Machu Picchu and Peru's Land of the Inca

Day 1

Lima, Peru

Arrive in Lima, meet your guide and transfer to Belmond Miraflores Park, where you'll spend two nights. Set on a green promenade overlooking the Pacific in fashionable Miraflores, this much-loved hotel is the perfect base to explore.

Arrival Time: Anytime.
Arrival City: Lima, Peru

Day 2

Lima

After breakfast, explore World Heritage-designated colonial Lima. Visit the extraordinary Larco Museum, dedicated to pre-Columbian art. Then stroll the Plaza Mayor and delight in a private welcome lunch with a special musical presentation at Casa Aliaga, one of the oldest houses in Lima. Tonight, dinner is on your own to sample Lima’s amazing award-winning fare.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3

Lima / Cusco / Sacred Valley

Begin your day with breakfast, then board a short scenic flight to Cusco this morning and continue to Moray—a visually stunning Inca site with dramatic agricultural terraces in the heart of the fabled and fertile Urubamba Valley. After lunch and an opportunity to experience a local market, check into your hotel: Sol y Luna, an independently owned Relais & Châteaux property, where you'll stay in individual casitas set in verdant gardens. Unwind with dinner at the hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4

Sacred Valley

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel, then spend the day exploring the archaeological sites and culture of the Sacred Valley in the company of National Geographic expert Peter Frost, who has lived and worked in Peru for decades. He or a colleague will join you for a talk at the hotel and a visit to the massive Inca stone fortress of Ollantaytambo, set above a thriving Inca community. Lunch is at a working, family-owned hacienda, where you'll be treated to a show of Peruvian Paso horses, and National Geographic grantee Nilda Callañaupa, founder of El Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco, demonstrates Inca weaving traditions. Dinner is at the hotel. Don't forget to pack your duffel bag (bags will be provided) for your 2-day trip to Machu Picchu.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5

Sacred Valley / Machu Picchu

Start your day with breakfast and get ready to discover marvelous Machu Picchu. Marvel at the dramatic scenery and life along the river during your morning journey by train to this legendary Inca royal retreat famously introduced to the world by Hiram Bingham in the April 1913 issue of National Geographic magazine. Check into the Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel, a luxury riverside retreat that blends Andean culture with upscale comfort. Over the next two days you will explore Machu Picchu in the company of your handpicked tour director and local guides. Enjoy lunch in town and dinner at hotel.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6

Machu Picchu / Cusco

Awaken this morning and return to Machu Picchu, where you’ll explore with your guides. After lunch, return by train and bus to Cusco—the center of the Inca universe, a burgeoning cultural capital and a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site. Check in at the Belmond Hotel Monasterio on Plaza Nazarenas in the heart of Cusco for two nights. Occupying a monastery founded in 1592, the hotel—like much of colonial Cusco—is built atop Inca stones. Enjoy dinner amid this atmospheric setting.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7

Cusco

Explore the ornate 17th-century cathedral, the sacred Inca Temple of the Sun and other treasures of Cusco. Visit nearby Sacsayhuamán, where a series of imposing terrace walls—the most impressive yet—command views over the city. Relax, shop or visit one of Cusco's many churches and museums this afternoon. Breakfast and lunch are at the hotel, while dinner is on your own tonight.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 8

Cusco / Lima

After breakfast and a final morning at leisure, say goodbye to the Land of the Inca and fly from Cusco back to Lima, connecting to flights home. Depending on your flight schedule, optional rooms at the Wyndham Grand Lima Airport Hotel are available, or join the Upper Amazon Expedition aboard Delfin II.

Departure Time: Depart after 9:00 p.m. local time.
Departure City: Lima, Peru

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch