Essential Peru
Peru's greatest hits in ten days — Lima's flavours, white-stone Arequipa, the condors of Colca, Lake Titicaca and the Inca heartland of Cusco and Machu Picchu.
Your journey, stop by stop
A day to remember
Welcome to Lima
Arrival in Lima
Welcome to Peru! Touch down in the capital and transfer to your hotel to settle in.
🍽️ No meals included
Lima city tour & Museo Larco
Miraflores & San Isidro
Begin along the Pacific cliffs, taking in Lima's smart seaside districts and the wide ocean views.
Huaca Pucllana
Pause at the great pre-Inca adobe pyramid, a ceremonial temple that has survived the city growing up around it.
Colonial old town
Explore the UNESCO historic centre — the Plaza Mayor, Government Palace and Cathedral — and the Santo Domingo convent that guards the relics of Peru's saints.
Museo Larco
Finish at the Larco Museum and its dazzling pre-Columbian ceramics, including the famous erotic gallery, then return to Larcomar or your hotel.
🍽️ Breakfast
Fly to Arequipa
Flight to Arequipa
Fly to the White City (2,400 m); a free morning lets you rest and acclimatise.
Colonial centre
In the afternoon, tour the Plaza de Armas, City Hall, Cathedral and the churches built of pale volcanic sillar stone.
Santa Catalina Monastery
Wander the painted lanes of Santa Catalina, a little city within the city and one of Peru's most striking religious monuments.
Yanahuara & Carmen Alto
Visit the Andalusian-style Yanahuara viewpoint and the farming terraces of Carmen Alto before returning to your hotel.
🍽️ Breakfast
Into the Colca Canyon
Vicuña reserve
Leave Arequipa past the village of Yura and the Aguada Blanca vicuña reserve, home to herds of wild vicuña.
Tojra wetlands & volcano viewpoint
Cross the high Tojra wetlands, alive with migratory birds, and pause at the Mirador de los Volcanes.
Chivay
Arrive in Chivay (3,600 m) for lunch and a rest, then explore the village and its market.
🍽️ Breakfast, lunch
Condor's flight & on to Puno
Cruz del Cóndor
Set out early to the Cross of the Condor to watch these giant birds wheel over the depths of the Colca Canyon.
Macca, Yanque & Antahuilque
On the way back, visit the villages of Macca and Yanque and the Antahuilque viewpoint.
Altiplano to Puno
Drive about six hours across stark altiplano, over the 4,538 m Crucero Alto and the lakes of Lagunillas, to Puno (3,800 m).
🍽️ Breakfast
Lake Titicaca
Taquile island
Sail across Lake Titicaca by traditional boat to Taquile, whose people keep their ancestral ways alive amid glorious lake views.
Lunch at Luquina Chico
Stop at Luquina Chico for a buffet lunch on the shore.
Uros floating islands
Back towards Puno, visit the famous reed islands of the Uros, built and rebuilt from totora.
🍽️ Breakfast, lunch
Andean route to Cusco
Pukará
Begin the scenic bus journey north at the ceremonial terraces of Pukará, 100 km north of Puno.
La Raya & Sicuani
Cross the high pass of La Raya amid snow peaks, then stop in Sicuani for lunch and a rest.
Raqchi
Visit the great Temple of Wiracocha at Raqchi, a masterwork of Inca stone and adobe.
Andahuaylillas
End at the 'Sistine Chapel of the Americas', its nave aglow with murals and gold leaf, then arrive in Cusco (3,400 m) by evening.
🍽️ Breakfast, lunch
Imperial Cusco
San Cristóbal viewpoint
Head up to the San Cristóbal church for a panoramic balcony over the red-tiled roofs of the city.
San Blas & old town
Walk the Siete Borreguitos lane, the Sapantiana aqueduct and Plaza San Blas, down past the Twelve-Angled Stone to the monumental Plaza de Armas.
Cathedral & Qorikancha
In the afternoon step inside the Cathedral and the Qorikancha, the Inca Temple of the Sun once sheathed in gold.
Ruins above the city
Explore Sacsayhuamán, Q'enqo, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay before returning to your hotel.
🍽️ Breakfast
Machu Picchu
Train from Poroy
Transfer to Poroy station and board the Expedition train winding down towards Machu Picchu.
Guided tour of the citadel
Ride the bus up the switchbacks for a guided tour of the lost city — its religious, civil and military quarters — one of the seven wonders of the world.
Lunch & return
Enjoy an included lunch in Aguas Calientes, then take the train back to Ollantaytambo and transfer to your Cusco hotel.
🍽️ Breakfast, lunch
Departure
Transfer to the airport
Transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima and onward connection.
🍽️ Breakfast
Price per person
| Category | Single | Double | Triple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comfort | 1530 | 1288 | 1271 |
| Tourist | 1659 | 1372 | 1355 |
| Tourist Superior | 1917 | 1525 | 1443 |
| Superior | 2142 | 1620 | 1595 |
| First Class | 2327 | 1706 | — |
| Deluxe | 2844 | 1965 | — |
| Top Deluxe | 3281 | 2165 | — |
Per person in euros, sharing, minimum 2 travellers. Flights not included. We’ll tailor a final quote to your dates.
Love the look of this one?
Send us a message and our local team will tailor Essential Peru to you — dates, pace and all the little details.
Find out more →