Luxury travel to Peru in Regal Style: From Lima’s Culinary Scene to Machu Picchu & the Amazon

Insight from Alwin James Miles-Nell of Regal Escapes

Peru is one of those destinations that stays with you long after you’ve unpacked. It’s a country where altitude sharpens the light and history sits close to the surface, pressed into stone walls, carried in textiles, echoed in ritual, and woven into everyday life with quiet confidence. Peru doesn’t perform for you. It simply is. And when you experience it with the right pacing, the right guides, and the right sense of intention, it becomes far more than a destination. It becomes a story you’ll keep retelling.

Most travellers arrive with a single image in mind: Machu Picchu. And yes, it is extraordinary. But Peru, in truth, is a sequence of scenes, each one deepening the last. From the coastal elegance of Lima to the sacred geometry of the Andes, and onward into the stillness of the Amazon, the journey feels like following a golden thread through different worlds, each distinct, yet undeniably connected.

Lima: A City That Opens With Flavour

Lima is where Peru introduces itself with style. The Pacific sets the tone with salty air, sunset light, and a city that moves at a polished pace. But it’s the cuisine that lingers. Here, dining isn’t simply part of the day; it’s part of the culture’s identity. Intelligent, expressive, and confidently modern.

This is why I like to begin in Lima: it helps you land softly. A well-chosen hotel, a long lunch that turns into late afternoon, and a first evening where the only decision you need to make is whether you feel like something sleek and contemporary, or traditional, with a modern twist. Lima is an opening chapter that feels celebratory without being loud. It sets the standard.

The Sacred Valley: Beauty With Breathing Space

Before Cusco, I often first lean into the Sacred Valley. The landscape opens up here: terraced hills, wide skies, and villages that feel rooted in something older than time. The altitude is gentler too, which makes it the most elegant way to acclimatise.

The Sacred Valley is where Peru becomes personal. You’re not rushing between sights. You’re moving with intention. A privately guided visit to ancient sites can feel almost meditative when it’s timed properly. A simple lunch becomes a moment. This is where travellers start to slow down, and when they do, Peru reveals more of itself.

Cusco: The City That Holds the Key

Cusco has an atmosphere you can’t replicate. It’s layered with Inca foundations beneath colonial facades, artisan craft alongside contemporary galleries, narrow lanes that lead you into unexpected courtyards and candlelit rooms. It’s also a city that rewards a slower, smarter pace. You feel it in the rhythm of your days: unhurried mornings, gentle afternoons, and evenings designed for warmth and flavour rather than exhaustion.

What I love most about Cusco is the detail. It’s a city that invites you to look closely at stonework fitted so precisely it seems impossible, at weaving techniques passed down through generations, at the way history still lives in the present tense. With the right guide, Cusco doesn’t feel like a museum. It feels like a conversation.

Machu Picchu: The Moment, Curated

Machu Picchu is iconic, but it’s also delicate, both in atmosphere and logistics. The difference between a magical visit and a crowded one often comes down to timing, guiding, and flow. This is where thoughtful planning matters.

When done properly, you don’t just “arrive” at Machu Picchu, you enter it. You feel the shift in the air, the change in sound, the way the citadel seems to emerge from the landscape rather than sit on it. A private guide transforms the experience from viewing to understanding, and it’s that understanding that makes the memory deepen over time.

The Peru That Few People Take Time For

Peru also rewards travellers who want something rarer: Lake Titicaca’s high-altitude hush, the cinematic sweep of landscapes between places, and the joy of moving slowly enough to notice the world changing outside the window.

This is where Peru becomes less about highlights and more about mood. It’s a destination that gives generously to those who make space for the in-between moments: the stillness, the silence, the distance. The kind of travel that feels restorative, not because it’s passive, but because it’s beautifully paced.

The Amazon: Stillness, Wonder, and a Softer Ending

Then comes the Amazon - lush, hypnotic, and entirely different in energy. The air is warmer, the light is softer, and the world feels close: birds overhead, waterways unfurling, life moving in every direction. The Amazon isn’t a checklist destination. It’s a feeling.

In a luxury river cruise setting, it becomes one of the most elegant ways to experience true wilderness: guided excursions by day, then evenings returning to comfort with excellent service, refined spaces, and the quiet luxury of being far from everything, without sacrificing ease.

Best Time to Travel to Peru

Luxury travel to Peru can be visited year-round, but for classic Andean scenery with clearer skies in the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, the drier season is generally May to October. June to August is peak period (busy, vibrant, and best booked well in advance).

If you prefer fewer crowds with excellent conditions, the shoulder months April/May and September/October often strike a beautiful balance. The Amazon is feasible all year; water levels and wildlife viewing vary by season, so we match timing to the style of experience you want.

Peru, the Regal Escapes Way

Luxury travel to Peru isn’t only about where you stay. It’s about how the journey moves. It’s intelligent pacing, private guiding that feels natural and warm, dining that’s thoughtfully reserved, and seamless logistics that make the entire experience feel effortless.

Peru is not a destination to rush. It’s a destination to enter fully. And when you do, it gives you something rare: a journey that feels both grand and intimate, an experience that earns its place in your personal legacy.

Ready to begin? If Peru has been calling you, whether for a milestone celebration or a once-in-a-lifetime journey, I’d love to curate your Peru Legacy Journey in signature Regal Escapes style.

By Alwin James Miles-Nell, Sales Director & Co-Founder of Regal Escapes