Land of the Incas - Journey Through Peru

The Capital of the New World extends a warm welcome on your epic voyage through the iconic and unexpected highlights of Peru. Meet your local host on arrival and transfer to your hotel in the upscale shopping district of Miraflores. This evening, you’ll join your Travel Director and fellow travellers for dinner.

Start your city tour taking in of the highlights of Lima. Visit Casona San Marcos, where you’ll enjoy a snack from a local vendor and learn more about the fascinating history of this ancient building from Local Specialists. During a short workshop, learn to play the “cajón” percussion instrument and get an introduction to the basic steps of “musica negra”, a dance that originated in Chincha (near Paracas). Continue to the Main Square of Lima for more views and history. Choose to join a walking tour of Miraflores with a local expert highlighting the popular Larcomar shopping centre and on towards the Kennedy Parkor for dinner at one of the restaurants in “Pasaje de Ramón.”

• Lima City Tour
• Casona San Marcos Experience

We'll fly to Cusco this morning, the gateway to Peru's treasured Sacred Valley, where you will enjoy a local Peruvian lunch with sweeping views of the Sacred Valley. Then Dive Into Culture, meeting a Shaman who will perform a special ceremony to welcome you to Peru.

• Sacred Valley Quechua Shaman
• Stays with Stories

Enjoy a Be My Guest experience as you meet farmers who grow Peru’s iconic Giant White Corn. You’ll learn how their cultivation methods blend ancestral knowledge with modern innovation. Then watch a performance of the Marinera, a graceful couple’s dance that celebrates Peru’s Spanish, Indigenous and African heritage. With swirling handkerchiefs and elegant footwork, this is coastal culture in motion. Round out the day by rolling up your sleeves in a hands-on cooking class. Round out the day by learning how to shake up the perfect Pisco Sour with a Local Specialist.

• Sacred Valley Giant Corn Farm
• Pisco Sour Experience

Visit the mystical Incan stronghold of Ollantaytambo, en route to Machu Picchu, a village in the Sacred Valley, set on the Urubamba River amid majestic mountains. It's known for the Ollantaytambo ruins, a massive Inca fortress with large stone terraces on a hillside. Then, ascend to the Lost City in the Clouds aboard the Vistadome train (light snack included) traveling along the Inca Trail, where you can view hikers and porters along the way. Here you will delve into the mysteries of this once-great civilization, joining your Local Specialist for an exploration of the temples, palaces and terraces whose construction defy imagination.

• Ollantaytambo Visit
• Epic Ride to Machu Picchu
• Visit Machu Picchu

The ruins of Machu Picchu beckon yet again and you'll enjoy one final opportunity to reconnect with its story, spending some time on your own to explore the hill-top fortress. Next, journey back to the Sacred Valley by train for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, learning about the natural dyeing techniques used by native weavers and enjoying a weaving demonstration. Then sample the sweet flavours of chicha at a family-run chichería and discover its importance to Andean culture. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

• More Time at Machu Picchu
• Weaving demonstration and Chicha tasting

Begin your day in Cusco with your Local Specialist at the remarkable UNESCO-listed Incan fortress of Sacsayhuamán, then continue on a guided city tour. Visit Korikancha, once the most important temple in the Incan Empire. The afternoon is free to explore as you wish or to join one of several Optional Experiences — visit the Choco Museum, explore the Maras Salt Mines and Moray terraces, take a walking tour of Cusco after dark or enjoy a Peruvian cooking class to master classic local recipes.

• Visit Ruins of the Sacsayhuamán Fortress
• Cusco City Tour

Leave Cusco behind as you journey towards Puno, crossing the La Raya Pass where the Andes divide the Cusco and Puno regions. Along the way, explore the archaeological site of Raqchi, once a key settlement along the Inca road network. Enjoy a warm welcome into a local family home, where you’ll share lunch and stories. Then Dive into Culture with a traditional art form as you paint your own torito de Pucará: a colourful ceramic bull said to bring good fortune and protection. These iconic bulls are a symbol of strength in this part of Peru, often seen perched on rooftops in pairs, watching over homes and families.

• Paint Your own Torito de Pucará

Take to the water for a scenic cruise across Lake Titicaca to the Uros Floating Islands, where you’ll meet a local family and hear how their extraordinary homes are carefully crafted from totora reeds. Cruise to Taquile Island where you’ll enjoy a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience as you meet the island’s Indigenous community and learn about their UNESCO-listed knitting and weaving traditions, kept alive by generations of local artisans over a home-cooked lunch.

• Lake Titicaca Cruise
• Lake Titicaca Taquile Island Locals

Return to Lima this morning, then continue your journey to the coastal playground of Paracas. Discover what life is like in Peru’s rural countryside before arriving to Paracas for an evening at leisure. Perhaps there’s even time for a stroll along the Malecon.

• Explore Paracas During an Afternoon at Leisure

Enjoy a relaxed start in Paracas before heading to Ica to discover Peru’s national spirit at Cultur Pisco. Join a Local Specialist to learn how pisco is made, then sample it for yourself before sitting down to a lunch of regional favourites. At the Ica Regional Museum, explore the history of the Paracas and Nasca cultures through ancient textiles, ceramics and mummies. Then venture into the desert near Huacachina oasis for a gentle 4x4 ride across the dunes. Settle into your chair at a private desert spot, sip local sparkling wine and enjoy snacks surrounded by sweeping sands before returning to Paracas.

• Museum of Ica
• Pisco Tasting and Tour at Cultur Pisco
• Explore Huacachina’s Desert Dunes by 4x4

This morning, connect with nature with a Local Specialist, cruising around the uninhabited Ballestas Islands, a 'mini-Galapagos' teeming with wildlife. See the mysterious Candelabro in Pisco Bay, then return to Lima where this evening you’ll indulge in a festive farewell dinner in a local restaurant.

• Ballestas Islands Cruise

Say hasta luego to Peru and its ancient treasures, and take transfer to the airport for your flight home or consider extending your holiday in Lima at the SOUMA Lima, Vignette Collection.