Welcome to Cusco, capital of the Inca Empire, and one of the most beautiful cities on Earth! Your guides will meet you at 1:00 pm for a traditional Peruvian meal at a favorite local restaurant. In the afternoon, your guide will lead a relaxed walking tour around Cusco’s stunning historic center. It’s important to take it easy if you’ve arrived from sea level today, since you'll need to adjust to Cusco’s 11,200 feet of altitude.

In the evening, you’ll head for Magisterio, Cusco’s cosmopolitan residential area. Here you’ll dine where the well-heeled local gourmets go, then drop in for a craft beer at one of the many local microbreweries that have sprung up in Cusco in recent years.

Accommodation: 4-star hotel in Cusco
Meals included: Lunch and dinner

This morning you'll visit Manuel Choqque, also known as "the potato king." He’ll show you around his farm/market garden/passion project where he’s preserving and cultivating native potatoes, and sharing his passion for these colorful, flavorful tubers with the world. Afterwards you’ll explore Salineras, a surreal and beautiful patchwork of pools and paths that still produces salt using Inca technology - a favorite Aspiring Adventures site in the Cusco region.

Later in the afternoon you'll take a short (1.5 hour) train ride to Aguas Calientes, the rainforest-gorge town that’s your jumping-off point for Machu Picchu tomorrow.

Accommodation: 4-star hotel in Aguas Calientes
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

A spectacular stone city surrounded by incredibly steep and incredibly green mountains, Machu Picchu needs no introduction and is deservedly one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. You’ll be up at sunrise so there’s time for your guide to show you around Machu Picchu’s main citadel, as well as one of the local favorite hidden nooks and crannies, before the crowds arrive. There will be plenty of time for your own exploration of the massive yet still-mysterious site before you take the train back to the Sacred Valley for the night.

Accommodation: 4-star accommodation in the Sacred Valley
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

This morning you’ll drive through the stunningly scenic Sacred Valley to Pisac, home to the largest handicraft market in the region. Explore the market and do some shopping, then make your way to Patabamba – an isolated farming village with million dollar views – for a very special lunch. No food tour of Peru would be complete without pachamanca (literally “earth oven” in the Inca language, Quechua). This celebratory feast of the Incas has made a big comeback in recent years and is now touted by fancy restaurants both in Peru and around the world.

Some local experts, Mamerto and Dominga, will prepare the most delicious version of this dish for you. Chicken, lamb, banana, yuca, corn, soft cheese, and – of course – various different potatoes, are lovingly coated with secret condiments then buried, cooked in hot earth, and served with uchucuta – a creamy, slightly spicy, incredibly delicious sauce that’s indigenous to this area.

After lunch you’ll head to Cusco where you'll have time to wander the winding cobbled streets and charming plazas of the capital of the Inca empire.

Accommodation: 4-star hotel in Cusco
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Today you’ll spend the morning exploring Cusco’s vibrant, beautiful colonial center, and the afternoon under the supervision of a Peruvian cooking teacher, preparing a feast of Peru’s flagship dishes: ceviche (spicy lime-and-chili-marinated raw fish) and lomo saltado (flambéd beef stir-fry), with a jug of pisco sour to wash it down!

Accommodation: 4-star hotel in Cusco
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

The Valle Sur, little visited by foreign tourists, is a major food destination for locals. Each village has its own specialty, like chuta bread in Oropesa, guinea pig in Tipón, and chicharrones in Saylla. You'll sample each of these, visit a couple of charming, scenic pre-Inca ruins, and check out the church of Andahuaylillas, which is so ornate it’s known as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas!

Accommodation: 4-star hotel in Cusco
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

This morning you’ll fly to Lima – the gastronomic capital of the Americas, and one of the best places in the world to eat! One of the reasons Peruvian food is so famous is due to the diversity of Peruvian produce. Ingredients from the ocean, mountains, and jungle all come together in almost overwhelming abundance at the suburban produce market – this will be your first stop in Peru’s metropolitan capital.

Lunch will be a tour of the best Peruvian coastal cuisine: causa (avocado and seafood layered between mashed potato – Peru’s answer to lasagna!) and ceviche (the most delicious version of raw marinated fish). You'll work it off with a walk around Lima's grandiose colonial center, then head for the picturesque cobbled byways of the historic bohemian neighbouhood of Barranco for one last snack – picarones – a sweet, doughnut-like snack made from sweet potato!

Accommodation: 4-star hotel in Lima
Meals included: Breakfast and lunch

You can book your flight home for any time today. If you’re staying longer in Peru, your guides will be delighted to help out with suggestions and assistance for the rest of your time here.

Meals included: Breakfast