Exploring Peru: Land of the Inca

Arrive in Lima, you are met by your guide and transfer to Belmond Miraflores Park, where we spend two nights. Set on a green promenade overlooking the Pacific in fashionable Miraflores, this much-loved hotel is the perfect base to explore.

Explore World Heritage-designated colonial Lima this morning, where we stroll the Plaza Mayor and delight in a private welcome lunch with a special musical presentation at Casa Aliaga, one of the oldest houses in Lima. Then visit to the extraordinary Larco Museum, dedicated to pre-Colombia art. Return to our hotel with dinner on your own to sample local fare. (B,L)

Board a short scenic flight to Cusco this morning, and continue to Moray—a visually stunning Inca site with dramatic agricultural terraces in the heart of the fabled and fertile Urubamba Valley. After lunch and an opportunity to experience a local market, check-in at Belmond Rio Sagrado, set in verdant gardens with views over the valley. (B,L,D)

Spend the day exploring the archaeological sites and culture of the Sacred Valley in the company of National Geographic expert Peter Frost, who has lived and worked in Peru for decades. He or a colleague joins us for a talk at our hotel and a visit to the massive Inca stone fortress of Ollantaytambo, set above a thriving Inca community. Lunch is at a working, family-owned hacienda, where we are treated to a show of Peruvian Paso horses, and National Geographic grantee Nilda Callañaupa, founder of El Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco, demonstrates Inca weaving traditions. (B,L,D)

Marvel at the dramatic scenery and life along the river en route this morning by train to Machu Picchu, the Inca royal retreat famously introduced to the world by Hiram Bingham in the April 1913 issue of National Geographic magazine. Check-in at the historic 31-room Belmond Sanctuary Lodge, adjacent to the World Heritage site, with the leisure to explore over two days in the company of our hand-picked tour director and local guides. Lunch and dinner at the hotel. (B,L,D)

Awaken this morning at Machu Picchu, where options include an early hike to the Sun Gate, the ancient final checkpoint to Machu Picchu on the Inca Trail. After lunch, return by train and bus to Cusco—the center of the Inca universe and a burgeoning cultural capital.  Check-in at the Belmond Hotel Monasterio on Plaza Nazarenas in the heart of Cusco for two nights.  Occupying a monastery founded in 1592, our hotel—like much of colonial Cusco—is built atop Inca stones. (B,L,D)

Explore the magnificently ornate 17th-century cathedral, sacred Inca Temple of the Sun, and other treasures of Cusco. Visit nearby Sacsayhuamán, where a series of imposing terrace walls, the most impressive yet, command views over the city. Relax, shop, or visit one of Cusco’s many churches and museums this afternoon. Dinner is on your own tonight. (B,L)

After breakfast and a final morning at leisure, say goodbye to the Land of the Inca and fly from Cusco back to Lima, connecting to flights home, or join Upper Amazon Expedition aboard Delfin II. (B, L)