Active Gourmet Holidays
Active Gourmet Holidays

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(Option: Customized Itineraries)
Lima and Cusco, Peru - 8 nights
Available year round


Experience and learn how to cook the most important dishes of a culture that has more than 1000 years of legacy from mixing many techniques and ingredients from many parts of the world. Discover one of the New World’s Seven Wonders: Machu Picchu; and get there walking through the same path once used by the Incas. A millenary culture, majestic geography and friendly people are the framework of one of the trendiest cuisines in the world.

Peruvian cuisine has recently been considered as one of the top 5 best in the world. Discover this hidden treasure with this program designed especially for you! Here you will discover the Inca culture mixed with the Spanish and many others that arrived to Peru in the last 500 years; the result is a unique blend of traditions that you will experience in food, activities and adventure in every corner. You are the best culinary judge in this tasty adventure. One client recently said she could not believe that Peru was home to such incredible flavors and tastes!

 

The tour starts in Lima, where you will spend a morning visiting the main market in order to learn more about Peruvian daily culinary ingredients and experience a little bit of the Peruvian culture in its daily life. You will also learn how to make the world wide known Ceviche-the Peruvian fish delicacy. Later your exquisite itinerary includes an author’s fusion dinner at Rafael’s. The next day, you will learn the basics of Peruvian cooking with some of the greatest masters of the Peruvian cuisine in town. You will walk around downtown Lima and discover all the little restaurants and corners that hide culinary histories. Four nights are spent in Cusco full of adventure stops. You will begin your journey horseback riding around Cusco Archaeological sites and the next day you will start your Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu. We don’t want to talk too much about this because there are not words to explain what you will experience in this trek. Back in Lima you will enjoy a Peruvian-Chinese fusion lunch.

 

 

SAMPLE ITINERARY - (Availabilities may change depending on season)

 

Day One 

 

ARRIVAL TO LIMA

 

Upon your arrival, one of our representatives will meet you at Lima airport and take you to your hotel for a well-deserved rest.  

 

This is going to be an experience you will not soon forget - get ready! Welcome! 

 

 

Day Two 

 

MARKET VISIT & TASTING - HANDS-ON CEVICHE CLASS WITH LUNCH - FREE AFTERNOON - DINNER 

 

After breakfast at your hotel in Lima, one of our representatives will meet you at your hotel and escort you on your market visit and tasting. The local market visit is a great way to experience a little bit of the Peruvian culture in its daily life. Here you can find and taste the best variety of vegetables and fruits in the country, including exotic products from the “Andes” and the “Jungle”.

 

After the market visit you will be brought to La Red restaurant, a traditional “cevicheria” owned by Peruvian Chef José del Castillo, who also owns Isolina Tabern in the heart of Barranco district, a criollo food restaurant in the 12th position of the 2019 Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurant by San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. Here you will have your hands-on Ceviche class, a beautiful journey into this famous Peruvian dish. You will also have the chance to try it during your lunch there. After lunch, you will have the afternoon free to rest before your special Nikkei dinner at Maido Restaurant, the best restaurant in Latin America as for the 2019 Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurant by San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna or Hanzo with chef Hajime Kasuga, Experience in Japanese, Mediterranean and Peruvian cuisine. At the end of the dinner, you will be taken back to your hotel for the night.  

 

Day Three 

 

INTRODUCTION TO PERUVIAN CUISINE HANDS-ON COOKING LESSON WITH LUNCH - LIMA CITY TOUR & WATER FOUNTAIN PARK

 

After breakfast at your hotel you will be picked up for your Introduction to the Peruvian Cuisine Class at one of the best “huarique” restaurants in town: Kañete, operated by Chef Israel Laura. He will teach you the quintessential basics of Peruvian Cuisine. You will learn how to prepare Peru’s staple dishes, and afterwards you will enjoy a full tasting of these traditional Peruvian dishes.

 

After lunch you will be picked up at the restaurant and taken on your city tour of Lima. Sites to be visited: Main Square, the Cathedral, the Government Palace, the City Hall, the San Francisco Monastery (including catacombs), old streets with colonial houses, and a great driving tour through the beautiful districts of San Isidro and Miraflores. 

 

Once you conclude your walking city tour, you will then head out to see Lima’s Famous and Guinness record winner water park, where you will have the chance to have an interactive experience with great waterfalls and a great show of lights and music. This will be a fun and exciting experience. At the end of the visit, you will be taken back to your hotel. Dinner is on your own.  

  

Day Four 

 

FLIGHT TO CUSCO - TRANSPORTATION TO SACRED VALLEY - STOP IN AWANAKANCHA LLAMA FARM

 

After breakfast at your hotel in Lima, you will be met by one of our representatives and taken directly to the airport, in order to catch your short, one-hour flight to the capital city of the Incas: Cusco. You will be met upon arrival by one of our representatives and transferred to the Sacred Valley. During the trip you will stop in Awanakancha Llama Farm, where you can meet native weavers and see South American camelid species, including llamas, alpacas, guanacos and vicuñas. You will then reach your hotel in the Sacred Valley where you spend the night.

 

In the evening, one of our representatives will meet you at your hotel and provide you with a briefing on your Inca Trail Express. 

 

Day Five 

 

ATV MORAY & MARAS FOLLOW CUSQUENIAN COOKING LESSON

 

After breakfast at your hotel in the Sacred Valley you will head to Maras for a quick tour of this colonial city. Then, we will take you by bus to the top of the salt mines where you will enjoy beautiful scenery.

 

After the visit you will continue to Urubamba for your Cusquenian Cooking Class, where you will learn about regional ingredients and you will have the opportunity to enjoy a delicious meal. After lunch you will be transferred back to your hotel in the Sacred Valley, where you spend the night.  

 

Day Six 

 

INCA TRAIN EXPRESS 

 

After breakfast at your hotel you will be picked up and transferred to Ollanta Train Station to take the train to km 104. At this point we start the trek for approximately 3 hours, up to the well-preserved remains of Wiñay Wayna (2900 mts/9,514ft). Here you will have some free time for exploring the ruins with its houses, terraces, towers and local museum.

 

After this visit, we begin the final leg of the trek to the lost city of Machu Picchu. We will hike to Inti Punku (Sun Gate), where we will take in an awesome panoramic view of Machu Picchu citadel. The final descent is a quick 30 minutes through the Inti Punku gateway to the citadel. After a quick initial visit, you will be transported by bus back to your hotel in Aguas Calientes, where you will enjoy dinner before ending the day and have a deserved rest. 

 

Day Seven 

 

MACHU PICCHU - TASTING MENU AT MAP CAFE

 

After an early breakfast at your Aguas Calientes hotel, we catch the bus for the short ride to Machu Picchu citadel. We enter the ruins for a breathtaking view of the city. You will enjoy a full tour and have lunch on your own at the end of the visit.

 

In the afternoon, we say farewell to Machu Picchu as you take the bus down to Aguas Calientes, and ultimately back on the train to Ollantaytambo. Once you arrive in Ollantaytambo, you will be picked up and taken to your Cusco hotel to get ready to enjoy your tasting menu at Map Café, located in the Museo de Arte Precolombino (Museum of Pre-Inca Art). Specializing in Novoandino cuisine and presenting the use of native ingredients and rescued recipes with innovative dishes, this 7-course tasting-menu dinner will introduce your palate to tastes rarely experienced before. At the end of the dinner, you will be taken back to your hotel in Cusco for the night.  

 

Day Eight 

 

CITY TOUR OF CUSCO - EXPERIENCE PERUVIAN CHINESE - BACK TO LIMA

 

After breakfast you will set out on a city tour of Cusco, the former capital of the once vast Incan Empire. We walk Cusco’s impressive Plaza de Armas and visit both the Spanish cathedral and Inca temple of the sun, Qoricancha. Next, we set out to visit the ruins above the city that were considered an essential part of the ancient capital. We start from Sacsayhuaman, where Inti Raymi the Festival of the Sun, is held during the Summer Solstice, Tambomachay, the Temple of the Sacred Waters, and Q´enqo. At the end of the tour you will be transferred to the restaurant to enjoy a delicious Peruvian-Chinese fusion lunch at Kion Restaurant. After lunch you will be brought to your hotel to pack. You will then be transferred to Cusco Airport for your flight back to Lima. You will stay at the airport Costa del Sol Hotel for a day use before heading back home.  

 

But we are sure you will never forget all the tastes and art of the culinary adventure you have just experienced.

 

 

*The content or order of the itinerary may change depending on dates, availability of services or activities, local festivals/holidays, weather constraints, etc. Menus are samples and may vary according to the season

 

*Restaurants may vary

 

 

GROUP SIZE

 

A minimum of 2 participants is required to run this tour and the tour is limited to a maximum of 15 participants. (Please inquire for larger groups)

 

(The number of participants refers to how many persons are required to run the tour, not to how many persons you must have in your party. Please inquire.)

 

 

BOOKING INFORMATION

 

 

For further inquiries or to register, click here.

 

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CANCELLATION POLICY

 

Please contact us for cancellation policy information. Travel insurance is highly recommended.

 

 

 

 CLIENT REMARKS

 

 

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MAP*

This exciting region is depicted below. You can also access Google MapsTM by clicking HERE

 

*In some cases mapping may give clients a general sense of location due to changes in venue. Please inquire about specific location.

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COOKING IN THE DORDOGNE

"It was an absolutely marvelous week. The accommodations were superb. I loved the course, the host, and the Chambre d'Hote which is a lovely country house equipped with everything one could possibly need. I was incredibly pleased to when dealing with AGH. All in all, a fantastic experience that I hope to be able to repeat, perhaps in Italy next time." Anita D., Encinitas, California

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