Peruvian Flavor – 10 Days / 9 Nights

Day 2: Lima

Discover the City of Kings. Dinner at the Best Restaurant in Lima—Authentic Peruvian Flavor Experience.

After breakfast at your hotel, we will pick you up at the designated time for the City of Kings tour, where you’ll begin to discover the rich Peruvian heritage. We will proceed to Pueblo Libre to visit the Larco Museum. The Larco Museum is an 18th-century viceregal mansion that offers a fascinating array of pre-Columbian art that represents approximately 5,000 years of Peruvian history, including ancient culinary traditions that define the authentic Peruvian flavor. Afterwards, we will enjoy our lunch on one of the terraces in the museum’s gardens, tasting the first notes of genuine Peruvian flavor.

We return to downtown Lima to enjoy some panoramic views of its colonial monuments, including the Main Square, Government Palace, Archbishop’s Palace, and Cathedral. After this, we walk to the Convent of San Francisco, one of the most important religious and cultural centers. The convent is home to the catacombs that served as a cemetery during colonial times. After this activity, we will enjoy a walk through Larcomar, the center of the Miraflores district.

At the end of your tour, you will beto a restaurant of your choice to experience world-class Peruvian flavor. We suggest Central (ranked 4th) and Maido (ranked 7th), restaurants listed in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021, both showcasing the innovative evolution of Peruvian flavor. It is a good idea to reserve a table 1 to 2 months in advance, as it fills up quickly.

Overnight at selected hotel in Lima.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

Day 3: Lima

Peruvian Flavor Culinary Experience – Market Tour and Cooking Class

We begin each excursion in the morning with the special and sensory experience of visiting a typical market, where the true essence of Peruvian flavor comes to life. In the market we will observe a wide variety of Peruvian products, including tubers and some Andean grains (such as quinoa and amaranth) that form the foundation of authentic Peruvian flavor. You will be impressed by the seafood, which is considered to be among the most delicious in the world, as well as its multitude of exotic fruits, including golden berries, lucuma, custard apple, and others that contribute to the unique Peruvian flavor profile.

Then we will learn to prepare the signature drink of Peru, the famous Pisco Sour, along with the delicious Ceviche—both iconic representations of coastal Peruvian flavor. We will enjoy a delicious lunch with the most representative dishes of Peruvian cuisine, experiencing the complete spectrum of Peruvian flavor traditions. At the end of our unique Peruvian flavor experience, we will transfer you back to your hotel.

Overnight at selected hotel in Lima.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Day 4: Lima – Cusco

Flight to Cusco. Transfer to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Have Lunch at an Ancient Hacienda—Discovering Andean Peruvian Flavor.

At the arranged time, you’ll be taken to the Lima airport to board your flight to the Imperial City of Cusco, where staff will assist you as you continue your adventure to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and discover the Andean dimension of Peruvian flavor. On the way, we will stop to observe South American camelids, like llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas, to feed them. Then we will continue to the colorful town of Pisaq, visiting the handicrafts market and learning about the high-quality work they do in silver. If you are up for something traditional, we will stop by the wood-burning ovens to taste delicious empanadas showcasing local Peruvian flavor.

Then we will enjoy lunch at an old hacienda, which is known for producing the giant white corn for export from the Sacred Valley of the Incas and has held onto customs and traditions for three generations related to corn cultivation that define the authentic Andean Peruvian flavor. Then the owners will greet us in the courtyard of the Hacienda and show us the origin of this variety of corn and the cultivation methods used from ancient times until today. Let yourself be amazed by the local Peruvian culinary flavor being served in the gardens, while surrounded by the mountains, and with a show of Caballo de Paso (Paso horse). Finish this day settling into our hotel, enriched by the authentic Peruvian flavor experiences.

Overnight at a selected hotel in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Day 5: Sacred Valley

Discover Maras-Moray. Enjoy Lunch in an Organic Farm. Visit the Distillery—Experiencing Traditional Peruvian Flavor.

We will continue our journey across the Sacred Valley, exploring the roots of traditional Peruvian flavor. On this day, we will visit the salt mines of Maras, which are millennium-old salt mines that have seasoned Peruvian cuisine for centuries, contributing to the distinctive Peruvian flavor. Its ponds filled with salt water from the subsoil, and finally got salt crystals by evaporation. Then we will visit Moray, which is a natural depression with a funnel shape, and there the Incas built concentric terraces, and due to the position of different platforms, different microclimates were created. It was where Incas made cultivation experiments at different heights; it became an agricultural laboratory for its time, very advanced, developing the biodiversity that creates unique Peruvian flavor.

Following this stop, we will head to eat lunch in a country house surrounded by amazing mountains and green fields all the way around. The ingredients they use come from an organic bio-garden that they have, which gives it a unique taste experience and authentic Peruvian flavor from farm to table.

Finish your day at the Distillery; here you can make your own elixir of medicinal plants and taste distillates made on an Inca anden (Incan platform) at 2800 m (9186 ft), experiencing the herbal Peruvian flavor traditions. Finally, we will return to our hotel in the Sacred Valley to rest and recharge energy for a new day of Peruvian flavor discovery.

Overnight at a selected hotel in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.