Inti Raymi, a reenactment of the annual day of tribute to the Inca Emperor, is the most famous celebration day in Cusco, a city so fond of parades that they close the Plaza de Armas (main square) to traffic on most days in June and July! Raqchi Raymi is very different – a huge, totally un-touristy celebration of Andean group dancing, where you’ll gain a real insight into Peru’s living culture.

This trip also includes all the highlights of Cusco and Lake Titicaca – scenery, traditional culture and Inca ruins in the Sacred Valley, historic Cusco and Puno, authentic homestays, creepy catacombs, heavenly hot springs, baroque churches, scenic hikes, and much more!

Itinerary

Day 1. Arrive, explore Cusco

We’ll meet in the lobby of our trip-start hotel at 1pm and head off for a traditional Peruvian lunch at a local favourite restaurant. 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, but we’re also here to show you the sights, or help with whatever you want to do.

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

Day 2. Raqchi Raymi

Raqchi is a quiet village which comes alive once a year on this day. This area was home to some of the oldest civilisations on Earth, and music and dance are known to have been part of life here as long as 10,000 years ago. Each succeeding civilisation has added layers to the tradition, and it’s still evolving today. The regional government of the province of Canchis established Raqchi Raymi in 1968 with the aim of ‘rescuing, restoring, and sharing the vernacular dance, music and song of the region’. Raqchi Raymi is now the world’s biggest Andean dance party, with performers coming from as far away as Bolivia and Ecuador.

Today you’ll see a variety of dances and an array of elaborate costumes like you’ve never seen before, but it’s the enthusiasm of participants for their own culture that makes this day really special.

We’ll stay with locals in humble family homestays, and the festivities will probably continue far into the night!

• Accommodation: Family homestay in Raqchi
• (B,L,D)

Day 3. Dancing, pot-throwing, and a volcano!

Raqchi Raymi continues today, and watching the dancing may well keep you enthralled all day. If you feel like a change, there’s no shortage of other things to do in Raqchi and our engaging local guide, Bonifacio, is on hand to show us around the local ruin, breathtaking lookouts, and the nearby (extinct!) volcano of Kimsach’ata.

This area was home to the Pukara people, the world’s earliest civilisation to have a recognisable artistic tradition. They specialised in ceramics, and the tradition continues today – many of the pots, cups and ornaments you’ll see on sale throughout Peru are made in Raqchi. If you’d like to, you can try your hand at the potter’s wheel in a backyard pottery studio. Worst-case scenario is hilarious, messy fun – and with luck, you’ll end up with a pot you made yourself as a souvenir of your trip.

• Accommodation: Family homestay in Raqchi
• (B,L,D)

Day 4. High altitude hot springs and creepy catacombs

This morning we’ll head off into the Altiplano towards Lake Titicaca. Along the way we’ll stop at the Marangani natural hot springs, one of the most surreal stops on our trip and a popular local hangout. Steaming sulphurous streams link five pools against a background of sweeping plains and snowcapped peaks: it’s a sight and sensation you won’t soon forget.

The afternoon brings us to Lampa. In colonial days a thriving metropolis, it’s now a forgotten gem where llamas wander through the main square, past pink stone buildings and the most amazing church we’ve ever had the privilege to visit. Among many other marvels, it houses a collection of hundreds of skulls and skeletons, artistically arranged in a marble crypt – it’s quite a jaw-dropping sight and inspired Katy to include Lampa in the latest edition of the Lonely Planet Guide to Peru.

• Accommodation: Family-run hostal in Lampa
• (B,L,D)

Day 5. Archaeology, a steamship, and post-modern food in Puno

Today we’re headed for Puno, Lake Titicaca’s hectic port town. We’ll spend the afternoon checking out one of Peru’s best archaeological collections at the Carlos Dreyer Museum, and the still-functional steamship SS Yavari, which was brought in pieces by llama from Lima in 1862. Puno is great for wandering, with bustling markets, cool cafés for people watching, and plenty of shopping. It’s also home to a couple of Peru’s best novoandino (New Andean) restaurants, and tonight we’ll enjoy cutting-edge fusion treats like greek style alpaca, and smoked trout in vodka sauce.ise tomorrow!

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

Day 6. Textiles and totora on Lake Titicaca

Our exploration of the islands of Lake Titicaca begins with the well-known oddity of the Uros Islands: better known as the Floating Islands, the islands are entirely manmade, woven of totora reeds. We’ll learn about the soggy, reed-based life of the inhabitants, and bounce up and down on the intriguingly spongy ‘ground’, before heading further across the lake to Amantani Island, where we'll meet our hosts, members of the indigenous Quechua community.

This afternoon we’ll take on the locals in a game of soccer (which we will inevitably lose). Then we'll hike up to the Pachamama (Mother Earth) temple at the island’s summit, in time to watch the world’s best sunset over the rippling water, mountainous islands, and crinkly shoreline of Lake Titicaca.

After dark we'll return to our family homes. There are no cars or roads on Amantani, and even dogs are forbidden, so the silence after nightfall is complete. This must be one of the most peaceful places in the world.

• Accommodation: Guestroom in family home, Amantani Island
• (B,L,D)

Day 7. Taquile and Puno

This morning we chug across the lake to Taquile. This is perhaps the most beautiful of the islands of Lake Titicaca, with an inviting Mediterranean climate, steep green hillsides, and stunning views across the lake to the snow-capped peaks of Bolivia to the east. We’ll take our time exploring the pre-Inca ruins and tiny towns along the peaceful pathways of the island. Taquile is famous for its textiles; we’ll see them on the people, learn about their significance, and have the opportunity to buy them in the island’s co-operative shop. In the afternoon we’ll head back to Puno for our final night in the Altiplano.

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

Day 8. To Cusco via pre-Inca ruins

Some of Peru’s most significant archaeological sites lie just off the Panamerican Highway between Cusco and Puno, and we’ll visit several of them today. The enormous adobe Templo de Wiracocha, was one of the main temples and administrative centres of the Inca empire. The sites of Pukara, Tipon, and Pikillacta each remind us that there was life around here long before the Incas. The incredibly ornate church at Andahuaylillas is known as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas, and has to be seen to be believed.

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

Day 9. Inti Raymi

Inti Raymi was the annual day of tribute from all the subject peoples of the Incas, and today’s festivities are faithful re-enactments of the original. It’s an elaborate, colourful spectacle, and more than any other puts Cusco’s famous love of a parade on show.

Ceremonially-dressed representatives from each of the four suyos (quarters) of the empire march and dance through central Cusco, on their way to the spectacular ruin of Sacsayhuaman that overlooks the town. Here, a large central parade ground is the scene of ceremonies and offerings for much of the afternoon.

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

Day 10. Free day in Cusco

The oldest continuously inhabited city in the Americas and its undisputed archaeological capital, Cusco’s attractions run into the thousands. It boasts enough museums, churches, and ruins to make your head spin. If you need 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), with stunning cityscapes and inviting cafés at every turn.

Or if you’re in the mood for an organised activity, there are plenty of tours and outdoor activities on offer – whatever you feel like doing today, we’ll get you sorted!

• Accommodation: Comfortable hotel in Cusco
• (B)

• Option A: Jungle Inca Trail

  Day 11. Chinchero, Moray, Salineras and Ollantaytambo

  Today we’ll explore four very different Inca sites.
  
  We start with the impressively terraced ruin of Chinchero, and the charming colonial church built on top of it. Next is Moray, a mysterious complex of amphitheatres of incredible engineering precision, believed to have been an agricultural laboratory.
  
  From here we’ll hike (two hours) or ride in our vehicle (20 minutes) down to spectacular, surreal Salineras, a still-working Inca salt factory that we think is the most amazing and underrated sight in the Cusco region.
  
  We’ll spend the night in Ollantaytambo, the most perfectly preserved of all Inca towns. Late in the afternoon we’ll explore its charming cobbled alleyways and the spectacular, llama-shaped ruin that presides over the town – it’s the perfect viewpoint from which to watch the sun set and the stars come out over the Sacred Valley.

  • Accommodation: Cosy lodgings in Ollantaytambo
  • (B,L,D)

  Day 12. Into the Amazon basin

  This morning we drive up to 4350 metre (14,000 feet) Abra Malaga (Malaga Pass), where we cross the official divide between the eastern and western sides of the Andes – we’re now on the upper slopes of the mighty Amazon Basin. We’ll lose nearly 3000 metres (10,000 feet) of altitude as we descend from the freezing pass, down through temperate bushland, and into high cloudforest. We’ll provide bikes for everyone – feel free to enjoy as much, or as little, of the 71km descent as you like on a bike. For those who prefer to stay in the vehicle this is an incredible day for taking photos, or just relaxing and enjoying the scenery as we pass grazing llamas, waterfalls, sheer rock faces and tiny, isolated hamlets, against a background of constantly changing ecosystems. The contrast between the icy, often-snowy pass where we begin and steamy Santa Teresa (1540 metres or 5000 feet), where we spend the night, is incredible.

  • Accommodation: Rustic eco-lodge outside sleepy Santa Teresa
  • (B,L,D)

  Day 13. Jungle adventures

  This morning we can experience Cola de Mono, South America’s highest zipline (flying fox). This entails being harnessed to a cable anchored to two different mountains on opposite sides of a river gorge, then sliding down the cable at speeds of up to 60km per hour. We whizz back and forth across six lines in total, taking in incredible scenery from high above the sinuous Sacsara River.
  
  After this, you have a choice. The Baños Termales de Cocalmayo, natural hot springs beside a raging river, are the perfect place to relax. If you’re feeling energetic, you can undertake the taxing but incredibly rewarding hike to Llactapata, a recently discovered Inca ruin that nestles into a jungle hilltop.
  
  Later today we’ll take a short train ride to Aguas Calientes, the town just below Machu Picchu, where it’s a good idea to have an early night – we’ll be at Machu Picchu in time for sunrise tomorrow! (Note: changes to train timetable can change today’s itinerary at short notice)

  • Accommodation: Family-run hostal in Aguas Calientes
  • (B,L,D)

• Option B: Standard Inca Trail hike

  Day 11. Hike to Wayllabamba

  We’ll depart early today for Kilometre 82, where we start the Inca Trail. We start by trekking along the Urubamba River past semi-arid forest featuring cacti, prickly pears and aloe vera. Llactapata is the first archaeological site on our journey, about six kilometres in. Here we turn into the Cusicacha Valley and start to climb. Another six kilometres of gentle uphill through farmland brings us to Wayllabamba and our campsite for the night.
  
  Walking – 12 kilometres, 7.5 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 12. 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 4,200 metres (13,780 feet). From here it’s a steep 600 metre (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, 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 13. Pacaymayo to Wiñay Wayna

  Only 45 minutes into today’s hike, we come to the first of today’s spectacular ruins: Runkurakay, the beginning 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 ‘jungle’ 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.

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

Day 14. Machu Picchu!

Jungle Inca trail (Option A) participants will hike or catch the bus to Machu Picchu, and Standard Inca Trail (Option B) hikers will set out by 6am to walk there, so we can all spend 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: Back at our home-base hotel in Cusco
• (B,L,D)

Day 15. Departure Day

We’ll get you to Cusco airport in time for your flight out today. (B)

GOT MORE TIME IN PERU?
We can 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 Jungle Inca Trail option during your trip, after the trip you could add on hiking the Standard 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). Or how about another trek, Arequipa’s Colca Canyon, the Nazca Lines, Lima, Bolivia, Ecuador... something else tickle your fancy? Let us know, and we’ll make it happen for you!

ACCOMMODATIONS
Accommodations on our Peru trips are Katy’s favourite finds from her Lonely Planet research. In Cusco, Aguas Calientes, and Puno we stay in clean, comfortable hotels of three star standard. In Ollantaytambo, Lampa and Santa Teresa we stay in quirky, interesting, family-run hostales. The Inca Trail hike entails three nights of camping in tents. In Raqchi and on Amantani Island we stay in humble family homes. Here, conditions are basic and hygiene may not be what you are used to at home, but any slight discomfort you experience will be well compensated for in this incredible insight into a very different way of life. Five star hotels are not a feature of our trips.

Included

• All accommodation and activities specified in itinerary
• all meals except lunch and dinner on free day (B,L,D = breakfast, lunch, dinner)
• all transport
• all guiding services
• drinking water at meals
• bikes, helmet, and bike mechanic for biking activity in Option A
• full Boleto Turistico de Cusco

Not included

• Extra cost for Option B , Standard Inca Trail
• stadium seating at Inti Raymi ceremonies at Sacsayhuaman
• flights (ask us for help with making arrangements)

• All Peru Tours
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