Wellness in Peru & Machu Picchu

Welcome to Cusco! After retrieving your luggage, transfer to your hotel where you can relax and enjoy the amenities on the property. Meet the rest of the group in the evening where you will have dinner welcoming you to Peru!

After a morning wellness session and breakfast, you are picked up from your hotel for a day full of culture and beautiful nature. Our first visit is to Moray, a small community famous for its embedded amphitheater that is formed by circular terraces which seem to disappear into the ground. Scientists think that Moray has played an important role in the agricultural research conducted by the Incas. Shortly after your visit, you will head to the salt mines located near Maras dating from colonial times. The day is concluded with a visit to Chinchero, believed to be the mythical birthplace of the rainbow. On Chinchero's main plaza, you find a colonial church built in the 17th century along with the chance to experience the Pisac Market. The Pisac Market is one of the most famous markets in the Cusco region. A large section of the market offers souvenir stalls where you can find weaving, jewelry, ponchos, hats, Andean instruments, ceramics, alpaca products, and a range of other gifts to take home to loved ones. Upon returning to the hotel, the rest of your day will be at leisure.

Start your morning with a wellness activity and leisurely breakfast. Later in the morning, you will depart for an open-air cooking class. This culinary experience will provide you with a delicious lunch outdoors in the midst of nature and surrounded by mountains in the distance. Expand your culinary repertoire as you watch the chef prepare two signature dishes during a live demonstration, or create tempting courses under his expert guidance. After the cooking demonstration, enjoy the local cuisine and use this experience to bring the local Peruvian flavors back home. This afternoon, return to the hotel where you can take part in an optional wellness class or enjoy the hotel amenities for the afternoon. Enjoy your evening and dinner at leisure.

Start your day off with a wellness class and breakfast at the hotel before heading to the Piuray Outdoor Center. Piuray Lake offers spectacular scenery, and plenty of birds. Start with a briefing and paddle technique on land, then enjoy the beauty of the lake. After an hour and a half of paddle boarding or kayaking along the lake’s shore, we will have time to explore the town and experience the unique cooking method of Pachamanca. Pachamanca is the traditional Peruvian dish based on cooking food with the help of hot stones. In the pachamanca, all of the foods that are going to be cooked under this modality are presented. Each traveler is given an explanation of this tradition and they are invited to help bury food. Subsequently, a godmother or godfather is appointed, who along with the community member bless the food following an Andean tradition. Then, wait about 45 minutes to dig up and taste the local cuisine! This afternoon, head back to the hotel where you can take part in an optional wellness class before having the evening at leisure to relax.

Start your day off with an early morning yoga class offering a spectacular view of the Sacred Valley. Wake up with the sun to get started on your journey to Machu Picchu! After an early breakfast, transfer from Urubamba to the Ollantaytambo station and board your train to Machu Picchu. This scenic ride offers a unique connection with nature along the way, making it feel as if they are a part of the nature that surrounds them. Upon arrival, enjoy a half-day tour of Machu Picchu, which was re-discovered in 1911 by the explorer Hiram Bingham. This citadel is considered to be one of the most extraordinary examples of landscape architecture in the world. In an enclave on the saddle of a mountain overlooking the deep canyon of the Urubamba River in an area of lush tropical forest, it served as a place of worship, a site for stargazing and a private hacienda of the family of the Inca Pachacutec. Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007, Machu Picchu was chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. After your visit, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before taking your train to Cusco where the remainder of the evening is at leisure for you to explore the city on your own. *Train schedule will vary by departure but this day can have a very early start

Begin with a leisurely breakfast and a morning wellness class at the hotel. After freshening up, it will be time to explore Cusco. This beautiful city has history from both the Inca and Colonial times. Start this half-day tour at Cusco’s main square, which was called Huacaypata (Warriors Square) by the Incas. While the guide tells you more about the history of this special place, admire the city’s cathedral that was built between 1560 and 1664 with red granite stones from the Inca Fortress of Sacsayhuaman. The cathedral is one of the most impressive buildings in Cusco and hosts one of the most significant collections of gold and silver work in the colonial period. We’ll continue to Koricancha and the Convent of Santo Domingo. The convent was built on top of the most important Inca temple, dedicated to the worship of the sun, with walls covered with gold leaves. As we wander through the streets of what was once the capital of the Inca Empire, you can feel as if you are traveling through time. After an afternoon at leisure and freshening up at the hotel, we will depart for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Begin your day with a morning wellness session and breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, pack your belongings and head to Cusco Airport for your flight home celebrating this once in a lifetime wellness journey.