Peru at a slower pace: Lima, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu by Train

1. Day 1: Arrive in Lima

   Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) to your hotel in Miraflores

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Lima
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) at any time. A driver meets you in arrivals with your name and carries your bags to the vehicle for the drive to Miraflores, about 20 km and usually under an hour, longer at rush hour. Miraflores sits on cliffs above the Pacific, and we stay here because the streets are flat, easy to walk after dark and close to cafés and restaurants. If you land early and feel like a stroll, the Malecón, the clifftop path of parks and gardens, has benches all along it and a level path to the Parque del Amor. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the hotel for a briefing on the week: the flight to Cusco, how we take the altitude, what to pack for Machu Picchu and how the pace works. Then a short walk to an early welcome dinner of Peruvian dishes such as causa and lomo saltado, back at the hotel by about 9 pm. Later arrivals are briefed at breakfast.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Early welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the 6 pm briefing; back at the hotel by about 9 pm

   Activity: Under 1 km on foot, or about 2 km if you walk part of the Malecón.

2. Day 2: Lima: a market, the old centre and ceviche

   Miraflores to the Surquillo market, the historic centre and Barranco

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Lima
   Day 2 details

   A late breakfast, then at about 9:30 am we drive the few minutes to the Surquillo market, where Lima's cooks shop. Your guide leads a slow tasting walk on its flat aisles: fruits rarely seen at home, such as lúcuma, chirimoya and granadilla, and the ají peppers, potatoes and corn behind Peruvian cooking, with a stool at a juice counter halfway. Then we drive about 40 minutes into the historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, and step out at the Plaza Mayor, past the Cathedral and the Government Palace, for the short walk to the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, with its cloisters and old library. The catacombs below have narrow stairs and low ceilings; go down with the guide or sit in the cloister garden. Lunch is ceviche at midday, when Limeños eat it, at a cevichería in Barranco. We are back at the hotel by about 3 pm, and the afternoon is free.

   Included

   • Surquillo market tasting walk with your guide
   • The historic centre of Lima: the Plaza Mayor, the Cathedral and the Government Palace (outside)
   • The Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, with its catacombs
   • Ceviche lunch in Barranco

   Optional experiences

   • Larco Museum and its pre-Columbian collection, in the free afternoon, by taxi

   Easier option: Stay in the San Francisco cloisters and library while the group goes down to the catacombs.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free from about 3 pm

   Activity: About 3 km on foot in short stretches on flat streets and market aisles.

   

3. Day 3: Fly to Cusco, then down into the Sacred Valley

   Lima to Cusco by air, then Pisac and Urubamba

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Sacred Valley (Urubamba)
   Day 3 details

   One of the two early mornings of the trip: Lima to Cusco flights mostly leave in the morning, and we choose one after about 7:30 am where the schedule allows, so breakfast comes first. The flight takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cusco sits at about 3,400 metres, so we do not stay. Our vehicle meets us at the airport and we drive over the hill and down into the Sacred Valley, where the hotel is about 500 metres lower. There is a stop at a viewpoint over the Urubamba River and its terraced fields, with a toilet break, then lunch sitting down in Pisac, at about 2,970 metres. After lunch, those who want to can stroll the flat market square; others sit on a bench in the plaza with a coca tea. It is then about 45 minutes down the valley to our hotel near Urubamba, home for two nights, by mid-afternoon. The rest of the day is for doing very little: rest, drink water and go to bed early.

   Included

   • Flight from Lima to Cusco
   • Viewpoint stop above the Sacred Valley
   • Sit-down lunch in Pisac and time at the market square

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free at the hotel

   Activity: Under 1 km on foot. Your first day at altitude: walk slowly, drink water and skip alcohol tonight.

   

4. Day 4: Moray, the Maras salt pans and a family lunch

   Urubamba up to Moray, across to the Maras salt pans, then a valley village and back

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Sacred Valley (Urubamba)
   Day 4 details

   A slow morning: we leave at about 9:30 am for the high plateau above the valley, about 50 minutes up a road of switchbacks to around 3,500 metres, the highest point of the trip. Moray is a set of circular Inca terraces set into natural hollows, the deepest about 30 metres from rim to floor, and many archaeologists believe the Incas used the levels to test crops. We see it the easy way, from the paths along the rim, with your guide explaining what you are looking at; the walk down into the lower rings is steep and optional. A country road then crosses farmland to the Maras salt pans, thousands of small pools stepped down a hillside, fed by a salty spring and worked by local families since before the Incas. Visitors watch from a path above the pools, which is also the best view. We come down to the valley floor for a seated, home-cooked lunch with a village family, with no shop at the end, and are back at the hotel by about 3 pm.

   Included

   • Moray terraces with your guide, entry included
   • The Maras salt pans, community entry fee included
   • Home-cooked lunch with a family in a Sacred Valley village

   Easier option: Stay on the rim paths at Moray and the upper viewpoint at Maras, with the van parked close by.

   More active option: Walk down into Moray's lower terraces with the guide, about 30 minutes down and back on steep steps.

   Free time: Afternoon free at the hotel from about 3 pm

   Activity: About 2.5 km on foot at the two sites, on uneven paths at about 3,400 to 3,500 metres; walk slowly and rest often.

5. Day 5: Ollantaytambo, then the train to Aguas Calientes

   Urubamba to Ollantaytambo, then the train down the Urubamba gorge to Aguas Calientes

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Aguas Calientes
   Day 5 details

   We pack a small bag for two nights and leave at about 8:30 am for the 30-minute drive to Ollantaytambo, arriving around 9 am, before most day tours from Cusco. Your main bag goes on to Cusco in our vehicle. Terraces climb steeply here to the Temple Hill and its wall of six huge pink stone blocks, and in 1537 Manco Inca held off a Spanish force from these walls. The climb is about 200 stone steps, so we offer it as an option. The rest of us stay on the lower terraces and walk the Inca town below, where families still live on the old street grid, with water channels running beside the lanes and the Plaza de Armas to sit in. After a sit-down lunch in town we board the panoramic-window train in reserved seats for about an hour and a half down the Urubamba gorge, from dry hills into cloud forest. Aguas Calientes, at about 2,040 metres, is lower and warmer than the valley. We check in, rest, and meet for dinner in town.

   Included

   • Ollantaytambo archaeological site with your guide, entry included
   • Walk through Ollantaytambo's Inca town
   • Lunch in Ollantaytambo
   • Panoramic-window train to Aguas Calientes, reserved seats
   • Dinner in Aguas Calientes

   Easier option: Stay on the lower terraces and in the old town, with benches in the Plaza de Armas.

   More active option: Climb the terraces to the Temple Hill with the guide, about 200 steep stone steps up and back down.

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Aguas Calientes

   Activity: About 2.5 km on foot, mostly on the flat lanes of the town. Bring a small bag of about 5 kg for the train.

   

6. Day 6: Machu Picchu in the morning, a free afternoon

   Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu and back

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Aguas Calientes
   Day 6 details

   The second early start, because the site asks for it: we leave the hotel at about 6:15 am for one of the morning buses, a 25-minute ride up the zigzag road, and walk in on an early-morning entry time we book with your trip. Before mid-morning the site is cooler and quieter, and in the dry season the cloud lifts off the peaks. A licensed Machu Picchu guide, required by the site's rules, leads us on a circuit with the upper viewpoint and the classic view over the citadel and Huayna Picchu, and sets the pace to the slowest walker, with stops to sit on the terrace walls. There are no toilets inside, so we use the ones at the entrance before we start. Every circuit has stone steps; if you would rather not do the lower section, stay at the viewpoint terraces with a member of the group and walk out the short way. We ride the bus down for a sit-down lunch in Aguas Calientes, and the afternoon is free, with no train or road to catch today.

   Included

   • Machu Picchu entry with a licensed site guide, on an early-morning time slot
   • Every bus ride between Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu
   • Lunch in Aguas Calientes

   Optional experiences

   • Aguas Calientes hot springs, in the free afternoon
   • Manuel Chávez Ballón Site Museum, at the foot of the Machu Picchu road, by taxi

   Easier option: Stay on the upper terraces by the viewpoint after the classic view, then take the short way out and an earlier bus down.

   More active option: Add a Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain ticket, a steep climb with small daily numbers, if you ask when you book.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 3 to 4 km over 2 to 3 hours at about 2,430 metres, on stone steps without handrails. The bus ride counts as the day's driving.

   

7. Day 7: The train back, then over the plateau to Cusco

   Aguas Calientes by train to Ollantaytambo, then Urubamba, Chinchero and Cusco

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Cusco
   Day 7 details

   No alarm today. After a late breakfast we walk the short way to the station for a late-morning train back up the gorge, about 1 hour 45 minutes in reserved seats, with the river beside you most of the way. Our driver meets us at Ollantaytambo station and we drive 30 minutes to Urubamba for a sit-down lunch, then climb out of the valley onto the Chinchero plateau, at about 3,760 metres, with snow peaks of the Cordillera Urubamba to the west on a clear day. We stop at a viewpoint to stretch, then come down into Cusco, at about 3,400 metres, by mid-afternoon. The drive from the station is about 80 km and 2 hours with the stops. If the train runs late, the driver waits, and your main bag is already at the Cusco hotel, a short walk from the Plaza de Armas. The rest of the day is free to settle in; go slowly on Cusco's slopes on the first evening.

   Included

   • Panoramic-window train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo, reserved seats
   • Lunch in Urubamba
   • Viewpoint stop on the Chinchero plateau

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Cusco

   Activity: Under 1 km on foot. Cusco's centre has steep lanes; take a taxi uphill in the evening if you like.

8. Day 8: Cusco: Sacsayhuamán, the Cathedral and Qorikancha

   Sacsayhuamán by van, then the Plaza de Armas and Qorikancha

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Cusco
   Day 8 details

   At about 9:30 am our vehicle takes us ten minutes up to Sacsayhuamán, the Inca complex above the city, so there is no climb. The zigzag walls of fitted stone blocks, the largest estimated at more than 100 tonnes, face a wide, mostly level grassy esplanade, and your guide explains how they were built without mortar. Then the van takes us back down to the Plaza de Armas rather than the steep lanes of San Blas. Inside the Cathedral, built over an Inca palace, look for the colonial painting of the Last Supper with a roast guinea pig on the table; there are benches along the nave. A short, level walk takes us to Qorikancha, the Inca Temple of the Sun, where Dominican friars built their monastery on top of the curved Inca walls. Cusco's old centre has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. We finish with a sit-down lunch near the plaza at about 1:30 pm, the afternoon is free, and in the evening we meet for a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Sacsayhuamán with your guide, entry included, by van both ways
   • Cusco Cathedral, entry included
   • Qorikancha, the Temple of the Sun, entry included
   • Lunch in central Cusco
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, in the free afternoon

   Easier option: Watch the walls from the esplanade at Sacsayhuamán, near where the van parks.

   More active option: Walk down from Sacsayhuamán through San Blas, past the twelve-angled stone, on steep steps and cobbles, about 30 minutes.

   Free time: Afternoon free from about 3 pm

   Activity: About 2.5 km on foot at about 3,400 metres, mostly level, with seats in the Cathedral and the cloister at Qorikancha.

9. Day 9: Cusco, then home

   Cusco to Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ)

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   The last morning is free. Take a taxi to the San Pedro market for a fresh juice at one of the long counters, visit the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art in a colonial mansion on the Plaza de las Nazarenas, or sit in the Plaza de Armas and watch the city start its day. Your hotel holds your bags until the transfer. Cusco's airport is about 5 km from the centre, around 20 minutes by road, and our driver takes you there in time for your flight, with your guide checking your connection before saying goodbye. Most international flights leave from Lima, so you fly from Cusco to Lima first, about 1 hour 20 minutes, and connect there. Book a Cusco departure after about 11 am, and allow at least four hours between landing in Lima and your international flight. We can book the Cusco to Lima flight with your trip if you ask, and add extra nights in Cusco or Lima if you want to stay longer, which many travellers over 60 prefer before a long flight home.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Cusco airport (CUZ)

   Optional experiences

   • Museum of Pre-Columbian Art

   Free time: Morning free

   Activity: Book a Cusco flight leaving after about 11 am, with at least four hours to connect in Lima.

Wildlife and weather: The dry season, roughly May to September, brings clear days, cold nights in the Andes and the most visitors at Machu Picchu; Cusco is busiest around Inti Raymi on 24 June. The rains run from about November to March, heaviest in January and February, with afternoon showers, cloud over the ruins and occasional train disruption. Lima is grey and cool from about June to October and sunny from December to April. For this trip the dry season's cold matters most: Andean nights can drop close to freezing from June to August, so a warm layer and a hotel with heating are worth more than a packed day. April, May, September and October are milder and quieter.

• Lima2 nights
• Sacred Valley (Urubamba)2 nights
• Aguas Calientes2 nights
• Cusco2 nights