Sample Itinerary
01 — The Shape of the Trip
Two nights at sea level, then everything above three thousand metres. One flight inland, and after that the whole trip runs on one railway down one valley.
One thing to look at. This goes Lima to Cusco to the Sacred Valley, which climbs to the highest point on night three and comes down afterwards. Most advisors do the reverse — the valley is 600m lower and the usual place to acclimatise. Worth a conversation before the rooms are confirmed; see the note under Cusco.
Stop 01 — Mon 2 – Wed 4 August
Miraflores, on the Pacific
You land at eleven at night, so the first day is really half a day. That suits Lima, which is a city you eat rather than tour.
Proposed days
In around 11pm, private transfer to Miraflores. Nothing planned; the clocks catch up tomorrow.
Cosme at noon, then a walk along the Malecón and over into Barranco. Osaka Pardo y Aliaga at six for Nikkei — the Japanese-Peruvian cooking Lima invented.
The 9:20 to Cusco, an hour and twenty in the air and 3,400 metres up at the other end. Morena at six.
Ocean View Room, high floor
It stands right on the cliff at Miraflores with the Pacific filling the window, which matters when you arrive at midnight and wake up unsure which country you are in.
On foot
Larcomar is directly below and the Malecón cliff path runs past the door for six kilometres. Cosme is a ten-minute drive; Barranco about fifteen.
Secured through my partnership
Stop 02 — Wed 4 – Fri 6 August
3,400m, the old Inca capital
Two nights in the highest place you will sleep. Take the first afternoon gently: at 3,400 metres the stairs are the altitude talking, not you.
Proposed days
In by mid-morning. Coca tea, a slow lap of the Plaza de Armas and the Qorikancha, and an early dinner at Morena.
San Blas and the twelve-angled stone in the morning, Sacsayhuamán above the city after. Half a day down at Pisac if you have the legs. Organika at six.
The 8:25 from Cusco. Three and a half hours down the Urubamba, and the valley narrows the whole way.
Deluxe Room — ask for oxygen-enriched
A 1592 seminary built on Inca foundations, around a courtyard with a cedar three hundred years old in it. Rooms can be oxygen-enriched, which on your first night at altitude is not a gimmick.
On foot
Five minutes downhill to the Plaza de Armas and two to San Blas, though everything in Cusco is uphill on the way back. Sacsayhuamán is a fifteen-minute drive or a stiff walk.
Secured through my partnership
Stop 03 — Fri 6 – Sat 7 August
Aguas Calientes, 2,430m
One night, and it buys the two things nobody on a day trip gets: the last entry of the afternoon and the first of the morning.
Proposed days
In at three, when the day-trippers are queueing for the train home. Circuit 2 is the classic terrace-and-overlook route.
Circuit 1B at six with the mist still in the valley, then 3A at seven for the lower town and the Temple of the Sun. Down for the 4:22 to Urubamba.
Deluxe Room with mountain view
The only hotel at the gate. That is the entire proposition and it is worth it for one night: you walk in before the first bus has left Aguas Calientes.
Getting around
The entrance is thirty seconds from the door. Everyone else is twenty minutes below in Aguas Calientes and thirty more on the switchback bus.
Secured through my partnership
Stop 04 — Sat 7 – Mon 9 August
Urubamba, 2,870m
Six hundred metres lower than Cusco and it shows in how you sleep. Two nights here is the easy part of the trip, and the food is the best of it.
Proposed days
In from Ollantaytambo in the early evening. Nothing planned beyond the riverside and dinner.
MiL at 9:30 — Virgilio Martínez's kitchen sits on the rim at Moray, so lunch and the terraces are the same stop. Then a cab to Maras and down through the salt pans on foot.
Chinchero in the morning, then the old road down to Urquillos or across to Lamay. Back to Cusco for the 7pm to Lima.
Deluxe River View Room
Terraced gardens dropping to the Urubamba, with the river loud enough at night to sleep to. After Cusco and the mountain, this is where the trip finally slows down.
Getting around
Five minutes from Urubamba town and fifteen from Ollantaytambo station. Moray and Maras are about forty minutes up on the plateau, which is one outing rather than two.
Secured through my partnership
Stop 05 — Mon 9 – Tue 10 August
Callao · a bed near the gate
Not a stay so much as a sensible decision. You land from Cusco at half past eight and fly onward early, and the alternative is an hour of traffic in each direction.
Proposed days
Down at 8:30pm and across to the airport hotel. A late plate of something and an early night.
Out on the morning flight to Panama City and on from there.
Superior King
The only hotel actually attached to the terminal. On a night this short that is the whole argument, and it is a good deal better than the category usually manages.
Getting around
A covered walk of about two minutes from arrivals, so there is no transfer to miss and no traffic to price in.
What I’ll arrange
Next Steps
Alex’s Atlas