Arrive at any time. Arrival transfer is included.
Get ready for a very busy tour exploring the best of Peru in a week. 

You will be picked up from your hotel at approx 10:00 am (10:30 from Aug-Dec) and taken to a local market and restaurant to prepare and enjoy a traditional Peruvian meal. You will return to your hotel around 13:00.

Please note that hot water shortages and power outages can be fairly common in Peru (even in upgraded hotels and private homes). We appreciate your patience and understanding that these occurrences are outside of our control.

Arrival Day and Welcome Meeting
 
The adventure begins tonight. Feel free to explore before your welcome meeting, but make sure you’re back in time to meet the group. Check for the meeting time on the welcome note at the hotel. After introductions, our Chief Experience Officer will review the details of your tour. Please note that normal check-in times apply at our start hotels, but you can usually store your luggage for the day if you arrive early.

Board an early flight to Cusco, once the capital of the Inca empire, then drive to Urubamba through the scenic Sacred Valley. Explore the terraced salt pans of Maras, which have been used for salt extraction since pre-Inca times, and tour the Inca site of Moray—believed to have been an agricultural laboratory where priests would test soils and crops. Later, we’ll enjoy a meal of local specialities, prepared in a pachamanca, or underground stone oven.
 
Plane
Lima – Cusco1h-1h30m
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… yup, it is a plane, actually.
Private transfer to the Lima airport to catch a flight to Cusco.

Private Vehicle
Cusco – Urubamba
Times includes all stops and visits enroute through the Sacred Valley.
 
Moray Ruins Guided Tour
Moray
Explore the ancient site of Moray, which archeologists believe was used to conduct agricultural experiments. Walk down through the great circular terraces and notice how the temperature shifts with the depth – sometimes as much as 15°C (27°F)!
 
Las Salineras Pre-Incan Salt Pans Guided Tour
Urubamba
Visit the pre-Incan salt pans of Las Salineras – still in use today. Marvel at the terraced pools set amongst the beauty of the Sacred Valley.
 
Traditional Pachamanca Dinner
Urubamba – Ollantaytambo
The thousand year-old tradition of pachamanca involves baking an assortment of meat and vegetables in an oven of hot stones, earth, and grass. Meat is usually seasoned with local spices and wrapped in a banana leaf before it’s placed on the hot stones and can include lamb, pork, chicken or guinea pig. Savour this traditional meal prepared by an experienced chef.

Accommodation
 
Hotel Antigua Miraflores (or similar)
Hotel
Meals included:
 Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Continue exploring the Sacred Valley with a visit to the Parque de la Papa, or Potato Park, a rural Andean community working to preserve hundreds of varieties of native potato. During this exclusive experience, you’ll walk through the park with a local guide to learn about potato cultivation, traditional weaving, and the importance of both these practices to Andean culture. We’ll also tour the fascinating Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo and Pisac and enjoy a meal at the G Adventures–supported Parwa Community Restaurant in Huchuy Qosqo.
 
Private Vehicle
Urubamba
Times includes all stops and visits enroute through the Sacred Valley.
 
Your Journeys Highlight Moment: Traditional Andean Experience
 
In Peru’s Sacred Valley of the Inca, six communities of approximately 6000 indigenous people are working together to preserve over 700 species of potato – a cornerstone of life here. As part of an experience exclusive to National Geographic Journeys travellers visit this area, named “Parque de la Papa” (“Potato Park”), to learn about life in an Andean agricultural community. Walk through the park here with a local guide, dropping by the seed bank (which has direct ties to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway) and then head out to the fields to watch the planting or harvesting process, depending on the season. After, enjoy some of the delicious varieties of potato and visit the small stone hut where traditional weaving takes place. Learn about the natural dyeing process and witness alpaca wool strands being transformed into beautiful textiles through a centuries-old backstrap weaving style. Your visit to this special community means this local enterprise can continue earning an income that supports their development and conservation goals.
 
Your G for Good Moment: Parque de la Papa (Potato Park)
 
Parque de la Papa (meaning “Potato Park”) serves two important purposes for the community of Pampallacta: the preservation of agricultural biodiversity and economic opportunity. National Geographic Journeys travellers visit the park to learn about life in a rural agricultural Andean community and take a tour of the seed conservation program, which is preserving heritage potato species. They also learn about traditional planting, harvesting and indigenous weaving practices. 

Pisac Ruins Guided Tour
Pisac
Tour the fascinating hilltop citadel of Pisac, an Incan ruin with plunging gorges, a ceremonial centre, and winding agriculture terracing that’s still in use today. Be captivated by this truly amazing site sitting amid sweeping green valleys and mountain peaks. Explore the back of the site to see a pocketed cliff across Kitamayo Gorge, which once contained hundreds of Inca tombs.
 
Your G for Good Moment: Parwa Community Restaurant the Sacred Valley
 
Contribute to sustainable tourism in Huchuy Qosqo, a small village of 65 families in the Sacred Valley, by eating at the Parwa Community Restaurant. 
 
Ollantaytambo Ruins Guided Tour
Ollantaytambo
Tour the town and fortress of Ollantaytambo with a local guide. Take a step back in time at this Inca archaeological site; it still shows signs of its former glory, including agricultural terraces, a Temple Hill, and storehouses. Learn how the area, overlooking the Urubamba River Valley, was an important stronghold during warfare between the Spanish and Incas.

Accommodation
 
Hotel Mabey Urubamba (or similar)
Hotel
Meals included:
 Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner
 

Catch an early transfer to the Ollantaytambo station and board a train to Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu. Ride through lush Andean scenery, enjoying breathtaking views of ancient ruins and everyday life. Settle into your hotel in Aguas Calientes, and choose from a variety of optional activities: take a relaxing soak in the local hot springs, visit a beautiful botanical garden, or wander the handicraft stalls in town as you prepare for an early start the following day to go up to Machu Picchu.
Please bear in mind that the town has several amenities, but is also geographically remote meaning services are sometimes more basic than one would assume. As the only option for travellers visiting Machu Picchu, the development of infrastructure has happened quite quickly, much without proper planning, and the focus on providing quality service may not be up to the standards experienced in other parts of the country.
 
Private Vehicle
Urubamba – Ollantaytambo
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.
 
Train
Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes
Climb aboard, take a seat, and enjoy the ride.

Hotel Mabey Urubamba (or similar)
Hotel
Meals included:
 Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

This morning, embark on a guided tour of Machu Picchu—the 15th-century Inca citadel famously introduced to the world by archaeologist Hiram Bingham in the April 1913 issue of National Geographic magazine. After being taken through the temples and terraces of this awe-inspiring UNESCO World Heritage site, return to Cusco by train.
 
Local Bus
Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu
Climb aboard, grab a seat, and enjoy the ride.
 
Machu Picchu Guided Tour
Machu Picchu
Rise and shine – the best time to see the Lost City of the Incas is in the early morning light. Follow the local guide to Machu Picchu to learn about its history at a leisurely pace. Gain local insight into the Inti Mach’ay cave, Inti Watana, the Temple of the Water, the Temple of the Condor, and the Room of the Three Windows. Take time to sit and feel the energy of this 15th-century site, now both a UNESCO World Heritage site and voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World (in a worldwide Internet poll).
 
Train
Aguas Calientes – Ollantaytambo
Climb aboard, take a seat, and enjoy the ride.
 
Private Vehicle
Ollantaytambo – Cusco
Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

Accommodation
 
Hotel Taypikala Machupicchu (or similar)
Hotel
Meals included:
 Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Spend the day exploring charming Cusco. Opt to visit Plaza de Armas, the historic main square; the 15th-century Sacsayhuaman fortress; or some of the city’s museums and ornate churches. This evening, we’ll head to the Cusco Planetarium to learn about the importance of astronomy to the ancient Inca and, weather permitting, look out at the glittering, starry sky through telescopes.
Please remember that star gazing is completely weather dependent and sometimes there can be cloudy skies.

Your Journeys Highlight Moment: Cusco Planetarium
 
Look to the night sky for a different view of the city. Explore the Cusco Planetarium surrounded by the serene nature of the Llaullipata Ecological Reserve. Enjoy a presentation on the southern sky, contemporary astronomy, and the ancient Incas’ relationship with the cosmos. Check out the on-site museum and use the telescopes to admire the stars (weather-permitting).
 
Your Discover Moment
CuscoFull Day
There’s plenty to see and do in Cusco, and we wanted to make sure that you had some time to take it all in. Feel free to relax or try optional activities like visiting Museo Inka, Museo de Historia Regional, and whitewater rafting. 
Taypikala Hotel Cusco (or similar)
Hotel
Meals included:
 Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Fly back to Lima. Spend the rest of the day at your leisure or choose to take a half-day guided tour of the Peruvian capital. Visit the San Francisco Monastery, part of Lima’s World Heritage-listed historic center, and descend into its famed catacombs. Wander across Plaza Mayor, the city’s oldest public square, and enjoy Peruvian tapas and a tasting of pisco sours before returning to your hotel.

 
Plane
Cusco – Lima
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… yup, it is a plane, actually.

Private transfer to the Cusco airport to catch a flight to Lima. Private transfer to the Lima hotel.

 
 
Accommodation
 
Taypikala Hotel Cusco (or similar)
Hotel
Meals included:
 Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Depart at any time.
We’ll help arrange an optional transfer to the airport.
 
Departure Day
 
Meals included:
 Breakfast