Peru, one of South America's most beguiling destinations, has long been associated with backpackers tracing the famous Inca Trail. Yet it's equally compelling when experienced at a more luxurious pace. A two-week journey from the high-altitude heartlands of the Andes to the fringes of the Amazon reveals the country's jaw-dropping scenery and the wonders of the Inca Empire aboard heavenly riverboats and luxury trains.
Lima: A Culinary Capital
Lima is South America's culinary capital, and foodies should carve out at least 48 hours here to properly appreciate the city's enviable restaurant scene. Book a table at Mérito, one of Lima's most sought-after fine dining restaurants, where Amazonian and Andean ingredients collide in creative dishes—or head to its more relaxed sister spot, Clon, for natural wines and sharing plates. Bed down at boutique bolthole Fausto in Miraflores, which is well placed for easy exploring. This intimate property has just five bedrooms and feels more private home than hotel.
Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu
A short 1.5-hour flight to Cusco—the former capital of the Inca Empire and gateway to the region—leads to the Sacred Valley, where a couple of days allows acclimatisation to the sharp shift in altitude. The landscape transforms dramatically, with Lima's hazy coastline giving way to rolling green terraces, shimmering lakes, and scattered villages tucked deep within the mountains. Stay at Belmond hotel Rio Sagrado, a hushed sanctuary wrapped by vast mountains and lush gardens, where quiet casitas are scattered among the greenery and resident alpacas roam freely. Spend days exploring the concentric Inca terraces at nearby Moray or the salt mines of Salineras de Maras.
While in the Sacred Valley, board Belmond's bells-and-whistles Hiram Bingham train to Machu Picchu, easily the most glamorous way to reach the ancient citadel. Departing from Rio Sagrado's private station, the journey includes 1920s-inspired carriages, an elegant three-course lunch, pisco sours, and a live jazz band. Tickets and an intimate guided tour of Machu Picchu are included, with the moment the citadel reveals itself—stone terraces tumbling down cloud-stitched peaks, llamas wandering through the ruins—unforgettable.
Cusco and the Andean Explorer
Cusco remains one of Peru's most historically rich destinations, where layers of Inca and colonial history sit visibly atop one another. Despite being the most tourist-trodden city, with cobbled streets filled with backpackers and market stalls, its beauty and history still cut through the crowds. Days are spent between famous sites and museums like Qorikancha, Cusco Cathedral, and the Pre-Columbian Art Museum. Make Belmond's Monasterio hotel your base, housed within a former 16th-century Jesuit monastery, with sister property Palacio Nazarenas, a former convent, home to a boutique spa and Mauka, the city's most exciting fine dining restaurant helmed by chef Pía León.
The most spellbinding way to traverse the Andes is on board the Andean Explorer, Belmond's luxury sleeper train. Over two days, its cream-and-blue carriages wind from Cusco to Puno, passing glistening lakes, marshland, and fields of pampas. Guided activities include meeting the Uros people of Lake Titicaca, who live on floating islands constructed entirely out of reeds, tucking into a beach barbecue on Taquile Island, and wandering through Raqchi, an Inca temple complex.
Colca Valley and Arequipa
A detour deep into the Colca Valley brings the team at PUQIO, an eight-bed tented camp that feels more boutique hideaway than glamping pit stop. Dressed in soft linens and vintage furnishings, with an outdoor bathtub on the deck, it's more spacious than many hotel suites. Little touches include hot water bottles slipped between the sheets come evening, the fire lit on return from dinner, and a 24/7 WhatsApp line. By day, venture into the valley with a private guide, winding through terraced mountainsides and Quechua villages to the base of the Chimpa Fortress, then cresting the ridge for views of the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest gorges in the world.
Twenty-four hours in Arequipa, Peru's second city, is just enough to scratch the surface before an onward flight back to Lima. CIRQA serves as a base, a stripped-back sanctuary housed within a former 16th-century monastery.
The Amazon Finale
For the final leg, head north into the Peruvian Amazon, boarding Pure Amazon, an A&K Sanctuary, to traverse the vast Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. This riverboat drifts through the steamy rainforest, allowing an up-close view of glossy waterways and dense jungle. Mornings begin with sunrise skiff rides through flooded forests and narrow creeks, with monkeys leaping through the canopy, sloths clinging to branches, and pink river dolphins surfacing alongside. Other excursions include fishing for piranha and visiting remote river communities. Resident naturalists Ulber and Javier, born and raised in the region, read the rainforest like a book, picking out wildlife untrained eyes would miss. This feels less like a cruise and more like a floating safari: a fitting end to a trip that has carried travellers from Andean peaks to canyon depths, by way of Machu Picchu and the river-rich jungle in between.
