More nostalgic is Rosa Nautica, set on a pier over the crashing waves of the Pacific, serving excellent sea bass.  Another classy eaterie with a spectacular location opposite the pre-Columbian adobe pyramid of the same name - illuminated at night - is Huaca Pucllana, which serves a good range of Peruvian dishes including the renowned seafood ceviche.

This exciting gastronomic experience takes you deep into the heart of Peruvian cuisine. With your guide, walk through the centre of Miraflores. At Surquillo market, you can inspect the various stalls piled high with succulent products. Some are native, others are imported but have thrived here: potatoes (there are hundreds of varieties), chilli peppers, beans, avocados, corn, quinoa, yucca, plantains, mangos. 

Having strolled through Miraflores Central Park you'll stop off for a snack at La Lucha Sanguchería, a famous sandwich shop and popular haunt for local residents.  You will also savour chicha morada, a traditional beverage made from purple corn, and wander through the cliff-side Parque del Amor, famous for its romantic sculpture of two lovers embracing, from which there are superb views of the Pacific Ocean.  Following a short drive to San Isidro Market, where you may spot one or two of the city's most innovative chefs searching for their next recipe inspiration, you'll visit Abel and Eduardo - the influential father and son fish vendors whose stall has been a mainstay for almost two decades.

The highlight of the tour is the opportunity to try out some of Peru's most well known recipes yourself. In the kitchen of Hotel Runcu’s intimate top floor restaurant you'll be guided by an experienced chef to acquire the skills necessary to produce mouth-watering dishes during an animated Peruvian cookery lesson. You'll learn how to prepare the refreshing cocktail pisco sour, ceviche, the popular dish based on marinated fish, causa, a potato-based delicacy and lomo saltado, a rich and tasty beef dish where the meat is sautéed with peppers and onions.  Of course you get to eat up the results!

Drive down the sunny desert coast and inland to the oasis at Ica. Lunch is at the delightful colonial hacienda San José, in the little wine and pisco-producing town of Chincha, where you’ll visit the catacombs. In the afternoon, there’s a guided tour of the vineyard at Ica which culminates with a glass of espumante as you watch the apricot and lilac sunset from a viewpoint over the valley.  Later, enjoy pre-dinner wine-tasting to sample more of the local wares. Overnight at the winery.

There are now dozens of cellars in the area, many of which have retained the same traditional methods of production. Visit Bodega La Caravedo. Founded in 1877, it was the first establishment to produce the liquor organically, and today produces the fine brand Pisco Portón for export.

You might like to take advantage of the opportunity to fly over the Nazca Lines, the famous huge figurines and geometric designs carved into the desert rock in pre-Columbian times. (You will need to arrange this in advance).

You might choose to have lunch at Rancho Wayra, which has an excellent reputation for its gastronomy. Eat on the sunny terrace, including a barbecue and dishes prepared from fresh local produce. You are entertained by an exhibition of the skills of the Peruvian pace horse. There is also an optional excursion into the countryside accompanied by the ranch’s chef to visit the farms which provide these ingredients and learn about their use and agricultural methods.

In the evening, sample the local cuisine with a 5-course tasting menu that combines 5 intricate dishes with a variety of wines to compliment and bring out the rich complexity of the flavours. The meals are prepared using all local ingredients and cooked by resident chef Nacho Selis, accompanied by an expert sommelier. The experience takes place in the sophisticated setting of Wayra's cellar, which houses some of the finest wines in the world. The intimate dining room provides a warm ambiance for an evening of gastronomic delights.

In Pampallaqta you encounter blankets full of steaming baked potatoes of multiple varieties, along with a piquant green dipping sauce.  Sample each type, purple and yellow and white. Surprisingly, the tastes differ noticeably. After the taste test, file into the dim storehouse where over 1,000 different potato varieties are kept.

Travelling for 90mins by train from Ollantaytambo, you reach the ruins of Machu Picchu. As the river Urubamba enters its narrow gorge between thickly-forested granite hills, there is room only for a single track, which hugs the right bank and passes through hamlets that are no more than a collection of shacks beside the railway. Close to the foot of the mountain on a saddle of which the citadel was built is the village of Machu Picchu, dedicated to serving the many visitors with artisan markets, bars and restaurants.

The majestic ruined city, reclaimed from tropical cloud forest, is reached by minibus up a sinuous road, or on foot up a near vertical rocky path. The American explorer Hiram Bingham discovered it in 1911, by which time it was completely buried beneath jungle vegetation. It is perhaps the ruins’ location, on a ridge spur amid forested peaks and above a roaring river canyon, that most ignites the imagination.

You will have a guided tour of the ruins and there is time later to take one of the many trails within the site itself, such as the hike to the vertiginous Inca Bridge, carved into a cliff edge, or wander among the stone buildings and llama-dotted grassy ledges soaking up the atmosphere. Spend the night in Machu Picchu village.

It’s a vivacious city, where shoeshine boys and postcard sellers jostle for your attention in cobbled streets lined with handicraft shops and cafés. In the evening, the town centre fills with people flocking to the many restaurants, bars and cafés.

There's a walking tour of the city including the comestibles market. Pyramids of brightly coloured fruit and vegetables claw towards the sky: tomatoes, soft fruit and corn from the valley, potatoes and onions from the highlands.