Sacred Valley Peru Expedition: 10 Days

Your time in Peru blends meaningful service with authentic cultural exchange. Work alongside local families and skilled craftsmen on service-learning projects that make a positive lasting impact.

  • Location Peru, South America
  • Duration 10 days
  • Expedition Type Service Expeditions

By combining hands-on service with exploration of Cusco, Ollantaytambo, and Machu Picchu, you’ll gain new skills, fresh perspectives, and unforgettable memories. It’s an opportunity to grow as a person while contributing to a community that welcomes you in as one of their own.

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Traveller looking over mountains in Peru
two local girls in Peru with a lama
local souvenirs in peru

A fully supported expedition, from start to finish

Your expedition fee covers not just the incredible activities you’ll experience, but also the extensive guidance and support you’ll receive every step of the way. From the moment you sign up through your safe return home, our team ensures everything is organized and supported.

You’ll also need to plan for essentials like vaccinations, visas, personal gear, and a bit of spending money. Don’t worry—we make it easy. Once enrolled, you’ll get access to your personalized Traveller Gateway, with clear guidance and resources to help you prepare with confidence.

  • Round-trip international flights
  • Expedition Leader (qualified and experienced)
  • Accident and health insurance
  • All meals
  • Unlimited, safe drinking water
  • All accommodations listed in the itinerary
  • All activities listed in the itinerary
  • Entrance fees for all included excursions
  • All in-country transfers by private, approved vehicles
  • Project materials, costs, and management
  • 24/7 support throughout the expedition

This sample itinerary will give you a preview of what your expedition could look like. Please note that specific projects, activities, and camp locations may vary depending on local needs and conditions at the time of your expedition.

Day

Activities

More details
Day 1 Arrive in Peru After arrival into Cusco airport, you will be greeted by a member of our Camps staff and taken to your accommodation in the city for the evening. We will use our time to give you briefings about the itinerary and to make sure that you are well set for the coming adventures.
Day 2 Cusco An opportunity to settle in to Peru and explore the Inca capital. The city was the centre of the Inca Empire and then taken over by the Spanish colonialists. That history is obvious in its busy modern day streets, with stunning Inca walls below magnificent colonial cathedrals. It is a unique and vibrant place. Sleeping in the city for two nights will help you acclimatize before heading out to our camp in the mountains.
Day 3 Head to your camp This morning, you’ll be transferred to your camp. Once you arrive you will be greeted by the Camp Manager who will give you a camp and community tour and explain more about the projects you’ll be getting involved with over the coming days – the group will have the opportunity to set their own goals for those projects within a broader set of objectives. The camp is at around 11,000 and it is a great privilege to be in this remote community, and the views from it are staggering. In the evening, the group will establish its project goals for their time in camp.
Day 4 Immerse yourself in Peruvian culture Time in camp is shared between service work, cultural activities and interaction with the community. Often those three things blend together. You will be involved in community development projects to help improve infrastructure within the village: this could include building communal structures for community events or in the houses of individual community members. In the afternoon you will investigate local traditions such as cooking techniques and fabric making.
Day 5 Community project work Each day you will make some more progress toward the project goals that the community and Camps have identified. Typically, most of that work is done in the mornings, working alongside ‘maestros’ from the community. However, it is not all work and no play and soccer and volleyball games with the local children fill many an afternoon.
Day 6 Trek through the high Andes As a break from all the hard work, we will take a day off and trek out across the mountains to see the Moray archaeological site. The views across to the high mountains the other side of the Sacred Valley are incredible – you are walking in the footsteps of the Incas.
Day 7 Community project work As you become increasingly more used to the altitude you will find the project work easier. Alongside local ‘maestros’ and accompanied by the sound of the many donkeys who live in the community, you will start to feel a great sense of pride and satisfaction as you see the progress you are making. This is a remote and quite poor community and the impact you can have in supporting their own initiatives is not to be underestimated. In the evening there will be some time to reflect on your achievements and the progress you have made toward to community’s objectives.
Day 8 Transfer to Ollantaytambo We will head down into the Sacred Valley itself, by bus, and arrive in the small, ancient city of Ollantaytambo. This will be your first opportunity to get a sense of the scale of some of the Inca constructions. The town is home to ancient terracing and stone Inca grain silos, there is also a market to buy souvenirs to take home. We will spend the night here is a small hotel.
Day 9 Machu Picchu Your day will start early as you get the train from Ollantaytambo to Agues Calientes, the village that sits underneath the citadel of Machu Picchu itself. You may have seen hundreds of pictures of this famous site, but nothing will prepare you for the magic of seeing it in real life. This UNESCO World Heritage site is one not to be missed! The day ends with a journey by train back to Cusco.
Day 10 Ciao Peru After saying goodbye to our Camp Peru crew, and having another quick look at the city if flight timings permit it, you will be transferred to the airport in time for your flight home.
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See what life is like on expedition

Check out photos from past travelers for a first-hand look at what an expedition is really like.

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local Peruvian girl dressed in traditional wear
local peruvian woman with sheep
Travelling Student and Peruvian women walking along road
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travellers and locals dancing together
school_expedition_peru_trek_machu_picchu
local Peruvian girl dressed in traditional wear
local peruvian woman with sheep
Travelling Student and Peruvian women walking along road
school_expedition_peru_trek_project_work
travellers and locals dancing together

For even more amazing shots, explore our Photo Competition Gallery. See more

How you’ll make a difference

You’ll work on a range of projects throughout your expedition, each aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and designed to make a significant and lasting impact on the region’s most critical issues.

Sanitation and rural housing improvement

Peru – Sanitation and rural housing improvement

The small rural community in Moray is extremely poor with no basic sanitation or sewerage. You’ll get involved with projects such as renovating houses and constructing toilet blocks in each of the houses in the village, providing families and vulnerable elderly residents with proper sanitation facilities.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

No Poverty Icon

No poverty

End poverty in all its forms everywhere

3 Good health and well-being

Good health and well-being

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

6 Clean water and santitation

Clean water and sanitation

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Experience the local way of life in our authentic camps

Our camps are at the heart of every expedition. Built in traditional styles and staffed by local community members, they offer an authentic place to rest and recharge after a day of service learning project work.

Depending on your itinerary, you’ll stay in several of our camps. These could include those featured below.

Camp Moray

Camp Moray

Camp Moray is situated on a beautiful high plateau (3,600m) close to the world famous Sacred Valley of the Incas.

This unique wilderness camp gives you a true taste of what it’s like to live in the Andes, with spectacular mountain views across the valley and a real feeling of space and remoteness, allowing you utter peace and a chance to get away from it all.

  • Location: 50 km (2 hours drive) from Cusco Airport
  • Accommodation: Tents
  • Bed type: comfy mattresses
  • Toilets: Flushing toilets,
  • Showers: warm bucket showers & basins
  • Power: Solar lights in dining area
  • Signature dish: Cuy dorado – guinea pig
  • Social: Large social/dining tent, camp fire, volleyball court
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… Machu Picchu was even more breath-taking than I could have ever imagined. I’d recommend this trip to anyone that wants to make a difference, while having the time of their life & making lifelong friendships with like-minded people!

Annelise, Peru 2016

Our local camp legends

Our camps are staffed by local community members who will quickly make you feel at home. These amazing team members bring each expedition to life and share the very best of their country with you.

Epifania Huaman Juarez

Peru is a country defined by the majestic Andes Mountains, with breathtaking landscapes. Our rich culture is reflected in the vibrant colors and intricate textures of our traditional crafts. Peruvian cuisine, renowned around the world, showcases the diverse ingredients grown across our distinct regions. And of course, Machu Picchu stands as a powerful testament to the creativity and ingenuity of the Inca civilization. Camps International supports education and the development of community infrastructure in various rural areas of Peru, helping to create lasting, positive change.

Meet our Crew

Interested in this expedition?

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