Peru – Explore with Purpose – 12 days

Please note: the Titicaca train runs 3 times a week on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. In the month of February, the train does not run.

Day 8 – Sacred Valley
This morning you will journey off-the-beaten-path and alongside graceful llamas in your half-day llama-trek. The ever-growing use of horses and mules in the highlands of Cusco is what triggered the foundation of the Llama Pack Project. Their mission is to preserve the ancient tradition of using carrier llamas, that, unlike horses and mules, do not cause soil erosion. Pure-bred llamas have almost disappeared in the Urubamba Mountain Range. Instead, families own small llamas mixed with alpacas that have poor fiber quality and are not able to carry a lot. The project works closely with local llama farmers and strives to gain visibility by high-Andean communities not visited by conventional tourism. They aim to empower these communities by providing networking opportunities and skill-building workshops. Despite the pandemic, they managed to launch a new product, a bio llama fertilizer.

The initiative also offers travelers from all over the world the chance to go trekking with llamas in their original habitat while learning about the challenges faced by llama herding families. This inspiring project, therefore, gives locals access to an alternative source of income, all while striving to keep our fluffy llama friends happy and healthy.

If you’ve always wanted an adorable selfie with a llama, this is your chance! During this 4-5 hour experience, you will get to trek alongside some graceful llamas. After local llama breeders introduce you to the inspirational Llama Pack Project and its goals and visions, you will assist with the herding and packing of these native, eco-friendly animals. Once ready, you will begin your leisurely walk with the llamas, following a dirt track through grazing fields, past small farming communities featuring adobe houses and courtyards filled with local crops while making your way to the rest stop. Here, you will enjoy a traditional Peruvian snack, while you learn about how your participation in this activity has contributed to the maintenance of the ancient tradition of llama breeding while creating a business opportunity for the local families. You will taste 3 different varieties of native potatoes prepared in a Peruvian ‘earth oven’ known as a huatia, along with broad beans, sweet potatoes oca, and corn. You then make your way back to the base camp with your new llama friends leading the way.

Upon reaching the base camp your guide and driver will be waiting to transfer you to a local restaurant for lunch. After lunch head to the community of Misminay where you will participate in a salsa workshop. Peruvian dishes are not complete without herbs and usually, spicy salsa is served with every meal. Today you will learn how to prepare Uchucuta salsa. To do so you need to roll up your sleeves, as the first step is to crush chili and herbs with a huge stone. The women of the community will show you how to mix up all the ingredients to get the delicious but spicy salsa that is an absolute must-try.

Glamping in the magical community of Misminay just minutes-drive from Moray terraces and the salt pans of Maras offers a blend of remote adventuring and comfortable, conscious travel. Your hosts, María and Mario Mayhua, a traditional Andean family who are keen to share their way of living with you will welcome you to their community with a cheerful and friendly smile. They will show you the surroundings of this wonderful place and surprise you with a delicious, traditional dinner. Your day comes to a close with an evening spent stargazing by the campfire before retiring to your tent for the night. Each tent is equipped with all of the comforts of a hotel, a real mattress, down duvets, carpets, an electric heater, and local Andean decorations.

Day 9 – Sacred Valley
Wake up early and experience a surreal sunrise from the comfort of your tent, watch as it rises between the snowcapped peaks in the distance and the cloud-filled valley on your doorstep. After breakfast, you will start off with a hike towards a viewpoint of the terraces of Moray. Enjoy the beautiful landscapes with the mountains in the background. After saying goodbye to your hosts you will head to Moray, with its circular terraces hidden among the hills, similar to that of a Greek amphitheater. Surrounded by an impressive backdrop of snow-covered mountains, Moray was used as an open-air agricultural lab for adapting crops to different environmental conditions. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before heading to the Salt Mines of Maras. Its intense white shine appears to glisten on a sunny day – an impressive sight for any visitor. Salt was extracted from these mines during Inca times and the same method is still being to this day. Afterwards, you will be brought back to your hotel in the Sacred Valley.

Day 10 Sacred Valley – Machu Picchu – Cusco
This morning you will be picked up from your hotel in the Sacred Valley and transferred to Ollantaytambo train station (with Spanish speaking driver only). Before getting on the train to Machu Picchu you will enjoy a coffee roaster experience at Mayu café.

What seems like a simple café on the train tracks of Ollantaytambo is really a Peruvian hidden gem. During this activity, you will get to visit Mayu’s very own roasting facility located on El Albergue’s organic farm. Over 40 years ago North American couple Randall-Weeks fell in love with the beauty of the Sacred Valley and decided to open the cozy ‘El Albergue’ hotel in Ollantaytambo train station. Today, their two children, Joaquin and Ishmael, run the inn while being passionately committed to making the valley a sustainable destination. The Randall brothers support the reforestation of the Sacred Valley with hands-on initiatives in cooperation with Valle Sagrado Verde. Local dishes are reinterpreted at their restaurant El Chuncho using seasonal fruits and veggies cultivated with ancestral techniques from their own organic farm. The impressive array of herbs grown there are also used in their very own distillery ‘Destilería Andina’. Years ago, owner Wendy Weeks wowed her guests with her exceptional spirits distilled at the El Albergue. Her sons, inspired by her passion, decided to open a distillery focusing on Andean flavors and traditions. Their hard work has paid off by winning the silver medal at the Craft Spirits Award Ceremony in Berlin in 2020. Coffee lovers can taste delicious and freshly roasted Arabica coffee at Café Mayu. The conveniently located café uses premium and fair-trade coffee purchased directly from the micro-producers in Cusco’s rainforest. The Randall-Weeks family also proudly supports the Kuska school in Ollantaytambo which aims to help children of diverse cultural backgrounds develop their potential while teaching the next generation about social and environmental responsibility.

After a mouthwatering cup of joe, Café Mayu’s master roasters will teach you all there is to know about the origin of the beans, the coffee production, and the roasting process. You will learn various techniques of how to make delicious coffee at home before trying your own hand at roasting coffee beans. To help you remember this unique experience (and of course show off your newly acquired roasting skills), you will get a bag of your own roasted coffee to enjoy back home! You will also be given the perfect souvenir – a bottle of ‘Caña Alta‘. This delicious bottle of sugar cane liquor is thoughtfully produced at the Destilería Andina. In cooperation with ‘Valle Sagrado Verde’, one tree is planted for every product sold at Destilería Andina! So, enjoy your bottle of ‘Andean Elixir’ with a clear conscience!

Afterward, hop on the train to Machu Picchu.
The train ride takes you through the Sacred Valley of the Incas up to Machu Picchu. Upon arrival, a small coach takes you up the steep roads to the entrance of the citadel. For centuries Machu Picchu remained undiscovered by the Spaniards and has only been found in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham. During a guided tour you will experience the uniqueness of the location and the genius that went into its construction, making this Inca site one of the seven new wonders of the world.

Return by train from Aguas Calientes to Ollanta.  Upon arrival in Ollanta, you will be picked up and transferred to your hotel in Cusco (with Spanish speaking driver only).

Day 11 – Cusco
This morning you walk through the major sites of interest in Cusco. You visit the famous cathedral with its magnificently carved woodwork, ornate altar, and many hundreds of canvases from the 17th-century Cusco Painting School. You continue exploring the cultural wealth of Cusco at the Temple of the Sun where we witness the incredible masonry of the Incas, an engineering feat that remains an enigma.  Afterwards, you walk along Hatunrumiyoc Street named after the 12-angled stone clearly visible in the remaining walls of what used to be Inca Roca’s Palace. You make a last stop in San Blas artisan quarter. Its steeped cobblestone alleys not only offer spectacular views of the city but are lined with workshops and galleries, a great way to soak in Cusco’s artistic atmosphere. Afternoon at leisure.

Day 12 – Cusco – going back home
You will be transferred to the airport for your international flight back home.