Iconic Gocta Falls, Kuelap and Machu Picchu

Day 1 | Arrival in Lima

Arrive in Lima, where you are met and transferred privately to Hotel B, a Relais & Châteaux hideaway in the bohemian district of Barranco. Spend the rest of the day wandering Barranco's streets, where galleries, grand old houses and sea views hint at Lima’s artistic spirit, and settle in for dinner at one of the many restaurants nearby.

 

Day 2 | Lima: Colonial Heart and Ancient Peru
Spend the day exploring Lima’s historic centre with a private guide. Step inside the Cathedral and the Convent of Santo Domingo, where colonial Lima still feels close, then continue to the Larco Museum, whose pre-Columbian art puts the civilisations of ancient Peru in context before you travel on. The rest of the day is left to your own rhythm, whether that means a long lunch of ceviche, a stroll along the Barranco clifftops or a quiet afternoon back at Hotel B.

Day 3 | North to Chachapoyas
Leave the coast behind and travel north to Chachapoyas, far from the usual Peru circuit. A private transfer carries you on to Gocta Nature Reserve, an intimate, family-run lodge set within its own private reserve and overlooking Gocta Falls. Settle into your cottage, listen to the forest settle for the night and enjoy dinner at the lodge.

Day 4 | Kuelap and Macro: Fortress in the Clouds
Today belongs to the Chachapoya, the cloud forest civilisation that built Kuelap. With your private guide, ride the cable car up to the fortress, set at 3,000 metres on a mountaintop often wrapped in mist. Walk beneath walls that rise as high as 20 metres around some 500 circular structures, and look for the carved friezes of jaguars and snakes. Your day also takes in Macro, a lesser-known Chachapoya site on a hillside above the valley.

Day 5 | Gocta Falls and the Cock-of-the-Rock
Set out early for a morning split between two of northern Peru’s natural highlights. Walk through cloud forest with your guide to Gocta Falls, a 771 metre waterfall that drops in two tiers, then visit the Gallito de las Rocas refuge in search of the Andean cock-of-the-rock, Peru’s national bird, known for its vivid orange plumage and courtship display. The afternoon is yours at the lodge, with the reserve on your doorstep.

Day 6 | Into the Sacred Valley
Say farewell to the cloud forest and travel south to Cusco, where you are met and driven down into the Sacred Valley, which sits lower than Cusco and makes a gentler place to adjust to the Andes. Your home for the next two nights is Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba, where a private casita creates a calm, characterful base. The afternoon is free to unwind before the days ahead.

Day 7 | Chinchero, Maras and Moray
Explore the Sacred Valley’s great sights with your private guide, beginning in Chinchero, where Inca ruins rise above a village known for its weaving. At Moray, concentric terraces sink into the earth like an amphitheatre, thought to have served as an Inca agricultural laboratory. Continue to Maras, where thousands of salt pans cascade down the mountainside and are still worked by local families. Lunch at Huayoccari brings a warm family welcome and sweeping valley views before you return to your casita.

Day 8 | Machu Picchu by Rail
Meet your guide at Ollantaytambo and board the Vistadome Observatory train, whose panoramic windows follow the river as the valley narrows into cloud forest. A private guided tour reveals Machu Picchu in detail, from its terraces and temples to the reasons it was built, followed by lunch at Sumaq. Your guide then returns to Cusco, leaving you to enjoy the evening at Sumaq, beside the river, with dinner included.

Day 9 | A Second Morning at Machu Picchu
Return to the citadel for a second early entrance, this time without a guide, and explore at your own pace as the morning light spreads across the terraces. After a relaxed spell in Aguas Calientes, the Vistadome Observatory train carries you back through the valley to Poroy, where a private transfer takes you to Inkaterra La Casona, a restored colonial mansion in the historic centre of Cusco.

Day 10 | Cusco: Inca Capital and Colonial Splendour
Discover Cusco with your private guide, beginning at Sacsayhuaman, the vast stone fortress above the city, and the Cristo Blanco statue that looks out over the rooftops. Descend to San Pedro Market for a taste of everyday Cusco, then step inside Qorikancha, once the Inca Empire’s most important temple, and Cusco Cathedral. The rest of the day is yours for a last wander through the old lanes.