Our 'Pato' is a trip with a special food focus: there’s a cooking class where we’ll try our hands at producing novo-andina fusion cuisine, an orchard and farm visit leading to a traditional home-cooked family meal, a couple of world-class gourmet dinners, and feasting at a Sacred Valley fiesta. Of course, we also visit Machu Picchu - as well as several other much lesser-known Inca sites - and keep the adrenaline flowing with hiking, biking, zip lining, and more outdoor action!

Itinerary

Day 1. Arrive, explore Cusco

We’ll meet at high noon and head off for a traditional Peruvian Sunday lunch at a local favourite restaurant. Lunch is traditionally the main meal of the day here, and Sunday’s is the high point of the week. We’ll leave the afternoon fairly flexible – to get to know Cusco with or without your guide, shop, wander around, or whatever. We make sure there’s time today to acclimatise (or sleep off lunch!), but we’re also here to show you the sights, or help with whatever you need to do.

• Accommodation: Comfortable Cusco hotel, Cusco
• (L,D)

Day 2. The belly-button of the world - Cusco!

Today we’ll run a jump-on, jump-off walking tour of Cusco’s highlights. People spend months getting to know this town, which is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Americas and its undisputed archaeological capital. Cusco’s attractions run into the thousands, with centuries of still-visible history, and wealth of art, architecture, cuisine and religious ceremony, so we’ll have no difficulty coming up with a day that suits everyone. We’re all about passion and in-depth local knowledge, and the city of Cusco is where you’ll feel it most: when it comes to this town, Katy literally wrote the book.

• Accommodation: Cusco hotel, Cusco
• (B)

Day 3. Cooking class!

Today we’ll experience the best in Cusqueno food with chef Gabriel. He’s cooked, owned restaurants and taught budding chefs in Peru and Australia, and today we have the very special opportunity to join him in his own home to cook ourselves and his family a fabulous dinner. The menu’s not fixed – it depends what looks good on our morning market visit. There’s usually plenty of wine around to grease the wheels of our creativity… expect to loosen your belt a notch or two!

• Accommodation: Cusco hotel, Cusco
• (B,L,D)

Day 4. Patabamba and party in Wayllabamba!

Today we leave Cusco for the nearby Vilcanota valley, widely known as the Valle Sagrado (Sacred Valley). You’ll soon see why it was sacred to the Incas – its eternally spring-like climate and gorgeous scenery made it a popular weekend getaway for Inca aristocracy. The sunny, photogenic valley, with its background of snowcapped peaks, is dotted with ruins, agricultural terracing, and villages where people are still living in a traditional way.

Our first stop is tiny Patabamba, a little-visited village where we’ll take part in the creation of the beautiful textiles that make this area well known. Katy’s friend Carmen, and the local kids she’s training in these ancient skills, will take us through the whole process, from picking the plants and boiling the leaves for dyes, to shearing the sheep and using the loom.

Then we’ll head to Wayllabamba, a pretty little village whose claim to fame is being the world’s corn capital (seriously – they have the trophy from a Paris competition to prove it). Wayllabamba has been the scene of many a good meal - this trip is named after the unfortunate but delicious hand-raised duck (pato) that Steve and Katy ate the first time we ever came here!

Wayllabamba is also the home of the Fiesta de la Virgen de la Natividad. Here, 12 groups of costumed, masked dancers from the local area take to the streets for the five consecutive days of the fiesta. As well as near-constant dancing and music, there’s much eating and drinking. The local families we’ll be staying with take part enthusiastically and we’ll be accepted into the community and expected to do the same!

• Accommodation: humble family home, Wayllabamba
• (B,L,D)

Day 5. Pisac and more partying!

You can spend all day wandering through the fiesta and exploring the peaceful countryside around Wayllabamba today, or join us on a jaunt to nearby Pisac. Pisac is home to the best known artesania (handcraft) market in the Cusco region, and a definite must for shoppers. The town is full of charm, with cobbled streets, carved stone buildings, and hidden courtyards where irresistible, piping hot empanadas (pastries) emerge from wood-fired ovens.

If you’re keen to work off some weight rather than put it on, we’ll lead a hike around the Pisac ruin. Arguably Cusco’s most impressive, it towers above the town impressively with layers and layers of terraces, temples and catacombs. Later we’ll head back to Wayllabamba for another night of song and dance.

• Accommodation: humble family home, Wayllabamba
• (B,L,D)

Day 6. Fantastic family and fusion food

The incredibly fertile Sacred Valley was the foodbowl of the Inca empire, and today we’ll find out why. We’ll visit a local hacienda where family members will show us around the orchards and fields our lunch is coming from, before we help them cook it, quite possibly in an earthern pot over a wood fire.

This afternoon we’ll meander our way along the valley, stopping at our choice of out-of-the-way ruins, lookouts and peaceful villages along the way, before a gourmet dinner at renowned novo-andina fusion Restaurant Tres Keros in Urubamba.

• Accommodation: Cabinas Las Chullpas, Urubamba
• (B,L,D)

Day 7. Mountain biking and Inca technology

Today’s a real treat – a mountain bike ride that takes us from one Inca site, the mysterious amphitheatres of Maras, to another – the spectacular, surreal, Salineras salt pans. Working since Inca times and still functioning, the site is as beautiful as it is fascinating, with an indescribable patchwork of coloured pools twinkling under the sun.

Later we’ll head to Ollantaytambo, perhaps the most perfectly preserved of all Inca towns, where we’ll spend the night amid cobbled alleyways and elaborately carved stone irrigation systems, presided over by a spectacular, llama-shaped ruin.

• Accommodation: Peaceful, garden-set Ollantaytambo lodgings
• (B,L,D)

• OPTION A: INCA JUNGLE TRAIL TO MACHU PICCHU

  Day 8. Bike ride and hot springs

  The day starts with a drive over the central ridge of the Andes. We’ll ascend about 1,500 metres from the Sacred Valley to Abra Malaga (Malaga Pass), which sits at a breathtaking, glacial (we mean both these terms literally) 4,350 metres above sea level. From here we descend into the Amazon basin on mountain bikes, losing about 1,300 meters of altitude over up to 71km of road with some optional single track for the enthusiasts. There are a lot of photo opportunities along the way as the road snakes down through ever lusher vegetation. By the time we get to Santa Teresa at a tropical 1,900 metres, you’ll be ready for a cold beer, and we’re looking forward to shouting you one at the Cocalmayo Hot Springs. This is one of Katy’s favourite places in Peru: beautifully landscaped, natural hot springs, set by the side of a rushing river, surrounded by manicured lawns and lounging areas – it’s a stunning oasis, and an unbeatable place to unwind.

  • Accommodation: Bush cabins at Hugo’s Lodge, Santa Teresa
  • (B,L,D)

  Day 9. High adventure – jungle zipline and white water rafting

  Today we start with Cola de Mono, South America’s highest zipline (flying fox). After being harnessed up, kitted out and fully briefed, we’ll each whizz across six separate sections of line strung across the precipitous Sacsara Valley, a narrow fold in the Andes between Santa Teresa and Machu Picchu. The scenery is spectacular and the ride surprisingly serene; you won’t forget this experience in a hurry.

  • Accommodation: Santa Teresa
  • (B,L,D)

  Day 10. Hike and train to Machu Picchu!

  Today we’ll take a fabulous, little-known hike to Llactapata, a recently discovered Inca ruin that nestles into a jungle hilltop. The six-hour hike includes stunning views of precipitous jungle hillsides and sinuous river valleys, and even a few glimpses of Machu Picchu to whet our appetites for tomorrow. The hike finishes at the hydroelectric station, where we’ll take a train to Machu Picchu Pueblo (town), also known as Aguas Calientes. We’ll aim for an early night tonight, as we want to be at Machu Picchu for sunrise tomorrow!

  • Accommodation: Local hotel, Machu Picchu Pueblo
  • (B,L,D)

• OPTION B: THE INCA TRAIL

  Day 8. Hike to Wayllabamba (a different Wayllabamba!)

  We’ll have an early departure from Urubamba today and head for KM82, where we start the Inca Trail. Crossing the Urubamba River we trek past typical, semi-arid forest featuring cacti, prickly pears and aloe vera. Llactapata, the first archaeological site on our journey, about six kilometres in, marks the turnoff into the Cusicacha Valley. From here we start to climb out of the Sacred Valley. Four kilometres of gentle uphill through farmland takes us to Wayllabamba and our campsite for the night.
  
  Walking – 12 kilometres or 8 miles
  Minimum Altitude – 2,700 metres, 8,990 feet
  Maximum Altitude – 3,100 metres, 10,000 feet
  Altitude of camp – 3,100 metres, 10,000 feet

  • Accommodation: Luxury camping on the Inca Trail
  • (B,L,D)

  Day 9. Wayllabamba to Pacaymayo

  Today we spend most of the day climbing to the highest point in the trek, Dead Woman’s Pass (Warmiwaynusca in Quechua). We’ll ascend 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) over 8 km (5 miles), initially past small villages and farmland, then through sub tropical forest, and eventually above the treeline to Dead Womans Pass at 4200 metres (13780 feet). From here it’s a steep 600 metres (1,980 feet) descent over 3 kilometres (1.8 miles) through humid forest to the evening campsite of Pacaymayo, and one of the best views in the Andes.
  
  Walking – 11 kilometres or 6.8 miles
  Minimum Altitude – 3,100 metres, 10,000 feet
  Maximum Altitude – 4,200 metres, 13,780 feet
  Altitude of Camp – 3,600 metres, 11,810 feet

  • Accommodation: Luxury camping on the Inca Trail
  • (B,L,D)

  Day 10. Pacaymayo to Wiñay Wayna

  Only 45 minutes into today’s hike, we come to the first of today’s spectacular ruins: Runkurakay, the beginnings of the original royal Inca trail. From here it’s a stiff ascent of an hour or so to the second mountain pass at 3,900 metres (12,800 feet), which offers panoramic views of the spectacular, snow-covered Vilcabamba mountain range. This pass marks the watershed of the Andes – from here on we’re descending into the Amazon, and you’ll notice an immediate change to lusher, more ‘jungly’ vegetation. The next stop is Sayacmarca, one of the most beautiful ruins on the Inca trail. After lunch we trek through some of the most stunning scenery in Peru, through cloudforest, orchids and hummingbirds with mountains on all sides. From the other-worldly ruin of Phuyupatamarca we have three hours of steep downhill into the forest to Wiñay Wayna and our camp for the evening.
  
  Walking – 12 kilometres or 10.5 miles
  Minimum Altitude – 2,670 metres, 8,760 feet
  Maximum Altitude – 3,900 metres, 12,800 feet
  Altitude of Camp – 2,670 metres, 8,760 feet

  • Accommodation: Luxury camping on the Inca Trail
  • (B,L,D)

Day 11. Machu Picchu

Jungle trail (Option A) participants will hike or catch the bus to Machu Picchu, and Inca Trail (Option B) hikers will set out by 6am to hike there, so we can all meet up in time for breakfast and spend the rest of the day exploring the words-fail-me glory that is Machu Picchu – one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. We’ll have a guided tour (a good one, with no numbers on sticks, we promise), plus plenty of time to explore on our own or climb for breathtaking views up one or more stunning nearby peaks: Huayna Picchu, Putucusi or Machu Picchu mountain itself. Later we’ll return by scenic train to Cusco.

• Accommodation: Comfortable Cusco hotel, Cusco
• (B,L,D)

Day 12. Free day in Cusco

Today you can explore Cusco at your own pace. Thre’s culture aplenty with museums, churches, galleries and more. Or if you’re feeling like a little retail therapy, Cusco offers everything from folksy artesanias of every possible kind, through indigenous markets selling potatoes by the sack and frogs by the bucket, to exquisite handcrafted jewellery and avant garde fashion. It’s also perfect for just wandering – through ancient, llama-width cobbled alleyways that open up into charming plazoletas (little plazas), and there are stunning cityscapes and inviting cafés at every turn.

If you’re in the mood for an organised activity, there are plenty of tours and outdoor activities on offer - whatever you’re up for today, we’ll get you sorted!

• Accommodation: Cusco hotel, Cusco
• (B)

Day 13. Backdoor Cusco hike!

Years of living in Cusco and biking and hiking in the hills around it meant Katy had to leave out more hikes than she put in when it came to updating Lonely Planet Peru. We’re thrilled to bring you today’s walk, arguably the best example around Cusco too good to share with the rest of the world. It includes one of the most impressive of all surviving small Inca sites, (Templo De La Luna - Temple of the Sun), as well as jaw-dropping geographical features and spectacular views of the hills all around and Cusco nestled in the bowl below. The hike brings us back into Cusco itself via the arty, café-paradise barrio of San Blas, where we’ll stop off for an afternoon coffee and snack before the final stretch to our hotel.

• Accommodation: Cusco hotel, Cusco
• (B,L,D)

Day 14. Departure day

Today we’ll help you with any last-minute shopping or organising, and get you to the airport in time for your flight if you’re departing today. If you’re staying on in Cusco, we’re delighted to help out with suggestions and assistance for the rest of your time here. Thank you and adiós! (B)

GOT MORE TIME IN PERU? We can help arrange all manner of activities to keep you entertained – from volunteering at a local school to a crash-course in Spanish or a visit to the lower jungle – the options are almost as endless as they are rewarding. For instance, if you’ve chosen the “Inca Jungle Trail” option on your Pato, after the trip you could add on hiking the classic Inca Trail (be sure to chat with us before the trip if you’re considering this, as you need to book as early as possible). Something else tickle your fancy? Let us know, and we’ll look into it for you!

Included

• all meals as specified in the itinerary (B,L,D = breakfast, lunch dinner)
• drinking water at meals
• all transport, accommodation and activities specified in itinerary

Not included

• extra cost for Inca Trail Option B
• drinks apart from at meals
• entrance to Ollantaytambo and Pisac ruins– visits are optional, and we provide alternative activities
• activities not specified in itinerary
• transport to start of trip

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