9 days/8 nights
Private tour for 2 food lovers including the most delicious regions of Peru - Lima, Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu. Enter the ruins on foot like the original Incas did on a private 1 day Inca Trail Hike. Picnic in the valleys, cook oceanfront in Lima, and explore the highlights and off the beaten jewels of these 3 locations. 

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ITINERARY:

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Day 1
International flight to Peru        
Upon arrival from your flight to Lima, reception and private transfer to your hotel.

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Aloft Lima Miraflores Hotel, Urban room
 
Day 2
Lima (B, L)
MORNING PRIVATE CULINARY GOURMET EXPERIENCE WITH LUNCH 
This morning you will be part of a Gastronomy experience. Enjoy a gastronomic space of participative cuisine where you will learn how to cook in a simple way, in a Social environment and fun the different dishes of Peruvian gastronomy.  This experience includes a visit to the Market guided by the chef.  After cooking you will go to the table to eat what you have prepared.  At that point, you will mix the experience of a class with restaurant service.  Special emphasis will be placed on the history of Peruvian gastronomy, and the influence of other kitchens and how we have come to have one of the most important dishes in the world.  Topics will be played while the lessons such as Historical, social and cultural factors that will make the experience not only Focused on cooking, but also in Peruvian culture.  
 
Services include:  Cooking lessons where you will learn to prepare traditional ceviche and lomo saltado, various type of fruit tasting. At the end of the lessons you will receive a souvenir's, apron, a receipt with the ingredients of the dishes you have prepared, beverages are included such as soft drinks.  A culinary souvenir which could be, for example, Maras salt with Peruvian chili, Peruvian Premium chocolates or high-end Peruvian coffee.  After the experience, begin your afternoon City tour of Lima.
 
AFTERNOON PRIVATE CITY TOUR OF LIMA
Today in a half day tour, you will take a guided sightseeing tour to the most attractive and important sites in Lima, the "City of Kings". The tour includes Lima's Historical Centre, passing by Plaza San Martin, Plaza Mayor, the Government Palace, the City Hall, the Cathedral and its Religious Art Museum. Its construction began on the city's foundation, on January 18, 1535. We will visit the Convent and Church of San Francisco, considered by some as the greatest architectural complex of Colonial Art in America and Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The underground galleries or Catacombs that during the Viceroyalty served as a cemetery for the city.   After the inspection, return to your hotel 
 
Day 3
Lima - Cuzco - Sacred Valley (B, L)                        
At the appropriate time, you will be met by your transfer-man who will assist you with your flight to Cusco.  Arrival to Cusco, meet and greed by your guide who will assist you with your luggage and will drive you to your hotel located in the Sacred Valley.  The Sacred Valley is located at a lower altitude than Cusco city which aids to the acclimatization of the city.
 
PRIVATE TOUR TO AWANACANCHA, PISAC MARKET, PISAC RUINS & WITH LUNCH 
When you arrive to Cusco, the Imperial City, you will be met by your private guide and private driver who will assist you with your luggage and will drive you to your hotel located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. 
On the way, visit Awanacancha textile center to observe traditional Andean weaving and to see the four types of camel-related Andean animals – llamas, guanacos, alpacas and vicuñas. Alpacas have thick wool and is the most commonly used while the vicuñas are small and delicate with fur considered the finest. Awanacancha is a weaving center with the goal to keep alive the traditional textile arts.  Here you can meet these four types of camelids, learn about the harvesting of the different wools, the natural dying techniques and have a chance to see native weavers from different areas showing their different weaving secrets and lifestyle.   
 
Then continue with the visit of the town of Pisac, where the Incas built an observatory to study astronomy as well as an impressive network of cultivated terrace.  After this, IF time allows, you will have the opportunity to bargain with vendors at the local handicraft market in Pisac.   
 
Lunch will be served at Hacienda Sarapampa.   Opened to visitors in 2015, Hacienda Sarapampa offers a unique live experience in a working farm where you can learn first-hand about the Cusco Giant White corn and its production, the hacienda life and delight yourself with a Farm lunch while you enjoying the surrounding landscape of the farm and the Sacred Valley.   Feel like a unique guest and experience the real taste of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. 
 
After lunch continue with your visit to the fortress of Ollantaytambo which was believed to be constructed to guard the entrance to this part of the valley and protect it from possible invasions of tribes from the jungle lowlands.  Later, it served as a temporary capital for Manco Inca, leader of the Inca resistance in 1,537 during the Spanish conquest of Peru, who fortified the town to stop the advance, as Cusco had fallen under Spanish domination.  Additionally, this place is a ceremonial center dedicated to the purification and worship of water with 150 steps built with perfectly carved stones.  The archaeological site includes a series of superimposed terraces and stunning finely carved stone blocks located on the upper terrace or Temple of the Sun.  Then, take a journey in time through the Ollantaytambo town with its straight streets with perfectly laid stones that feature a canal for water to run through the townAfter the tour, you will be taken back to your hotel.   
 
Aranwa Sacred Valley Hotel & Wellness, Colonial room 
 
Day 4
Sacred Valley (B, L)
PRIVATE TOUR TO CHINCHEROS, MARAS, MORAY WITH OUTDOOR LUXURY PICNIC BASKET LUNCH IN FRONT OF A LAKE
In the morning transfer to the town of Chinchero which a small Andean Indian village.  Chinchero is believed to be the mythical birthplace of the rainbow. The village mainly comprises mud brick (adobe) houses, and locals still go about their business in traditional dress. The most striking remnant of this period is the massive stone wall in the main plaza which has ten trapezoidal niches. 
 
Following, head to the salt fields of Maras and its seemingly never-ending terraces, where salt extracted from springs is stored. Although these waters have been used for centuries, even before the time of the Incas, Maras were founded by the Spanish in 1556.  It is produced naturally in about 5,000 pools of approximately 5 square meters each forming different levels of terraces, nourished by salty water from a creek that permeates the pools and then evaporated by the intense sun, forming thick crystals. It is impressive to see the variety of colors created by the reflection of the sun’s rays in this field of salt deposits and to learn about the Incas striking ability to generate resources.   Continue your excursion to admire the Moray terraces, believed to be a former gigantic agricultural laboratory, an astronomical observatory or a place of worship, or maybe all three. It is thought that Moray was used for plant adaptation to new climatic environments thanks to its circular terraces in immense cone-shaped depressions of 47 to 84 m that resemble giant fingerprints or contour lines. These create a series of microclimates at the different heights of the terraces, which enabled the Incas to experimentally improve a great variety of crops. Today, it is an evidence of the high level of agricultural knowledge they reached.  
 
The first thing that comes to our mind when we hear the word "picnic" is enjoying a basket of food, sitting on a blanket in an outdoor space. Our "Basket Lunch" picnic brings us back to that concept, renovated to suit your needs.   The setting is arranged under a beautiful and large awning, with Andean blankets, Ayacucho style cushions, lots of flowers, a central table served with a delicious antipasto, and a glass of select wine. Meanwhile, you will open your basket to find a gourmet lunch inside, made with local, fresh, and homemade ingredients.   There will be waiters and a bar available to our travelers, restrooms, and water stations for hand washing.    After the tour, you will be transferred to your hotel in the Sacred Valley.
 
Day 5
Sacred Valley - Inca Trail - Machu Picchu (B, L, D)
PRIVATE 1 DAY INKA TRAIL HIKE TO MACHU PICCHU 
You will be transferred to Ollantaytambo train station. Your VISTADOME train will go up to 104 km. At this point after checking our entrances and passports with Machu Picchu Park rangers, We will start trekking for approximately 2 hours, up to the well-preserved remains of Wiñaywayna (2900 m.a.s.l). On the way, we will see beautiful waterfalls, native flora and mountain birds. After lunch, we will have time to rest and enjoy exploring the site with its houses, terraces, towers as well as visiting the Inti Punku, the Inca Gate of the Sun, where we will get our first sight of Machupicchu. We finally cross the ridge that leads to our destination, and the full sight of the greatest archaeological discovery of modern times is reveled. After an overview and orientation about the city of Machupicchu, you will take the tourist bus that will take you down to Aguas Caliente, where we will spend the night.   
 
El Mapi By Inkaterra hotel, Superior Deluxe room 
 
Day 6
Machu Picchu (B, L, D)
PRIVATE TOUR TO MACHU PICCHU WITH LUNCH 
After an early breakfast, passengers will be met by their guide at the hotel’s lobby to start our visit to the Sanctuary of Machupicchu.  The bus zig-zags up the steep side of the mountain for nearly 20 minutes. The pre-Hispanic engineering marvel unveils itself gradually; this was the site Pachacutec Inca (1438-1572) chose as royal retreat and where his "malqui" or mummified remains were to be worshiped. Machu Picchu or "Old Mountain" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders yet the traveler senses a beauty unmatched by these or any other title. Andean mountain aesthetics can truly be appreciated at Machu Picchu; explore the site at your own pace. Visit the Royal, or the central flight of steps to reach Intihuatana.  Or simply contemplate the sacred geography all around; the Urubamba nearly encircling the site and Mount Salkantay ("Wild"), overlooking the citadel from the southeast. (Wayna Picchu Mountain is closed so far). 
 
After this awesome visit, enjoy a Buffet Lunch at Tinkuy restaurant of Belmond Sanctuary Lodge hotel, besides Machu Picchu citadel.  Then, return to Machupicchu town (known before as Aguas Calientes) and transfer to your hotel. (Your guide will return to Cusco today, however before his departure, he will provide you with instructions on how to transfer to the train station the day after. 
 
Day 7 
Machu Picchu - Cuzco (B, L)
PRIVATE CUSCO RUINS WITH LUNCH
You will make your own way to the train station and catch the Vistadome Train towards Ollantaytambo station where your guide will be waiting for you.  Upon arrival to the Sacred Valley your guide and transportation will take you to Wayra restaurant
Lunch is enjoyed in the Wayra Gardens among the native plants, served in a modern environment.  We are enveloped by the aroma of freshly baked bread coming out of the wood-burning ovens, tasty empanadas with different fillings and an amazing assortment of native potatoes from remote communities that have preserved them along with their stories.   You will enjoy of a Peruvian Paso Horse show.  After the tour, you will be transferred to Cusco and visit the City’s nearby ruins; the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, a magnificent example of Incan military power; Qenqo, a ritualistic site with subterranean galleries that form an underground maze; Puca Pucara, the red fortress and finally Tambomachay, also known as the Incan Baths. In the afternoon, return to your hotel in Cusco.  
 
Casa Andina Premium Cusco hotel,  Superior room
 
Day 8
Cuzco (B, L)
PRIVATE CULINARY EXPERIENCE & CUSCO CITY TOUR WITH LUNCH
Today, enjoy a three-hour culinary adventure.  Pick up from your hotel and transfer to a local market.  While in the market, the Chef will provide a briefing about local Andean ingredients, meanwhile, you will have the chance to buy products, mix with the colors and fragrances of the variety of fruits, vegetables, tubercles of the region, interacting with local producers and suppliers.  Definitely, this is a whole experimental sojourn, in a traditional Andean Market.  
 
Peruvian cuisine fascinates the world and contains inspiring secrets and stories. Our ingredients and cooks represent us today in the kitchens of the planet, generating a special interest in our culinary tradition. We transmit this knowledge to you, in each of the languages of our restaurants, after more than two decades developing them, in an agile, fun and above all enriching class. Let's go through Peruvian haute cuisine at MAP Café. Learn the secrets of Peruvian cuisine while having a good time in Cusco. Do not leave Cusco without knowing its secrets.  Hands on cooking class where you will learn how to cook two typical dishes from MAP Café, inspired by the Cusco local products. (Causa Ferreñafe and Lomo de Res con salda de hongos Cusqueños y Quinotto amarrillo.  Discover the variety of Peruvian food in a cozy environment, interacting with the chef, between stories and pictures you will get the most out of this culinary lesson.  After the tour, and lunch at the restaurant, begin your City tour of Cusco
 
PRIVATE CITY TOUR OF CUSCO 
Today you will go on a guided visit of the Imperial City of Cusco. In this Cusco city tour, you will visit the Main Plaza, which has been the scene of great historical events in the Capital of the Incas, the main Cathedral church, built of great slabs of red granite in renaissance style and thus contrasting with the baroque style silverwork which decorates its interior.  Then continue on to the Santo Domingo church, built upon the foundations of the Inca temple Koricancha, which was dedicated to S un worship.   After this amazing educative Cusco city tour, you will be driven back to your hotel. 
 
Day 9
Cuzco - Lima - Home (B)                                   
At due time, your guide will take you to the Cusco airport in time for your flight to Lima. Upon arrival to Lima, reception at the airport by a representative and assistance at airport with your international departure flight back home. 
 

THIS IS A PRIVATE ITINERARY AND WE CAN MAKE ANY CHANGES YOU WISH