Peru with Neal Fraser

Bienvenidos a Peru! Because Lima’s become a global culinary hotspot, we begin by exploring the city markets to take in its colors, sounds and smells. Then it’s a hands-on cooking class to try making our own Peruvian classics for lunch, where Neal will collaborate with a local chef. Satiated and enlightened, we head out on foot to tour the surrounding Barranco neighborhood. It’s a laid-back Bohemian scene where surfers sip artisan coffee and colorful street art adorns building sides.

For our welcome dinner this evening, we’ll dine at one of the world’s Top 50 restaurants: Astrid y Gastón. Chef Gastón Acurio’s restaurant is a reflection of Peru’s natural bounty, with beautiful dishes paying homage to the people and land. Pair it with a creative cocktail or a pick from their sprawling wine list. It’ll serve as the perfect backdrop to kick off our adventure!

Today we move into the Andes! After a quick flight to Cusco, we ride into the Sacred Valley to reach Lamay to visit the indigenous Huayllafara community. Their local experts will lead us through their farms where they’ll teach us the importance of agriculture and its connection to Pachamama (Mother Earth). Here, we’ll be invited to harvest our own Andean ingredients like potatoes, oca, anu, trawl, quinoa and beans to use in this afternoon’s traditional meal, pachamanca. Our bounty will be placed in a pit barbecue where hot stones will cook everything to charred and caramelized perfection. We’ll feast like locals—casual, fun, authentic, delicious.

We’re getting deeper into the roots of one of the greatest empires in history. We start at Maras salt flats, a vast landscape of salt-evaporation ponds used since pre-Incan times. Nearby, we’ll see the circular terraces of Moray, an amphitheater of agriculture with its own prehistoric irrigation system. Our host is from famed MIL Centro restaurant, owned by rockstar Peruvian chef Virgilio Martínez. They’ll share how these deep-rooted Incan traditions influence and inspire their modern cuisine. But we won’t just talk about it—we’ll experience it first-hand. At MIL Centro in Maras, we’ll be treated to an unforgettable, one-of-a-kind meal. It’s a storybook—actually, more like an encyclopedia—with eight courses, each representing an ecosystem of elevation used in their authentic, intense and fiercely local cooking.

Today we head to nearby Ollaytaytambo and board a train to Aguas Calientes. We can ride all the way there—or venture on an awe-inspiring, 11-kilometer (6.8-mile) hike on the Inca Trail! We pass over suspension bridges, through jungle and by amazing archaeological sites like Chachabamba and Winaywayna before reaching the last climb: up steep, narrow stone steps that lead to our first look at Machu Picchu, spilling down almost impossibly over a mountainside. Walking through the Sun Gate, Intipunku, is the absolute best way to see this marvel for the first time. After a long trek, we’ll be able to put our feet up and relax in luxury at the hotel, Machu Picchu on our minds for the evening.

We’re not done with Machu Picchu yet! After a delicious breakfast and leisurely morning, we’ll head back to see the clouds lift to reveal the scale and sheer audacity of a ridge-top site built between towering peaks. We’ll dive deeper on a spellbinding walk through ruin-filled terraces and ancient terrain. This afternoon, we head back to Aguas Calientes to shop or take advantage of our beautiful hotel—whether that’s enjoying the spa, soaking in the pools or wandering the well-kept gardens and cozy reading rooms to relax with a drink.

We’ve been busy explorers, so today is a leisurely introduction to Cusco, ancient capital of the Incan empire. Here, sleek and modern eateries fit neatly into weathered Spanish-colonial buildings, while locals in indigenous clothing sell traditional crafts and produce. It’s a lively place, where past and present lives in harmony (except for when a llama holds up traffic).

We reach lunch right away at Pachapapa, a local favorite, colorfully decorated and serving plates lovingly stacked with local ingredients. Full in Cusco flavor, we’ll walk the streets of surrounding San Blas and down the famed Hatunrumiyoc, a street lined in stone and draped in vibrant textiles. Then it’s a walk through Incan history right in the city. We’ll visit Coricancha, spiritual center of the Inca Empire, and Cusco Cathedral before finishing in Plaza de Armas, the town square situated around a glorious fountain statue of Incan emperor Pachacuti. Tonight we’ll cheers pisco sours at a farewell dinner with the group, celebrating our adventure together!

For our last day together, we’ll drive to the nearby Saqsayhuaman, a hillside fortress built by the Inca by stacking enormous stones fit into a perfect, mortar-free puzzle. To return to Cusco, we follow Quechua-speaking locals walking from mountain villages to city markets on the fabled Qhapaq Ñan network of Incan roads. We’ll freshen up before heading wherever our journeys take us next—home or beyond—with Peru in our hearts forever. Buen viaje!