Day 1

Arrive in Lima and catch an early morning connecting flight to Cusco. In Cusco, take a taxi to Ollantaytambo, a living Inca village in the Sacred Valley, where you can rest and acclimatize.

Days 2–3

Tour the Sacred Valley, with stops at the Ollantaytambo Temple of the Sun and the market and ruins of Pisac. On day three, explore the village of Chinchero before hiking or mountain biking from the enigmatic circular Inca terraces at Moray past the crystallized salt mines known as Salineras and back to Ollantaytambo.

Day 4

Take the early morning train to Machu Picchu and spend the day touring the ruins and bird-watching in the cloud forest. Return on the afternoon train-and-bus combination to Cusco, where you will spend two nights.

Day 5

Experience Cusco’s unique combination of Inca ruins, colonial architecture and museums, markets, and cafés.

Day 6

If you choose to go to the Manu Biosphere Reserve, you will fly from Cusco into Boca Manu. Upon arrival, you will take a motorboat ride into the Manu Biosphere Reserve and settle into your jungle lodge or tented camp.

Day 7–9

Hire one of the many Manu agencies and tour an oxbow lake on a platform boat equipped with a spotting scope. Manu’s oxbow lakes host a huge range of wildlife, including giant otters, 13 species of monkeys, and large mammals like tapirs. Hike through different areas of local rainforest with a guide who along the way points out wildlife that you would otherwise miss. Explore the jungle canopy by climbing up to a lookout tower 20 meters above the forest floor.

Days 10

Return to Boca Manu by boat. Catch the 35-minute flight from Boca Manu back to Cusco, flying over jungle, highlands, and glacier-capped mountains along the way. Catch a connecting flight into Lima and arrive in the early afternoon. Head to central Lima to see the Catedral and Palacio del Gobierno, and have lunch at T’anta, all on the Plaza Mayor. Return to the airport for a night flight home.

© Ross Wehner and Renée del Gaudio from Moon Peru, 3rd Edition