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Part of my 10 Days in Peru with Kids series. Read the trip overview here, or catch up on how we booked the whole thing on points.

If you’re building a Peru itinerary with kids, do not skip straight to Cusco. Start in the Sacred Valley. We spent our first four nights at Las Qolqas EcoLodge, and it was the single best decision of the whole trip.

Las Qolqas is an eco-lodge built around elegant safari-style tents tucked into the Sacred Valley, each with its own private patio, a wood stove, and a hot shower, so you get that immersed-in-nature feeling without giving up the comforts a family traveling with kids actually needs. The setting alone is worth the stay: tents scattered along a garden with the river running right past them and mountains rising on every side.

Breakfast is included each morning, and the restaurant serves genuinely delicious Peruvian food at prices that felt reasonable for what you’re getting. In the evenings there’s a fire pit to gather around, and the onsite spa turned into one of our favorite parts of the whole stay. This ended up being less like a hotel and more like the whole trip built around one incredible home base.

Why the Sacred Valley First

Cusco and Machu Picchu sit at a much higher altitude than most people expect, and jumping straight there is how a lot of families end up with a miserable first 48 hours. The Sacred Valley sits lower, around 2,800 meters at Las Qolqas, which gives everyone a real chance to acclimatize before the harder days.

Our first afternoon was intentionally boring, in the best way. Coca tea as soon as we arrived, a flat 20-minute walk along the Patacancha River. No strenuous activity, no rushing. If you take only one piece of advice from this post, take this one: build in a real do-nothing acclimatization day before you ask your kids to hike anywhere.

What We Did

Pumamarca Ruins hike: a 20-minute drive to the Pallata community, then a hike to Inca terraces and forest waterfalls with almost no other tourists around. There’s a shortcut version too: taxi up and hike down, if a five-plus-hour round trip isn’t realistic for your crew. My husband, son, and aunt actually hiked to the ruins, while my mom, daughter, and I met them there by car, then a car brought all of us back to Las Qolqas. Having options for each person in our party is one of my favorite things about travel. Making sure everyone is happy and comfortable matters just as much as the destination itself.

Patacancha textiles and medicinal plants: a slower, more cultural afternoon that was a nice contrast to the hiking days. We were the only ones on our excursions through Las Qolqas, and that was wonderful.

Naupa Iglesia and Perolniyoq Waterfall, followed by a spa afternoon back at the lodge. This is where Las Qolqas really won us over. I got a complimentary restoration massage, and Joel and my son each did a water treatment. After a few days of hiking at altitude, that afternoon felt earned. Again we had a private driver and our same guide from the Patacancha textiles excursion and the Pumamarca Ruins hike. He was amazing. Our guide gave us two different options: my mom, aunt, daughter, and I did a shorter waterfall hike, while my husband and son, who are super fit, did a longer, more strenuous hike with our guide. Las Qolqas packed us a lunch that was included. You guys, I cannot tell you how amazing these excursions through the hotel were

For our Sacred Valley day, we booked a private tour through Peru Spirit Adventure, a locally owned Peruvian operator that took us to Ollantaytambo’s archaeological site, the agricultural terraces at Moray, the Maras salt mines, and the town of Chinchero, all in one day. Having a private driver and bilingual guide made the pace so much easier with kids in tow. We could linger where we wanted and move on when we were ready, instead of being stuck to a big group’s schedule. Ollantaytambo was the highlight for us, massive Inca terraces climbing up the hillside, with a real sense of what the town would have looked like centuries ago. One thing to plan for: entrance tickets aren’t included in most tour prices, so budget separately for the Boleto Turístico, which covers admission to Ollantaytambo and several other Sacred Valley sites.

Where We Loved Eating

Ollantaytambo has more good food than you’d expect for a small mountain town. El Albergue, right by the train station, does roasted chicken and trout that even picky eaters approved of. Puka Rumi on the main square has wood-fired pizza alongside classic Peruvian dishes like lomo saltado. And if anyone in your group needs something familiar, almost every restaurant in the Sacred Valley has a version of pizza, pasta, or grilled chicken on the menu.

The Guides Made This Leg

Some of our guides here we booked ourselves, and some were arranged by Las Qolqas on our behalf, and honestly, we loved every single one of them. That’s rare enough on a trip this long that it deserves its own post: [Our Favorite Peru Guides & Operators →coming soon]

The Logistics That Mattered

Las Qolqas coordinated our early departure for Machu Picchu, including luggage storage at the lodge for the day and transport to the Ollantaytambo train station at 4:45 AM. Having one point of contact handle that instead of juggling it ourselves made the hardest travel day of the trip much less stressful. They also arranged all of our guides and the driver who took us from Cusco airport to Las Qolqas, then later to the Wyndham Costa del Sol in Cusco, which was only $100 each way. The driver even waited for us two hours past our scheduled arrival time on our way back from Machu Picchu. Such a kind man. When we travel to developing countries, we build generous tipping into our budget. Since we’re getting our hotels and flights on points, this is one way we can be sure to be a blessing to the areas we’re traveling through.

Booking It

We used 44,000 Hyatt points per night for our stay. If you want the full mechanics of how Hyatt points work and which cards get you there fastest, I wrote a complete Hyatt guide that covers it.

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Next in this series: Machu Picchu with Kids: What Actually Happened