Peru Andes Wellness & Machu Picchu Hiking Week

You fly into Cusco, get picked up, and drive about an hour and a half down into the Sacred Valley to the retreat house near Urubamba. The first afternoon is deliberately empty: coca tea, a light dinner, an early night. Altitude is the thing everyone underestimates, so the schedule on day one and two is light and the yoga teacher keeps the classes slow.

Each full day has the same rough shape. There's a 60 to 75 minute yoga class before breakfast, usually hatha in the morning and yin or restorative in the evening. Breakfast is fruit, eggs, bread, quinoa porridge and coffee. Then you head out — on day two it's a flat walk along the Urubamba river to stretch the legs; day three is the salt pans at Maras and the Inca terraces at Moray; day five is a longer hike on one of the valley trails, with a packed lunch. Afternoons are free or given over to a workshop (breathwork, an introduction to Andean plant medicine, a cooking session with the house chef) and there's a massage slot each guest gets once during the week.

On day six you take the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, stay the night, and go up to Machu Picchu at first light on day seven with a guide, before coming back to Cusco or carrying on to the airport. Day four is a rest day with nothing scheduled — most people walk into Urubamba for lunch, read in the garden or sleep off the altitude.

The house is a converted adobe property with a garden, a covered yoga deck facing the mountains, and eight rooms. It's not a hotel — meals are cooked by the resident chef, all vegetarian with fish twice during the week, and the kitchen will handle gluten-free and vegan requests if you tell them when you book. Water is filtered on site.

What makes it different from other Sacred Valley yoga weeks is the walking. Guided hikes are built into the programme rather than sold as add-ons, and the Machu Picchu day is included in the price, not an optional extra. The group caps out at twelve, so the guide can adjust the pace to whoever's in the group.

What's included

- 7 nights accommodation (5 nights at the Sacred Valley retreat house, 1 night in an Aguas Calientes hotel) - All meals from dinner on day 1 to breakfast on day 7 - Daily yoga classes (morning hatha, evening yin or restorative) - Guided hikes to Maras salt pans, Moray and a Sacred Valley trail - Train to Aguas Calientes and back - Machu Picchu entry permit, bus and guided tour - Round-trip airport transfer from Cusco - One massage during the week - Cooking session with the house chef - Breathwork and Andean plant medicine workshops - Filtered drinking water at the house

What's not included

- International and domestic flights - Travel insurance (required) - Meals not listed in the itinerary - Drinks outside of meals - Additional massages or spa treatments - Extra nights in Cusco before or after the retreat - Tips for guides and house staff - Personal expenses and souvenirs