Breathe in that sharp Andean air. Let the humid roar of the Amazon fill your chest. Feel your skin bristle under a deep Pacific breeze. Most importantly, taste it all on one trip. Peru is a place where the culinary worlds of geography, immigration, and innovation collide to form one of the world’s most diverse cuisines.
Private dinners in homes and hidden bars, conversations with chefs and farmers, workshops that leave you with more than souvenirs, and the kind of stories you can’t create by searching online - with a small group of people who love to 'travel a little deeper' through food, too.
Meet your Host: Sofia Rubio
You need to see Peru through Sofia’s eyes.
Sofia has led the charge of Peru’s foodie renaissance; creating a much needed bridge between its delicate ecosystems, working kitchens, and farming communities. As a conservationist with a Master’s from Italy’s University of Gastronomic Sciences, she’s spent more than a decade working with indigenous groups to safeguard biodiversity, while reviving ancient food practices, and stewarding native ingredients on a global scale.
Recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Top Innovator, Sofia blends food, culture, and storytelling into real, evocative journeys. Yes, you’ll eat well with Sofia as your host. Obviously. But you’ll also learn what connects Peru’s people, landscapes, and the ideas driving one of the most compelling culinary stories on earth.
Inclusions:
Accommodation
You’ll stay in a mix of hand-picked boutique hotels (10 nights), family-run homestays (1 night), and eco-lodges (3 nights)
All Meals in Itinerary
All breakfasts, plus 12 lunches and 7 dinners
Expert Host Throughout
Expert English-speaking host through-out
Knowledgable Guides
A mix of specialty, local, and regional guides
Private Tour Transport
All transfers between destinations
All Activities Listed
Including workshops, tastings, activities, classes, and exclusive Salt Caravan 'Signature Touch' exclusive experiences
Gratuity for Host
Included within your booking price
Included Meal Gratuities
Included within your booking price
Some drinks
Drinks within included tasting activities, pairings, or hosted meals
Train tickets
For any included itinerary train transport
Domestic Flights
For any included itinerary air transport
Exclusions:
Airfares
Flights to and from Peru
Airport transfers
Transfers to or from Trip Start and/or Trip Finish points
Some meals
Meals not marked as “included” - these are marked as “dinner on your own” or “lunch on your own” in the day-by-day
Personal expenses
EG. transport and meals/drinks in free time, souvenirs, laundry services, room service, paid hotel facilities, bar tabs
Additional transport
Any local transport you may wish to take in free your time
Visas or entry documents
Costs for any services, documents, or requirements for 'entry into or through countries which are not part of a multi-country itinerary with internal transfers
Other drinks
Drinks outside of included tastings, pairings, or hosted meals
Tips
This trip will have a tip kitty to simplify tipping across cultures. It ensures fair distribution and lets guests relax. More details coming soon.
Travel insurance
5pm: Meet your Host and fellow group travelers at your Start Hotel.
Enjoy a welcome dinner with a chef-guided tasting menu that highlights Amazonian ingredients in a private dining room at the Lady Bee restaurant.
Finish your first evening with a Salt Caravan cocktail (non-alcoholic version available).
Served at your hotel.
Hit the streets for a full-on Limeño street food tour through the historic center, Chinatown, and the city’s biggest local market. Snack your way through stalls serving a variety of bites, and stories as your guide weaves in Lima’s colonial past, modern hustle, and the delicious chaos that makes this city tick.
Cuisine Highlights:
Tamales, Pan con Chicharrón, Anticuchos, Picarones, Chifa-style servings
You’ll be riding the Street Food high.
Enjoy a free afternoon to relax and recover from all that walking (and eating, of course!)
An exclusive multi-course experience at Matsuei, one of the original Nikkei restaurants in Lima blending Japanese precision with Peruvian passion - served with family history and serious flavor in a private dining room.
Cuisine Highlights:
Nikkei Food including: Acevichado Maki and Tiradito Matsue
At your hotel.
This morning, dive into the world of Peruvian cacao with a private visit to El Cacaotal, Lima’s artisan chocolate project. Taste single-origin cacao and coffee, learn the process behind the bar, and meet the people giving chocolate its soul.
Burn off your sweet morning snacks with a wander through Barranco, Lima’s bohemian heart. Think colonial mansions, art galleries, bold murals, and ocean views.
Taste the sea at Sonia, a hidden huarique run by a local fishing family. Expect ceviche, tiraditos, conchas a la chalaca, and whole fish prepared al ajo or a la chorrillanas, and more coastal flavors.
Your time, your pace. Explore more of Lima’s backstreets or grab a drink with a view of the Pacific.
Tonight, dinner’s on you. Follow your cravings…
Not your standard hotel — you’ll be deep in the jungle remember… power here comes from the sun, so expect limited electricity, fans instead of air conditioning, and mosquito nets and screened windows to keep the ‘locals’ away while sleeping!
At your hotel.
Morning check-out and fly from Lima to Puerto Maldonado, the doorway to Peru’s southern Amazon.
Packing Tip:
You're going to be arriving into the jungle today — and trust us, a few smart essentials will make life a lot easier once you’re sharing space with the local wildlife.
To protect you from the sun and insects make sure you pack long-sleeved clothing that dries quickly, a lightweight waterproof jacket, a hat, and some comfy closed-toe shoes. Toss in some insect repellent, sunscreen and maybe even some zip-lock bags to keep your documents and electronics safe from all that humidity!
Meet a member of the Brazil nut harvester community, then board a boat and glide along the Amazon River to Fundo Lazo.
Share a traditional Amazonian meal with a local family, listening to stories of life deep in the rainforest.
Continue upriver to your jungle home for the night - an EcoLodge tucked right into the heart of the Amazon.
Leave your bags behind, it’s time to venture into the Taricaya Ecoreserve and experience the thrills of walking high among the treetops on a canopy walkway.
Feeling bold? Join a guided stroll to experience the sounds and shadows of the jungle after dark, or simply kick-back and relax at your lodge.
Preparations from the fruits (and fish) of the Amazon, at your lodge.
Early start this morning, so it’s breakfast to go!
Begin your breakfast while watching the sunrise over the Madre de Dios River, feel the jungle slowly waking up all around you.
Next, time for a gentle 1.8-mi/3-km hike into the densely forested Tambopata Reserve to reach Sandoval Lake. Keep your eyes peeled for giant river otters and flashes of exotic birdlife from your rowboat.
Head back to your lodge for a well-earned lunch made with local Amazonian flavors and ingredients.
Still looking for wildlife? You’re in luck. Visit the Taricaya Wildlife Rescue Center, one of the region’s leading conservation projects, to meet the Amazon’s more elusive ‘residents’ up close.
End the day where you started… on the river. Cruise into a golden sunset, watching the rainforest slip into twilight as the first stars appear overhead.
Back at the lodge, enjoy a relaxed dinner surrounded by the sounds of the jungle night.
At your lodge.
Cruise along the river to the Palma Real community, home of the Ese-Eja people.
Visit the Shi’oi Handcraft House, where local artisans create beautiful royal palm accessories honoring generations of tradition.
Head into a Brazil nut forest and learn how local harvesters collect, dry, and process the nuts, keeping sustainability at the heart of everything they do.
Munch on some freshly prepared dishes served right on the boat as you drift along the calm waters of the Amazon.
Still peckish? Pull up a seat at Warayo Lodge’s “Biodiversity Table,” a feast of local and sustainably sourced Amazonian ingredients: exotic fruits, herbs, and stories from the forest itself.
Back at your lodge.
You’ll be glamping it up in Ollantaytambo — yes, tents, but the well-equipped kind. Think comfort meets adventure.
Your last sunrise in the Amazon. If you’re craving one more taste of the wild, join your guide for an optional early walk through the rainforest before breakfast.
At your lodge.
Check out, then onto Niño Herrera’s chocolate farm and the Amazon Nut Processing Plant, two local projects blending sustainability, conservation, and community tradition.
Grab a casual bite.
Transfer back to Puerto Maldonado airport for your flight to Cusco, trading the Amazon for the Andes!
Short drive to Ollantaytambo, your entrance to the Sacred Valley, and settle in for the night to acclimatize to the altitude, perhaps after a sip of ‘mate de coca’.
Tonight, dinner’s on you - find a cozy spot in town and enjoy your first meal in the Andes.
At your hotel.
Wander through the salt terraces of Maras and circular terraces of Moray; remnants of Incan ingenuity where agriculture meets artistry.
Stop at a local Andean distillery and learn the age-old craft of transforming roots, herbs, and spices into aromatic herbal liquors.
Gather for a traditional Pachamanca feast, slow-cooked beneath the earth with hot stones and served with Andean grains such as chia, quinoa and kiwicha, all under the open sky.
Roll up your sleeves for a hands-on liquor workshop - blend your own personalized spirit to take home (or enjoy right there — no judgment).
In the afternoon, return to Ollantaytambo for a guided walk of the city’s dramatic Inca archaeological complex.
Take your pick, tonight dinner is on you.
At your hotel.
Travel to meet the Huayllafara community.
Visit local farms with traditional crops (such as corn, potatoes, oca, añu, tarwi, quinoa, and beans), get introduced to their agricultural techniques, processing and preparation methods, with a chance to get involved and do some tasting, of course!
Time for some activity in Lamay… it’s on to a cooking class. Cook alongside locals using fresh ingredients from the valley and sample a few types of Pisco while you’re at it.
Enjoy the best kind of reward - the meal you’ve just created. Eat your own dish or share with your fellow Taste Buds over good food and better company.
Head back to your hotel for a slow, easy evening. Maybe a stroll, maybe just a nap.
Tonight, dinner’s on you. Follow your cravings…
You’ll be a guest at Alejandro’s house, a humble farmer and gracious host who welcomes travelers as friends. It’s simple, genuine, and part of what makes this experience so unique. Facilities are basic and shared.
At your hotel.
Pack your small bag of necessities for 2 nights and travel to a local cacao and coffee farm via Abra Malaga, 14,100 ft/4,300 m above sea level, where the air is thin and the views are epic!
Then descend into warmer air and lush green valleys to reach Julia’s farm (4,900 ft/1,500 m).
💧 Make sure you're hydrated before you leave and bring enough water for today’s hike (maybe even pack an electrolyte)- it can get warm out there with temperatures hovering around 78°F / 26°C.
🎒 Pack light for the next 3 days; you’ll need to carry everything yourself in a small backpack (max 13 lb/6 kg). The rest of your luggage will stay safely at the hotel in Ollantaytambo.
Wander through her fruit, coffee, and cacao plantations. Then get your hands dirty and your taste buds watering, with a single origin chocolate making (and tasting!) workshop from the farm-grown cacao.
A simple, convenient stop along the way to refuel before continuing your journey.
Get your hiking boots on again… it’s time to walk a couple of hours to reach your next stop while soaking up the mountain views and burning off some of that chocolate!
Arrive at Alejandro’s farm, your rustic home for the night. Settle in, relax, and let the mountain calm take over.
A homemade farm dinner shared with Alejandro and his family - hearty, fresh, and straight from the land around you.
At your homestay.
Follow the ‘bean to cup’ story at Alejandro’s coffee farm - harvesting, roasting, and tasting right where it all begins.
Stretch your legs on a 40-minute walk through the valley to meet your driver, then travel to Santa Teresa, a laid-back mountain town that sits between the jungle and the Andes.
Slip into the Cocalmayo hot springs and let the mineral waters work their magic on those post-hike muscles.
Refuel at a local restaurant in Santa Teresa.
Board the train to Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu.
Follow your own appetite through the town’s multitude of restaurants.
At your hotel.
Rise before the sun and ride the winding road up to one of the New Seven Wonders of the World: Machu Picchu (7,972 ft/2,430 m).
So what’s all the hype about - and what is Machu Picchu really, you say?
Ok, so you’ve seen the photos, but believe us when we say… nothing prepares you for the real thing.
Rising 7,972 ft/2,430 m above sea level, and carved straight from the mountain’s granite, Machu Picchu is a masterpiece of Incan ingenuity. The stones fit so tightly together that not even a blade of grass could slide between them.
It’s believed to have been Emperor Pachacuti’s estate in the 1400s but is more a reflection of the Incas deep connection with nature. Each stone placed intentionally to align with the sun, stars, and sacred geography of the landscape around it. And the 3,000-plus terraces were engineered and designed for perfect drainage, temperature control, and soil fertility, they reveal how the Incas lived with the land, not against it.
Today, it’s one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a sacred energy center for the Quechua people. You’ll feel it the moment you arrive - that magical energy words can’t explain.
The ingenuity, the location, the energy, the sudden burst of sun over the peaks - visiting Machu Picchu is something that hits deeper than you expect.
Optional* Want to avoid the crowds AND get an awesome view from high up? Climb the Machu Picchu mountain (1.5hr hike) first thing, to see Machu Picchu, Huayna Picchu mountain and the Urubamba river from way up high, enjoying the landscape on route too (we'll let you know when and how to confirm, if you’re up for this).
Explore this ‘Lost City of the Incas’ with a guide revealing it’s history and mystery.
A casual lunch, when the timing’s right.
Take the train back to the Sacred Valley, and then a private transfer to Cusco - the historic capital of the Inca Empire.
You’ll likely be craving a little rest, more than a feast, after the early start. But if your appetite says otherwise, go ahead and find a bite to eat on your own nearby.
At your hotel.
This morning, head out to explore a local market with perhaps the smiliest woman in Cusco — Chef Seledonia. Together, you’ll shop for delicious local produce and fragrant herbs.
Bring your basket back to her family restaurant, Seledonia’s Mesa, for a hands-on cooking class filled with homegrown know-how.
Taste the literal fruits of your labor - your own Peruvian dishes - with a perfectly mixed Pisco Sour on the side.
Join a guided city walk of Cusco, from the hilltop fortress of Sacsayhuamán to the Q’enqo archaeological complex and the bohemian neighborhood of San Blas.
Dinner's on you. Feeling brave? This might be your moment to try a little cuy - Peru’s most famous (and fearless) dish.
At your hotel.
Your final day in Cusco is yours to wander. Rest at the hotel, stroll the plazas, pick up souvenirs, or snag a bottle of your favorite pisco to bring a little Peru home with you.
….maybe one last ceviche?
Keep exploring - revisit your favorite corners or find new ones.
A 7-course tasting menu celebrating the best of Peruvian cuisine - each dish paired with wine, each bite a reminder of how far you’ve come (and tasted).
At your hotel.
A chance to grab any last minute souvenirs then we’ll zip you off to the airport to return to Lima and catch your flight back home (or onward, if adventure’s still calling).
Your Salt Caravan Team is always just a message or call away.
WhatsApp Backroom Chat
This is a great place to pop any questions you have about the trip, and chat with fellow foodies of course!
Phone: +1 971 300 4756
Call us anytime between 9am and 5pm PT.
Email: contact@saltcaravan.com
Email us any questions and we'll get back to you between 9am and 5pm PT.
