is at additional cost and bookable on tour. It offers a focused introduction to imperial craftsmanship before you enter wilder country on the Salkantay approach.

Ride quiet dirt roads across high plains to the concentric Moray agricultural terraces, an Inca micro-climate laboratory, then sweep down toward the shimmering Maras salt pans, hand-harvested since pre-Inca times.

This guided cycling experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour. Expect big-sky vistas, village rhythms, and optional photo stops that showcase the Sacred Valley’s blend of experiment and tradition.