7-Nights Highlights of Peru from $2,630

Highlights Of Peru
You’re in for an adventure on this tour of Peru exploring Inca treasures, wild landscapes, and ancient legends, all topped off with the opportunity to sample classic Peruvian pisco sour. Step back in time at Machu Picchu, get lost in the heady buzz of a local market in Lima and discover textile art from a Quechua scholar.


Dining Summary

• 1 Welcome Reception (WR)
• 7 Breakfast (B)
• 2 Lunch (L)
• 3 Dinner (D)

• Lima: Visit a local market with Chef Ignacio and enjoy a special lunch at his cooking school.

• Lima: You’re treated to a lesson on how to pour the perfect Pisco sour, Peru’s native drink. In the good hands of professional chef Ignacio, the results are sure to be delicious. Ignacio will explain the history of Pisco – a type pf wine, the typical Pisco Sour, and an internationally less known but locally more popular drink called "Chilcano". This cocktail of pisco, lime juice, Ginger ale and bitters is a refreshing twist on the pisco sour that will have you eager to share the recipe with your friends.

• Lima: Take in the highlights of Lima, the 'City of the Kings,' including a panoramic view of the ancient districts. Join a local specialist for a visit to the UNESCO-listed Historic Center. Learn how before it was destroyed by earthquakes in the mid-18th century, observing how the historic buildings display a collaboration between local craftspeople and others from the Old World. Then drive along the coastline as you learn more about the fascinating history of Peru's capital city.
• Cusco: Visit the mystical Incan stronghold of Ollantaytambo. These famous ruins are a massive Inca fortress made of large stone terraces stretching out across a hillside. Walk among the stone platforms, the sun temple of six monoliths and the Princess Baths fountain the Baño de la Nusta at the base of the ruins flowing from carved stone into a pool. Over your exploration, learn how the old town is an Inca-era grid of cobblestoned streets and adobe buildings.
• Machu Picchu: Soak in every moment of your Machu Picchu tour in style as you descend to the Lost City in the clouds aboard the Vistadome train. Traveling the Inca Trail, you’ll traverse dramatic landscapes with a panoramic view of the soaring peaks, river, and ruins. Sit back and relax as you enjoy this multi-sensory journey complete with background music, an informative audio commentary highlighting interesting sites, and an included light snack.
• Machu Picchu: Take a shuttle to the top of the mountain where you’ll meet your local specialist for a guided hike of Machu Picchu. You’ll learn about Machu Picchu’s history and the use of each section of including ceremonial, storage, agriculture, temples, astronomical, and observatory as well as the possible reasons why the Incas left Machu Picchu.
• Machu Picchu: The ruins of Machu Picchu beckon yet again and we enjoy one final opportunity to reconnect with its story. Journey to take in the ruins at sunrise spending some time on your own to explore the hill-top fortress. Soak in every moment at this iconic site, making stops at points of interest while your guide shares their insights on the archaeological sites.
• Cusco: Join your Local Specialist for a guided walk through Cusco's colonial center, including the nearby 13th century Incan settlement of Koricancha. Here in Cusco’s Golden Temple of the Sun dedicated to the Sun God Inti, view the trapezoidal and irregular shapes and rounded edges. Note how the stones fit together and were built simply by placing them on top of each other without using any mortar. This staggered placement also enables them to withstand earthquakes.
• Cusco: Begin your day at the ruins of the UNESCO-listed Sacsayhuamán fortress overlooking Cusco. With zig zagging walls and ruins of giant stones, see how the shape and harmony of the landscape is similar to Machu Picchu. Stroll through this Incan architecture of sacred buildings such as residential buildings, towers, shrines, warehouses, roads and aqueducts. And while you may not be able to take in the grand scale, the complex design is based on the shape of the head of a puma, a sacred animal in Inca spirituality.
• Lima: Join a local specialist for a tour of the Rafael Larco Herrera Museum which houses the largest private collection of pre-Columbian Peruvian art in the world. You'll also explore the extensive collection of Peruvian gold and silver from ancient times. Learn the history of the museum founded by Rafael Larco on July 28th, 1926 in Trujillo followed by in 1958 when Larco moved his collection to Lima to a unique colonial residence built on top of a VIII century pyramid.

• Cusco: Visit Manos de la Comunidad weaving center to learn about artistic traditions and the four Andean camels: Llamas, Alpacas, Vicuñas and Guanacos. Then step inside a private area to discover one of the traditions of the Sacred Valley called "lindaje". This typical tradition of several communities reinforces the borders of each community and involves several customs, one of which is man dancing in typical women’s clothes. Then enjoy an exclusive lunch at a beautiful outdoor space near the Weaving Center. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 10: Reduced Inequalities and 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
• Sacred Valley: Enjoy a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience meeting Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez, a master Quechua weaver and the first person from her village to attend university. She has been an ambassador for Andean traditions since she began learning ancient pre-Columbian weaving techniques as a young girl in the 1960s. You'll learn about traditional weaving practice using natural dyeing techniques and its importance to their ident