Peru on your own terms: Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Cusco and the Amazon

Your flight from Amsterdam touches down in Lima in the late afternoon, seven hours behind European time. After clearing border control and collecting your checked bag, your private driver will meet you in the arrivals hall holding a sign with your name. The drive into Barranco takes roughly forty-five minutes to an hour, tracing the coastal highway while the Pacific surf breaks against the dark shores below the cliffs. The air at sea level feels damp and salty, a gentle opening to the journey before you ascend to the high Andes tomorrow.

You check in to your hotel, a converted mansion set along the quiet streets of Lima's bohemian district, just a few blocks from the clifftop walkway. The house retains its historical proportions, with high ceilings, polished wood, and an enclosed courtyard that insulates you from the city noise. After a long flight across the Atlantic, take a moment to unpack your essentials and freshen up, leaving the rest of the evening free for a slow, grounded walk nearby.

Follow the paths out toward the malecón, where the cliffs look straight across the open ocean. In the fading evening light, the coastal haze catches the sunset, and local neighbours take their evening stroll along the promenade. If you like, wander into the streets immediately around the property, where small restaurants, open-air cafés, and neighbourhood bars are located within a five-minute walk. We recommend keeping dinner light and sitting down early, allowing your body to settle into the new time zone before your journey into the mountains begins. (Please note: when returning to the hotel after dark or travelling across the neighbourhood, use the hotel's taxi booking app rather than hailing taxis on the street.)

Good to know: Keep a light sweater handy for the clifftop breeze this evening, and place your domestic travel documents within easy reach for tomorrow morning's transfer to the airport.

Your morning begins with a transfer to Lima airport for the flight up into the Andes. With a window seat on the left side of the aircraft, you can watch the coastal mist and desert plains give way to snow-dusted mountain ridges during the eighty-minute flight to Cusco. Upon touching down, your private driver meets you directly outside arrivals for the ninety-minute drive down into the Sacred Valley. Rather than staying at the high elevation of Cusco, you bypass the city entirely and descend to Urubamba at 2,870 metres, where the richer oxygen levels make your first night in the mountains significantly easier.

The road winds past agricultural fields, adobe farmsteads, and eucalyptus groves before dropping to the valley floor along the rushing Urubamba River. You arrive at your hacienda-style hotel, set within quiet gardens between the riverbanks and the surrounding peaks. Check into your room for a three-night stay, unpack your essentials, and take in the calm of the grounds. The Andean sun feels bright and warm in the thin air, while the courtyard corridors and terracotta walkways offer cool shade.

Devote this afternoon entirely to slow rest and acclimatisation. A gentle walk along the garden paths gives your body time to adjust to the elevation, though even slight inclines will make your breathing feel noticeably faster. If you like, sit on the terrace with a warm cup of local coca tea, letting the high granite walls around the valley absorb the afternoon light. For the evening, we recommend an early, light dinner at the hotel restaurant, choosing warm vegetable soups or native grains over heavy dishes. (Please note: mild shortness of breath and light headaches are normal when first arriving at 2,870 metres; drink water regularly throughout the day, avoid alcohol, and inform reception if you need supplemental oxygen, which is kept on hand at the front desk.)

Good to know: Keep a warm fleece and your sun protection in your daypack for the afternoon, as the temperature drops quickly the moment the sun dips behind the valley ridges.

Your morning begins early at the Ollantaytambo railway station, where you board the Expedition train as it tracks the course of the Urubamba River into the canyon. After an hour and fifteen minutes, the train halts specifically for your small group at kilometre 104. Stepping directly onto the tracks with your five-kilogram daypack, you cross the footbridge above the rushing water to register at the Chachabamba checkpoint. Here you begin the ascent alongside your licensed guide and travel companions, settling into a steady, rhythmic walking pace as the dry scrub of the valley floor gives way to rising mountain slopes.

The trail climbs continuously along open stone steps before entering the humid shade of subtropical cloud forest. Orchids, moss-draped branches, and giant ferns line the granite path, and walking alongside fellow hikers offers pleasant company while tackling the steep elevation gain. After about three to four hours of climbing, you reach the dramatic agricultural terraces of Wiñay Wayna clinging to the mountainside. You stop here among the stone storehouses and running water channels to rest, eat your packed lunch, and take in the view down the plunging river gorge. (Please note: trail permits are strictly personalised and checked against your physical passport at the trail entrance, so keep it easily accessible in your pack.)

From Wiñay Wayna, the trail follows a gently undulating stone path through high forest before reaching a steep staircase that brings you up to Inti Punku, the Sun Gate. Passing beneath the stone portal, you catch your first sweeping view of Machu Picchu resting on its green ridge below, bathed in the soft light of the late afternoon. You descend toward the upper terraces of the citadel as the daytime visitors leave, pausing to view the stonework without crowds. An afternoon Consettur bus then transfers you down the zigzagging switchbacks to your hotel in Aguas Calientes. We recommend soaking under a hot shower and listening to the river rapids rushing past your room before an early night.

Good to know: If you choose to hike with trekking poles, park regulations require rubber protective tips over metal points to preserve the historic Inca paving stones.

Your morning begins at Sacsayhuamán on the ridge above Cusco, where you meet your small group and guide among the fitted limestone blocks of the megalithic walls. From the terrace edges, you look straight down over the terracotta roof tiles of the valley basin, with the morning sun cutting through thin Andean air at 3,400 metres. Take the uphill stretches between the stone ramparts slowly; your body is adjusting well after the valley, but the altitude still requires a steady, deliberate pace. The group offers easy company as you walk together down into the historic core, stopping at the cathedral square before entering Qorikancha. Inside the Sun Temple, polished Inca stonework forms the base beneath the colonial arches of the Dominican convent, showing how the two building traditions lock directly into one another.

In the late morning, you walk into the Mercado San Pedro with a local chef for the first part of your cooking class. The covered hall is dense with the scent of fresh mint, roasting corn, and damp earth. You move between stalls piled high with dozens of indigenous potato varieties, pale roots, and unfamiliar Andean fruits, selecting fresh produce alongside your group. From the market aisles, you step into the kitchen to prepare a three-course Andean dinner under the chef's instruction, chopping herbs, handling native grains, and sharing the work at the counter before sitting down together at the table to eat what you made.

After the meal, the afternoon is free for you to explore the cobblestone alleys of San Blas at your own pace. The steep, whitewashed lanes wind past artisan workshops, quiet courtyards, and small craft studios perched above the main square. If you like, pause on a stone bench in a quiet square to rest your legs and watch the cloud shadows move across the surrounding hills. (Please note: keep your physical tourist ticket and passport with you throughout the morning, as both are checked at the entrance gates to Sacsayhuamán and Qorikancha.)

Good to know: The stone alleys of San Blas climb steeply, so we recommend flat walking shoes with good grip for the afternoon cobblestones.

Your morning begins with a short flight from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado, descending from the thin Andean air at 3,400 metres to the humid warmth of the Amazon basin at just 180 metres above sea level. Lodge staff meet you at the airport arrivals area and escort you to the river landing. Here, you board a covered motorised canoe alongside fellow lodge guests for the ninety-minute journey up the silt-laden Tambopata River. As the boat pushes against the current, dense walls of primary rainforest rise on both banks, hung with lianas and tall cecropia trees. You eat lunch from leaf-wrapped parcels while watching the muddy shoreline slip past under a wide tropical sky, sharing the long wooden benches with your travel companions.

In the afternoon, the boat pulls up to the lodge's wooden slipway beneath the high forest canopy. The buildings sit elevated on stilts with boardwalks connecting the open-air common areas to the guest rooms, which are constructed of local timber and open on one side directly to the jungle. Your room features a draped mosquito net, a private bathroom with hot water, and an immediate front-row seat to the chorus of cicadas and forest birds. The pace slows down here; taking an hour to rest after the transition in altitude and humidity allows your body to adjust to the heat. We recommend changing into lightweight, long-sleeved clothing and pulling on the rubber boots provided by the lodge before setting foot on the damp clay trails.

After dinner in the dining hall, you step into the dark with your naturalist guide and small group for an evening walk. Moving by the beam of your head torches, your guide inspects tree trunks, buttress roots, and damp leaf litter to point out tree frogs, stick insects, and tarantulas emerging from their burrows. From the trail, you return to the riverbank and board the canoe into the darkness as your guide sweeps a spotlight across the muddy banks, searching for the glowing orange reflection of caiman eyes at the water's edge. (Please note: keep your head torch switched off while the boat is in motion so the guide can locate wildlife without interference from stray beams.)

Good to know: Guest rooms are open to the forest on one side, so check that your mosquito net is tucked firmly beneath the mattress before you extinguish your bedside lamp for the night.

Wake early to pack your bags and listen to the final morning calls from the surrounding canopy before breakfast at the lodge. You step down to the riverbank one last time and board the motorised canoe alongside your small group of companions. Traveling downriver with the current makes for a steady journey, the boat cutting smooth arcs through the water as morning light breaks across the dense walls of greenery on either side. At the river port, staff transfer you to the Puerto Maldonado airport for the midday flight back to the coast.

Board the LATAM flight for the roughly one-hour-and-forty-five-minute journey, watching the flat green expanse of the Amazon basin give way to the rugged peaks of the Andes before you descend through the low coastal cloud layer into Lima. After collecting your luggage, check into your day-room near the airport. This private room gives you a quiet space to step out of your humid jungle clothes, take a hot shower, and reorganize your belongings at an unhurried pace.

We recommend repacking your main bag with any worn trekking gear and market purchases, keeping your warm layers and travel documents handy in your daypack for the flight home. If you like, enjoy a relaxed, early dinner near the terminal before heading over to check in. (Please note: international departure procedures in Lima often see heavy queues in the evening, so ensure you enter the terminal and complete baggage drop at least three hours before your scheduled flight.) Walk to the KLM departure gate for your nonstop flight to Amsterdam, settling into your seat for the twelve-hour-and-twenty-minute crossing back across the Atlantic.

Good to know: Keep your passport, boarding pass, and a warm sweater easily accessible in your cabin bag so you can move smoothly through security and stay comfortable during the long overnight flight.