Your trip begins at 1pm, when your guide will pick you up and take you out for lunch at one of Cusco’s finest restaurants. In the afternoon we’ll take a leisurely walk through Cusco’s winding cobbled streets and graceful plazas, and your guide will begin to illuminate the incredibly long and rich human history of this place for you. Or if you prefer, especially if you’ve just arrived today, you can relax at the hotel – it’s important not to over-exert as you adjust to Cusco’s 3,400m (11,150ft) altitude.

Meals: Lunch and dinner included

Accommodation: Historic five-star hotel in Cusco

Cusco is one of the most beautiful cities in the Americas, with the richest and longest history. In the morning we’ll drive up above the town to enjoy spectacular views down into the city and visit Sacsayhuaman and Qenqo – ceremonial sites where pilgrims prepared themselves to arrive at the sacred city of Cusco.

In the afternoon, your guide will show you more of Cusco's gorgeous streetscapes, vibrant markets, and fascinating historic sites and museums – or if you prefer, you can visit a traditional ceramics studio, participate in a chocolate-making class, or prepare an exquisite dinner with a local gourmet chef.

Meals: All meals included

Accommodation: Historic five-star hotel in Cusco

This morning we’ll set off into the Sacred Valley, stopping along the way at a private animal-rescue sanctuary where you can get close to flamingos, lynxes, pumas, tapirs, and condors, and a textile co-operative where you can feed friendly llamas and see the beautiful things local weavers make with their wool.

Next, we’ll explore a magnificent Inca fortress and eat a spectacular gourmet picnic lunch in the countryside nearby, before checking out the famous handicraft market that sprawls through the cobbled streets of the tiny town of Pisac.

A stunningly scenic drive through the Sacred Valley of the Incas brings us to our accommodation, a rural riverside resort. Here there’s the opportunity for a massage or spa treatment if you wish.

Meals: All meals included

Accommodation: Five-star hotel near Urubamba in the Sacred Valley

This morning we’ll head for Chinchero where we’ll visit local artisans and our pick for the region’s most charming Spanish colonial church, and wander through parklike Inca terracing with stunning views of the surrounding hills.

We’ll explore Moray, perhaps the most mysterious and thought-provoking Inca ruin of all, and Salineras – our favourite sight in the Sacred Valley, a surreal mosaic of dammed natural salt-springs that’s been operating commercially since Inca times.

There’s the opportunity for massage and spa treatments at our accommodation again this evening.

Meals: All meals included

Accommodation: Five-star hotel near Urubamba in the Sacred Valley

This morning we’ll wander the narrow streets and sun-soaked plazas of the charming Inca village of Ollantaytambo – known as the best example of Inca irrigation, as the babbling channels along every charming cobbled alleyway remind us.

We’ll learn a little about Andean agriculture and some of the area’s unique products in an organic market garden and pick some vegetables which a chef will whip up into our very own garden gourmet lunch. No luxury tour of Peru would be complete without experiencing pachamanca – the celebration meal of the Incas – so that’s what we’ll try here!

This afternoon we’ll take a scenic train ride to Aguas Calientes, where we’ll spend the night.

Meals: All meals included

Accommodation: Five-star hotel in Aguas Calientes

A spectacular stone city surrounded by incredibly steep, incredibly green mountains, Machu Picchu needs no introduction and is deservedly one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.

We’ll be up at sunrise so there’s time for your guide to show you around Machu Picchu’s main citadel, as well as our favourite hidden nooks and crannies, before the crowds arrive. Then there’s time for your own exploration of the massive, still-mysterious site. Later we’ll enjoy another gourmet dinner on the luxury Hiram Bingham train back to Cusco.

Meals: All meals included

Accommodation: Historic five-star hotel in Cusco

You can book your flight out for any time you like today. If you’d like a spa treatment or massage in the morning, just let us know! Your guide is on hand to help with any last-minute errands, shopping, or sights you’d like to see in Cusco.

Meals: Breakfast included