PERU

We land at Lima airport and are met by a representative with a sign bearing our names. The way to the hotel in the Miraflores area is about 16 km and takes 45 minutes to an hour – about as long as it takes to settle into the rhythm of this huge city.

The rest of the day is free – a walk in the coastal park above the Pacific Ocean, a first glass of pisco sour or simply rest after the long flight.

Overnight: Lima – Hotel Habitat (Standard) / Souma Hotel Lima (First Class) / Pullman Miraflores (Luxury)

Meals: breakfast

A full-day private tour of the capital of Peru. We start at the main square, decorated with a 17th-century bronze fountain and surrounded by the cathedral, the government palace and the city hall – all in the grid drawn by Pizarro.

We enter the cathedral, where the remains of Francisco Pizarro rest, and its museum of religious art. Then we pass through the Church and Monastery of San Francisco with its Baroque façade, Sevillian tiles and a library of about 25,000 books. The catacombs are not suitable for people with claustrophobia.

We have lunch in Lima – the gastronomic capital of Latin America – and visit the Larco Museum, which traces the history of pre-Columbian Peru through the Moche, Chimú and Inca cultures. The museum is surrounded by a beautiful garden with a restaurant.

Note: the cathedral opens at 09:00, and on Sundays visitors do not enter the churches because of services.

Overnight: Lima – Hotel Habitat (Standard) / Iberostar Selection Miraflores or Souma Hotel Lima (First Class) / Pullman Miraflores (Luxury)

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Today Lima is discovered through the mouth. The culinary tour takes us to five stops in three districts – from organic coffee and a fruit tasting at a traditional market to the best-known national cocktail, the pisco sour.

We eat with a view of the ruins of Huaca Pucllana before passing through Barranco – Lima's bohemian district. The afternoon is free.

The tour is by group transport with an English-speaking guide.

Overnight: Lima – Hotel Habitat (Standard) / Iberostar Selection Miraflores or Souma Hotel Lima (First Class) / Pullman Miraflores (Luxury)

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Transfer to the airport and a domestic flight to Cusco (included in the price). In Cusco a guide with a sign bearing our names meets us and accompanies us to the hotel.

Cusco was the capital of the Incas, is a UNESCO site today and stands at over 3,300 m above sea level. The first afternoon passes quietly: we drink coca tea and stroll slowly so that the body can get used to the altitude.

Overnight: Cusco – Casa Andina Standard Cusco Plaza (Standard) / Novotel Cusco (First Class) / Palacio del Inka, a Luxury Collection (Luxury)

Meals: breakfast

A full-day private tour of the Sacred Valley – the fertile lands of the Urubamba River, once the granary of the Incas and their route to the jungle.

We begin at the ruins of Pisac – a complex with huge stone walls that still impress with their size today. Then we immerse ourselves in the Andean market of Pisac, where locals sell food and handicrafts.

In the afternoon we go to Ollantaytambo, where Hanan Huaypata, north of the main square, is one of the best-preserved places in the area. We finish with Chinchero – a village specialising in textiles, with an interesting history from Inca times.

We have lunch at the Tunupa restaurant in the Sacred Valley.

Overnight: Sacred Valley – La Casona de Yucay (Standard) / Casa Andina Premium Valle Sagrado (First Class) / Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa (Luxury)

Meals: breakfast, lunch

In the morning we set off for Moray – a community known for its amphitheatre of four circular terraces built into the ground, which seem to sink into the earth like an artificial crater. According to researchers, this was a centre of Inca agricultural experiments. We continue to Maras – with its colonial church and the salt pans by the village, a favourite place of photographers.

From Urubamba we are transferred to the station in Ollantaytambo. From there we travel to Machu Picchu on the Vistadome panoramic train – the wide windows at the sides and in the roof bring us closer to the mountains, the river and the forest.

Note: the train schedule depends on availability. For the train and the overnight in Aguas Calientes only a small backpack of up to 8 kg is carried, while the rest of the luggage stays at the hotel in Cusco/the valley.

Overnight: Aguas Calientes – Hotel Ferre Machu Picchu (Standard) / El MaPi by Inkaterra (First Class) / Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo (Luxury)

Meals: breakfast, lunch (for First Class and Luxury – dinner à la carte)

Today is the day we came for. Machu Picchu, declared by UNESCO in 1983 a site of world cultural and natural heritage, is a citadel of stone architecture, agricultural terraces and sacred temples, surrounded by high mountains and tropical vegetation. A specialist guide tells us about the history and symbolism of the place and leads us through its most emblematic corners.

Note: the route may change depending on physical condition or ticket availability. Once the trip is confirmed, tickets are issued and are non-refundable.

Back on the Vistadome train to Ollantaytambo – on the train we are served soft drinks, a snack of local products, an alpaca fashion show and traditional Andean dances. From Ollantaytambo we travel about an hour and a half to Cusco.

Overnight: Cusco – Casa Andina Standard Cusco Plaza (Standard) / Novotel Cusco (First Class) / Palacio del Inka (Luxury)

Meals: breakfast, lunch

A half-day private tour (about 4.5 hours). We start at the main square, which the Incas called Huacaypata, the "Square of the Warriors". The cathedral, built from 1560 to 1664 with red granite from the fortress of Sacsayhuamán, holds one of the most important collections of colonial gold and silver.

Next comes Qorikancha and the Convent of Santo Domingo, built on top of the most important Inca temple, dedicated to the Sun, whose walls were once covered with gold leaf. Then we climb to Sacsayhuamán – with its huge zigzag megalithic walls – to the Qenqo amphitheatre, decorated with images of cats, birds and snakes, to the red fortress of Puka Pukara and to Tambomachay – a religious centre where rituals for rain and soil fertility were performed.

Notes: at Qenqo and Puka Pukara we stop briefly. The order of the sites may change. Qorikancha opens on Sunday after 14:00. The cathedral is closed during Holy Week and on some holidays.

Overnight: Cusco – Casa Andina Standard Cusco Plaza (Standard) / Novotel Cusco (First Class) / Palacio del Inka (Luxury)

Meals: breakfast

Attention: this is the physically most demanding day of the programme. The ascent takes about 2.5 hours and the descent about 2 hours.

We set off early in the morning south of Cusco, through Urcos and Checacupe, to the village of Pitumarca, where we have breakfast. Another hour or so by transport follows to the start of the trail. The hike begins at the foot of the snow-capped Ausangate peak and leads to the highest point, from where the Rainbow Mountain can be seen. On the way we may see various species of Andean camelids and local flora.

At the top we have about 40 minutes for photos, then descend back to the transport. We have lunch at a restaurant in Pitumarca and return to Cusco.

If we prefer not to take on the climb, we can stay in Cusco and use the day for free sightseeing.

Overnight: Cusco – Casa Andina Standard Cusco Plaza (Standard) / Novotel Cusco (First Class) / Palacio del Inka (Luxury)

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Transfer to Cusco airport and a flight to Bulgaria with a connection (included in the price).

Meals: breakfast

Ten days, three different Perus. Lima fed us, the Sacred Valley showed us what the Incas could do with the land, and Machu Picchu reminded us that some places really are more beautiful in person than in the imagination.

Until the next adventure!