Peru

More Than Machu Picchu

Everyone comes for Machu Picchu. That is understandable — the Inca citadel sitting on a saddle between two peaks at 7,970 feet is one of the most photographed places on Earth for a reason. But Peru is vastly more than a single ruin, and the travelers who discover that are the ones who come back changed.

Lima has quietly become one of the world’s great food cities. Central, Maido, and Kjolle consistently rank among the planet’s best restaurants, drawing on Peru’s staggering biodiversity — more than 4,000 varieties of potato, thousands of species of Amazon fruit, a coastline that produces the freshest ceviche you will ever taste. A serious food itinerary in Lima alone justifies the flight.

The Sacred Valley

The Sacred Valley of the Incas stretches between Cusco and Machu Picchu, and it is where we recommend spending the bulk of your time. The altitude is lower than Cusco (helping with acclimatization), the scenery is extraordinary, and the density of sites and experiences is remarkable. Ollantaytambo’s fortress ruins, the Moray agricultural terraces, the Maras salt ponds — each one would be a national landmark in any other country. Here, they are stops on a day trip.

We build itineraries that balance the archaeological with the living. A morning at Pisac’s ruins followed by an afternoon in the market, where Quechua-speaking women sell textiles woven with techniques that predate the Inca Empire. A visit to a chicha brewery where corn beer is made the way it has been for centuries. These are not staged experiences — they are daily life in a valley that has been continuously inhabited for thousands of years.

The Amazon Extension

Peru’s Amazon basin is accessible from Cusco with a short flight to Puerto Maldonado. From there, luxury lodges like Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica put you in the heart of the rainforest without sacrificing comfort. Canopy walkways, nocturnal wildlife excursions, piranha fishing, and visits to oxbow lakes where giant otters and macaws congregate — the Amazon is the perfect contrast to the highlands.

We typically recommend three nights in the Amazon as an extension to the core Peru itinerary. It transforms the trip from a cultural journey into a genuinely comprehensive experience of one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth.

Group Travel in Peru

Peru handles groups well, particularly in the Sacred Valley where luxury lodges like Tambo del Inka and Explora Valle Sagrado are designed for exactly this purpose. The key logistics consideration is altitude — Cusco sits at 11,150 feet, and we always build itineraries that allow for proper acclimatization, starting in the Sacred Valley before ascending to Cusco.

For team offsites, the combination of physical challenge (trekking), cultural immersion (artisan workshops, cooking classes), and sheer beauty creates the kind of shared experience that no conference room can replicate.