Bespoke · Cusco · Est. 2009

The lost city,
discovered in private.

Tailor-made journeys to Machu Picchu for travelers who prefer their wonders without the queue. Five-star lodges, scholarly guides, and the Belmond Hiram Bingham — choreographed by a small team in Cusco who knows every stone by name.

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A different kind of luxury

We do not sell tours.
We compose journeys.

For seventeen years our small atelier in Cusco has built itineraries for ambassadors, writers, conservationists and quiet families who measure travel not in photographs but in privacy, in scholarship, and in the rare grace of being somewhere extraordinary — alone.

Every booking is shaped one conversation at a time. There are no catalogues, no fixed departures, no upselling. Only a slow correspondence between you and a senior planner, until the route is yours.

17Years curating Peru
1:1Private guide ratio
96Repeat-client rate %
Signature Journeys

A short list,
each one essential.

Six departures we return to, again and again. Every one is private, fully customizable, and timed to avoid the crush. Prices reflect double occupancy in superior categories; we tailor freely above and below.

None of these is quite right? Tell us what you imagine.

The Way We Travel

Six pillars,
quietly held.

These are the principles our planners refuse to compromise on. They are why our guests return — and why their friends arrive the following season.

Private from arrival

No coaches, no shared minivans. From the moment you land in Lima or Cusco, every transfer, every guide and every entrance is yours alone.

Scholarly guides

Archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians — not commission-hungry day guides. Each speaks fluent English and at least one Andean language.

The right hour, always

We enter the citadel at first light or last entry — the windows when Machu Picchu becomes itself again. We know the rangers; they know us.

Lodges, not hotels

Belmond, Inkaterra, Explora, Tambo del Inka, Sumaq, Palacio del Inka — only properties whose service we trust with our own families.

Altitude managed

We sequence your itinerary so altitude works with you, not against you. Sacred Valley first (2,800 m), Cusco last. Coca, oxygen and private medical contact on call.

Conscious, in private

We work with communities in Patacancha and Chinchero whose textile traditions and table we are honored to share — never as performance, always as guests.

HIRAM BINGHAM ★ Belmond · Pullman 1920
The Belmond Hiram Bingham

The most graceful way to arrive at a wonder.

There is the train you take to Machu Picchu. And there is the train one takes for its own sake. The Hiram Bingham is the latter — a restored 1920s Pullman with twin dining cars, an open-air observatory and a small bar where the pisco arrives without asking.

  • Three-course tasting menu by a resident Peruvian chef, paired with Tacama wines
  • Live Andean ensemble in the bar car, both legs of the journey
  • Private transfer to and from Cusco's Poroy station — bypassing the regular terminal entirely
  • Afternoon tea at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge, the only hotel at the citadel gate
  • Guided entrance to Machu Picchu with our senior archaeologist, not the standard group leader

2026 note: the Hiram Bingham does not run in January (annual refurbishment) or on the final Sunday of each month. Tickets, USD 540–660 one way, are released seasonally and sell out quickly — please enquire at least 90 days in advance.

Read the full journey
2026 Essentials

What changed,
what to expect.

The Ministry of Culture has formalised the most significant overhaul of Machu Picchu access since 2017. The headlines that matter to you: ten color-coded circuits, hard daily caps, mandatory time slots and a separate ticket from the Inca Trail permit. We manage all of it on your behalf.

The new circuits.

Visitors must choose one of three circuits at purchase, sub-divided into ten routes. Each ticket is one-way; re-entry is not permitted.

  • Circuit 1 — PanoramicUpper terraces · Sun Gate · Inca Bridge
  • Circuit 2 — ClassicPostcard view + urban sector
  • Circuit 3 — RoyaltyLower terraces · Temple of the Condor
  • Add-on mountainsHuayna Picchu · MP Mountain · Huchuy Picchu
  • Tolerance window30 min low season · 45 min high season
  • Site duration2.5 hours · guide mandatory

Daily caps & seasons.

The capacity model is built on scarcity. Last-minute tickets are increasingly unavailable, especially around festivals and the southern winter.

  • High season1 Jun – 2 Nov · 5,600/day
  • Low season3 Nov – 31 May · 4,500/day
  • Mountain routesHigh season only
  • Inca Trail permitSeparate from citadel ticket (2026)
  • Recommended booking60–120 days in advance
  • Our 2026 success rate100% on requested dates

We are official ticket agents through the Ministry of Culture's tuboleto.cultura.pe platform and the Joinnus reseller channel. Your tickets are issued in your passport name and verified at every checkpoint inside the sanctuary.

We have travelled with the major operators across four continents. This was the first time a trip arrived as it had been described — and the first time a guide moved us to tears at the Sun Gate. I would not return to Peru with anyone else.

Caroline & James M.London · September 2025 · Grand Peruvian Circle
The Journal

Notes from
the field.

Long-form letters from our planners and guides. Travel guidance, regulation updates, recipes from the Sacred Valley and the occasional opinion. Read the full archive.

Begin a Conversation

Tell us what you imagine.

The form takes three minutes. A senior planner in Cusco will respond within twelve working hours with first thoughts, dates, and an honest budget range. No call centres, no obligation.

Direct line · WhatsApp +51 984 940 530
Correspondence [email protected]
Atelier · By appointment Av. El Sol, Cusco — Peru
Hours Mon–Sun · 08:00 – 20:00 (GMT-5)