Peru Culinary Wonders

Today we arrive in Lima, the cosmopolitan capital of Peru. After a transfer to your hotel you have the opportunity to rest, or for earlier arriving flights, to stretch your legs and get to know your neighborhood.

Today we will get into the kitchen – literally, by starting with a very memorable interactive culinary tourism experience. On this very unique start to your Peru food tour you can chat with top Peruvian chefs about ingredients and trade secrets that make their dishes delicious while getting a behind the scenes look where the magic happens in the kitchen.

In the evening, you have the opportunity to learn more about the so called City of Kings with a Lima by Night tour. This is fantastic tour that shows the city gorgeously illuminated with a fantastic colonial architecture. You will have unique insights into Lima’s history as you stroll around its main colonial buildings before enjoying a meal at one of Lima’s top restaurants. During your entire culinary exploration of Peru, we continually show how the food traditions go hand in hand with Peruvian history.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Samples during the restaurant visit and Dinner

Many Peru food tour itineraries focus on high Andes indigenous markets – and we will take you to these too – but in terms of diversity of color, flavours and food representing all of Peru, there is no better place to delve head first into a food market like in Lima! The sprawling Magdalena market is perfect for food tours! It features a fascinating range of fresh fruits and vegetables from all over Peru.

From the bustling market we’ll head straight to the Lima airport for an early afternoon flight to Cusco. Upon arrival, the dry mountain air hits you and the light tunes of the panpipes. In order to assist with acclimatization, we’ll travel by car directly from Cusco to the Sacred Valley.

Our evening meal is at El Huacatay* in Urubamba, and the epitome of culinary tourism! This is a small, family restaurant created with love and, little by little, it has become one of the most creative kitchens in the region. Not only is it a place where every dish is an experience for the senses but also a refuge where aesthetics and atmosphere are part of the charm. In a family atmosphere you can experience a unique Peruvian fusion menu which combines Mediterranean, Asian flavors and of course local ingredients (mostly organic and ecofriendly).

Meals Included: Breakfast, Boxed Lunch and Dinner

Today we will travel to the community of Amaru where we will learn about Andean life and how it relates to Peruvian food. In the morning, the women of the community will give us a weaving demonstration and explain about how they are working to keep traditional weaving techniques alive. We will also learn about typical Andean crops, the people’s connection to the Pachamama (Mother-Earth), the different rituals for each part of the growing season, and the use of traditional tools for the planting and harvest of native products. Here, you will have the option to eat cuy prepared traditionally – a ‘must do’ for those foodies looking for authentic experiences in their food tours!!!

In the afternoon we will descend to Pisac ruins which are some of the finest and largest in the entire valley. From here, you will have a short time to shop in the Pisaq market before returning to our Sacred Valley accommodation.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch in the community

This morning you have the choice of a sleep in and enjoying the serenity and views of the Sacred Valley or alternatively, you can visit the internationally renowned Seminario Ceramics Workshop, located in Urubamba.

The Seminario workshop has created a new proposal for ceramic art that is apt for today’s modern world. There are gorgeous plates, dinnerware and other home décor inspirations! This new expression of art is the fruit of more than 35 years of research that Pablo Seminario has undertaken, now known as the Seminario Style. The unique location in the Sacred Valley fosters continual growth and a more widespread recognition of this pair’s artwork. If this option interests you, please let your guide know the day before.

From the Seminario Workshop we will continue to Ollantaytambo, where there will be some free time to explore this atmospheric village. We’ll have lunch in the uniquely located Café Mayu, in the famous El Albergue lodge, which is in the train station to Machu Picchu.

El Albergue has an interesting organic garden, which if possible, we will visit before taking a late afternoon afternoon train to Aguas Calientes. We’ll dine at one of the renowned restaurants in Aguas Calientes prior to getting an early night in preparation for our Machu Picchu visit tomorrow.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

We will wake up early and take one of the first buses up to Machu Picchu. A short climb, and suddenly the whole of Machu Picchu is spread out before you in all its glory – a very special sight for most people. We spend the rest of the morning with a guided tour of the highlights and some individual exploring among Machu Picchu’s multitude of hidden nooks and corners.

After an early start, appetites are often ferocious and we include the buffet lunch at the Tinkuy restaurant. The wide range of delicious dishes are perfect for getting a taste of different plates. Once everyone is revived and tanks filled, we encourage everyone to take another look at Machu Picchu before taking the bus back to Aguas Calientes, where we board our return train to Ollantaytambo or Poroy, just outside of Cusco.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch

Today we will enjoy a walking tour of the city in the morning before having a final time to explore Cusco’s cuisine and enjoy one more day of culinary tourism.

Option A: exploration of chocolate – You can choose from two chocolate making workshops. Either “The cacao bean to the chocolate bar” workshop or “Chocolate truffles and ganache”.

Option B: Peruvian cooking class – We head off the local market , where you can try various fruit such as chirimoya, lucuma, granadilla, aguaymanto, tumbo, pepinillo, etc. depending on the time of year and season. The menu tackled will always include traditional Peruvian ingredients which may or may not be prepared in a typical way and will be accompanied by a Pisco Sour. After all of your hard work, you will sit down to enjoy the fruits of your labour, the culmination of our Peru food tours.

In a final celebration, we will head to the Pisco Museum which has an entire bar selection of around two hundred bottles of different types of pisco! Their cocktail menu is a diverse and exciting journey through the different genres of Pisco and offers great liqueurs, spices, fruits and herbs to pair them with. The food menu is also has a rustic quality, with some great tapas/antipasti dishes like small portions of Alpaca beef or exquisite homemade sausage. The wine list also includes some great local Peruvian wines that match perfectly with their food menu. This is the ultimate end to a foodie vacation, and our Peru gourmet tours.

Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch (if cooking class is chosen)

Trip ends after breakfast today, you will be transferred to the airport for onward travel connections.

Meals Included: Breakfast