Peru with Jose Salazar

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 Jose 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.

Our welcome dinner this evening is nuanced as the city itself. We’ll indulge in Nikkei, a Japanese Peruvian style of cooking that emerged in Lima during the late 19th century and has since evolved into its own original cuisine. Over five courses of dishes like chirashi con choclo and jalea, we’ll raise a toast to the week of discovery ahead.   

Today we move into the Andes! After a quick flight to Cusco, we ride into the Sacred Valley to Chinchero for a weaving demonstration. Alongside local master artisans, we’ll not only learn about the vibrant dyes that define Andean clothing but we’ll be shown how to warp, weave, and even how to execute the ñawi awapa border technique.

Soon after, we’ll meet with the indigenous community, exploring their farms and learning the importance of agriculture and its connection to Pachamama (Mother Earth). We’ll also be invited to harvest our own Andean ingredients—potatoes and oca, añu root and quinoa—to use in this afternoon’s traditional pachamanca meal. Here, we’ll look to Jose who is a student of Peruvian agriculture while 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.

To cap off this immersive day, we’ll visit the first distillery in the Sacred Valley. Here, a local family draws on centuries of botanical infusion and sugar cane to produce some of the most original and compelling spirits in all of Peru. We’ll tour their operation over a flight of their finest.

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.

After ample time to digest and relax, we’ll convene once again for a truly special dining experience. Not only have we been invited by the Orihuela family to view their private art collection—from ceramic bulls and ancient textiles to Inca weaponry and ceremonial vessels—we’ll also be guests for dinner. It’s certainly a unique atmosphere, and it feels like dining inside a museum.

Today we head to nearby Ollaytaytambo 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.

We’re not done with Machu Picchu yet! We’re up early today to head back and watch 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.

Our lunch unfolds in the shadow of the lost city at Belmond Sanctuary. Look out for exotic butterflies and giant hummingbirds between sumptuous bites of some of the best elevated fusion in the valley.

This afternoon, we train back to Cusco 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’ll also drive to the nearby Saqsayhuaman, a hillside fortress built by the Inca by stacking enormous stones fit into a perfect, mortar-free puzzle.

We begin with a truly special lunch. We’ll follow Jose to the outskirts of the city for an unforgettable banquet of food, pisco and music. Seated outdoors in rustic elegance, we’ll be treated to a menu cooked and curated by Jose—every dish an ode to this epic week of exploration.

We’ll return euphoric and ready to explore Cusco independently until we reconvene for our farewell dinner. As our stomachs start to rumble, we’ll take a table at the Map Cafe. This is quintessential Cusco cuisine—fresh, sophisticated and unlike anything you’ve tried before.

As we dig into some of the best food in Peru, don’t be surprised if Jose leads a few toasts to celebrate a truly incredible week.

We’ll freshen up before heading wherever our journeys take us next—home or beyond—with Peru in our hearts forever. Buen viaje!