ITINERARY ONE


1. Cusco 2. Sacred Valley 3. Machu Picchu 4. Lake Titicaca 5. Arequipa 6. Nasca Lines


ITINERARY ONE THE BIG HITTERS Start point: Cusco • End point: Nasca Lines • Distance travelled: 550 miles • Average length: 14 days


The south is the tourism capital of Peru, and for good reason: it packs a punch while remaining easily navigable. This itinerary begins in the high elevations of Cusco, gateway to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. South east is Lake Titicaca, where the Indigenous Uros people constructed homes out of unlikely materials for survival. The white architecture of Arequipa, the country’s second city, breaks up the journey from highlands to lowlands before you finish on the Pacific Coast, where the Nasca Lines reflect another of Peru’s ingenious ancient peoples. Along the way, you’ll experience many


different types of transport. Buses, flights and a handful of comfortable trains shuttle between destinations, all with the guarantee of superlative views. The high elevations along the way — peaking at 11,152ft in Cusco and 12,507ft at Lake Titicaca — are no holiday for your body or brain, so drink plenty of coca tea, a great local antidote to soroche (altitude sickness).


126 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL


HIGHLIGHTS CUSCO


Fly from Lima to Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Spanish invaders built baroque churches and terracotta-roofed mansions over Inca palaces, but the Sacsayhuamán fortress has survived as one of the best displays of Inca architecture. Take a taxi to this archaeological site, located just above the city, where you’ll find walls constructed from a perfect jigsaw of boulders weighing up to 120 tonnes apiece. latamairlines.com


SACRED VALLEY


Named for its spiritual and agrarian importance to the Inca people, this valley remains the region’s breadbasket. Explore Moray, where stepped, concentric terraces acted as a sophisticated agricultural laboratory for the Inca, before heading to Chinchero market. Merchants gather here to


sell handwoven llama and alpaca wool textiles, and you can sample roast guinea pig — a local delicacy. At the end of the day, head to the Inca town of Ollantaytambo, home to the ruins of an Inca fortress, and overnight at El Albergue, a family-run B&B in a historic hacienda. alpacaexpeditions.com elalbergue.com


MACHU PICCHU


From Ollantaytambo, PeruRail’s Vistadome train races to Aguas Calientes, the town right beneath Machu Picchu. Spend a day here, exploring the centre and stay at Inkaterra, a hotel in 12 acres of cloud forest, home to 214 species of bird — including hummingbirds, the golden-headed quetzal and the iconic Andean cock-of-the-rock — and 372 of native orchid. The next morning, head to Machu Picchu,


the ancient citadel that’s become a symbol of the lost Inca Empire since being revealed to the wider world by explorer Hiram Bingham in 1911. Take the first bus to its entrance at 6am to watch the sun rise over its terraces and the


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