Marisol's Favorite

I'm passionate about travel but I really can't stand crowds and tourist traps. I also love to travel with my young son so incorporating educational opportunities and adventure is important. This itinerary will take you to visit Lima as an insider, getting a good feel for the best of what Peru has to offer, while avoiding the commercial properties and branded products that are so common nowadays. It also immerses you into the landscape by trekking: the traditional way to travel the Andes!

Good time to travel :Possible year round although I would avoid July and August as everything in Peru, just as everywhere in the world, is very busy. Absolute Best time: April - June, when after the rains, the landscape is lush and the fields are busy during the harvest. And if you are lucky you may catch a Festival!

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

Day 1

Arrival in Lima from your international flight. You will be met by our English-speaking representative and transferred to Casa Inca.  Once home to Peru's "Father of Archeology", Julio C. Tello, it is located in the heart of Miraflores next to the exclusive seafront sidewalk “Malecon de la Reserva” offering one of the best views of Lima bay.
Overnight at Casa Inca

Day 2

After a delicious breakfast you will be met by your host or hostess, an Aracari specialist who will show you Lima in a way only a passionate insider can. Our specialists are architects, art historians and very cultured individuals. Lunch at the Casa Garcia Alvarado, a Republican Mansion built in 1912 located in the heart of Miraflores.  Still lived-in by its owners, Mrs. Ana Maria Garcia Alvarado or her daughter will host you. Afternoon guided visit of the Larco Herrera Museum or National Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology by one of the most respected archaeologists in Lima, ex curator of the Larco Herrera Museum.  Dinner at one of our favourite Lima gourmet restaurants or one in a spectacular setting.

Another one of my favourite ways to spend the day in Lima is to visit the private house and stunning gardens of Naguib Ciurlizza in Chaclacayo, known as "The Private Experience". Read more about this on the blog article Visit Lima's secret garden or contact us for full details. We actually held our 15th anniversary party at Naguib's house in September 2011. You can read more about that here: Aracari is 15! (and how we celebrated).

Overnight at Casa Inca.

Day 3

Transfer to the airport to take your 1-hour morning flight to Cuzco (3,400m/11,220 ft). Arrival at Cuzco airport, where you will be met by the Maria del Carmen Vargas, Aracari representative, as well as by your guide. After a short briefing by Mari Carmen you will continue on with your guide for a visit of Pisac Ruins (1 hour away), our favourite site in the Urubamba Valley with stunning terracing hugging the contours of the hills. After this visit, you will proceed towards Yucay where your charming hotel is located. Lunch at the hotel or at a local restaurant. Spend the remainder of the afternoon walking along the agricultural terrace of Yucay, or simply resting at the Sol y Luna Suites. Overnight Sol y Luna Suites.

(Alternatively Albergue de Ollantaytambo)

Day 4

Enjoy a spectacular horseback ride on delightful Peruvian Paso horses at the lovely Hacienda Huayo Ccari. Hacienda Huayo Ccari is a lovely traditional hacienda owned and lived-in by one of the oldest land-owning families in Cuzco. You will enjoy a delicious served three-course lunch in the hacienda's elegant wood-paneled dining room with views of the valley below.  Spend some time looking at the superb pieces of the Hacienda's folk art collection or enjoying the stunning garden views. In the afternoon visit the colonial village of Chinchero including a visit to the workshop of the Center for Traditional Textiles where you will have a guided textile demonstration. Return to Sol y Luna for another relaxing evening in the valley.
Overnight Sol y Luna Suites.

(Alternatively Albergue de Ollantaytambo)

Day 5

Drive to Patakancha, a time-honored Quechua community, where people live very much like their Inca ancestors, in stone and adobe homes with thatch roofs. The locals weave much of their clothing, work the land with foot ploughs and live off their llama and alpacas supplementing their income working as porters. Since the porters we hire for Aracari treks all come from this community we established an aid programme here many years ago. Visiting the community, school and the project we support is a very enriching way to understand the local reality. After the community visit you will meet your trekking crew, your kit will be loaded, and you will start your hike. As you leave the village, you will enjoy views of Alpaca and llama herds grazing along the trail. The scenery is typical of the high Andes with “ichu” or high altitude grass as well as some polylepis trees. After approximately 1.5 hours of ascent the trail flattens and you reach “Ipsay Cocha”, a beautiful small lagoon near the campsite (4,200m/13,780ft).
Overnight in tents.

Day 6

After breakfast you will begin your ascent for about 1 hour until you reach the Itsa pass at 4,600m/15,092ft. This is your highest point on the trek and a good place to observe Andean Condors. After the pass, the rest of your hike will be downhill. You begin to descend for about 3 hours until you reach the community of Huacahuasi, another traditional village where people live close to the land, farming the same way their Inca ancestors did. Today the scenery will be dramatically different from yesterday: potato, barley, quinoa and corn fields abound. A further walk of 2-3 hours will take you to the hot springs near the colonial village of Lares (3400m/11,155ft). After a dip in the thermal baths you will return to Sol y Luna for an afternoon of relaxation. Enjoy a delicious dinner at the hotel.  
Overnight Sol y Luna Suites.

(Alternatively Albergue de Ollantaytambo)

Day 7

You will be collected by your guide and driven to Ollantaytambo (30 min) at approximately 8:00am to take the Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes, the station that serves Machu Picchu. The total train ride is approximately 2 hours, mainly through wonderful cloud forest scenery. You will get off approximately 1 ½ hours before arrival at Aguas Calientes, and together with your guide, start your 1 day Inca trail. You will carry your daypack and box lunch only. You will cross a hanging bridge to then approach the small but interesting Inca archaeological complex of Cachabamba. After a brief visit of this site you will begin a three to four hours ascent to the ruins of Wiñay Wayna: an important Inca spiritual site, and one of the loveliest of all Inca ruins. At this point the trail joins with the main Inca Trail. From here you will be walking on Inca pavement. Here the Inca Trail cuts across the ridge above Machu Picchu to finally reach Intipunku or Gate of the Sun, from where the trail winds downhill into the lost citadel located right above the Urubamba River. You will then take a half hour bus ride down to your Hotel, the lovely Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, or enjoy the perfect location by the ruins themselves, at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge.
Overnight Machu Picchu Pueblo or the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge.

(Alternatively El Mapi)

Day 8

This morning you will be able to enjoy Machu Picchu almost all to yourself, as you will be able to access the site as soon as it opens, and watch the morning unfold. Machu Picchu at this time is pure magic. All day at leisure in Machu Picchu. A-la-carte lunch at the Tampu Restaurant in the Sanctuary Lodge. Afternoon return by Vistadome Train from Machu Picchu to Cuzco, journey time is approximately 3.45 hours. At the train station you will be collected and driven to your hotel.
Overnight at La Casona or Casa Cartagena.

(Alternatively Casa San Blas)

Day 9

Experience Cuzco with a difference! In the morning your guide will take you to the most important sites within the Historic Centre of Cuzco, such as the Cathedral, Korikancha or Sun Temple. Lunch at Map Café. Our favourite restaurant in Cuzco, the Map Café is a statement of elegant simplicity situated in a fantastic location. Set in an intriguing glass “box” in the courtyard of the Pre-Columbian Art Museum, this restaurant offers the best in Andean Nouvelle cuisine. Afternoon at leisure.  Evening visit of the Monasterio Hotel, one of Cuzco's most remarkable colonial buildings housing a fine collection of colonial art. The visit will be conducted by an art historian and will be followed by a drink at the hotel bar.
Overnight at La Casona or Casa Cartagena.

(Alternatively Casa San Blas)

Day 10

Today you will visit Tipon, one of our favourite Inca sites. The site consists of the only known Inca aqueduct. Reaching approx 800m/2,625ft towards the glacier, Tipon boasts a temple complex, baths and irrigation systems. This wonderful and seldom visited Inca site, located on a promontory 40 minutes southeast of Cuzco on a good road, is a delight for those visitors wanting to go for a short hike and a visit to a site that is not overrun by tourists. You will have the unusual opportunity of enjoying a picnic lunch right at the ruins, enjoying the lovely views, with the delightful sound of the water fountains.  (Picnicking within the site is normally forbidden in more popular sites). Return to Cuzco and visit the must-see site of Sacsayhuaman, the only Inca site known boasting megalithic architecture. Return to your hotel.
Overnight at La Casona or Casa Cartagena.

(Alternatively Casa San Blas)

Day 11

Transfer to the airport to catch your morning flight to Lima. Dedicate a full day to obtaining a privileged insight into what makes Peru’s current culinary scene so exciting. Our charismatic host Penelope Alzamora will take you on a fascinating and educational journey through the fragrances and tastes of Peru. You will first visit colorful markets to purchase ingredients before being driven to the house of Penelope's parents, around 20 minutes to the south of Lima in the Lurin valley, where you will be given an introduction to the culinary history of Peru and  a demonstration of specific and essential techniques for preparing Peruvian dishes. All the while your lunch will be slowly roasting away in a traditional manner. Savouring these dishes - both made by your own hand and traditionally cooked - is the perfect way to sample the varied cuisine of Peru, and you can enjoy this lunch in the beautiful pottery garden and finish the meal with a delightful Peruvian dessert. If you want to continue the culinary adventure into the evening, we will arrange a tasting menu at Rafael. Transfer to the airport to catch your evening international flight home.

In the summertime (December to April) the demonstration will be made at the family's beach house south of Lima and will focus on popular summertime dishes.