The Best of Southern Peru

1. 1 Lima — arrival

   Upon your arrival in Lima, our team will warmly welcome you at the airport and assist with your luggage. You will then be transferred to your hotel in a comfortable, private vehicle. Once at the hotel, we will ensure your check-in process is perfect.

   • AltitudeLima 161 m / 528 ft
2. 2 Lima — the historic centre and the Larco Museum 5–6 hours

   Lima, known originally as the City of Kings, was founded by the Spanish in 1535. The colonial heart of the city grew around the Plaza Mayor: the presidential palace, built on the site Francisco Pizarro chose for his own house; the cathedral, first completed in 1649; and the 17th century San Francisco church, renowned for its library of antiquarian books and its catacombs. The Larco Museum, established in 1926, holds its collection of pottery and precious metal objects in an 18th century mansion built over the foundations of a pre-Inca temple. From the historic centre we continue to Miraflores and San Isidro, the parks above the Pacific and the city’s culinary scene.

   • Visiting time5–6 hours
   • AltitudeLima 161 m / 528 ft
3. 3 Lima – Arequipa, the White City Flight 80 minutes · tour 3 hours

   Early morning transfer to the airport for the 80-minute flight to Arequipa, with the rest of the morning free to rest and acclimatise. Arequipa is nestled in a fertile valley flanked by volcanoes and known as the White City for its colonial buildings of sillar, a white volcanic stone; its historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the afternoon, the colonial city tour: the Plaza de Armas and the Basilica Cathedral, the Jesuit Church and Cloisters with their baroque carvings, San Francisco Church, and an in-depth visit to the Santa Catalina Convent, founded in 1580, which once housed over 450 cloistered nuns.

   • FlightLima – Arequipa, 80 minutes
   • TourColonial city tour, 3 hours
   • AltitudeArequipa 2,300 m / 7,600 ft
   • OptionalJuanita Mummy Museum

   

   
4. 4 Arequipa – Chivay, into the Colca valley Arequipa to Chivay, arriving around noon

   We depart Arequipa at 8:00 AM for the town of Chivay, at the entrance of the canyon. On the way we reach a high mountain pass at 4,450 metres, with views of distant volcanoes and the Andean plains, and cross the Cañahuas plain, a highland reserve where vicuñas are commonly seen. We expect to arrive in Chivay around noon, with the afternoon free for the town and its markets.

   • AltitudePass 4,450 m · Chivay 3,635 m / 11,922 ft
   • OptionalLa Calera hot springs

   
5. 5 Cruz del Cóndor – Puno 84 km round trip, then 298 km to Puno

   We leave Chivay at 6:00 AM for Cruz del Cóndor. In the stillness of the early morning the Andean condors ride the thermal currents rising from the ravines, with wingspans of up to three metres. We return through the villages of Tapay, Pinchollo, Maca and Yanque, past terraces still in use today. In the afternoon we board a tourist-class bus to Puno, stopping at Patapampa, the highest point on the route, at the Pampa Cañahuas, and at Lagunillas, where flamingos wade in the shallows.

   • DrivingChivay – Cruz del Cóndor return 84 km · Chivay – Puno 298 km (5.5–6 hours)
   • AltitudePatapampa 4,800 m / 15,748 ft · Puno 3,870 m / 12,697 ft

   

   

   
6. 6 Lake Titicaca — the Uros islands and Taquile 42 km each way by boat, 3.9 km on foot

   A full-day boat excursion on the highest navigable lake in the world. The Uros are around 70 artificial islands made entirely of totora reeds, used to build the islands themselves, the houses and the boats, and relaid constantly. We walk on one of them and meet local families. Taquile lies 42 km from Puno and is only 7 km long by 1 km wide, terraced with Inca platforms still in use. Taquile’s handwoven textiles are recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity; the men knit from a young age and the women spin and dye the wool.

   • BoatPuno – Uros – Taquile, 42 km each way
   • HikingNorth port to Taquile 2.4 km uphill (1.5–2 h) · down to the south port 1.5 km (1 h)
   • AltitudeUros 3,810 m · Taquile 3,950 m / 12,959 ft

   

   
7. 7 Puno – Cusco, by the high road 387 km / 240 miles, 9.5 hours with the stops

   We cross to Cusco by road, stopping as often as the route deserves. Pukara, cradle of the Pukara culture (1400 BC – 600 AD), whose ceremonial complex holds nine pyramidal structures; its Santa Isabel church was built by the Jesuits in 1767. La Raya, at 4,338 metres, marks the boundary between the Cusco and Puno regions and the watershed between the Vilcanota, which flows to the Amazon, and the Ayaviri, which feeds Titicaca. Raqchi, where the Temple of Wiracocha once carried the largest roof in the Inca empire on an adobe wall rising over 18 metres. And Andahuaylillas, whose church of San Pedro is known as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas.

   • Driving387 km / 240 miles, 9.5 hours including the stops and visits
   • AltitudeLa Raya 4,338 m · Raqchi 3,460 m · Cusco 3,400 m / 11,159 ft
8. 8 Cusco — the walking city tour 4 hours on foot

   The Cathedral was built between 1560 and 1654 on the site of the palace of the Inca Wiracocha, its main altar covered in silver and its walls hung with paintings of the Cusco School. Qorikancha, the Temple of the Sun, had walls originally covered in gold; what remains is the stonework, cut so precisely it has outlasted every earthquake since. We walk the streets lined with original Inca walls to San Blas, a neighbourhood of craftsmen since Inca times and still full of workshops.

   • Visiting time4 hours
   • AltitudeCusco 3,400 m / 11,159 ft

   

   
9. 9 Sacsayhuamán and the Sacred Valley — Pisac 60 km, a nine-hour day

   Sacsayhuamán stands on the hill above the city: three terrace walls of stones so closely fitted that a sheet of paper will not pass between them, the largest wall some 400 metres long, the heaviest block estimated between 128 and 200 tons. Then Qenqo, a limestone outcrop carved into a subterranean altar; Puca Pucara, a fortified complex; and Tambomachay, a water shrine. Crossing into the Sacred Valley we stop at Awanacancha for the camelids and the weaving, and continue to Pisac, whose market is one of the best known in the region and whose ruins stand along the ridge above the Urubamba, terraced and centred on the Intihuatana, the hitching post of the sun.

   • Driving60 km / 37.2 miles
   • Visiting time9 hours
   • AltitudeSacsayhuamán 3,650 m · Pisac 2,972–3,450 m · Urubamba 2,871 m

   

   
10. 10 Chinchero, Moray, Maras and Ollantaytambo Chinchero, Moray and the salt pans

    An early visit to Chinchero, a traditional village on a high plain at 3,762 metres where the local dress has changed little since the 17th century and the market trades handwoven textiles, alpaca, jewellery and ceramics. Then Moray, circular Inca terraces shaped like an amphitheatre and 150 metres deep, likely used to work out which crops grew at which altitude. Lunch at Maras, and the salt pans: thousands of pools that have produced salt by evaporation since Inca times.

    • AltitudeChinchero 3,762 m / 12,342 ft

    

    

    
11. 11 Machu Picchu – Cusco – Lima Train and road back to Cusco

    The train follows the Urubamba as it carves a gorge between cliffs crowned with cloud forest. Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century on a steep forested ridge above the river, and stayed hidden under the vegetation until Hiram Bingham began clearing it after its rediscovery in 1911. Our guide takes us through the terracing, the stonework and the temples. In the afternoon we descend to Aguas Calientes for the train back, and from Cusco we arrange the transfer to the airport for the flight to Lima.

    • TravelTrain Aguas Calientes – Ollantaytambo 32 km (1.5 h) · road to Cusco 65 km (2 h)
    • AltitudeMachu Picchu 2,460 m / 8,071 ft · Aguas Calientes 2,070 m

    

    

01Classic

The Essential Experience

• Standard mountain camp
• Trek chef and full meals
• Local guide and porters
• Expedition train return

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02Superior · Most Popular

More Comfort on Trail

• Premium tents and thick mats
• Personal porter for your gear
• Custom menu and high-altitude snacks
• Vistadome panoramic train

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03Premium

The Trail, No Compromises

• Glamping-style camp
• Full private team
• Extra night in Aguas Calientes hotel
• Huayna Picchu entrance included

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The final figure depends on party size and season, and nothing is due until you confirm.