Peru Trip (SOLD OUT)
About the host
Host
Amanda Draper
About the trip
Upon your arrival at Cusco’s airport, one of our representatives will be there to welcome you and assist with your transfer to your hotel. After checking in, you’ll have the rest of the day free to relax and acclimatize to the altitude. We recommend taking it easy and allowing your body to adjust to the higher elevation.
Cusco is a city brimming with history and charm, and it’s a great place to explore at your own pace. Take a leisurely walk through the Plaza de Armas, visit the impressive Sacsayhuamán, or wander through the cobbled streets of the San Blas neighborhood, where you can enjoy local art, culture, and incredible views of the surrounding mountains. If you’re feeling up to it, stop by one of the many excellent restaurants or cafes to sample some Peruvian specialties, or our team can provide restaurant recommendations and help with securing reservations.
In the evening, you will enjoy a welcome dinner at a carefully selected local restaurant. This is a perfect way to conclude your first day in Cusco, allowing you to relax, savor traditional Peruvian cuisine, and toast to the start of your adventure.
Day 1: Arrival in Cusco & Welcome Dinner
Airport pickup and transfer to your hotel, with the rest of the day free to rest and acclimatize to the altitude. Optional easy exploration of Cusco (Plaza de Armas, Sacsayhuamán, the San Blas neighborhood), with restaurant recommendations available. The day closes with a group welcome dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 2: Sacred Valley: Markets, Alpacas & Traditions
Hotel pickup and into the Sacred Valley. Visit Pisac for its agricultural terraces and artisan market, then lunch. Afternoon at Awana Kancha, a camelid farming and weaving demonstration center (llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos), followed by the village of Chinchero with its Inca walls and frescoed colonial church. Overnight at Hotel Amaru Valle.
Day 3: Inca Jungle Kickoff: Mountain Biking & River Rafting
Early departure, breakfast in the Sacred Valley, then a downhill bike descent from the Malaga Pass as the landscape shifts from misty mountains to jungle. Private transport from Huamanmarca to Santa Maria for lunch, followed by an afternoon of white-water rafting on the Vilcanota River. Dinner and overnight in Santa Maria.
Day 4: Hot Springs & Ziplining
Morning jungle walk learning about local flora and fauna, a visit with a local family, and a stretch of the Inca trail. Afternoon ziplining in Santa Teresa, then the Cocalmayo hot springs to relax. Overnight camping at Lucmabamba.
Day 5: Jungle Trails to Aguas Calientes
Early start with a visit to a local coffee farm (bean-to-cup process and tasting), then on to the Llactapata ruins for first distant views of Machu Picchu. Descend to Aobamba for lunch, travel to Hidroelectrica, then continue to Aguas Calientes either by train (extra cost) or a roughly three-hour walk along the tracks beside the Urubamba River. Evening free.
Day 6: Machu Picchu
The main event. Transfer and train to Aguas Calientes, meet your guide, and a guided tour of Machu Picchu's temples, plazas, and terraces. Free time afterward in Aguas Calientes (lunch, souvenirs, optional hot springs), then return train and transfer back to your hotel.
Day 7: Lakeside Paddleboarding & Pachamanca
Morning drive through the Sacred Valley to a high-altitude lake for guided paddleboarding amid Andean scenery. Midway pause for photos, then a lakeshore snack and a traditional underground Pachamanca barbecue.
Day 8: Departure
Hotel pickup at the designated time and transfer to Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport for your onward flight.
Airport transfers in all destinations
All meals during the trip
Professional bilingual guides for every tour
Ground transportation to all sites
Round-trip train tickets to Aguas Calientes (Expedition/Voyager class)
Round-trip bus tickets between Aguas Calientes and the Machu Picchu entrance
All tourist permits and entrance fees, including Machu Picchu permits and the Cusco Tourist Ticket
24/7 emergency support
First aid kit and oxygen tank
The distance between the postcard and the place. Machu Picchu is sold as an arrival. This journey makes it an ending. What you confront on the way is everything the photograph leaves out: the altitude in your lungs on the first day, the drop from cold mountain into warm jungle in a single morning, the families still farming terraces their ancestors cut into the rock, and the question of what it actually means to visit a culture that is still alive and still working.
Most travelers pass through the Sacred Valley on the way to the famous site and see none of it. Beneath the headline runs the real country: Pisac's terraces and market, the herders at Awana Kancha spinning and weaving with techniques unchanged since the Inca, the Inca and colonial layers stacked on top of each other at Chinchero, coffee farmers near Llactapata roasting by hand, a Pachamanca cooked under the earth beside a high Andean lake. This is the Andes as a working place rather than a viewpoint, and Amanda and Audy lead the route that moves through it properly.
Every Loka journey is a production. A documentary takes shape inside it. Essays are written from the road. Photographs are made, not collected. The story outlasts the trip itself. You are not the audience. You are part of the record.
Dates
4th - 11th July 2026
Price
$1950
Duration
8 days
Group size
8 people
