Lima · Sacred Valley · Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes) · Cusco · Lima
Eight-Day Peru: Lima, the Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is the reason most people come to Peru, but the country is bigger and gentler than that one photograph. This journey works the classic arc — Lima, the Sacred Valley, the citadel, and old Cusco — at a pace built for enjoying it rather than enduring it. You sleep low in the Sacred Valley first, so the altitude has met you halfway by the time you reach Cusco. Small hotels with real character, a private guide throughout, and the glass-roofed train up to Machu Picchu. We traveled this same route as first-timers ourselves.
Built around the altitude — you sleep low in the Sacred Valley first and only reach Cusco's higher elevation once your body has had time to adjust. There are a couple of earlier starts (the train day), but the days are paced, not rushed.
- Length
- 8 days
- Regions
- 5
- Transport
- Private vehicle transfers throughout, domestic flights (Lima–Cusco–Lima), and the glass-roofed Vistadome panoramic train to Machu Picchu.
Trip overview
From $5,199 per person for two, or $4,481 per person when four travel together.
Per person, Two sharing. Land program including domestic flights and the Vistadome train; international airfare additional.Day by day
Day 1 — Arrive Lima
Met at the airport with a Wesley Chapel Travel board and transferred privately to your hotel in Miraflores. The rest of the day is yours to settle in after the flight.
Day 2 — Lima to the Sacred Valley
A morning flight to Cusco, then a private drive down into the Sacred Valley — kinder on the body than staying up at Cusco’s altitude on day one. On the way, the hillside terraces of Pisac and the working market at Calca, where herbs, flowers and produce are traded much as they always have been. A gourmet box lunch en route.
Day 3 — Moray, Maras and Ollantaytambo
A full day among three of the valley’s most striking sights: the concentric agricultural terraces of Moray, the hand-worked salt pans of Maras stepping white and gold down the hillside, and the living Inca town of Ollantaytambo, its stone streets still laid out as they were centuries ago. A private banquet at Unu.
Day 4 — The Vistadome train to Machu Picchu
A short transfer to Ollantaytambo station and the glass-roofed Vistadome train, an hour and a half deeper into the mountains, then the bus up to the citadel. Your guide walks you through the Sun Temple, the Sacred Plaza and the Temple of the Condor. Lunch at Café Inkaterra. Overnight in Aguas Calientes, at the foot of the mountain.
Day 5 — Machu Picchu to Cusco
An unhurried morning before the Vistadome train back down the valley, then a private drive up to Cusco and time to rest into the higher city.
Day 6 — Cusco and the four ruins
A full day in the old Inca capital — the Plaza de Armas, the cathedral, the fused Inca-and-Spanish stonework of the center — then just outside the city to Sacsayhuamán, Puca Pucara, Q’enqo and Tambomachay. A set lunch at Pachapapa, a patio restaurant in a colonial house.
Day 7 — Cusco to Lima
A morning flight back to Lima and an afternoon in the capital’s colonial heart — plazas, carved balconies and viewpoints — shaped around what interests you. Overnight in Miraflores.
Day 8 — Depart Lima
A private transfer to the airport for your flight home.
Prefer it grander? This same journey runs at the Belmond level — Miraflores Park in Lima, Sanctuary Lodge at the gates of Machu Picchu, the Monasterio in Cusco. We’ll build it that way on request.
Where you'll stay
Included
- All accommodation as listed, with breakfast daily and half board at Machu Picchu
- Domestic flights, Lima–Cusco and Cusco–Lima
- The Vistadome panoramic train, round trip, Ollantaytambo–Machu Picchu
- Private guided excursions with a local English-speaking guide
- All private transfers in a private vehicle
- Entrance tickets to every site in the itinerary, Machu Picchu included
- Airport meet-and-greet with a name board, and all transfers
- Several included meals as listed — a gourmet box lunch, a private banquet, lunch at Café Inkaterra, and a set lunch in Cusco
- Indian vegetarian and other dietary needs, arranged in advance, throughout
- 24-hour in-country support with a dedicated concierge
Not included
- International flights
- Travel insurance — required, and we'll help you choose
- Meals and drinks not listed
- Entrance to sites not in the itinerary
- Personal expenses, tips and gratuities
What we'd rather tell you now
Most of what goes wrong on a trip is an expectation nobody corrected in advance. So here's what this journey is not, before you spend anything.
- Altitude is part of Peru Cusco and the Sacred Valley sit high, roughly 2,800–3,400 m. We build the days to help — you sleep in the lower Sacred Valley before Cusco — but altitude affects everyone differently, and it's worth a word with your doctor before you travel.
- Machu Picchu asks something of your legs The citadel is a place of steps, terraces and uneven stone, visited at altitude. It's very manageable at a steady pace, but it isn't step-free, and we'd rather you know that going in.
- The train has a strict luggage limit Only about 8 kg (17 lb) of hand luggage travels with you on the Machu Picchu train; the rest of your bags go on to Cusco to meet you there. We'll help you pack the overnight bag.
- Machu Picchu entry is capacity-controlled The citadel caps daily visitors and the trains sell out, so entry and rail are secured well ahead — one reason we plan these journeys early rather than at the last minute. On the rare occasion a strike or weather disrupts the rail, your ground team reworks the day.
Plan this journey
Nothing here is bookable on the spot, and that's deliberate. Tell Milli your dates and who's traveling, and she'll come back with the exact trip and the exact number, in a written quote — not a brochure.
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