Culinary Peru (11 days)

Afternoon flight south to Lima, arriving in the evening. Meeting upon arrival by your local host and assistance with getting to and checking in at the Wyndham Costa del Sol Airport Hotel.

Your local host will meet you in the lobby of your hotel and help you get to the airport airline departure counters to check-in for your flight to Arequipa. This afternoon you will enjoy a private gastronomy tour of Arequipa. Begin with a visit to a local market where you will be introduced to the variety of meats, vegetable, fruits, spices and other items that are of importance in Peru. You will be accompanied by a chef who will assist in the purchase of the products that are used for the preparation of the dishes in this culinary adventure. Once the shopping is complete, move on to the venue where you will learn more about Peruvian cuisine giving you an overview of the origins of Peruvian food, its influences, products, typical dishes and emerging tends that mark Peru's gastronomy. Prepare one of the many flag dishes of Peru such as ceviche, causa rellena, lomo saltado or roccolo relleno, accompanied by the inevitable Pisco Sour. After a delicious lunch, return your hotel.

Morning visit to Arequipa with many quaint old Spanish buildings and churches, most built of "sillar", a pearly white volcanic material almost exclusively used in construction. You'll also visit Santa Catalina Convent, a complete miniature walled colonial town of over two hectares in the middle of Arequipa, where over 450 nuns lived in total seclusion except for their female servants. Today the few remaining nuns have retreated to one section of the convent, allowing visitors to roam a maze of cobblestone streets, flower-decked cloisters and buttressed houses. These have been finely restored and painted in traditional white, browns and blues. You will enjoy a complete visit with a specialized guide. Afternoon at leisure to explore Arequipa on your own.

Morning transfer to the airport for early flight to Cuzco. Meeting upon arrival and immediate departure for a scenic 90 minute drive to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, making a stop at the town of Awanacancha to learn about the llama, alpaca, vicunas and guanacos, how their wool is harvested, natural dying techniques and have a chance to see native weavers from different areas showing their different weaving styles and dress. Then continue on to Pisac and wind uphill to the ruins of Pisac. Our first views are of Karchiacay agricultural area but around the corner and cascading down the mountain are a military area, Q'Allaqas, palaces of the moon and sun, solstice markers, baths and water channels and even further down the Intihatana group of temples and Pisaqa with a fine curving wall. Then drive down the mountain and through the valley to Pisac to visit the colorful Indian market. After your tour continue to your hotel in the valley, the Hotel Sol y Luna for a two night stay. This evening you will enjoy a Chef's Table experience at the Hotel Sol y Luna. An exclusive service attended and addressed personally by the Chef offering all the information about the courses in an environment designed for this purpose within the main kitchen.

Today you will have a "Pachamanca" Culinary Experience. “Pachamanca”, meaning in Quechua “Earth Pot”, is a traditional cooking technique based on stewing using previously heated rocks. Start with a visit to a local market in Urubamba where new smells, colors, textures, sounds and tastes will introduce you to a new cuisine concept. From the marketplace continue to your lunch spot near Ollantaytambo to meet the cooks that will teach you how to prepare a traditional "Pachamanca": lamb, chicken, pork and guinea pig previously macerated with Andean spices, also different sorts of potatoes, corn and Andean aromatic herbs which give a unique flavor to this exotic dish, and cooked by rock heat underground. After helping prepare the ingredients and placing them underground, enjoy a Pachamama ceremony worshiping mother Earth and thanking her for the food you will eat. Then the Pachamanca will be opened and dishes will be served. After lunch return to your hotel.

Morning transfer to the train station for a scenic train ride to Machu Picchu Pueblo (Aguas Calientes), where shuttle buses take you on a 20-minute ride up a 2,000 foot serpentine road with spectacular panoramas of the valley. Arrive at the summit and at the entrance to the famed Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu. Never found by the Spanish Conquistadores and only rediscovered in 1911 by American explorer Hiram Bingham, Machu Picchu was a stunning archaeological find. It was the only major Inca site that escaped 400 years of looting and destruction. Machu Picchu is a complete city strategically perched atop a mountain. Sprawled across the mountainside are staircases, terraces, temples, palaces, towers, fountains and the famous Intihuatana, or "Hitching Post to the Sun", possibly a center-point between cardinal alignments of nearby sacred peaks. Your tour will take you to the major sites and will raise more questions than it will answer. You'll have lunch and time to explore on your own. Overnight at the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel.

Morning at leisure to explore at your own pace. Revisit the ruins which open around sunrise. The earlier you visit the ruins, the fewer people you will encounter there. Have lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge and then take the shuttle down to Machu Picchu Pueblo and explore the colorful bustling town and handicraft market. Afternoon return to Cuzco by Vistadome rail service and transfer to the Hotel Monasterio for two night stay,

Morning visit to Cuzco. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983, Cuzco was the capital of the ancient Inca Empire and is considered the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Western Hemisphere. Cuzco was founded around 1100 A.D. and thought to have been a Holy City, a must pilgrimage for any ranking citizen of the empire. You’ll visit the main points of interest in this historic city including the 17th century Qoricancha Temple which, together with Santo Domingo, form perhaps the most vivid illustration in Cuzco of Andean culture’s collision with Western Europe. Continue to the nearby fortress ruins of Sacsayhuaman with massive rocks weighing up to 130 tons forming three walls running parallel for 360 meters, with 21 bastions. Also visit the amphitheater of Kenkko (Qenqo); Puka Pukara, possibly an Inca "tambo", and the spring shrine of Tambo Machay, said to have been an Inca bath but more likely a site of a water cult. Afternoon at leisure to explore Cuzco at your own pace.

Mid-morning pickup at your hotel and head to Cuzco's food market, where a local chef will brief you about local ingredients. You will have the opportunity to buy them and to interact with local producers and suppliers, a whole experiential sojourn in a traditional Andean market. Then your chef will invite you to his house for a private culinary lesson. Starting with the preparation of the famous Pisco Sour and moving on to some entrees and main courses, you will have the opportunity to interact with the chef and really get the most out of this culinary lesson. Enjoy the lunch you have helped to make and afterwards return drive to your hotel.

Morning transfer to the airport for short flight back to Lima. Meeting and transfer to the Miraflores Park Hotel for overnight. This afternoon enjoy a visit to the main points of interest in Lima, often called "The City of Kings", including the Plaza de Armas with the Cathedral and the Government Palace and San Francisco Convent amount other places of interest in colonial and modern Lima. Then stop at the small but well laid out National Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology with one of the best overviews of ancient Peruvian art and archaeology. This evening dinner reservations have been made for you at Huaca Pucliana, an excellent restaurant specializing in typical Peruvian cuisine and located on the edge of the ruins of the same name, with one of the largest pre-Columbian temples in Lima, dating back to 400 AC and covering some 5 hectares. Transfers will be provided but, in order to give you complete freedom of choice, the cost of dinner is not included. Order as you wish and pay directly to the restaurant.

Morning return transfer to the airport for you flight back to the USA.