Culture · 13D | 12N
Cusco, Titicaca & the Altiplano
Thirteen days from Lima to Arequipa: the citadel, then the Andean Explorer across the altiplano to Lake Titicaca, the reed islands, and the white city below Misti.
- Best time
- May to September
- Route
- Lima · Cusco · Machu Picchu · Puno · Arequipa
Day by day
13 days, planned in full
Thirteen days from Lima to Arequipa: the citadel, then the Andean Explorer across the altiplano to Lake Titicaca, the reed islands, and the white city below Misti.
Day 1
Arrive in Lima
Into Miraflores late, with the first day kept clear of anything scheduled.
- Night
- Lima
- Meals
- —
Day 2
Lima's museums
The Larco's ceramic archive, the Museo de la Nación's chronology, and the colonial centre with a historian in the afternoon.
- Night
- Lima
- Meals
- Breakfast
Day 3
To the Sacred Valley
The flight to Cusco and down to a valley hacienda, with Pisac's ruins in the late afternoon.
- Night
- Sacred Valley
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 4
Chinchero and the salt
A weaving cooperative working with cochineal and plant dyes, the Moray terraces, and the Maras pans.
- Night
- Sacred Valley
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch
Day 5
Ollantaytambo
The temple hill, the storehouses across the valley, and the still-inhabited Inca grid of the town below.
- Night
- Sacred Valley
- Meals
- Breakfast
Day 6
Train to Aguas Calientes
Down the Urubamba gorge into cloud forest, with the afternoon at the site museum below the ridge.
- Night
- Aguas Calientes
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 7
Machu Picchu
The early bus, a guided circuit, and the Inca bridge path on the western flank, which almost nobody walks.
- Night
- Aguas Calientes
- Meals
- Breakfast
Day 8
Up to Cusco
The train and road up to a heritage hotel off the Plaza de Armas, with an easy evening at 3,400 m.
- Night
- Cusco
- Meals
- Breakfast
Day 9
Inca and colonial Cusco
Qorikancha, the cathedral's Cusco School canvases, the twelve-angled stone, and Sacsayhuamán with an archaeologist.
- Night
- Cusco
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch
Day 10
The Andean Explorer
The sleeper train south across the altiplano at 4,300 m — an observation car, dinner, and a cabin — to Puno on Lake Titicaca.
- Night
- Aboard the train
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 11
Uros and Taquile
The floating reed islands, then Taquile, where the men knit and the textiles are on Unesco's list, with a family lunch and a homestay.
- Night
- Taquile homestay
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 12
Sillustani, and Arequipa
The pre-Inca funeral towers above Lake Umayo, then the flight to Arequipa and the Santa Catalina convent's painted lanes.
- Night
- Arequipa
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
Day 13
Fly home
The morning flight to Lima and the connection through Madrid or Amsterdam.
- Meals
- Breakfast
What's included
- 12 nights in heritage hotels, a sleeper cabin, an island homestay and a convent hotel
- Return economy airfare and all internal flights
- Vistadome to Aguas Calientes and the Andean Explorer sleeper to Puno
- Machu Picchu entry with a guide, and the buses
- Lake Titicaca boat days with the Taquile family lunch and homestay
- Archaeologist-led Cusco day and all site entries, including Sillustani
- Santa Catalina and Arequipa museum entries
Not included
- Peruvian visa where required
- Meals not named in the itinerary
- Travel insurance
- Textiles bought on Taquile or at Chinchero
Other ways to go
More Machu Picchu trips
5 other routes through Machu Picchu, from ₹3,14,900 per person.
Signature11D | 10NThe Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu
- Vistadome train through the Urubamba gorge
- Machu Picchu on the first bus of the day
- Maras salt pans and the Moray terraces
- Lima
- Cusco
- Sacred Valley
- Machu Picchu
The Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu — Machu Picchu, 11D | 10N, from ₹3,14,900Per person, starting from*
₹3,14,900, reduced from
₹4,47,200
Honeymoon10D | 9NPeru for Two
- Machu Picchu on an afternoon entry slot
- Private dinner in an Inca terrace garden
- Andean pachamanca cooked in the ground
- Lima
- Sacred Valley
- Machu Picchu
- Cusco
Peru for Two — Machu Picchu, 10D | 9N, from ₹3,84,900Per person, starting from*
₹3,84,900, reduced from
₹5,46,600
Family11D | 10NPeru with the Family
- Alpaca farm and a chocolate workshop
- Gentle rafting on the Urubamba
- Machu Picchu with a guide who likes questions
- Lima
- Sacred Valley
- Machu Picchu
- Cusco
Peru with the Family — Machu Picchu, 11D | 10N, from ₹3,54,900Per person, starting from*
₹3,54,900, reduced from
₹5,04,000
Luxury12D | 11NThe Hiram Bingham & Beyond
- The Hiram Bingham Pullman train
- Private early access to the citadel
- Condors at Cruz del Cóndor, Colca
- Lima
- Sacred Valley
- Machu Picchu
- Cusco
- Colca
The Hiram Bingham & Beyond — Machu Picchu, 12D | 11N, from ₹6,74,900Per person, starting from*
₹6,74,900, reduced from
₹9,58,400
Adventure12D | 11NThe Inca Trail & Ausangate
- Four days on the classic Inca Trail
- Dead Woman's Pass at 4,215 m
- Vinicunca and the Ausangate circuit
- Cusco
- Inca Trail
- Machu Picchu
- Ausangate
The Inca Trail & Ausangate — Machu Picchu, 12D | 11N, from ₹3,64,900Per person, starting from*
₹3,64,900, reduced from
₹5,18,200
*Per person on twin sharing. Prices move with season and availability — we confirm yours in writing before anything is booked.
Plan this trip
Make Cusco, Titicaca & the Altiplano yours.
Dates, hotels, pace, who's coming — all of it moves. Send us the outline and a planner will price a version built round you, usually within twelve hours.