Peru gastronomy: Cusco and Lima food tour

Itinerary in brief:

• 3 nights in Lima
• 3 nights in Cusco

Day 1: Lima       

When you arrive in Lima, you’ll be met by a guide and driven to you to your hotel, with your guide explaining a little of what Lima has to offer along the way! The rest of the day will be free for you to relax or start exploring the city.  

Day 2: Lima bike tour and food tasting

After breakfast, your guide will meet you at the hotel, and you’ll start a biking tour of Lima’s Miraflores district. First, you’ll head to the seafront for spectacular views of the bay and your first stop, a restaurant where you can get a delicious seafood menu. Continuing the tour, you’ll get to try more local delicacies: la Causa Peruana, one of Peru’s main dishes, and the Lomo Saltado, one of the country’s most loved recipes. You’ll bike your way to your next stop = to taste local artisanal ice cream and picarones; Peruvian-style doughnuts made with sweet potato, pumpkin, cloves and cinnamon. And as one final treat, some craft beers will be waiting for you upon your return!

Day 3: Wholesale fruit market and Lima city tour 

After breakfast, you’ll be driven for a tour of the wholesale fruit market that sells the most prized produce from Peru’s coastal regions, the highlands and the jungle. You can enjoy delicious and refreshing fruit juices before heading into Lima’s historic centre for a guided tour of the capital’s main sights including Plaza Mayor and the beautiful cathedral, the Presidential Palace and Aliaga House.

Mid-morning, you’ll stop for a snack at Cordano tavern where you will be served the traditional pan con jamón (Peruvian ham sandwich). At the end of the tour, you’ll have lunch at a local restaurant where you can sample a variety of Peruvian national dishes.

Day 4: Cusco local market and Choco Museum     

This morning after breakfast, you’ll be driven to the airport for your flight to Cusco, where you’ll be met and driven to your hotel.

This afternoon, you’ll be taken for a tour that starts at the local market, where you’ll wander amongst stalls selling local produce including several locally-grown varieties of potato, traditional Andean foods and flowers.

Next, you’ll head to Cusco’s Choco Museum to learn about the production of chocolate, try your hand at making a chocolate bar and to try a delicious hot chocolate drink. After this, you’ll visit the fascinating Sacsayhuaman ruins and the Andean Textile Centre which are just outside Cusco. The Textile Centre is a living museum dedicated to preserving traditional Peruvian methods and ancient weaving techniques, as still practised by the local farming communities here.    

Day 5: Cusco cooking class

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel, then you’ll be collected and driven for your cooking class. You’ll learn to prepare some amazing local Peruvian dishes and of course you’ll have the chance to taste them afterwards!

Day 6: Cusco city tour and Pachamama food experience

Today you’ll be picked up and taken for a tour of the Sacred Valley, including the impressive Ollantaytambo fortress. You’ll have lunch at a local restaurant with the opportunity to experience the unique Pachamama ceremony; a local way of preparing a meal as well as a ceremony to thank mother earth for what we receive. After the tour this afternoon, you’ll be taken back to your hotel in Cusco where you will spend your last night.

Day 7: Departure        

After breakfast, you’ll be driven back to the airport to catch the fight to your next destination.