Machu Picchu Express

Thirteen nights from Arequipa to Machu Picchu and back, almost entirely on tarmac, and this is the operator’s original Peruvian tour, running since 2011. The hire is included, with upgrades available.

Puerto Inka comes first on the Pacific coast by way of the Pan-American Highway, then Nazca, with the Chauchilla cemetery and the lines seen either from the air or from the tower beside the road. Chalhuanca follows on the climb into the Andes, on switchbacks the operator compares to the Tail of the Dragon.

Cusco gets a rest day with a walking tour and the Saksaywaman ruins above the city, where stones weighing many tonnes are fitted without mortar closely enough to turn away a knife blade. Ollantaytambo follows in the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu takes a day by train and bus.

Quince Mil comes next on the jungle edge, then Juliaca on the altiplano and Puno, with the Sillustani burial towers and a boat out to the Uros reed islands on Titicaca. Colca Canyon closes the route, 4,160 metres deep and deeper than the Grand Canyon, on the only unpaved day of the trip, with Andean condors on the morning thermals, before the return to Arequipa. Prices are quoted in US dollars, and no wildlife sighting can be promised. More than a decade of running the same route shows in the pacing, and the single dirt day is short enough not to put off a road rider. Arequipa at 2,300 metres is also a gentler place to arrive than Cusco, which gives the altitude a day or two to become manageable before the high passes begin.