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You are browsing the US site. Visit our UK site.
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You are browsing the UK site. Visit our US site.
You are browsing the US site. Visit our UK site.
You are browsing the US site. Visit our Rest of World site.
Family Holidays
Our team is full of family travelers, meaning we know what it takes to make sure everyone enjoys the experience just as much as each other.
Honeymoons
We’ve been crafting dream itineraries for newly married couples for years. Learn more about the ins and outs of our honeymoon service here.
Solo Holidays
Our travel experts have experienced the thrills and challenges of solo travel, all with the aim of producing some of our most immersive and exciting itineraries.
Couples Holidays
Our couple itineraries are paced perfectly for you to enjoy the very best a country has to offer whilst making sure you enjoy the quality time together you’re after.
Group Holidays
No matter what the size or the occasion, we’re well versed in taking larger groups of people away for those special adventures.
Unusual vacations
The world may be conquered, but enough secrets remain to keep us up all night, dreaming of ways to whisk you off to the most unique corners of the globe. Where first?
Remote Destinations
We’ve chosen these experiences, destinations and adventures to bring you closer to the great outdoors. This is your ticket to our wonderful world.
Adventure vacations
Hike across mountain ridgelines, scramble across glaciers and kayak down rivers – these trips are designed to immerse you in vast wildernesses and ancient cultures.
Beach Vacations
Porcelain shores, perfect seas and swaying palms; the allure of a beach break is hard to ignore. Which is why we handpick the best beachfront boltholes to offer you…
Safari vacations
With a team of experts that have worked as conservationists and wildlife photographers, we have the expertise to make your safari dreams come true.
Food vacations
Food and travel have long gone hand in hand, and we have put together some mouth-watering trips that capture the palate, of countries across the world. Bon appétit.
Slow Travel
As the world becomes busier, slow travel has never felt so fitting. Whether it’s meeting fishermen in Maine or learning the Dukha-way in Mongolia, take time to connect.
Eclipse vacations
Eclipse travel celebrates our place in the wider cosmos. Let us take you to wherever in the world the eclipse is at its most arresting, and we’ll do it in style.
Proposal Service
Found the one and want to propose in style? The moment will be a memory forever and we’re here to help you make sure it’s the most perfect moment for you and your loved one.
Train Travel
“It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” We’ve all heard this, haven’t we? And with these captivating luxury train journeys, we’ll show you the joy to be found travelling across the world by rail.
Set Jetting
Swapping salubrious saloons and questionable lodgings for sumptuous hotels and eye-opening experiences, each of our show-stopping journeys will take you behind scenes of some of TV’s most awe-inspiring locations.
See You in the Moment
Field Trip
Education begins in the classroom, but it’s IRL that younger generations put their lessons to the test. Field Trip is a curriculum of educational encounters around the world.
Take Me On A Story
A series of family experiences celebrating the transformative power of the books we loved when we were young, and the stories our children have come to adore.
Get Lost
Designed as a once-in-a-lifetime challenge, train with elite survival experts before traversing a polar, jungle, coastal, mountain or desert region in your mission back to civilisation.
Blink
The ultimate luxury camping retreat. From the Sahara desert to the Andean Mountains, with Blink anywhere you can envisage it, we will create it.
Bring it Back
Bring It Back will embed you in an entirely different way of thinking, and of learning about a culture directly from its experts on the ground. You may be surprised by what you discover.
Drone the World
With Drone the World, you’ll have your own personal film to show off your adventure. Filmed and edited by an international director, this is no ordinary home movie.
The Great American View
This series of breathtaking journeys culminate in some of America’s most legendary sights. They are the places you’ve always sought out, and now it’s your time to find them.
James Bond
We are proud to have been selected as the official travel partner to curate James Bond inspired trips.
Agatha Christie
We’ve been hand-picked by Agatha Christie Limited to help bring Agatha’s world-famous Grand Tour to life through a series of episodic trips across Africa, Australasia and North America, and a unique prelude in London.
Tasting Notes
Eating at a Michelin – starred restaurant is one thing. But now you can learn about the country through the lens of some of the most critically acclaimed chefs in the world, by travelling with them on the ultimately culinary experience
Eater Journeys
We’re often asked who we’d invite to our ideal dinner party. Ernest Shackleton? Amelia Earheart? The entire editorial team of Eater? Easily. So we invited our friends at Eater over to dinner and quizzed them about their favourite foodie trips and then created them for you to experience too.
Surf Air
We’re proud to launch a brand-new series of exclusive US trips with ground-breaking private air company Surf Air. Bringing our combined knowledge of ground and sky together, we’re helping you to see the world in style.
Take the Open Road with Auberge
With the iconic hotel brand Auberge Resorts, we’ve created a new series of tailormade, luxurious road trip itineraries. Emblems of America’s most iconic landscapes, regions, and people.
Remarkable Drives of Discovery with Auberge
Following on from the much lauded ‘Take the Open Road’ series, here’s five brand-new bespoke, multi-destination trips created with our friends at Auberge Resorts Collection. Delve deeper than ever before.
We’ve seen the world – and we will see it again. But in the meantime, we’re going to keep in touch, reminding you of why we travel in the first place. For us, travel has always started with a dream. A dream of somewhere else and of some time else. That’s why we’re going to look back at the trips we’ve made in order to feel the thrill of the trips we’re going to take. Place by place, face by face – we’re looking back to look forward.
Here, we spoke to Jos (and our local guide Piero) about her 2018 trip to Peru, including their adventurous ascent not only of Machu Picchu but of its lesser-known neighbor: Huayna Picchu.
It’s common knowledge that Peru’s Machu Picchu is a must when visiting the country. You’ve probably heard of the iconic hike to the Sun Gate, and seen photos of its crumbling stones. However, few have given time to Huayna Picchu, mysterious Machu’s colossal neighbor. Meaning ‘young peak’ in the Inca Quechua language, this behemoth of a mountain offers the perfect platform from which to look down upon the sprawling ruins of the ‘lost city’ below.
In Jos’ own words:
“Piero’s the man you want to sit next to at a dinner party. He’s the friend you trust to take you on a real adventure. He’s the man everyone seems to know. And he’s certainly the guide and storyteller that you want to have when in Peru.”
So, without further ado, meet Piero – the man that will take you there.
We’re blessed that we get to meet people like Piero. they drop by in the office regularly for coffee, biscuits, laughs – and, in Piero’s case, to share stories of home. This time we were thankful to finally pin him down and get him on camera. After all, it’s all about the people in the end.
Anyway, let us tell you more about this adventure.
Rising a mighty 2,720 meters above sea level and often referred to as the ‘Stairs of Death’ (don’t worry, no deaths have been recorded – it’s just for effect) a hike to Huayna Picchu is far from a walk in the park. Fear not, there’s plenty to keep you occupied below if it’s not for you. Once in the grounds of Machu Picchu, Piero will lead you to the entrance of the hike and you’ll begin the ascent. Taking around one hour to reach the summit, you’ll climb–and at some points crawl–steep stone steps sculpted over 5,000 years ago, with Piero there every minute of the way to lead you up safely. Once you’re at the top, look down at the breathtaking views of Machu Picchu and the Sun Gate, getting an entirely different perspective of the Lost City of the Inca below. You’ll soon realize the photos just don’t do it justice, and whilst Piero has been guiding for many years, the excitement in his face makes you feel like it’s his first time too. He’ll whisk you around the Temple of the Moon, one of Machu Picchu’s greatest mysteries to this day, before starting the descent down.
Marvel at Machu Picchu, hike up Huayna Picchu Mountain and retreat back to the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge for some R&R. This is just the beginning of your Peruvian adventure. Visit our Peru country page to what else we can arrange for you on your Peru itinerary, from gourmet food tours in Lima to flying over the Nazca Lines in a private plane.
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The only hotel to sit quite literally on Machu Picchu’s doorstep, at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge you’ll skip the zig-zagging bus to the entrance and merely roll out of bed. As you’re getting ready for a day of exploring with Piero, take a moment to sit back, relax and watch the cloud of mist rise off the mountains ahead. Home to 31 Inca-inspired suites, a rustic restaurant serving traditional Peruvian cuisine and a vibrant cocktail bar, the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge is the perfect spot to retreat back to after climbing Huayno Picchu. Unwind with a pisco sour in Tampa Bar or indulge in a massage in the orchid garden that faces the ruins.
The best time to visit Peru is from April to September, but our favorite time to visit Huayna Picchu is in May. We’d be lying if we said you’ll be alone at Machu Picchu–as it’s busy 365 days of the year–but in May you’ll avoid the clouds of school kids and get warm weather. Let us know if you’d prefer a morning or afternoon slot for climbing Huayna Picchu, and we’ll take care of the rest.
