Authentic Heritage Experiences in Peru

Uncover the various cultures and heritages found across Peru’s diverse landscape, from ceremonial Andean Weddings to ancestral farming practices, on a luxury tour with Scott Dunn.

Find authentic, intimate experiences even in popular places
Enriching activities for children and adults alike
Tailor-made itineraries from destination experts featuring local private guides

Highlands, mountain ranges, coastal deserts and rainforest – the cultures and heritage of Peru are as varied as its landscapes. While Cusco and Machu Picchu may highlight your holiday here, it’s the traditions, ceremonies and meals you share with the locals that add meaningful moments to your memories of Peru.

In between archaeological wonders and the modern culinary scene of Lima, spend time learning about local agricultural traditions and how to turn them into authentic cuisine. Handle the unique regional textiles, each with its own unique style. Explore microbreweries still producing traditional corn beer, with ingredients straight from the Sacred Valley.

This is about seeing Peru beyond the guidebook and having culturally immersive encounters that reveal Peru's living heritage with our tailor-made itineraries. Take advantage of our portfolio of local experts and unparalleled destination expertise for your Peru holiday.

Meet Our Specialists

Meet Our Peru Experts

Our team of Peru specialists are waiting to help you book your next adventure. Contact us today to start planning your tailor-made trip.

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020 8682 5000

Types of Cultural Experiences

While cuisine, tradition and history are irrevocably intertwined in Peruvian culture, there are experiences that help bring focus to certain aspects.

Whether you're a family with curious teenagers seeking an educational adventure, food enthusiasts wanting to understand Peru's culinary heritage or explorers drawn to remote archaeological wonders, we know the perfect activities for your group.

Gastronomy and Agriculture
Traditions and History
Archaeological Sites Beyond Machu Picchu

Gastronomy and Agriculture

Peru's culinary scene has exploded onto the world stage, but the story goes far deeper than award-winning restaurants. From Lima's innovative dining rooms to traditional pachamanca earth ovens in rural communities, Peruvian gastronomy reflects a rich past of agricultural ingenuity and ceremonial rituals.

Join the Huayllafara community in Lamay Valley for a day and learn about the village's deeply rooted agricultural heritage. Swap valleys for highlands and meet with Manuel Choqque, the imaginative agronomist who’s revitalised more than 300 varieties of potatoes, and see firsthand experimental gastronomy take place.

We’ll arrange exclusive experiences such as private market tours with 8-course tastings, cooking classes in historic haciendas and immersive district walking tours that take you through the cuisine of Lima’s neighbourhoods.

Traditions and History

One of the best things about visiting a new country is getting to learn and experience how others live their everyday lives, and the rich history that created it.

For a taste of Andean tradition, take part in a Pachamanca Lunch at Piuray Lagoon, where your meal is prepared using hot stones buried beneath the earth and learn about this ancestral cooking method. For drinks straight from the Sacred Valley, visit Cusco’s microbreweries for traditionally brewed corn beer.

Newlyweds and vow renewals can experience a traditional Andean wedding ceremony set against the Sacred Valley. For a boat excursion, head to Lake Titicaca to visit the floating islands and meet the Uros, a community that predates Machu Picchu. Urbanites will love touring Callao, historically a colonial port turned creative hub, with its large-scale street art and murals gaining recognition from the global art scene. On our tour, you’ll get the chance to learn how to do graffiti art from a local artist, embracing the techniques and styles that make this area so unique.

Archaeological Sites Beyond Machu Picchu

If you prefer a holiday full of hikes and archaeological wonders, or you’ve visited Machu Picchu before and want something different to explore, there are a host of lesser-explored ruins and valleys to visit in Peru.

Hike through Colca Canyon, one of the world's deepest, where you’ll find several off-the-beaten-path experiences. Swap the Inca Trail for the Salkantay trek, taking you through glacial peaks, turquoise lakes and the additional archaeological site of Llactapata, and spend evenings in lodges before arriving at Machu Picchu.

There are also many ruins surrounding Machu Picchu that are easy day trips from Cusco and are perfect for scratching the history itch. The Sacred Valley in particular offers the chance to see a number of ruins, such as Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, Sacsayhuaman, Lamay and Pisac. The Lares trek is a 4 to 6-night hike, depending on the route, where you’ll stay in mountain lodges and get the chance to visit the ruins and local villages in the Sacred Valley before finishing at Machu Picchu.

Places to Visit for Culture & Heritage

Lima

Peru's capital is experiencing a cultural renaissance, not only with food, but also its remarkable museums, colonial architecture and vibrant neighbourhoods that visitors may overlook.

In Lima, we’ll arrange private tours of the Larco Museum's pre-Columbian collection, architecture and cuisine walks through bohemian Barranco, visits to contemporary art galleries, and surfing lessons in Miraflores. Experience Lima's layered identity with our local experts, showing you Lima as residents experience it, from traditional cevicherías to artisan chocolate workshops.
Cusco

Perhaps an obvious, but very necessary choice, Cusco is the heart of many of our tours to Peru, not only for its access to Machu Picchu and other Andean landscape delights, but for its poignant colonial history and former role as the capital of the Inca Empire.

Visit markets that still preserve ancient ways of life, walk along the cobbled streets and marvel at Incan stone walls, and see how Spanish and Incan architecture have merged together to create one of the most historically rich places on earth. It’s the perfect place for independent exploration and letting the cobbled streets take you where they may.

The accommodation is as much a lesson in history as the city itself. Think converted monasteries, palaces and colonial mansions that are replete with character and charm.
Northern Peru

Northern Peru remains wonderfully undiscovered, despite harbouring some of South America's most important archaeological sites and stunning coastal and mountain landscapes.

Explore the massive adobe pyramids of the Moche civilisation near Trujillo, including Huaca de la Luna with its vibrant murals. Visit the beach town of Mancora and learn to surf while dining on fresh ceviche. Journey to Kuélap, the spectacular stone fortress of the Chachapoyas cloud warriors, perched on a mountain ridge, or ride horses from Cocachimba through the cloud-covered forest to the remote Gocta waterfall, one of the world's tallest.
Arequipa and Colca Canyon

Sitting at roughly 2,400 metres above sea level, Arequipa is a UNESCO World Heritage site nestled amongst volcanoes. With the extraordinary Santa Catalina Monastery, a 16th-century convent that's virtually a city within a city, you’ll find history and outdoor adventures are in abundance here.

Enjoy private tours of baroque churches and mansions, visits to traditional picanterías (local restaurants serving regional specialities) and dive into the Colca Canyon.

Deeper than the Grand Canyon, Colca offers dramatic Andean scenery, traditional villages where women still wear elaborately embroidered traditional dress, and pre-Incan agricultural terraces still in use today.

Stay at private villas or luxury tented camps perched on canyon rims, and soak in natural hot springs beneath star-filled skies.

Lima
Cusco
Northern Peru
Arequipa and Colca Canyon

Our Tours and Luxury Accommodations

Wherever your Peru journey takes you, we ensure you hit every spot on your bucket list and your accommodation only enhances the journey. Rest, reflect, and recharge in beautiful spaces that honour their cultural and natural settings.

Properties
Itineraries

Miraflores Park, A Belmond Hotel

Lima, Peru

Belmond Miraflores Park delivers coastal-city sophistication — 89 sea-view suites, a rooftop infinity pool over the Pacific, refined dining, luxe spa and easy access to Lima’s art, culture and salted-air promenade for an elegant urban escape.

Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel

Cusco, Peru

A former Incan palace transformed into Cusco’s most exclusive sanctuary, Palacio Nazarenas blends timeless heritage with contemporary luxury—an intimate retreat curated to perfection.

Hotel B

Lima, Peru

Hotel B is a restored 1914 Belle-Époque mansion turned art-filled boutique hotel in Lima’s bohemian Barranco — where intimate design, contemporary Latin-American art, Peruvian-Mediterranean cuisine and oceanside sunsets combine into a stylish, soulful sta

Villa Barranco

Lima, Peru

Villa Barranco is a restored 1920s mansion in Lima’s bohemian Barranco district — under 20 bespoke rooms, vintage architecture, rooftop terrace with Pacific-view cocktails, and easy access to galleries, seaside strolls and slow-city charm.

Monasterio, A Belmond Hotel

Cusco, Peru

Belmond Monasterio — former 16th-century monastery turned refined hotel at the heart of Cusco — offers 117 historic rooms, a cloistered courtyard under a 300-year-old cedar, colonial-chapel splendour and effortless access to the city’s soul.

CIRQA

Arequipa, Arequipa and Colca Canyon, Peru

A restored 16th-century monastery transformed into an 11-room Relais & Châteaux hideaway in the heart of Arequipa. Stone arches, volcanic-rock walls and historic charm meet contemporary comfort and locally inspired cuisine.

Inkaterra La Casona

Cusco, Peru

A 16th-century colonial manor turned 11-suite Relais & Châteaux hideaway. In the heart of historic Cusco, Inkaterra La Casona delivers old-world grandeur, heated marble-bath suites, intimate dining and soothing spa rituals.

Puqio

Colca Canyon, Arequipa and Colca Canyon, Peru

Discover deepest Peru with a stay at Puqio, an exclusive tented camp located high in the Andes in the spectacular Colca Canyon, experiencing authentic Andean culture, glorious scenery, soaring condors, and the traditional crafts of this remote region.

Las Casitas, A Belmond Hotel

Colca Canyon, Peru

Embrace stillness at Las Casitas, a Belmond retreat of 20 private villas above the Colca Canyon, where plunge pools, expansive skies, farm-to-table dining and soulful spa rituals deliver the ultimate Andean escape

Atemporal

Lima, Peru

Atemporal is a serene 1940s townhouse-turned-boutique hotel in Lima’s leafy Miraflores. Just six exquisitely styled rooms, art-filled common spaces, curated service, and a home-away-from-home feel for travellers seeking calm and true local character

Kichic

Mancora, Northern Peru, Peru

A tranquil adults-only beach retreat on a pristine stretch of northern Peru’s Pacific coast. Nine individually designed suites, barefoot beach access and wellness rituals unite to create a soulful, sun-soaked escape.

JW Marriott El Convento Cusco

Cusco, Peru

JW Marriott El Convento Cusco — a restored 16th-century convent beside the Plaza de Armas — blends colonial grandeur, 153 oxygen-enriched rooms, a spa, curated Inca-era artefacts and gateway access to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.

12 nights

Adventure Unplugged: Peru

Lima, Amazon, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Cusco

A carefully paced family journey through Peru, combining Lima’s food and surf culture, immersive Amazon wildlife experiences, Sacred Valley adventure and tradition, and the iconic wonder of Machu Picchu. Designed for families with teenagers, it balances shared discovery, independence and seamless support throughout.

From

£6,900 pp

14 nights

Just us: Honeymoon in Peru

Lima, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Cusco, Arequipa, Colca Canyon

An intimate honeymoon through Peru’s highlights: Lima’s culinary scene, a Sacred Valley vow renewal, private Machu Picchu guiding, rooftop cocktails in Cusco and remote canyon landscapes — seamlessly arranged for a deeply personal journey.

From

£11,400 pp

10 nights

The Flavour Trail: Peru

Lima, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu & Cusco

Explore Peru through its food, from Lima’s hidden huariques to Andean farm kitchens and a tasting menu at Mil. Discover Machu Picchu, cook with local chefs, and enjoy insider experiences woven seamlessly into an iconic journey.

From

£8,900 pp