Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Cusco & Traditional Market Cooking Class
- Altitude: 3,400 m (11,150 ft)
- Meals Included: Dinner
- Overnight: Cusco
Welcome to the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Upon landing at Cusco Airport (CUZ), your private transport will transfer you directly to your hotel. We recommend a restful morning to acclimatize to the high Andean altitude.
At 3:00 PM, your culinary journey begins with an immersive 3-Hour Market & Cooking Masterclass. Alongside a professional local chef, you will navigate the vibrant aisles of the historic San Pedro Local Market to identify and source native ingredients, unique Andean potatoes, and local herbs. Return to the kitchen studio to prepare a classic three-course Peruvian meal paired with a traditional cocktail.
- Time-Pressed Option: Choose our 90-Minute Express Culinary Class, bypassing the market tour to dive straight into the hands-on kitchen preparation.
Day 2: Sacred Valley Exploration & Indigenous Community Immersion
- Altitude: 2,870 m (9,416 ft)
- Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
- Overnight: Sacred Valley
Your private guide and driver will collect you from your hotel at 7:30 AM to descend into the fertile Sacred Valley. Today offers a deeply personalized balance of active hiking and cultural preservation.
- Morning Textile & Artisan Exploration: Visit Manos de la Comunidad, a living museum dedicated to Andean camelid conservation, to observe native alpacas, llamas, and rare vicuñas. Learn the traditional, plant-based dyeing and weaving techniques directly from local artisans. Afterward, explore the vibrant artisan market stalls in the town of Pisaq.
- Midday Community Immersion: Travel to the high-altitude agricultural village of Viacha. Here, you will engage with community members preserving ancestral crop-rotation and dry-farming techniques.
- Afternoon Trekking & Ruins: Choose an active, scenic hike from Amaru village to Viacha, or travel via private vehicle. Re-convene for an expert-guided exploration of the mountainside Pisaq Archaeological Site.
Day 3: The Ancestral Pachamanca Earth-Oven Ritual
- Altitude: 2,040 m (6,692 ft)
- Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
- Overnight: Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Town)
Today is dedicated to the ancient culinary traditions of the Andes. We begin the morning at the bustling Urubamba Local Market, the commercial heart of the Sacred Valley, to gather fresh seasonal produce and aromatic herbs.
At 10:00 AM, arrive at the peaceful Ensifera Camp in Yanahuara, Urubamba—a scenic sanctuary known for its rich biodiversity and native hummingbird species. Here, local culinary masters will guide you through the preparation of an authentic Pachamanca (Quechua for “Earth Pot”). You will learn to season native meats and tubers with local herbs before burying them to slow-cook over white-hot river stones inside the earth. Enjoy this celebratory ancestral feast at open-air picnic tables overlooking the dramatic Vilcanota mountain range.
In the afternoon, tour the living Inca town of Ollantaytambo and its imposing fortress. From here, board the scenic expedition train to Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu.
Day 4: Private Expedition of Machu Picchu Citadel
- Altitude: 2,430 m (7,972 ft)
- Meals Included: Breakfast
- Overnight: Sacred Valley
Wake early for a defining bucket-list experience. Your private, licensed guide will lead you through the “Lost City of the Incas,” decoding the master-level architectural engineering and astronomical alignment of this UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Important Regulatory Note: In alignment with the strict conservation regulations implemented by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, our standard morning circuit runs between 6:00 AM and 10:00 AM. If you intend to take on the advanced physical treks of Wayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain, please notify us upon booking so we can secure those specialized, highly limited permits on your behalf.
After your comprehensive guided tour, descend by shuttle bus back to Aguas Calientes to relax, dine, and catch your afternoon return train back to the Sacred Valley.
Day 5: Maras Salt Mines, Moray Terraces & Chinchero Weavers
- Altitude: 3,762 m (12,342 ft)
- Meals Included: Breakfast
- Overnight: Cusco
Following breakfast, your private tour explores the jaw-dropping architectural anomalies of the region:
- Maras Salt Mines: Walk past thousands of ancient, terraced evaporation ponds fed by a hyper-saline subterranean spring, hand-harvested by local families since pre-Inca times.
- Moray Agricultural Terraces: Stand before the massive, concentric circular depressions utilized by Inca agronomists as a highly sophisticated bio-agricultural laboratory to simulate distinct microclimates.
- Chinchero Historic Village: Travel to the historic town of Chinchero—fabled as the birthplace of the rainbow. Walk amongst incredibly preserved Inca structures and visit a premier local weaving collective to see complex geometric storytelling spun into alpaca wool. Return to Cusco for your final evening.
Day 6: Farewell Cusco & Onward Departures
- Meals Included: Breakfast
Savor a final morning in Cusco. Your private driver will coordinate a seamless transfer from your hotel to the Cusco Airport in time for your domestic flight connection to Lima.
- Looking to stay longer? This itinerary can be fully customized to include extensions to Lake Titicaca, the Amazon Rainforest, or Rainbow Mountain.
