Best of Peru

After breakfast, you head out from Miraflores and San Isidro, which feel more open and modern, with parks, wide roads, and everyday city life unfolding naturally around you. As you make your way toward the historic centre, the city doesn’t so much change pace as it just becomes denser and more layered, with older buildings, busy squares, and more movement in every direction around Plaza San Martín and Plaza de Armas. You pass by the Government Palace and the Cathedral, seen from the outside, standing firmly in the middle of that activity. From there, you step into San Francisco Monastery, where the architecture feels heavier and more enclosed, and the visit continues underground into the catacombs. The day then moves on to the MALI Museum, where you can trace Peru’s art history in one place, from ancient pieces through to more modern work. Once the visit completes, you can head back to your hotel and the rest of the evening is yours to do nothing in particular or explore a bit more on your own. If you want, you can choose an optional short Miraflores evening stroll.

After breakfast, you head to Lima airport for your flight to Cusco. Once you land, you don’t really pause much, you are already on the way into the Sacred Valley. The drive takes you up into cooler air and bigger open landscapes. Along the way you stop at Chinchero, where the market is full of handwoven textiles in deep colours and local craft laid out in simple stalls. If you visit on a Sunday, you can also wander through Chinchero’s Sunday market, where local families come together to sell textiles, crafts and fresh produce from across the Sacred Valley. From there, you continue to Tambococha, a small community where you are welcomed with coca tea and a few local snacks, which also helps with the altitude shift. After the visit, you carry on through the valley until you reach your hotel for the night.

Sonesta Posadas del Inca Yucay

Set within a restored 18th-century monastery, Sonesta Hotel Posadas del Inca Yucay feels more like a historic estate than a standard hotel. Stone archways, courtyards, and gardens give it real character, and Yucay is noticeably quieter than other Sacred Valley towns. Rooms are colonial-style across four wings, with hardwood or tile floors and stone details, plus suites with extra living space. There is an on-site restaurant, café, and bar, and it makes a relaxed base for exploring Ollantaytambo and Chinchero. The hotel is a 1-hour drive from Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ).

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After breakfast, you head up to Ollantaytambo and spend the morning wandering through the ruins. The scale of it really hits you once you are inside the stone terraces climbing up the mountainside, and you naturally find yourself pausing often just to take in how it all fits together. It is the kind of place where you don’t really need much explaining; you just walk, look, and absorb it. Later, you drop by a local family home for a short visit (optional), something simple and unpolished that gives you a glimpse of daily life in the valley. By the time you head back, the afternoon feels open and slow, and you are free to just rest or explore a bit on your own.

Early in the morning, you are transferred to Ollantaytambo train station where you board the train to Aguas Calientes. The journey runs through the valley at an easy pace, with the landscape slowly opening and changing as you move along. From Aguas Calientes, you take a bus that winds its way up the mountain to Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas. Inside, you join a guided tour and walk through its temples, and sacred sites, moving through the different sections as you take it all in. After the visit, you make your way back down by bus and continue by train to Ollantaytambo, then on to Cusco, where the day comes to close. You will stay overnight in your hotel in Cusco.

Hotel Cusco La Paccha Affiliated by Meliá

Hotel Cusco La Paccha sits along Avenida El Sol, one of Cusco’s main streets, so you are in a good spot to explore the city on foot. From here, it is an easy walk to Plaza de Armas, San Pedro Market, and the main craft markets. The hotel itself has peaceful gardens, a spa with a nod to local traditions, and a restaurant serving Peruvian dishes. Rooms are modern and comfortable. The hotel is a 10-minute drive from Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ), making it a simple base for exploring Cusco.

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After breakfast, you head out for a guided city tour of Cusco that takes you through some of its most important spots in a natural flow. You start at San Pedro Market, where it is busy, colourful, and full of local everyday life, before moving on to Plaza de Armas, Cusco Cathedral, and Koricancha, the Temple of the Sun, where Inca stonework meets colonial architecture. The walk then continues into San Blas, a quieter, artistic corner of the city with narrow cobbled streets and small viewpoints looking out over Cusco. The rest of the afternoon is free for you to explore at your own pace or simply relax. You can choose an optional activity at an additional cost that is visiting Sacsayhuamán fortress if time permits.

This is a free day in Cusco, so it is really up to you how you want to take it. You might stay in the city and just wander through the streets or do a relaxed cultural walk nearby, especially after the pace of the previous days. If you are going for something bigger, Rainbow Mountain or Palccoyo are also options, but they are long, early starts and take most of the day because of the altitude and distance. You will stay overnight in your hotel in Cusco.

After breakfast, you leave Cusco and start the journey towards Puno, gradually moving out into the wide, open stretches of the Andes. The drive includes a couple of stops along the way at Andahuaylillas church and the Raqchi ruins, before you reach La Raya pass at 4,300 metres, where the air feels thinner and everything around you looks more stripped back and vast. Lunch is part of the journey. By evening, you arrive in Puno and head to your hotel to settle in.

Hotel Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca Hotel Puno feels like a calm, easy place to land after a day out on the water, with soft lake views and a relaxed, smoke-free atmosphere. It is set in central Puno, close enough to step out to the Central Market, while the lakeside area and port are just a short drive away. Rooms are simple and comfortable, and breakfast is served buffet-style, with an à la carte restaurant and a lounge bar to unwind in later. The hotel is about a 1-hour drive from Inca Manco Cápac International Airport (JUL).

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After breakfast, you head out for a full-day trip on Lake Titicaca, starting at the floating Uros Islands, where the communities live on islands made entirely from reeds in the middle of the lake. From there, you continue by boat to Taquile Island, which feels quieter and more traditional, especially known for its textile work and everyday way of life that hasn’t changed much over time. By evening, you return to Puno and head back to your hotel.

After breakfast, you transfer to Juliaca airport for your flight back to Lima. Once you land, you head to your hotel and check in. The rest of the day is free, so you can take it slow or step out for a bit if you feel like it, maybe easing into Lima with a relaxed walk around Miraflores or just finding a café and watching the city move at its own pace. You stay overnight at your hotel in Lima.

Enjoy your breakfast and a transfer will pick you up from the hotel for the drive to Lima’s airport. You can take one last look at the city streets before boarding your flight back to London. It is the end of the trip, but you will be heading home with beautiful Peru memories.