Welcome to Cusco, capital of the Inca Empire, one of the most beautiful cities on Earth, and a natural starting point for any Peru itinerary. We’ll meet you at 1pm for a traditional Peruvian meal at a local favourite restaurant. In the afternoon, your guide will lead a relaxed walking tour around Cusco’s stunning historic centre – it’s important to take it easy if you’ve arrived from sea level today, as you need to adjust to Cusco’s 3,400m (11,200ft) altitude. In the evening we’ll head for Magisterio, Cusco’s cosmopolitan residential area. Here we’ll dine where the well-heeled local gourmets go, then drop in for a craft beer at Zenith – our pick of the crop of microbreweries that have sprung up in Cusco in recent years.

Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-range accommodation: 4* Hotel

This morning we’ll explore Moray – a mysterious complex of massive amphitheatres of astounding engineering precision and stern, magnificent beauty. Then, an easy stroll (or ride in our private vehicle if you prefer), through rolling farmland and views of the high Andes, brings us to Salineras – a surreal and beautiful patchwork of pools and paths that still produces salt using Inca technology and is our favourite site in the Cusco region. Lunch is an organic, gourmet, farm-to-table experience to remember in gorgeous Ollantaytambo, a perfectly preserved, incredibly charming Inca town with atmospheric cobbled alleyways, sun-drenched plazas, and working Inca waterways. Later this afternoon we’ll take the short train ride (1.5 hour) to Aguas Calientes, the rainforest-gorge town that’s our jumping-off point for Machu Picchu tomorrow.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-range accommodation: 4* Hotel

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

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-range accommodation: 4* Hotel

This morning we’ll drive through the stunningly scenic Sacred Valley to Pisac, home to the largest handicraft market in the region and a huge Inca fortress. We’ll explore both, then make our 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) – the celebratory feast of the Incas which has made a big comeback in recent years and is now touted by fancy restaurants both in Peru and outside it. Our friends, Mamerto and Dominga, prepare the most delicious version we’ve tried, and today they’re making it 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 and moreish sauce that’s indigenous to this area. After lunch, we’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.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-range accommodation: 4* Hotel

Today we’ll spend the day with a local friend who’s an expert cook of regional dishes. We’ll start at the Vinocanchón wholesale producer’s market in Cusco’s outskirts, where we’ll select our ingredients. Then we’ll head to the kitchen, roll up our sleeves, and get down to the business of the day: preparing a three course, gourmet Peruvian feast, with a jug of pisco sour to wash it down!

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-range accommodation: 4* Hotel

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 chicharrónes in Saylla. We’ll sample each of these, enjoy a picnic lunch on a lakeshore, and visit a couple of charming, scenic pre-Inca ruins, plus the church of Andahuaylillas, which is so ornate it’s known as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas!

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

• Mid-range accommodation: 4* Hotel

This morning we’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 justly famous is the diversity of Peruvian produce. Ingredients from the ocean, mountains and jungle all come together, in almost overwhelming abundance, at the suburban produce market that‘s our 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 lasagne!) and ceviche (the most delicious version of raw marinated fish on the face of the Earth). We'll work off lunch with a walk around Lima's grandiose colonial centre, then head for the picturesque cobbled byways of the historic bohemian neighbourhood of Barranco for one last snack – picarones – a sweet, doughnut-like snack made from sweet potato!

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:

• Mid-range accommodation: 4* Hotel

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

Meals: Breakfast