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Great group of people, jelled as an entourage, trip leader and in-country lead were excellent, accommodations really good (hotels in Machu Picchu  and Cusco were terrific). Really good introduction to a very diverse country!

Peru: The Spirit of the Andes and Amazonia

A wonderfully curated trip that showcased the best Peru has to offer- and some off-the beaten path choices one 
normally does not get to experience.  The hotels, guides and food were all top notch!  I wouldnt change a thing!

This was the trip of a lifetime! Spirit Quest and their partners operators in Peru are all top drawer. They took great care to ensure the highest quality experiences, hotels, food and supports. Peru is a beautiful country for sure but would have been totally overwhelming had SQT and their team not taken such care in curating the tours. I absolutely loved this group of people and had a life experience I will never forget. Consider yourself fortunate if you are able to join SQT anywhere they might plan an event or Green Llama tours in Peru. This is my third trip with SQT (Egypt Bali Peru) and every one of them has been phenomenal. HIGHLY RECOMMEND 

This was the trip of a lifetime! I will probably never experience the VIP treatment I got on this trip ever again, everything was thought of and taken care of (which was extremely important being in such a different culture and not speaking the language).

Remembering Osiris

I had a wonderful experience in Egypt w Greg and our group. The hotel and the cruise and the food were all 5 Star. Egypt is a world of wonders and we saw so many of them! Thank you, Greg and everyone who helped things run so seamlessly. 

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This journey through Peru is designed to be felt as much as seen. Over thirteen days, you move gradually from the Pacific coast into the high Andes, following landscapes shaped by long memory. In Lima, ancient temples stand quietly within the modern city. In Cusco and the Sacred Valley, stonework, water channels, and mountain horizons reveal a culture that understood place as relationship rather than backdrop. At Machu Picchu, the experience unfolds slowly. The site doesn’t overwhelm; it invites attention. Its order is sensed through proportion, alignment, and silence. Later, at Humantay Lake, altitude and glacial water shift the rhythm of the body, opening space for reflection. Here, the mountains are not distant or symbolic. They are regarded—still—as living presences. A traditional&nbsp;Pago a la Tierra&nbsp;ceremony offers a moment of reciprocity and gratitude, grounded in practices that continue today. Traveling the Sun Route toward Lake Titicaca, you encounter ceremonial centers that long predate the Inca, reminders of how deeply rooted spiritual life is in this land. On the lake itself, time softens. Daily life unfolds at a different pace, shaped by water, weather, and continuity. This is a journey that balances comfort with depth, exploration with stillness. It is for those who value meaning over momentum, and who feel drawn to places where culture, landscape, and inner life remain closely intertwined.

Peru

International flights

Activites and meals not 

Tips

drinks, medical or travel insurance, laundry, etc.

Personal expenses

Spirit Quest Tour Leader

Local Peruvian Guides

Room accommodations are provided at the hotels indicated or same quality. Accommodations are per person, based on two persons sharing a twin-bedded room or double bed with private bath.

Accommodations

LIMA: Antigua Casona Miraflores 4*, CUSCO: Hotel Palacio del Inca 5*, Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel 5*, PUNO: GHL Lake Titicaca Hotel 5*

Hotels

• All services provided as private with English guides (Except flights, trains and bus to enter Machu Picchu) • All domestic flights, trains, and transfer services in all the visited cities.

Transfers & Sightseeing

All meals specified

You arrive in Lima as the city hums into evening—Pacific fog rolling in from the west, the Andes invisible but felt to the east.Transfer to&nbsp;Antigua Casona Miraflores, a beautifully restored colonial home tucked into one of Lima's most charming neighborhoods. Courtyards, wooden balconies, rooms that breathe history without feeling frozen in it.&nbsp;Tonight: unpack, settle, breathe. Meet your fellow travelers over dinner if energy allows, or simply rest. Thirteen days of mountains, stone, and transformation begin tomorrow.For now, you've arrived. That's enough.

Arrival in Lima

Day 1: USA - LIMA

After breakfast, the city opens. A few hours on foot through Lima's historic center—the heart of Spanish colonial power in South America, built atop indigenous foundations, now alive with markets, bureaucracy, and devotion.<h3>Plaza Mayor &amp; The Cathedral</h3>The main square—Plaza Mayor—is monumental by design. The&nbsp;Cathedral&nbsp;anchors one side, its baroque facade a study in stone and shadow. Inside: gilded altars, centuries of wood carving, the tomb of Francisco Pizarro. The air is cool, thick with incense and history.Nearby, baroque churches layer the blocks—San Pedro, Santo Domingo, each one a different expression of colonial devotion. You pass the&nbsp;Town Hall&nbsp;(Palacio Municipal), the&nbsp;Presidential Palace&nbsp;with its daily changing of the guard. Power, old and new, occupying the same stones.<h3>San Francisco Convent — The Catacombs</h3>Then:&nbsp;San Francisco Convent. The church above is beautiful—azulejo tilework, carved cedar ceilings, a library of 25,000 texts. But it's what lies&nbsp;beneath&nbsp;that holds attention.The catacombs. A subterranean labyrinth where the bones of an estimated 25,000 people rest in geometric arrangements—femurs, skulls, ribs sorted and stacked in wells and alcoves. It's not macabre. It's matter-of-fact. This is where Lima buried its dead for 200 years. The living city walks above. The dead city remains below.<h3>Lunch: Casa Tambo</h3>Midday break at&nbsp;Casa Tambo, a restaurant tucked into the historic district. Traditional Peruvian fare—ají de gallina, lomo saltado, ceviche if you're ready. The meal grounds you after the intensity of bone and stone.Transfer back to Antigua Casona Miraflores. Afternoon free to rest, wander the neighborhood, or simply sit in the courtyard.<h3>Evening: Danza — Peruvian Folklore Performance</h3>Tonight, dinner and performance at&nbsp;Danza, one of Lima's most vibrant folklore venues. The show is a whirlwind tour of Peru's regional dances—Marinera from the coast, Huayno from the highlands, Festejo from Afro-Peruvian tradition. Colorful costumes, live music, movement that tells stories older than language.It's joyful, loud, unabashedly theatrical. A counterpoint to the quiet intensity of the catacombs. Both are Lima. Both are true.

Lima — Layers of Empire

Day 2

This morning shifts the lens backward—past colonial Lima, past the Inca, into the millennia of civilizations that flourished on this coast long before Cusco became an empire.<h3>Larco Museum — 5,000 Years in Clay</h3>The&nbsp;Larco Museum&nbsp;occupies an 18th-century viceregal mansion in the Pueblo Libre district, but the collection it holds predates Spanish arrival by thousands of years. This is Peru's finest archaeology museum—intimate in scale, staggering in depth.Room after room of&nbsp;pre-Columbian ceramics: Moche portrait vessels with faces so specific you feel you know them; Nazca polychrome pottery in ochre, black, and cream; Chimú blackware burnished to a shine. Each culture had its own visual language, its own relationship to clay, water, fire, and time.The chronology spans&nbsp;5,000 years—from the earliest coastal settlements through Chavín, Paracas, Moche, Nazca, Wari, Chimú, and finally the Inca, who arrived late and conquered quickly. The Inca are a recent chapter in a much longer story. The museum makes that clear.Don't miss the&nbsp;textile gallery&nbsp;(some of the world's oldest preserved fabrics) or the famously uncensored&nbsp;erotic pottery collection, which offers a very different perspective on pre-Columbian life than most textbooks provide.<h3>Lunch at Larco Café</h3>Lunch is served in the museum's garden restaurant—Larco Café—surrounded by bougainvillea and the hum of hummingbirds. The menu leans contemporary Peruvian: quinoa salads, anticuchos, causa limeña. The setting is unhurried. Linger if you want.<h3>Huaca Pucllana — A Pyramid in the City</h3>Afternoon brings you to&nbsp;Huaca Pucllana, a massive adobe pyramid rising from the heart of Miraflores. It's disorienting at first—this 1,500-year-old ceremonial center surrounded by apartments, restaurants, traffic. But that's Lima: ancient and modern occupying the same ground, neither yielding.The pyramid was built by the Lima culture around 500 CE, using millions of handmade adobe bricks stacked in a distinctive vertical "bookshelf" pattern (designed to withstand earthquakes—it worked). Excavation is still ongoing. Tombs are still being opened. The site is alive with discovery.You walk the perimeter, climb a viewing platform, look out over the terraces and plazas where rituals once unfolded. The scale is immense. The silence, relative. The city hums just beyond the walls.<h3>Miraflores — The Neighborhood</h3>The rest of the afternoon is yours to explore&nbsp;Miraflores, Lima's most walkable district and your home base for these first days.Parque Kennedy—the main square, always busy with street artists, craft vendors, and dozens of resident cats.Larcomar—a cliffside shopping complex with ocean views (touristy, yes, but the view is legitimate).&nbsp;&nbsp;Malecón—the clifftop boardwalk stretching for miles above the Pacific, perfect for sunset walks.&nbsp;&nbsp;Calle de las Pizzas—if you want casual dinner on your own tonight.&nbsp;Or simply return to Antigua Casona, sit in the courtyard, and let the last two days settle. Tomorrow, you fly to Cusco. The altitude—and the intensity—shift dramatically from here.

Lima — Before the Inca

Day 3

Morning flight from Lima to Cusco. The plane climbs from sea level, crosses the coastal desert, then traces the spine of the Andes. By the time you descend into the Cusco valley, you've traveled 11,150 vertical feet in under two hours.11:10 AM&nbsp;— Departure from Lima (LATAM Airlines)&nbsp;&nbsp;12:50 PM&nbsp;— Transfer to Palacio del Inka, A Luxury Collection Hotel — your home for the next five nights. The hotel occupies a restored 16th-century colonial palace in the heart of Cusco, built on Inca foundations that predate the Spanish by centuries. Stone corridors, open courtyards, rooms where the walls themselves are a history lesson. This is not a hotel that happens to be historic. It is history that happens to be a hotel.The afternoon is yours. Unstructured. Unscheduled. This is not downtime. This is acclimation.At 11,150 feet, the air holds less oxygen. Your body knows this before your mind does. Breathe slowly. Move gently. Drink water. Rest if you need to. Walk the Plaza de Armas if you feel ready — it is directly outside the hotel doors, and Cusco at street level is its own quiet revelation. Let the city reveal itself at your pace.The Andes Spirit Spa is here when you need it. The restaurant — the lomo saltado and ají de gallina are, by multiple accounts, quietly extraordinary. Tonight there is nowhere to be and nothing to prove.Tomorrow, Cusco begins in earnest.

Lima to Cusco — Arrival at Altitude

Day 4

The day begins at&nbsp;Koricancha, the Temple of the Sun—once the spiritual center of the Inca world. Here, Spanish colonial walls rise directly from Inca foundations, the join between them impossibly tight. No mortar. No gap. The precision speaks to a different understanding of stone, gravity, and permanence.At&nbsp;Cusco Cathedral, centuries of devotion are layered in wood, gold leaf, and pigment. Colonial paintings cover the walls—many blending Catholic iconography with Andean symbols, a visual record of collision and adaptation.After lunch, the landscape opens. At&nbsp;Tambomachay, spring water still flows through carved channels, a temple dedicated to the element that shapes life at altitude. Then to&nbsp;Sacsayhuaman, where stones the size of vehicles fit together with geological intimacy. This ceremonial site, still active during Inti Raymi, commands views across the valley—a place built to hold ritual and sky.As the afternoon light softens, the group gathers for a&nbsp;Pago a la Tierra—an offering to Pachamama, Mother Earth, and the Apus, the mountain spirits. Led by a local&nbsp;woman who holds this wisdom, and rooted in gratitude. Coca leaves, seeds, flowers, and symbolic elements are arranged with intention, then offered. It's not performance—it's practice, still woven into daily life here. The day closes gently. You return to Cusco carrying the weight and lightness that come from witnessing what endures.

Cusco — Stone, Spirit, Ceremony

Day 5

Morning in Chinchero, the textile heart of the highlands. Here, weavers work with natural fibers using methods passed down through generations, coaxing color from plants, minerals, and insects. The process is slow, deliberate, and still very much alive. At&nbsp;Moray, terraced circles descend into the earth like an amphitheater. The Inca used this site as an agricultural laboratory, testing how crops adapted across microclimates that mimicked different elevations throughout the empire. It's ingenious, silent, and strangely beautiful.Then to&nbsp;Maras, where hundreds of shallow salt ponds cascade down the mountainside, fed by a warm underground spring. Families have harvested this mineral-rich salt for centuries, each pond glowing white and pink under the Andean sun. The landscape feels both ancient and active—geometry shaped by human hands and mountain water.

CUSCO – CHINCHERO – MARAS - MORAY

Day 6

The day begins in&nbsp;Pisac, where a sprawling market fills the plaza with textiles, ceramics, and the hum of exchange. Above the town, the&nbsp;Inca ruins&nbsp;climb steeply—terraces, ceremonial gates, and stone structures clinging to the ridgeline. At the top, a large burial complex overlooks the valley floor. The view is expansive: patchwork fields, the Urubamba River threading through, peaks in every direction.Lunch is at&nbsp;Hacienda Huayoccari, a restored colonial estate perched above the valley. The food is as considered as the setting—local ingredients, careful preparation, mountain light streaming through open doors.In the afternoon,&nbsp;Ollantaytambo—one of the few Inca towns still inhabited as it was intended. Narrow cobbled lanes. Water channels carved centuries ago, still flowing. Residents live in homes built on Inca foundations. At the upper end of town, massive stone terraces rise in tiers, each level more refined than the last. The scale is humbling; the engineering, elegant.From here, the&nbsp;Vistadome Observatory Train&nbsp;departs—glass roof, open-air balcony, the landscape becoming theater.&nbsp;(Note: luggage is limited to 15 lbs per person.)&nbsp;The train follows the river as the valley narrows, mountains closing in on either side.Arrival in&nbsp;Aguas Calientes&nbsp;just as dusk settles. The town hums with anticipation—everyone here is either coming from or going to Machu Picchu. Tonight, a quiet dinner at the hotel. Tomorrow, the mountain.

Sacred Valley — From Stone to Stream

Day 7

After breakfast, a short walk to the bus station, then a winding 20-minute ascent up switchbacks carved into the mountainside.&nbsp;(Passport required at entrance.)And then:&nbsp;Machu Picchu.It doesn't announce itself all at once. The site unfolds gradually—terraces, plazas, temples—each element in conversation with slope, sky, and stone. This wasn't built&nbsp;on&nbsp;the mountain; it was shaped&nbsp;with&nbsp;it. Water channels follow natural grades. Windows frame specific peaks. Rooms align with solar events.For two hours, the group moves through the sanctuary at a measured pace. There's time to sit. To notice how light shifts across the stonework. To feel altitude and stillness together. The site holds something—call it energy, presence, or simply the accumulated weight of human attention across centuries.Guides speak to history and engineering. But Machu Picchu also asks to be experienced beyond language: through breath, through quiet, through the body's response to elevation and beauty.Mid-morning, the return bus descends to Aguas Calientes. Lunch at a local restaurant, then the afternoon opens—time to rest, wander the town, soak in thermal baths, or simply settle into the rhythms of the hotel.Tonight, dinner. Tomorrow, the journey continues.

Machu Picchu — The Mountain Sanctuary

Day 8

The morning unfolds in three directions, each honoring a different need.Option 1: Huayna Picchu&nbsp;&nbsp;For those drawn to height and effort, return to Machu Picchu and climb the steep peak that towers over the ruins. The ascent is narrow, exposed, and unforgiving. At the summit: a 360-degree view of the sanctuary below, the Urubamba River carving its canyon, cloud forest stretching in every direction. Visceral, vertiginous, unforgettable.&nbsp;(Additional cost; advance booking required.)Option 2: Return to Machu Picchu&nbsp;&nbsp;A second visit to the sanctuary—quieter this time, more interior. With yesterday's orientation complete, today allows for sitting longer, noticing differently, moving at your own pace through the terraces and temples. (Additional cost; advance booking required.)Option 3: Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel&nbsp;&nbsp;Or: stay. The Sumaq's spa is waiting — massages, sauna, the particular relief of warm hands on tired muscles after two days at altitude. The river terrace. A long breakfast with nowhere to be. Your room, the balcony, the Urubamba moving below. Sometimes the most profound choice on a journey like this is the one that asks nothing of you at all.Lunch at a local restaurant, then a slow gathering at the station.The&nbsp;Vistadome Observatory Train&nbsp;departs at 3:20 PM, retracing yesterday's route in reverse. The glass ceiling opens the journey upward; the rear balcony lets you watch the valley recede. By the time the train reaches Poroy (7:30 PM), the light has shifted—dusk settling over the altiplano.A private bus carries the group back to Cusco, 40 minutes through darkening hills. Two more nights here, at a different altitude, in a different rhythm.

Return to the Sanctuary

Day 9

The drive traces the&nbsp;Apurimac River Valley, passing through small villages as first light touches the peaks. After two and a half hours, the road ends at&nbsp;Soraypampa&nbsp;(13,000 ft). Here, the hike begins.Two hours. 800 vertical feet. Thin air.The trail switchbacks upward through high grassland—each step deliberate, each breath intentional. Altitude dictates pace. There's no rushing this.And then:&nbsp;Humantay Lake.Turquoise water, impossibly bright, cradled between glacial slopes. Snow-capped peaks ring the basin. The stillness is profound—no wind, no sound but breath and heartbeat. This is a place the Apus still inhabit, where mountain and water meet sky.Time here is unstructured. Some walk the shoreline. Some sit. Some simply stand, letting the cold air and color do what they do. The lake asks nothing. It simply&nbsp;is.The descent is easier on the lungs, harder on the knees. Back at Soraypampa, lunch—hot, nourishing, welcome. Then the long drive back to Cusco, bodies tired, minds quiet.Tonight: rest. You've earned it.

Humantay Lake — At Altitude

Day 10

A full day on the road, tracing the high plateau toward Lake Titicaca. The route itself is pilgrimage: three stops, three layers of history, moving backward through time.Andahuaylillas&nbsp;&nbsp;A small village. An unassuming exterior. Then you step inside the church and understand why it's called the&nbsp;Sistine Chapel of the Andes. Every surface—walls, ceilings, columns—alive with color. Gilded altars, intricate frescoes, Andean Baroque in full expression. It's overwhelming in the best sense: devotion made visible.Raqchi — Temple of Wiracocha&nbsp;&nbsp;Here, the scale shifts. Eleven massive stone columns rise from the earth, remnants of an Inca temple built to honor the creator god. The walls that once connected them are gone, but the columns remain—monumental, precise, defiant of time. You walk among them and feel the ambition of empire.Pukara&nbsp;&nbsp;Older still. This ceremonial center predates the Inca by more than a millennium, marking the origins of highland Andean culture. Stone carvings. Platforms for ritual. The roots of what would become Tiwanaku, then Inca. Standing here is standing at a beginning.Lunch is served along the way—simple, grounding, necessary.By late afternoon, arrival in&nbsp;Puno&nbsp;(12,500 ft), gateway to Lake Titicaca. Check in. Settle. Tomorrow, the lake.

The Sun Route — Cusco to Puno

Day 11

Morning at the pier. The boat departs across&nbsp;Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 12,500 feet. The water is vast, cold, and impossibly blue—more inland sea than lake. Mountains rim the horizon. The air is thin and clear.Uros Islands&nbsp;&nbsp;These floating islands—more than 80 of them—are woven entirely from&nbsp;totora reed, the same plant that grows thick along the shoreline. Homes, boats, walkways: all reed, layered and replenished as the older material composts below. It's ingenious, adaptive, and yes—shaped by tourism. The communities here navigate a delicate balance between tradition and livelihood. The visit is brief, respectful, and honest about what it is.Luquina Community&nbsp;&nbsp;A short boat ride to the mainland brings you to&nbsp;Luquina, a Quechua-speaking community on the Chucuito Peninsula. Life here follows older rhythms—agriculture, weaving, ceremony. There's an ease to the encounter, less transactional than Uros. You're welcomed, not performed for.Kayaks are launched from the rocky shore. Paddling along the peninsula, the only sounds are water and breath. The lake is cold enough to feel through the hull. The silence, immense.Lunch follows at a local restaurant—lake trout, potatoes, warmth. The afternoon boat ride back is slow, golden, reflective.

Lake Titicaca — Water, Reed, and Continuity

Day 12

Morning transfer to Juliaca airport through the high plains—llamas, adobe villages, light that only exists at altitude. The 2:00 PM flight lifts off, tracing the Andes in reverse: lake to highlands to coast.Arrival in Lima at 3:35 PM. International connections onward.Thirteen days. Four ecosystems. Dozens of sites. But what you carry home isn't the itinerary—it's the pauses between. The silence at Humantay. The stones at Sacsayhuaman. The way light moved across Machu Picchu.You leave carrying what mountains, stone, and silence have given. The return is not an ending. It's integration.

Departure — Puno to Lima

Day 13

<h2>The Experiences</h2><h3>Lima: Layers of Empire</h3><ul><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">The&nbsp;Cathedral&nbsp;and baroque churches of the historic center—gold leaf, wood carving, centuries of devotion</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">San Francisco Convent, with its catacombs holding the bones of 25,000—a subterranean city beneath the living one</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Larco Museum, Peru's finest archaeology collection, where pre-Columbian ceramics tell stories older than the Inca</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Huaca Pucllana, a clay pyramid rising from the heart of Miraflores—1,500 years old, still being excavated</li></ul><h3>Sacred Valley &amp; Cusco: Stone, Spirit, Ceremony</h3><ul><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">A traditional&nbsp;Pago a la Tierra&nbsp;ceremony led by a local female Andean shaman—an offering to Pachamama and the Apus</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Koricancha Temple&nbsp;(Temple of the Sun)—Inca precision meeting Spanish colonial imposition</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Cusco Cathedral—centuries of devotion layered in wood, gold leaf, and pigment</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Sacsayhuaman—ceremonial center built with stones the size of vehicles, home to Inti Raymi</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Tambomachay, temple dedicated to the power of water</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Pisac Market&nbsp;and mountain ruins with expansive Sacred Valley views</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Hacienda Huayoccari&nbsp;gourmet lunch overlooking the valley</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Ollantaytambo—an Inca town still inhabited as it was intended, with terraces rising in refined tiers</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">The&nbsp;Vistadome Observatory Train—glass roof, open-air balcony, landscape as theater</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Machu Picchu: time, space, silence, stone</li></ul><h3>High Altitude Immersion</h3><ul><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Pre-dawn ascent to&nbsp;Humantay Lake&nbsp;(13,800 ft)—turquoise water cradled between glacial slopes, where the Apus still dwell</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Lake Titicaca&nbsp;— the highest navigable lake in the world at 12,500 feet</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Uros Floating Islands—over 80 islands woven entirely from totora reed</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Luquina Community—Quechua-speaking village on the Chucuito Peninsula, life following older rhythms</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Kayaking&nbsp;along the peninsula—water, breath, immense silence</li></ul><h2>The Sun Route: Cusco to Puno</h2><ul><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Andahuaylillas, the "Sistine Chapel of the Andes"—Andean Baroque in full, overwhelming expression</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Raqchi&nbsp;(Temple of Wiracocha)—eleven massive Inca columns, monumental and defiant of time</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">Pukara, the oldest ceremonial center in the region—origins of highland Andean culture, pre-dating the Inca by a millennium</li></ul><h3>Accommodation: Rest as Ritual</h3><ul><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">2 nights | Antigua Casona Miraflores, Lima&nbsp;— a restored colonial manor where history breathes through wooden balconies and quiet courtyards</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">5 nights | Palacio del Inka, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Cusco&nbsp;— a 16th-century colonial palace built on Inca foundations, where five centuries of history meet in stone and silence</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">2 nights | Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel, Aguas Calientes&nbsp;— riverside retreat at the quiet end of town, where the Urubamba runs below and integration comes naturally</li><li class="ui-30d40835-py-17 ui-30d40835-bg-gray-400 ui-30d40835-border-gray-400">2 nights | GHL Lake Titicaca Hotel, Puno&nbsp;— lakeside luxury at 12,500 feet, where every window frames the highest navigable lake in the world</li></ul><h3>Guidance: Knowledge Held Lightly</h3>A full-time local guide accompanies the journey—fluent in history, geology, and the stories that don't make it into textbooks. All tours and private transfers included.<h2>And Throughout: The Unmeasured</h2>Private access. Quiet moments. Time to sit. Space to integrate. The things that don't fit on itineraries but make transformation possible.

Peru — A Journey in Three Acts

Peru: THE HEART OF THE SACRED VALLEY September

Trip price is based on double occupancy. A single room option is available for those wanting a single room. If you're a solo traveler and want a roommate we will do our best to pair you.&nbsp;

Peru: Double Occupancy

Pre Trip Hotel Night

Trip price is based on double occupancy. For solo travelers not wanting to share a room, a single supplement is available for an additional $1500

Peru: Single Occupancy

Post Trip Airport Hotel Night

Embark on a sacred odyssey along the Nile. Spirit Quest Tours invites you to a once-in-a-lifetime journey of transformation, with five-star luxury, private access to the Great Pyramid, and exclusive experiences found nowhere else. Sail for eight nights aboard the elegant Dahabiya Veda, your private floating sanctuary. At the journey’s heart lies a cosmic event of staggering power: the century’s longest total solar eclipse, passing directly over Luxor—the epicenter of Egypt’s ancient mysteries. Here, in the land of Karnak and Luxor Temples, you’ll stand in awe as day turns to night for an astonishing 6 minutes and 23 seconds of totality, just as the ancients once did.

Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, The Distant Past

International Air, Visas, travel insurance, excess baggage charges, beverages, optional tours & activities, laundry, any other item of a personal nature not specifically mentioned herein

Miscellaneous 

8 days of private sailing in total luxury

Private Cruise

Tomb of Seti I in the valley of the Kings, Tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens, The Southern Tomb of Djoser at Sakkara, the Khan el Khalili market and old Cairo.

Unique Extras

The Sphinx at Giza. Osirion in Abydos Temple, Temple of Isis at Philae, King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid

Private Visits

Most Meals

Karnak & Luxor Temples, Kom Ombo, Abydos, Temple of Horus,  Hathor Temple, Egyptian Museum, authentic Egyptian culture, Many private & unique thing

Egypt's Highlights

Arrive to Cairo International Airport where your Tour Manager who’ll assist you with the formalities through customs and immigration. 

Rest, refresh and prepare for the adventure ahead!

Arrival to CAIRO / EGYPT / Hyatt Regency West hotel

Day 1: Mon July 27, 2026

Here we begin our voyage of discovery into the most enigmatic of the ancient mysteries. While the Giza Plateau is famously home to the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid, in fact the entire plateau is absolutely riddled with underground passages, hidden structures, and obscure grottos.&nbsp;
 
Though special permission, we will privately stand between the Paws of the Sphinx at dawn.
 
Next we visit the famed Sakkara necropolis, home to the Step Pyramid of Djoser, and incomparable milestone of the early pyramid age. About, 2630 B.C. Imhotep, architect to King Djoser (Dynasty III), masterminded this Step Pyramid, the world’s oldest freestanding stone structure. This pyramid consists of six tiers atop a mastaba, or low, oblong tomb, faced with cut stone. Here we’ll explore the newly opened Southern Tomb of Djoser with it’s stunning faience lined passageways and monumental granite sarcophagus.
 
We'll also visit the enigmatic and mysterious Serapium, with its labyrinthian passes and cyclopian stone sarcophagi - carved from single massive granite and diorite blocks weighing up to 88,000&nbsp;lb.
 
Lunch will be served in a charming local restaurant. 

(Breakfast, Lunch, //)&nbsp;

Sphinx / Pyramids / Sakkara / Serapium / Southern tomb 

We begin our day at the legendary Egyptian Museum, where we’ll marvel at the masterpieces of King Tutankhamun—including his golden mask—and countless other artifacts that bring 5,000 years of history to life. Next, we step back through the ages into Old Cairo, a place where Coptic, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim histories converge. We’ll visit the Hanging Church (Church of the Virgin Mary), built in the 9th century to “hang” high upon the ancient walls of Babylon - &nbsp;the sense of sacred history remains palpable. Our journey continues deeper into Coptic Cairo to the Church of St. Sergius, dating to the 5th century and built upon a crypt said to have sheltered the Holy Family—Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus—during their time in Egypt. We’ll also visit the Ben Ezra Synagogue, the oldest in Cairo, located on the legendary site where Pharaoh’s daughter is believed to have found Moses among the reeds. Cairo is truly one of the world’s fabled cities, and today we’ll experience its full mosaic of history and legend—from biblical synagogues to mind-bogglin (Church of the Virgin Mary), built in the 9th century to “hang” high upon the ancient walls of Babylon -, the sense of sacred history remains palpable. We’ll conclude the day at the centuries-old Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, a sprawling labyrinth of trade, trinkets, and timeless charm. Here you can shop for handcrafted treasures, sip tea in a centuries-old café, and soak in the vibrant energy of Cairo’s bustling heart. Highlights include:<ul> <li>Mosque of the Healers</li> <li>St. Sergius Church</li> <li>Ben Ezra Synagogue</li> <li>Khan el-Khalili Bazaar</li></ul>(Breakfast, Lunch)

Cairo / Egyptian Museum / Old Cairo / Bazaar / Hyatt Regency West 

This morning we transfer to Cairo airport for our short flight to Luxor, ancient Thebes—the city of a hundred gates and home to the greatest concentration of antiquities on Earth. Here, the ancient and modern intertwine seamlessly, creating a vibrant tapestry of bustling streets, serene villages, and breathtaking ruins. Our home for the Luxor portion of the journey is the elegant Dahabiya Veda, a private sailing yacht that allows us to dock peacefully on the Theban shore of the Nile, far from the bustle of the big cruise ships. From here, we’ll savor the quiet rhythms of local life along the riverbank. As night falls, we embark on a special evening visit to Luxor Temple, illuminated under the stars. It was here that R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz developed his revolutionary “Symbolist” interpretation of ancient Egypt, calling it the Temple of Man, where science, art, religion, and philosophy merge into a vast, coherent whole. Stroll along the awe-inspiring Avenue of the Sphinxes, stand beneath the towering columns of the great hypostyle hall, and witness a living testament to Egypt’s layered history in the working mosque—nearly a thousand years old—built into the very fabric of the temple itself. As part of the largest temple complex in the world, Luxor Temple is an experience not to be missed. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) After breakfast, transfer to Cairo airport for short flight to Aswan. Our home for the next 8 days is the incredible Dahabeya Hadeel.&nbsp; After lunch, we take a “Felucca” to Elephantine Island, the name of "Elephantine" came from an ancient Egyptian sign "aabw" which meaning "elephant" and "ivory" because it was an ivory-trading center.&nbsp; While there we'll visit the temple of Khnum, one of the revered gods in Upper Egypt who is associated with the Nile's fertile soil, perhaps why Khnum is shown as a potter shaping all living things on his wheel. &nbsp; (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Cairo, Luxor, Dahabeya veda, Luxor Temple

Valley of Queens / Nefertari Tomb / &nbsp;Valley of Kings / Hatshepsut Temple / Colossi of Memnon
 
This morning after breakfast we drive to the West Bank of ancient Thebes, and begin our day at the famed Temple of Haphsetsut. Widely considered to be one of the "incomparable monuments of ancient Egypt". This stunning architectural achievement will be an elegant and dramatic start to our day.
 
Next we visit the Valley of the Queens, home to the Tomb of Nefertari, Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II, dating from about 1300 BC. This stunning tomb was painstakingly restored over the course of 6 years. The paintings are remarkable for their electrifying colors -- including oranges, blues and greens -- and their intricate detail, such as steam rising from a bowl of soup. Widely considered to be the absolute pinnacle of Egyptian art, this tomb was closed in 1934, just 30 years after its opening, and access is strictly controlled to protect the jewel-like walls. Many consider the Tomb of Nefertari to be the "Sistine Chapel" of Egypt.
 
We continue our visit to the famed Valley of the Kings, where we'll see the incomparable Tomb of the mighty Seti I, as stunning in its own way as Nefertari's resting place. And then on to the immense Colossi of Memnon. We will also stop at an alabaster workshop in the Valley, where we can buy world-class pieces, lovingly hand-made, at local prices.
 
(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Luxor, West bank

In the early morning, we will drive to Dendera Temple, one of Egypt’s most beautiful temples, which is dedicated to Hathor, Goddess of Love, Music and Joy. Here we meditate in the Chapel of Nut, the birthing room, as well as seeing the world’s oldest sundial, and graffiti from Napoleon’s soldiers.
 
We'll get our Indiana jones on as we descend into one of the subterranean crypts beneath the temple, and encounter some of the most startling and other-worldly bas-reliefs in the ancient world.
 
Then on to Abydos, one of the most spellbinding spots in Egypt. Here at the Temple of Seti I is the birth of the Rameses style. Among the temple’s special features are the Seven Axial Chapels, whose reliefs number among the most beautiful in Egyptian art, and the ancient, enigmatic Osirion, home to the Flower of Life: the most important symbol in sacred geometry.&nbsp;
 
We'll also see the bizarre "future vision" hieroglyphs which seem to show tanks, planes and helicopters, and we'll unravel the conundrum of how they came to be.
 
By special arrangement we will enjoy a private visit inside the Osirion itself, a remarkable site normally off limits to tourists.
 
No pilgrimage to Egypt is complete without visiting Abydos.
 
(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Abydos / Dendarah / Dahabiya Veda

We begin the day with visit to the vast and overwhelming Temple of Karnak.. Karnak temple is truly a vast and awe-inspiring place, one of the largest spiritual sites in the world. Once connected to Luxor Temple, two miles away, by a long avenue of Sphinxes (now almost fully restored), Karnak is dedicated to the Powers of Creation and exhibits profound solar alignments. Karnak is the theater in which humanity plays out its destiny. After exploring the main temple, we'll have a private visit to mysterious "Chapel of Sekhmet,” one of the most intimate, yet powerful and beautiful, experiences of our entire journey. (Breakfast)

Karnak Temple / Dahabeya Veda

Today we stand at the axis of time and eternity. Above us, the heavens align in a rare and staggering display of cosmic power. As the Moon’s shadow races across the Earth, it slows—just here, just now—pausing for over six extraordinary minutes in one sacred place: Luxor, the ancient city of Amun-Ra, the Sun God. This is no accident. Nowhere else on Earth is so perfectly aligned. Luxor lies directly in the center of the path of totality, the one place where the eclipse reaches its fullest, deepest expression. For 6 minutes and 23 seconds, the midday Sun will vanish, the stars will awaken, and the temples of Karnak and Luxor will be bathed in an otherworldly twilight. Imagine the ancients standing where we stand, their eyes lifted to the darkened sky, their hearts pounding with the knowledge that they were witnessing the Sun’s death and rebirth. The air vibrates with mystery, the Nile reflects the surreal glow of the corona, and the world falls silent in a moment of pure cosmic reverence. This is more than an eclipse. It is an initiation. A portal. A reminder of our place in the vastness of the universe. Later, we relax in our, private sanctuary on the Dahabeya Veda, sailing serenely south along the Nile to Esna. As the last colors of twilight fade and the first stars rise in the sky, we’ll gather on deck to reflect, to share, and to let the magic of this rare celestial event settle into our souls. It’s an evening of quiet beauty and profound connection as we glide through the timeless waters of the Nile. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Solar Eclipe / Esna

The day after the great eclipse, as the Sun’s light fully reclaims the land, we journey to Edfu and enter the Temple of Horus—the most perfectly preserved temple in all of Egypt. This sacred complex, dedicated to Horus the Avenger, rises like a stone hymn to the victory of light over shadow. Here, the falcon-headed solar god, born of Isis’s divine magic, triumphs over Set, the dark force of chaos who tore his father Osiris apart. But Edfu’s mystery runs deeper. Carved into its massive pylons and shadowed halls is a reminder that light and darkness are not enemies but partners in creation. The ancients saw this not as a battleground, but as a sacred space of alchemy—where death yields to resurrection, and shadow gives birth to illumination. In the wake of the eclipse, with the Sun reborn overhead, we’ll stand in this living symbol of balance and awakening. Here, within the temple’s stillness and soaring columns, we’ll invoke the Horus within us—the force that rises, takes flight, and transcends duality to reclaim the eternal light. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

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