PeruPeru: Lima, The Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu by Train
Take in a lungful of ocean air on arrival to Lima and keep your eyes out for surfers riding the waves as you follow the coastal highway to your hotel. The district of Miraflores is bustling with trendy restaurants, bars and shops in all directions and there are great views of the ocean from the cliffside boardwalk, or malecón. We welcome you to Lima, and invite you to bring your appetite for incredible food and adventure that awaits you in Peru. Arrive to Lima at any time and transfer to your hotel. Meet your fellow group members at the welcome meeting in the evening and get all the important information about the adventure ahead. Afterwards, head to a nearby restaurant for a delicious welcome dinner with new friends.
Arrival Transfer
You will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel to start your adventure.
Your Welcome Moment: Welcome Moment - Meet Your CEO and Group
Your opportunity to meet your CEO and fellow travellers, and learn more about your tour. Join the group for a local meal afterwards. Don't forget to see the notice in the lobby (or ask reception) for the official time and place to meet up with the group.
The neighbourhoods of Lima and Barranco may be right next to each other but they feel quite different. Fashionable Miraflores contrasts with the more bohemian Barranco in the most wonderful of ways as the bustling commercial area gives way to quaint cafés, art galleries and historic buildings. Both lie on the coast which offer amazing views over the Pacific Ocean and of Lima's sprawling coastline. Set off to explore Miraflores and Barranco by bike and on foot before stopping for a typical lunch at a local restaurant. Enjoy a free afternoon before meeting the group for a sunset drink on the rooftop terrace of the hotel.
Bike Miraflores and Barranco
Head out on a bike tour through Miraflores and Barranco visiting iconic districts in Lima along the way. You will bike a total of 13km or about 8 miles on this particular tour. Take in the colourful atmosphere as you pass by historic house in the Bajada de Baños district and visit the famous Puente de los Suspiros.
Barranco Bohemian Neighbourhood Tour
Take on the Barranco district of Lima by foot! Put on your walking shoes, hit the pavement and get ready to fill up on Peruvian tapas and artisan beers. Continue to wander Barranco's bohemian streets where you can find street paintings, graffiti, art galleries, museums, and rich architecture.
Free Time
Spend free time in Lima exploring on your own.
Watch the ocean disappear in the horizon as you head high up in the sky towards the Andes where magic awaits in Cusco. Feel the energy and see the mix of Spanish colonial architecture with ancient Inca stonework all around you. Take it slow as you begin to explore in order to get the most out of the city and to acclimatize to the altitude. Fly to Cusco and then take a CEO-led orientation walk of the historical centre with a delicious lunch at a local restaurant. Enjoy dinner out in the city with new group members joining the next portion of the tour.
Transport
Settle in and scan the scenery as you journey to your next destination.
Plane
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.
Cusco City Tour
Set off on foot to explore the Plaza de Armas (main square) and discover the vast history of this Incan city. Take in the sights while learning about the Spanish conquest, archaeology, and other historical facts about Cusco. Finally, wander the food and shop stalls in San Pedro Market where all of your senses will come to life. Pick up some souvenirs, from magnets to Pachamama dolls, and try local street fares like salchipapas (fried sausages and potatoes), or empanadas at this authentically Peruvian market.
Free Time
Free afternoon to acclimatize, relax, and get to know Cusco on your own.
Accommodation
Novotel Cusco Hotel
The Sacred Valley is aptly named for its importance to the people who have lived there and it is also stunningly beautiful with mountain scenery and colourful farmland along the Urubamba River. You'll see the massive ruins of Pisaq perched up above the town as you approach and you'll get to spend time with a local community on the way up to the site. Lunch is an experience unto itself at a community-run restaurant, using locally-grown ingredients for a delicious and traditional meal. Back at the hotel for dinner, feast on a traditional pachamanca meal consisting of various types of meat, potatoes and vegetables cooked for hours in the ground under hot stones. Travel from Cusco into the Sacred Valley. Visit the Cuyo Chico community for a snack and to learn about their traditional ceramics and adobe before taking a guided tour of Pisaq archaeological site. Continue to the hotel after lunch. In the evening enjoy a pachamanca dinner.
Private Vehicle
Sit back and scan the scenery from the comfort of your private vehicle with stops along the way to Cuyo Chico, Pisaq, and Parwa.
Cuyo Chico Visit
In the rural village of Cuyo Chico in the Sacred Valley, a group of families joined together to create a small business based on their traditional adobe ceramic crafts. Visit this community learn about the ceramics process and partake in an empanada making demonstration. Learn to make Peruvian-style empanadas from scratch using local ingredients. The experience typically involves a hands-on session preparing the dough and filling, cooking the empanadas in a traditional outdoor oven (horno), and enjoying the meal you helped create. This activity allows you to connect with local life and learn about the community's traditional cooking methods, directly supporting their economic well-being and preservation of Andean customs.
Pisac Ruins Guided Tour
Tour the fascinating hilltop citadel of Pisac, an Incan ruin with plunging gorges, a ceremonial centre, and winding agriculture terracing that's still in use today. Be captivated by this truly amazing site sitting amid sweeping green valleys and mountain peaks. Explore the back of the site to see a pocketed cliff across Kitamayo Gorge, which once contained hundreds of Inca tombs.
Your G for Good Moment: Parwa Community Restaurant the Sacred Valley
Contribute to sustainable tourism in Huchuy Qosqo, a small village of 65 families in the Sacred Valley, by eating at the Parwa Community Restaurant. Learn how the resident-run restaurant was kickstarted by G Adventures and the Multilateral Investment Fund, to become a successful farm-to-table program that boosts the local economy and several spin-off microenterprises.
Your Foodie Moment: Traditional Pachamanca Dinner
The thousand year-old tradition of Pachamanca involves baking an assortment of meat and vegetables in an oven of hot stones, earth, and grass. Meat is usually seasoned with local spices and wrapped in a banana leaf before it’s placed on the hot stones and can include lamb, pork, chicken or guinea pig. Savour this traditional meal prepared by an experienced chef.
Accommodation
Casa Andina Premium Sacred Valley
Sitting at a slightly lower altitude than Cusco, spending time in the Sacred Valley helps to get you used the altitude in these parts. Choose from a scenic acclimatization hike to a waterfall or get the adrenaline flowing by scaling a via ferrata network of rungs and ladders for lunch with a view. Choice of activity in the morning, both options including lunch.
Your OMG Day: Hike to Perilnilloq Waterfall or Via Ferrata
Option 1: Start the day with an acclimatization hike to Perilnilloq waterfall. Follow a meandering trail through the mountains to the gorgeous waterfall, and to the Inca ruins of Raqaypata that lie just beyond. Option 2: Get the adrenaline flowing and scale a via ferrata for epic views. Test your fear of heights as you climb the rungs and ladders and enjoy lunch with a view.
Free Time
Enjoy free time back at the hotel this afternoon and evening before your group dinner.
Accommodation
Casa Andina Premium Sacred Valley
Beyond the natural beauty of the Sacred Valley lies a long history of cultural practices that endure throughout the region. You'll marvel at Inca stonework at Ollantaytambo and also see living traditions like ceramic-making that embody both the local spirit as well as be an expression of those that lived here in the past. You'll get the chance to appreciate the old and the new as well as eat some delicious local food along the way. Take a morning tour of Ollantaytambo ruins before heading to Urubamba for a visit of Pablo Seminario's ceramic workshop where, if lucky, you may get the chance to meet him. Have lunch at the beautiful Hacienda Huayoccari before returning to the hotel for a free evening to relax.
Ollantaytambo Ruins Visit
Explore this ancient site right in the heart of Ollantaytambo city. Learn about the principles of Incan architecture and get a first taste of climbing around a massive ruins site.
Cerámicas Seminario
Visit Pablo Seminario's ceramic workshop in Urubamba and learn about ceramic-making that embodies the local spirit and is a tribute to generations past.
Lunch at Hacienda Huayroccari
Enjoy a delicious and traditional lunch at the historic estate of Hacienda Huayroccari, surrounded by art and the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains of the Sacred Valley.
Evidence of the Inca in these parts is astounding as ancient ruins and archaeological sites are scattered all over the landscape. Driving along the Sacred Valley you may catch a glint of white up in the mountains before you ascend, as the salt pans of Maras shine in the sunlight with Moray lying just beyond. Drive up out of the Sacred Valley with stops to visit the salt pans of Maras and the Moray archaeological site. Continue to the town of Chinchero and explore the ruins on the way back to Cusco for a free evening to choose from one of the many great restaurants near the main plaza.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Maras Salt Mines and Moray Visit
Tour the unique Inca ruins of Moray, consisting of circular terraces and a sophisticated irrigation system located at 3500m (11483 ft). Learn about the history and study of this fascinating site – speculation has it that it was an Inca agriculture experiment station. Then visit the impressive Maras Salt Mines and see thousands of individual ancient salt pools spilling over a hillside. Learn about the different varieties of salt, and try the renowned pink salt, famous worldwide.
Scenic Andean Drive and lunch near Maras
Set out on a scenic drive above the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Stop along the way to look out over small farms carved into the hills and small villages dotted along the landscape. Enjoy the views and have lunch near Maras, opt to relax, explore the surroundings.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Chincheros Ruins Visit
Chincheros is known to the Incas as the birthplace of the rainbow. This typical Andean village has Inca ruins, a colonial church, and sweeping mountain views. Explore the ruins and check out the impressive architecture of this ancient place.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Cusco is an incredible city to discover on foot with its beautiful architecture, cobblestone streets and picturesque plazas. You'll explore the city with an expert guide to show you the way, passing by some of the "must-see" historical and cultural highlights as well as some hidden gems and great panoramic views. Set off on a walking tour of Cusco before a delicious lunch at a restaurant near the main plaza. In the afternoon, enjoy free time for individual exploration, shopping or relaxing near the plaza to watch the world go by.
Cusco Colonial Side Walking Tour
Spend time on a group walking tour of the colonial areas in Cusco. Start in Cusco City and finish with a visit to the Sapantiana waterfalls before having a delicious lunch at a restaurant near the main plaza.
Free Time
Spend more time getting to know this fascinating city and surrounding area. Free time is yours to explore any way you want.
Optional Activities - Day 8Show
Watching the mountains go by from a train is the perfect build-up of what's to come, as you follow the Urubamba River along the valley. You'll feel the anticipation building as you get closer and closer to your goal and you'll see the vegetation start to get lusher as the train descends in elevation. Only one more sleep until the big day. Drive back to the Sacred Valley and catch the train to Aguas Calientes, at the foot of Machu Picchu. Enjoy a free evening with an optional visit to the local hot springs.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Train
Climb aboard, take a seat, and enjoy the ride.
Aguas Calientes Orientation Walk
The group will arrive at Aguas Calientes with their assistant guide or CEO and they will have an orientation walk through the town of Aguas Calientes. Your CEO can then help you coordinate any optional activities you may want to try during your time here.
Accommodation
Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo
Exploring the mountaintop Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is a magical experience, no matter how many pictures you may have seen of it. The history of the ancient Inca that you've heard in the days leading up to this moment seem to all come together as you wander the site's temples and terraces. Relive the memories and take in the views as you return by train on the way back to Cusco. Take an early bus up to Machu Picchu for a guided tour of the ruins followed by lunch at Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge. Return by train and bus to Cusco and enjoy a farewell dinner in the evening.
Local Bus
Climb aboard, grab a seat, and enjoy the ride.
Machu Picchu Guided Tour
Rise and shine – the best time to see the Lost City of the Incas is in the early morning light. Follow the local guide to Machu Picchu to learn about its history at a leisurely pace. Gain local insight into the Inti Mach’ay cave, Inti Watana, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Water, the Temple of the Condor, and the Room of the Three Windows. Take time to sit and feel the energy of this 15th-century site, now both a UNESCO World Heritage site and voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World (in a worldwide Internet poll). Transport to and from Aguas Calientes is provided with the tour.
Train
Climb aboard, take a seat, and enjoy the ride.
Private Vehicle
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
Accommodation
Novotel Cusco Hotel
Your adventure comes to an end, and you can depart at any time. Depart at any time.
Departure Day
Not ready to leave? Your CEO can help with travel arrangements to extend your adventure.
