Peru with Valerie Chang & Nicholas Gill

Day 1

¡Bienvenidos a Lima! Peru’s capital and largest city is also a global culinary hotspot. So we’ll dive right in exploring Lima’s mercado central and barrio chino with Valerie and Nicholas. After strolling the main square and taking in the sights and sounds of Lima’s most storied marketplace, we’ll make our way to a local tavern for authentic chilcano—a refreshing whirl of pisco, ginger and lime. 

Energized and inspired, we’ll follow Valerie’s lead at a hands-on cooking experience, creating our own Peruvian classics for lunch. We’ll return to the hotel for a bit of siesta and ready ourselves for an unforgettable first night in Lima: First up, we’ll make an appearance at Carnaval, recently named one of the 50 best bars in the world, for an aperitif and the ideal precursor to our exclusive dinner at Mayta. Here, Nicholas will walk us through the deep historical narratives embedded in Chef Jaime Pesaque’s world-class provincial cuisine, and we’ll raise our glasses and celebrate a week of adventures to come. Salud! 

Day 2

Today we move into the Andes! After a quick flight to Cusco, we ride into the Sacred Valley to reach Lamay. We’ll meet with the indigenous Huayllafara community, exploring their farms and learning the importance of agriculture and its connection to Pachamama (Mother Earth). We’ll be invited to harvest our own Andean ingredients—potatoes, oca, anu, trawl, quinoa and beans—to use in this afternoon’s traditional pachamanca meal. 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.

Day 3

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 in use 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.

Day 4

Today we head to nearby Ollantaytambo and board a train to Aguas Calientes. We can ride all the way there—or, if you’re up for the adventure, arrive by foot via 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.

Day 5

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.

Day 6

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. After our meal, we’ll get to know Cusco— its iconic streets like Hatunrumiyoc, a road lined in stone and draped in vibrant textiles, Coricancha, the spiritual center of the Inca Empire, and of course its renowned Cathedral.

Next, we’ll take the afternoon to rest as our last night in Peru is simply amazing. First we’ll make our own dinner (with expert help from Valerie, of course) from the 11th floor of the Rooftop Kitchen, pausing only to admire the bustling main square below. After dinner—a culinary tribute to our weeklong cultural immersion—we’ll follow Nicholas and Valerie to Museo del Pisco where we’ll get a final lesson in Peruvian mixology and toast an incredible week of discovery and joy.

Day 7

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!