White stone, canyon light and the long rail line across the Andes
When to go
May-October
Trip length
16 days / 15 nights
Typical investmentPrice
from $13,090 pp
This 15-night journey crosses southern Peru at a slower, more cinematic pace. After Lima, fly to Arequipa for its volcanic stone architecture and long lunches, then climb into Colca Canyon for condors and canyon villages. Continue across the altiplano to Lake Titicaca for three nights, including an overnight homestay on Amantani Island, then use scenic rail and private transfers to reach the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and Cusco, with time for a second visit to the citadel. Fewer flights and longer views than the classic week-long route allows.
Along the way
Condors riding the morning thermals over Colca Canyon
An overnight homestay with a family on Amantani Island
Traverse the Andes by rail line
Ancient citadels and peaks at Machu Picchu
Your route
Pacific capital before the highlands
Arrive in Lima and settle in. The first evening is free.
Explore the historic center and the Surquillo market with a private guide, then prepare for the flight south to Arequipa.
White stone & canyon country
Fly to Arequipa and settle into your hotel in the San Lázaro quarter, framed by pale volcanic sillar stone and distant peaks.
Explore the city with a private guide, including the Santa Catalina Monastery’s colored courtyards, a local market, and a long picantería lunch built around rocoto relleno and other Arequipeño specialties.
Travel into Colca country through high-altitude landscapes where vicuñas, volcanoes, and terraced fields replace the city. Settle into freestanding casitas set among the canyon’s farmland.
Reach a Colca Canyon viewpoint early for the best chance at condors riding the morning thermals, then spend the afternoon in small villages and hot-spring country before a slower evening back at the lodge.
Lake light on the altiplano
Continue across the altiplano to Puno and the Lake Titicaca region, with stops chosen around wildlife, landscape, and local history along the way. Settle into your lodge, set on its own peninsula on the lake.
Visit the floating reed islands of the Uros with a private guide, then continue by boat to Amantani Island for an overnight homestay with a local family, joining an evening dance and a home-cooked dinner.
Explore Taquile Island on foot, known for a weaving tradition recognized by UNESCO, then return by boat to your lodge for a final night on the lake.
Rail across the Andes, then into the valley
Board a scenic rail journey across the highlands toward the Cusco region, watching the altiplano give way to greener valleys as the train descends. Settle into your valley hotel for the next three nights.
Explore Pisac’s hillside ruins and market with your guide, then visit a family-run farm in the valley combining agriculture with a hands-on look at Andean food traditions.
Visit Ollantaytambo’s terraces and living Inca town, then keep the afternoon open before the Machu Picchu portion of the trip begins.
From the citadel above the Urubamba to journey’s end
Travel by rail to the Machu Picchu area and explore the citadel with a private guide on a timed circuit. Overnight in the area.
Return with your guide for another circuit at Machu Picchu, focused on what got rushed the day before, then travel back to Cusco by rail and road. Settle into your hotel, arranged around several courtyards in a former convent. The afternoon is intentionally light.
Explore the city with a private guide, from Inca foundations at the Coricancha to colonial courtyards and contemporary workshops in San Blas.
Transfer to the airport for onward travel.
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Our top picks
Miraflores Park is an all-suite Belmond hotel with 87 rooms overlooking Lima’s Pacific coastline. A rooftop pool, spa, two restaurants, broad rooms, and a position between Miraflores and Barranco make it the city’s strongest full-service luxury option.
Cirqa contains 11 rooms inside a former monastery one block from Arequipa’s Plaza de Armas. White sillar stone, three room categories, a courtyard pool, rooftop bar, Arequipeñan dining, and included excursions create a highly focused historic-city stay.
Puqio places eight adobe and canvas rooms across high-Andean terraces near Yanque in the Colca Valley. Full-board rates, shared transfers, guided excursions, wood stoves, outdoor tubs, and only three room categories create an intimate expedition-led stay.
Las Casitas places 20 large casitas across a garden estate in the Colca Valley. Every casita has a fireplace, terrace, marble bathroom, outdoor shower, and private heated plunge pool, supported by a spa, shared pool, alpacas, gardens, and canyon excursions.
Titilaka places 18 lake-facing rooms on a private peninsula on Lake Titicaca. Fully inclusive meals, drinks, private or shared excursions, kayaks, heated floors, and remote community visits create Peru’s most complete luxury base on the altiplano.
Palacio Nazarenas places 55 oxygen-enriched suites around seven courtyards in a former palace and convent near Cusco’s Plaza de Armas. Twenty-four-hour butler service, a botanical spa, restaurant by Pía León, and the city’s first heated outdoor pool define the stay.
Sol y Luna spreads 43 freestanding casitas through approximately 25 acres of gardens in the Sacred Valley. Horses, spa, pool, two restaurants, riding, mountain activities, and a foundation supporting local education give the hotel both resort depth and a clear social purpose.
Sanctuary Lodge places 31 rooms and suites only 50 meters from the entrance to Machu Picchu. Two restaurants, a bar, subtropical gardens, Andean treatments, and immediate access to the site make location, not resort scale, the defining luxury.
Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel spreads 83 adobe casitas through cloud forest, waterfalls, gardens, and stone paths at the edge of Machu Picchu Pueblo. Orchid walks, birding, tea, spa, dining, and several room formats create a nature-led alternative to staying beside the citadel.
The first hotel in the Sacred Valley with a solar-heated pool, set at a lower, easier-to-acclimatize altitude directly on the Urubamba River, with extensive gardens where alpacas graze and the PeruRail line runs past the property. On-property train access to Machu Picchu is seasonal rather than guaranteed year-round, there are no in-room televisions, and the lower elevation means less dramatic mountain scenery than higher Sacred Valley properties.
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