Peru Flash Exploration

Upon arrival at Lima airport, a representative will meet you and transfer you to your hotel for check-in. At approximately 1.45 pm, we will collect you from the hotel to explore Lima’s historic old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its colonial architecture. Our tour begins in the traditional Pueblo Libre district with a visit to the Larco Museum, housed in a restored vice-royal mansion built atop a seventh-century pre-Columbian pyramid. The museum features an extensive collection of pre-Hispanic gold and silver artefacts, including notable examples of erotic art. Next, we visit Casa Aliaga, a colonial mansion granted by conquistador Francisco Pizarro to Captain Jerónimo de Aliaga, and still owned by his descendants. We then continue with a scenic drive through Lima’s colonial downtown, stopping at the Main Square to admire the grand architecture of the Spanish Empire and the 16th-century Cathedral. After approximately four hours, we return you to your hotel by 6.30 pm for an overnight stay in Lima.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Lima airport for your flight to Cusco (flight not included). Please ensure your domestic flight arrives no later than 10.30 am, as later arrivals may disrupt the schedule. Upon arrival in Cusco, you will be taken to your hotel to check in. Around 1 pm, we will collect you for a guided four-hour tour of Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire. The tour begins at the Santo Domingo Convent, a Renaissance-Baroque complex built atop the Inca Coricancha temple—once a key site dedicated to sun worship, with its original foundations still visible. Next, we visit the Cathedral on the Main Square, the city’s most prominent monument. We then head to the hills above Cusco to explore the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, known for its impressive stone ramparts and panoramic views of the city. Nearby, we visit the ruins of Qenqo, believed to have been a site for agricultural rituals, followed by Puka Pukara (‘Red Fortress’ in Quechua), an Inca military complex featuring dwellings, aqueducts, walls and towers. After the tour, we return to your hotel at approximately 5.30 pm for your overnight stay in Cusco.

After breakfast, we will collect you from your hotel in Cusco at around 8 am for a one-hour visit to Chinchero, a traditional Andean town perched above the valley. The local community preserves Inca artisan traditions, visible in their clothing and customs. Here, you will also see archaeological remains and a seventeenth-century church, one of Peru’s earliest Catholic buildings. On Sundays, you may have the opportunity to explore the vibrant local market. Afterwards, we transfer you to the Living Museum of Yucay, where you can observe demonstrations of traditional Andean crafts such as textile weaving, adobe construction, pottery, and silverwork, recreated as they were in Inca times. The museum is also home to llamas, sheep, and alpacas, which you can feed. At 1 pm, we arrive in Ollantaytambo, a town continuously inhabited since Inca times. Here, you will enjoy a meal showcasing superior Andean cuisine in a cosy setting that reflects the spirit of the Sacred Valley. Later, we climb the iconic Ollantaytambo fortress, built beside a mountain, before returning to your hotel at approximately 4 pm. Overnight in the Sacred Valley.

After breakfast, you will begin your journey to Machu Picchu with a train ride to Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo—the final stop before the archaeological site. The exact pick-up time and train schedule will be provided the day before. Upon arrival, you can explore the craft market and choose from a range of restaurants. For those wishing to stay overnight at the base of the mountain to start early, there are hotels available to suit all budgets. From Aguas Calientes, we take a 25-minute bus ride up to Machu Picchu, the renowned ‘lost city of the Incas’. Believed to have been built around 1450 as a retreat for Emperor Pachacútec, the site was abandoned just over a century later, likely due to the Spanish Conquest. Its stone structures were gradually reclaimed by the jungle until its rediscovery in 1911. Our 2.5-hour guided tour will introduce you to the history of this remarkable citadel and its key monuments. After the tour, we return by bus to Aguas Calientes for lunch before taking the train back to Ollanta Station. From there, you will be transferred to your hotel in Cusco for your overnight stay.

After breakfast, we transfer you to Alejandro Velasco Astete Airport in Cusco for your flight to Lima. This marks the conclusion of your journey through Peru’s rich cultural and historical landscape. We hope the experiences you’ve had will remain with you long after you leave.