Lima • Sacred Valley • Inca Trail • Machu Picchu • Cusco
Duration: 12 Days
A longer trip to Peru for travelers who want to walk into Machu Picchu rather than ride the bus. After two nights in Lima, you spend four in the Sacred Valley at around 2,900 meters, which gives your body time to adjust and leaves room for proper hikes as well as the main sites. Then you hike the one-day Inca Trail from Km 104, past Wiñay Wayna and through the Sun Gate, and sleep two nights at the lodge at the entrance, so you see the site at the end of the hike, the next morning and again in the afternoon. The trip finishes with three nights in Cusco in a small manor house on Plaza Nazarenas.
You fly Lima to Cusco, about 90 minutes, and drive about 90 minutes down to the valley. The trains to Km 104 leave from Ollantaytambo, about 30 minutes from the hotel, and the ride takes about an hour and a half. The hike itself takes about six to seven hours with a guide, on stone paths with steep steps, and you need an Inca Trail permit, separate from a Machu Picchu ticket and limited in number, so I book it as soon as your dates are set. The trail closes every February for maintenance. Back down from Machu Picchu, you ride the Belmond Hiram Bingham train toward Cusco. April to October is the dry season, and the best time for the hike.
Four unhurried days in the Sacred Valley: Pisac, Moray, the Maras salt pans, Chinchero and Ollantaytambo, with a walk on old Inca paths
The one-day Inca Trail from Km 104 to Wiñay Wayna and the Sun Gate
Two nights steps from the Machu Picchu entrance, with time for Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain
The Hiram Bingham train back toward Cusco, with dinner on board
Three nights in a restored colonial manor in Cusco, with a day trip to the South Valley
Active couples • Families with fit teenagers • Travelers who have wanted to walk the Inca Trail but not camp • Return visitors to South America
Lima: Belmond Miraflores Park
Sacred Valley: Rio Sagrado, A Belmond Hotel
Machu Picchu: Sanctuary Lodge, A Belmond Hotel, Machu Picchu
Cusco: Inkaterra La Casona, or Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel
Arrive in Lima, where most international flights land late in the day, and transfer about 45 minutes to Miraflores on the clifftop above the Pacific. Day 2 is for the city and its food: a market walk, lunch at a cevichería, the Larco Museum, and an evening in Barranco with a tasting-menu dinner booked well ahead.
Overnights: Belmond Miraflores Park
Fly to Cusco and drive straight down to the Sacred Valley, so your first nights in the Andes are lower than Cusco. Keep the first afternoon easy. Over the next three days, with a private guide, see the Pisac terraces and market, the circular terraces at Moray and the Maras salt pans, and the weaving villages around Chinchero, and walk the old Inca path from Chinchero down into the valley. Spend a morning at the Ollantaytambo fortress, and keep one afternoon free for the river and the gardens. These days also prepare your legs for the hike.
Overnights: Rio Sagrado, A Belmond Hotel
Take an early train from Ollantaytambo and step off at Km 104 with your guide, while your bags go ahead by train to the lodge. Climb past the terraces of Wiñay Wayna and on to the Sun Gate, where you get your first view of Machu Picchu from above, then walk down into the site in the late afternoon and on to the lodge at the entrance. On Day 8, walk to the gate for an early timed entry on a different circuit, climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain if you booked those tickets, and come back in the afternoon when the day-trippers have gone.
Overnights: Sanctuary Lodge, A Belmond Hotel, Machu Picchu
Ride down to Aguas Calientes and board the Hiram Bingham. From May to December it runs to Poroy station, about three and a half hours, and your driver takes you the last 20 minutes or so into Cusco. From January to April it ends at Rio Sagrado and a road transfer continues to Cusco. Day 10 is a full day in the city with a guide: the cathedral, Qorikancha, Sacsayhuamán above town and the San Blas lanes. On Day 11, drive into the South Valley for the terraces and water channels at Tipón and the painted church at Andahuaylillas, then have a last dinner in town.
Overnights: Inkaterra La Casona, or Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel
Transfer to Cusco airport, about 20 minutes, and fly to Lima to connect to your international flight home. If your connection is long, I add a day room at Miraflores Park.
The following is included in the price of your trip:
All accommodations
Daily breakfast and selected meals, and full board at Sanctuary Lodge
Domestic flights (Lima–Cusco and Cusco–Lima)
Private airport and hotel transfers throughout
Train to Km 104 and the Hiram Bingham train back toward Cusco
One-day Inca Trail permit and private trail guide
Machu Picchu entry tickets, shuttle bus and private guide
Private guided touring in Lima, the Sacred Valley, Cusco and the South Valley
24/7 support on the ground from the local operator, with me as your point of contact
The following is excluded from the price of your trip:
International flights
Travel insurance
Meals and drinks not listed above
Optional activities (Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain tickets, cooking classes, spa treatments, etc.)
Tips and gratuities
Every itinerary begins with a 20-minute planning call. From there, a $250 planning fee, credited in full toward your booked trip and non-refundable if you don’t book. I brief the property before you arrive — that's what the fee funds.
Plan your trip
.svg){kind=icon}