Especially Prepared by The Baker House 1650 & Antonella Bertello December 2025

As a Peruvian, I constantly get asked what is the ideal trip to Peru... Most people do not have a lot of time, so here goes the summarized version with the absolute musts... A bit of Culture, Cuisine, Andes, Beach and Jungle... Peru has become one of the world’s top gastronomical destinations – think Central (Best of the Best & No. 1 in 2023), Maido (Best of the Best & No.1 in 2025, & Kjolle currently ranked No.2 of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants (www.theworlds50best.com) – and you definitely need to allow enough time to savor the flavors of Peru and make reservations way in advance... For a general idea go to: www.peru.travel/perutherichestcountry/usa/#home. Peru has three major regions: the Coast, the Sierra and the Selva (Jungle) and everything in between those regions and altitudes, and therefore one of the planet’s largest diversity in flora, fauna and weather... Best time to travel to the Andes is April to November...

LIMA

Costa Verde Cliffs & Larcomar

Most of the flights from Lima to Cuzco are in the morning and once you arrive to Cuzco, your hotel will welcome you with Mate de Coca (legal Coca Tea) which will help you acclimate to the 3,400 metres above sea level... It is wise to just take it easy the rest of the day, wander at a slow pace to the Plaza de Armas (Main Square), visit the Cathedral and maybe go to the bohemian area of San Blas, where you will find many artisans and photo ops with baby llamas or lambs...

Hotels: (1-2 nights) Our favorites are Palacio de las Nazarenas (www.belmond.com/Nazarenas/ Cusco), or The Monasterio Hotel (www.belmond.com/HotelMonasterio/Cusco)... Both equally superb... Many of their rooms have oxygen to also aid in the acclimation to the high altitude...

Sightseeing: There is a lot to see in Cusco and in its surrounding area so do this the second  day you are there... Sacsayhuaman (pronounced something close to “sexywoman”...☺), Q’enko, Tambomachay, Templo de La Luna, the Twelve Angle Stone, etc...

Restaurants: La Cicciolina is a must and the Inka Grill is a more casual establishment. Both El Palacio de las Nazarenas and El Monasterio have amazing restaurants as well, and a Pisco Sour Tasting. Try to eat light your first day in Cuzco...

Left, Hotel Palacio De Las Nazarenas; Right, Monasterio Hotel

CUZCO TO MACHU PICCHU

The Belmond Hiram Bingham Train & The Belmond Sanctuary Lodge

Left, Belmond Hiram Bingham Train; Right, Sanctuary Lodge

Without question, the most fashionable and luxurious way to travel from Cusco to Machu Picchu in on board the Belmond Hiram Bingham Train (www.belmond.com/trains/south-america/peru/ belmond-hiram-bingham/), named after the American academic & explorer who discovered The Citadel of Machu Picchu in 1911... You travel like in times past, with a delicious lunch, drinks in

the open bar car, with live music and get a chance to meet very interesting people from around the world... Once you arrive in Aguas Calientes, the town at the base, you take a ride in a

private bus for your private tour of the Macchu Picchu Sanctuary. If you are in very good shape, you might venture to do one of the several trips trekking the Inca Trail... They are available for 1, 2, 3, 4 or more days...

Hotel: (1 night) Sanctuary Lodge, Machu Picchu (www.belmond.com/SanctuaryLodge/ MachuPicchu). This is an absolute must for one night, as you get to stay and wander in the

ruins until your heart desires, and most importantly, when most of the crowds are gone. The restaurant in the hotel is exceptional and the next morning, if you are in good shape and feeling adventurous, you can climb the Huayna Picchu, which is the famous mountain you see in the background in all the pictures of Machu Picchu, or, again, you beat the crowds early in the morning to The Sanctuary... The other alternative is to stay in the fabulous Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel of Aguas Calientes (www.inkaterra.com) and enjoy their collection of orchids...

MACHU PICCHU TO THE SACRED VALLEY

Hotel Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection Resort

You can enjoy a very nice lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge and then board the Vistadome train to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley (Urubamba).

Hotel: (2 – 3 nights) Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, is hands down the best hotel in the area with a superb spa... (www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/cuztl-tambo-del-inka- a-luxury-collection-resort-and-spa-valle-sagrado/)

Sightseeing: Private visit to the Valley, Ollantaytambo ruins, Pisac Market, Town of Chincheros, Salt Beds of Maras and Circular ruins of Moray. Definitely enjoy the lunch with the Peruvian Paso Horse show.

Do take a day off to enjoy the hotel and their water treatments in their suberb spa, and just to enjoy some quality R&R.... If you feel the desire to see more, head to the Pisac Town market

and Ollantaytambo Fortress, or to the Seminario Studio & shop to buy some art for your table and home...

Sacred Valley to Cusco via car: enjoy the breathtaking landscape and make a stop at Chincheros if you haven’t already...

Ollantaytambo Ruins, the Salt Beds of Maras & The Circular Ruins of Moray

CUSCO TO LAKE TITICACA

Left, The Belmond Andean Explorer; Right, The Titilaka Hotel

At least spend 1 night in the Belmond Andean Explorer Train and arrive in Puno refreshed and restored... This is an experience that will stay with you for a long time to come...

www.belmond.com/trains/south-america/peru/bbelmond-andean-explorer/journeys... If you thought the Hiram Bingham train from Cusco to Machu Picchu was great, this is breathtaking... Since Lake Titicaca is shared by Peru and Bolivia, Peruvians jokingly say that the “Titi” part of the lake is in Peru and the “caca” is in Bolivia... It is the highest lake in the world and truly worth visiting...

Hotel in Puno: 2 to 3 nights at the Titilaka Hotel (www.titilaka.pe), a gorgeous boutique hotel on the shores of the world’s highest lake... Their travel concierge is phenomenal and they offer several tours but the two that are a must are the visit to the Uros floating islands where people still live like they did many, many years past, and a visit to the Island of Taquile where you will enjoy a fabulous lunch. The restaurant at the hotel is very, very good so prepare yourself for a feast of flavors...

Left: View from the Titilaka Hotel, Center: The Uros Floating Islands, Right: Taquile Island.

LAKE TITICACA TO PARACAS

Fly from Puno to Lima and go to Paracas via car, and stop by the Huacachina Oasis on the way.

Hotel: 2 or 3 nights at Hotel Paracas, Luxury Collection Resort (www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/ piolc-hotel-paracas-a-luxury-collection-resort-paracas/overview) It is located very close to the Nazca Lines which are truly worth seeing in one of the many scheduled plane rides. You should take a boat, or the Hotel’s private yacht, to see the “Candelabro” (Candlelight) of the Nazca Lines, The Paracas National Reserve (home to many endangered species) from the sea, and tour the Ballesta’s Island to see many sea lions, Humboldt Peguins, gannets and albatross. Make sure to do the Dune excursion and have dinner in the desert so you can feel you are part of the movie Lawrence of Arabia...

Left: The Huacachina Oasis. Right, The “Candle Light” of the Nazca Lines

LIMA TO IQUITOS

Take a car back to Lima, and fly from Lima to Iquitos, the capital of the Amazon region and board your Delfin Cruise (www.delfinamazoncruises.com) through the Amazon. This is the best way to do the Amazon, and please refer to the Delfin Cruise website to decide which trip is better for you. They are part of the Relais Chateaux network and beyond suberb.

IQUITOS TO MANCORA/PUNTA SAL

From Iquitos to Lima on to Mancora/Punta Sal

After your amazing Delfin Cruise and your Amazon experience, fly to Lima and connect to Talara, on to Mancora and/or Punta Sal.

If you really want to enjoy the beach for further relaxation and fantastic weather year-round, you will find the best Peruvian beaches in the North of Peru. The convergence of the Humboldt Current and the Equatorial Current create a paradise here, similar to that of the Carribean wit better weather and ocean temperatures...

Hotels: For now, and until we finish Marina Coast Peru (www.marinacoastperu.com), the first boating & residential project in Peru with an inland marina, shipyard, private landing strip, Yacht Club, apartments, houses, and an official waterskiing lagoon, the places to stay are Hotel Las Arennas (www.arennasmancora.com), Kichic (www.kichic.com),

DCO )www.hoteldcp.com/en) and Punta Sal Suites and Bungalows and Resort (www.puntasal.com.pe).

Sight Seeing: From any of these hotels you can explore the area, be it the Manglares of Tumbes, The Cerros de Amotape, the healing mud baths of Mancora, Cabo Blanco, where Ernest Hemingway spent a considerable amount of time deep sea fishing, and where a big part of the movie “The Old Man and the Sea” was filmed, and where the largest Black Merlin

was caught setting the World Record. This is also where the Rockefellers founded The Cabo Blanco Fishing Club in the 1950's! This area is still considered one of the best for deep sea fishing. You can rent a boat through Oceanica Expeditions Peru (www.oceanica.pe), and swim with sea turtles, or shark rays, go whale watching or marvel at the Blue Footed Boobies. Maybe you get the “Mancorena” and decide to stay...

Restaurants:

Restaurants: There are way too many to list them all, but…

Central (www.centralrestaurante.com.pe/en/), Maido (www.maido.pe/en), Rafael and Mercado

(www.rafaelosterling.pe/en/lima) restaurants are all very close by in the Miraflores District. For

typical Peruvian food, try La Panchita (www.panchita.pe). Osaka (www.osaka.com.pe) in San

Isidro, also nearby, is a Japanese fusion restaurant with truly amazing cuisine and ambiance…

The Rosa Nautica (www.larosamautica.com) in the Costa Verde, on top of the Pacific Ocean is

also worth visiting…

We probably owe the world recognition of our Peruvian Cuisine to the fabulous Gaston Acurio

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastón_Acurio), one of our top chefs and Peruvian Cuisine

Ambassadors. He decided not to pursue a career in law despite having his law degree, to follow

his true passion: Peruvian food. Any of his restaurants is truly a delight, and my favorites are La

Mar, La Panchita, Madame Tusan and Astrid and Gaston.

Safe and Happy Travels!!!! Enjoy Peru and all it has to offer!!!

The Peru Ideal Itinerary