12-Day Short Peru Highlights Holiday Itinerary - Lake Titicaca, Cusco & Machu Picchu

A proud Latino city, often cloaked in mist from the Pacific Ocean and with a famed food scene, Lima fizzes with energy and is more than just a handy starting point for your holiday. You’ll spend 2 nights in a cosy hotel in a pleasant part of town, and you’ll be shown around the lively Miraflores food market and the charming colonial centre by your local Limeño guide, before setting off to explore the city independently.

You’ll spend the next 2 nights in the youthful town of Puno, from where you’ll set off on a boat trip to the islands and communities of Lake Titicaca. Meet the locals who call this place home, visit a floating reed island, help prepare your lunch using underground ovens, and sit back as you glide across the still waters. Titicaca was a sacred place for the Incas, believed to be the birthplace of the sun, and the lake remains one of the most peaceful and beautiful spots on the continent.

Explore Cusco, the Inca heartland and a city of colourful contrasts. During this trip, you’ll spend two nights in Cusco, the gateway to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. Travellers from all over the world meet here before heading into the mountains, making it a lively hub of restaurants, bars and museums. Scattered with Inca ruins and colonial churches, it’s a brilliant place for an atmospheric wander.

You’ll be up early this morning to join a small guided group, as you catch the train to Camino Real – the final stretch of the Inca Trail. From here you’ll spend the day trekking through beautiful scenery and exploring Inca ruins, until you reach the Sun Gate which overlooks Machu Picchu. It’s quite a viewpoint. After a night in the town of Aguas Calientes, you’ll head up to the Lost City once more for a tour of this incredible site which has fascinated visitors ever since its discovery in 1911.

In the afternoon, you’ll take the train to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, where you’ll spend the next 2 nights. A cobblestone maze of tiny streets where local life carries on as it always has, it’s a sleepy and beautiful place to explore. You’ll find some great places to eat, plenty of walks and Inca ruins nearby, and a relaxed, peaceful atmosphere. At the end of your stay you’ll travel back to Cusco by private transfer.