Wisconsin Adventure Family — Women’s Expeditions
Peru Will Take Your Breath Away.
Then Give It Back.
An Invitation
Why Peru, and Why Now
Peru draws more travellers each year than almost anywhere else in South America, and it is not any one thing. It is the density of it — an empire’s capital, a wonder of the world, a cuisine the rest of the world spent a decade catching up to, and a festival older than the Spanish conquest, all within a hundred miles of one another.
- ✓Cusco, capital of the Inca Empire. The largest state in the Americas before Europeans arrived. The Spanish built their churches straight on top of Inca stonework, and it is still holding — five centuries and many earthquakes later.
- ✓Machu Picchu, raised around 1450. Abandoned within a century, never found by the Spanish, unknown outside the region until 1911, and voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
- ✓The Inca Trail, on foot. A surviving stretch of the Qhapaq Ñan, the twenty-five-thousand-mile road network that held the empire together. Peru caps how many people walk it each day — which is why registration closed on November 1.
- ✓Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun. The most important ceremony of the Inca year. Banned by the Spanish in 1572, revived in 1944, now the largest celebration in the Andes. It falls on our last full day. That is not a coincidence.
- ✓The food. Indigenous Andean ingredients meeting Spanish, West African, Chinese and Japanese hands over four hundred years. Lima sits near the top of the world’s restaurant rankings, and UNESCO added ceviche to its cultural heritage list in 2023.
- ✓Rainbow Mountain. Vinicunca lay under ice within living memory. The melt exposed bands of mineral colour, and in a few short years it went from unknown to one of the most photographed places in Peru.
The Highlight of the Trip
Two Days on Foot. Every Mile Worth It.
Most of this trip is slow travel: markets, valleys, a community, a kitchen, a festival. Two days are different. These are the only days we hike with a daypack on our backs and real climbing under our feet, and they are the two days you will talk about first when you get home. Here is exactly what each one asks of you, and what it gives back.
Day 6 · Sunday, June 20
The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
We ride the train from Ollantaytambo along the Urubamba River to Kilometer 104, the official start of the short Inca Trail, show our permits at the checkpoint and set off on foot.
What You Will See
- Chachabamba, a quiet Inca site beside the river at the trailhead
- Cloud forest, orchids, birdsong and views down the Urubamba canyon
- Wiñay Wayna at 8,694 ft, Inca terraces and stonework where we stop for our box lunch
- Inti Punku, the Sun Gate: your first view of Machu Picchu, the way Inca pilgrims saw it
- A walk down into the upper citadel, then the bus to Aguas Calientes for a hot shower and dinner
What to Expect
One long, steady climb of about three hours in the morning, from Chachabamba up to Wiñay Wayna, then a gentler afternoon to the Sun Gate. Stone steps and uneven trail, warm and humid in the forest. You carry only a daypack: water, snacks, layers, a rain jacket and what you need for one night. No camping gear, ever. The next morning is a bus ride up and a 2 to 3 hour guided walk inside Machu Picchu, not a hike.
Day 9 · Wednesday, June 23
Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca)
An early pickup at our Cusco hotel, then about three hours by road south into the high Andes, with breakfast in the village of Cusipata on the way. The hike starts from the trailhead parking.
What You Will See
- Snow-capped Andean peaks and wide open high grassland
- Llamas, alpacas and traditional villages along the trail
- Bands of red, green, yellow and purple mineral colour spread across the ridge at the top
- Time at the viewpoint to rest, breathe and take it all in
What to Expect
The climb to the top takes roughly 1.5 to 2 hours at the group’s pace: steady uphill, cold wind, thin air. This is the highest you will stand on the whole trip, and it comes on Day 9, after eight days of acclimatizing. We come down the same trail, share a buffet lunch in Cusipata and are back in Cusco around 4:30 to 5:00 PM. Prefer not to walk all of it? Horses are available at the trailhead from about $30, paid on the day.
Distances and elevations come from our local partner on the ground. Trail times depend on the group, and we always move at the pace of the slowest woman. No woman left behind.
Ten Nights. Zero Tents.
No Tents. Not One Night.
If you are done with sleeping on the ground, so is Dini. Every night of this trip ends in a real bed under a real roof: nine nights in hotels in Cusco, Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes, and one night in a community guesthouse in Paru Paru.
Yes, even on the Inca Trail. Because we walk the two-day route, the night between the trail and Machu Picchu is spent in a 3-star hotel in Aguas Calientes, with a private bathroom and hot water. No sleeping bag to carry, no tent to pitch, no campsite in the rain.
Slow Travel · Mindful Hiking · Cultural Immersion
This is not just a trip. This is a practice.
Machu Picchu, on Foot
We reach it the way it deserves — over the ridge on the Inca Trail, through the Sun Gate, tired and alive, watching the citadel open up below you rather than stepping off a bus.
Community and Culture First
A full day and night with a high Andean community. Cooking together, learning traditional practices, sleeping in their own guesthouses. Travel that gives something back.
Rainbow Mountain, Earned
Vinicunca at 16,522 feet, striped in colour no photograph gets right. We go up together, at whatever pace the group needs. No woman left behind.
A Peruvian Kitchen
A hands-on class, not a demonstration. Every woman makes her own pisco sour, her own ceviche and a Peruvian main course — then you sit down and eat what you made. Included in your price.
You Are Safe and Seen
Dini knows what makes a woman feel safe and free in a country that is not her own. You will feel both from the moment you land. That is a personal commitment.
A Real Bed, Every Night
Ten nights, zero tents. Hotels and one community guesthouse the whole way, including the night after the Inca Trail. Adventure all day, a proper rest every night.
Who This Is For
She Has Been Putting Herself Last for a Long Time
This trip is for the woman who has spent years making sure everyone else got where they needed to go. She does not have to be an experienced hiker. She does not have to have travelled internationally before. She does not need a passport full of stamps. She has to be willing.
It is for the mother who wants to remember who she was before the roles took over. For the woman who has been quietly putting money aside for something and has not yet decided what. For the one who has looked at a photograph of Machu Picchu more than once and felt something move.
It is for the traveller who wants to be inside a place rather than driven past it — who would rather cook her own dinner in a Cusco kitchen, sleep a night in an Andean community, and stand in a street full of dancers than tick a list from a bus window. And it is for the woman who loves a big day outside but is done with tents.
There is no age limit on this trip. There never is on ours. And you do not need to bring anyone with you — you will not be the only woman arriving on her own.
It is not for everyone. Two of these eleven days ask real effort from your body, and the altitude asks something of all of us. But if you can walk several hours at a time on uneven ground and you want this, there is a place here for you.
You do not need trekking experience, but you do need a real fitness base. On Day 6 we walk about 6.5 to 7 miles of the Inca Trail, with a steady climb of roughly 2,000 feet, to reach Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate. On Day 9 we hike 3 to 5 hours round trip to Rainbow Mountain at 16,522 feet. Cusco itself sits at 11,000 feet, and the first days of the itinerary are built for acclimatization before anything demanding begins. If you can comfortably walk several hours at a time on uneven ground, you belong here. Build your training 8–12 weeks before departure. Travel insurance is strongly recommended for every participant.
No Limitations. No Exceptions. No Judgment.
Every woman is welcome here.
Dini has watched a 72-year-old reach the roof of Africa. Different ages, different bodies, different backgrounds — on the trail they all become the same thing: women who showed up for themselves. The only requirement is willingness.
Before you go — a personal call with Dini
She does not send forms. She gets on a call with you. Before every trip Dini speaks with each woman one to one, to understand what you need and to make this journey exactly right for you.
Day by Day
The Full Itinerary
Arrive in Cusco
Arrive at Alejandro Velasco Astete Airport, where a private transfer takes you to your hotel. Rest, wander the Plaza de Armas at your own pace, and begin adjusting to 11,000 feet. Going slow today is the whole point.
Exploring Cusco — Markets, Koricancha & San Blas
A walking day through the old city. San Pedro Market with a fresh fruit tasting, the golden sun temple of Koricancha, and the steep artisan streets of San Blas. June is Cusco’s festival month, so expect parades and music in the streets as the city builds toward Inti Raymi.
Into the Sacred Valley — Cochahuasi Sanctuary
We descend into the Sacred Valley and visit the Cochahuasi Animal Sanctuary, home to rescued and rehabilitated condors, pumas, and llamas. The valley sits lower than Cusco, which helps your body as much as your spirit.
Hike to Pisac & the Paru Paru Community
We hike up to the Pisac archaeological site, then continue to Paru Paru, a high Andean community that welcomes us for the night. We take part in the day’s work, share meals cooked together, and sleep in the community’s own guesthouses. For many women this becomes the day they talk about for years.
Moray, the Salt Mines & Ollantaytambo
The circular agricultural terraces of Moray, the thousands of pink salt pans at Maras spilling down the hillside, and the fortress town of Ollantaytambo, where we sleep at the foot of the ruins and close to tomorrow’s train to the trailhead.
The Inca Trail — Through the Sun Gate to Machu Picchu
The day you have been training for. An early train from Ollantaytambo carries us along the Urubamba River to Kilometer 104, the start of the short Inca Trail. From the ruins of Chachabamba we climb steadily for about three hours through cloud forest to the terraces of Wiñay Wayna, where we stop for lunch, then continue to Inti Punku, the Sun Gate, and your first view of Machu Picchu below. About 6.5 to 7 miles and 6 to 7 hours on the trail, topping out at 9,022 feet. We walk down into the upper citadel for a first quiet look, then take the bus to Aguas Calientes for a hot shower, dinner and a real bed.
Machu Picchu — The Full Tour
After breakfast we ride one of the early buses back up for the real thing: two to three hours inside Machu Picchu with your guide, walking the terraces, temples and plazas of one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This is a guided walk, not a hike. In the afternoon we take the train back through the valley to Cusco.
A Peruvian Kitchen in Cusco
This is a hands-on cooking class, not a demonstration. Everyone cooks. Aprons on, each woman takes a station, and a Cusco chef walks the group through three things step by step — first the pisco sour, Peru’s national cocktail, shaken by your own hand; then ceviche, fish cured in lime and áji the way it has been made here for generations; then a Peruvian main course to finish. Nobody stands and watches. Every woman chops, measures, tastes and adjusts, and at the end you sit down together and eat the food you made yourselves, with the drink you mixed. Easiest day on your legs, loudest day at the table.
Rainbow Mountain — Vinicunca
Hotel pickup at 4:00 to 4:30 AM for the three-hour drive south, with breakfast in Cusipata on the way. From the trailhead we hike about 4.4 miles round trip, 3 to 5 hours in all, climbing to 16,522 feet — the highest any of us will stand on this trip — for stripes of red, green, yellow and purple painted across the Andes, with llamas and alpacas grazing below. We go up together, at whatever pace the group needs. No woman left behind. Lunch in Cusipata on the way back, and we are in Cusco by about 5 PM. Horses are available at the trailhead from about $30 for anyone who wants one.
Inti Raymi — The Festival of the Sun
Our last full day, and the biggest day in the Andean year. Every June 24th Cusco stages Inti Raymi, the Inca festival of the winter solstice — a dawn ceremony at Koricancha, a procession into the Plaza de Armas at midday, and a vast reenactment above the city at Sacsayhuamán in the afternoon. We watch it from the streets, with the city, which is where it feels most alive. The day is yours to be inside it — nothing scheduled, nothing rushed. This is the reason we come in June.
Departure — You Will Leave Changed
A private transfer takes you from your hotel to Cusco Airport. You fly out carrying the Andes in your bones — and a group of women who were strangers eleven days ago.
Getting There
How to Reach Cusco
Cusco sits high in the Peruvian Andes, and nearly every route runs through Lima. Plan for roughly 14–18 hours of travel from Wisconsin. Here is the route we recommend.
Fly to a hub city
Madison (MSN) → Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), or Miami (MIA)
A short connecting flight — or a 2.5-hour drive to Chicago O’Hare. American, United, Delta, and LATAM all fly from these hubs to Lima.
Overnight flight south
Hub → Lima, Peru (LIM)
Roughly 6–9 hours depending on your hub. Most flights leave in the evening and land in Lima overnight — well timed for a morning connection up to Cusco.
Fly into the Andes
Lima (LIM) → Cusco (CUZ)
A 1.5-hour flight with many daily departures on LATAM, Sky, and JetSMART. Your group airport transfer on June 15 is included.
The trip runs June 15–25, 2027, with a group airport transfer included on arrival day. Book whenever works best for you — your airline or travel agent can advise on routing and timing for your specific itinerary.
Where You’ll Sleep
Ten Nights, Five Different Worlds
You will not spend ten nights in the same room, and you will not spend a single night in a tent. This itinerary moves with the landscape — a base in Cusco, two nights deeper in the Sacred Valley, a night in an Andean community, and a night in the cloud forest town beneath Machu Picchu.
A Look Inside
What This Trip Looks Like
What to Know
What’s Included
Included
- ✓Airport transfers on arrival and departure
- ✓All ground transport on the itinerary — tourist bus, transfers, and train
- ✓10 nights accommodation — 3-star hotels and one community guesthouse, double occupancy. No camping
- ✓Professional bilingual guides throughout
- ✓Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu — permits and guides
- ✓Expedition train round trip (Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes)
- ✓Bus up & down to Machu Picchu, entrance fees, and guided tour
- ✓All tourist entrance tickets — Koricancha, Cochahuasi Sanctuary, Pisac, Moray, Salt Mines, Ollantaytambo, Rainbow Mountain
- ✓Andean community experience — activities, meals, and overnight stay
- ✓Hands-on Peruvian cooking class in Cusco — pisco sour, ceviche and a main course, made by you
- ✓All meals as specified in the day-by-day itinerary
- ✓Group leader — Dini travels with you throughout
Not Included
- —International and domestic flights
- —Travel insurance (strongly recommended)
- —Meals not specified in the itinerary
- —Inti Raymi ticketed seating at Sacsayhuamán — optional, and bought separately if you want it. We plan to watch from the streets.
- —Optional horse at Rainbow Mountain (from about $30, paid on the day)
- —Trekking poles — bring your own or rent locally
- —Tips for guides, porters & community hosts (~$100–150 per person)
- —Personal expenses & souvenirs
- —Single supplement, if you prefer not to share a room
About the Inca Trail permits: 2027 permits are limited and they sell out. We buy yours as soon as registration closes on November 1 — your place on the trail depends on registering before then.
Pricing & Registration
Registration Is Closed
Registration Closed
every spot is filled
Thank you to every woman who signed up. Join the waiting list and Dini will reach out personally if a spot opens up. It is free and does not commit you to anything.
Trip Price
per person
One price for every woman in the group. Everything on the ground is included, from your airport pickup in Cusco to your ride back to the airport eleven days later.
Your balance: $2,850 after the deposit. We set up your payment schedule together once you have registered.
Group size: Limited to 10 women, with a minimum of 8 for the trip to run. Registration closes November 1, 2026 — the day the trip becomes official.
Cancellation policy: Within 30 days of your deposit — full refund, no questions asked. After that, Inca Trail permits and Machu Picchu entrance fees are strictly non-refundable once purchased, under Peruvian government policy. Travel insurance is strongly recommended.
Registration closed on November 1, 2026 and every spot is filled. The waiting list is open.
Your Host & Guide
Meet Dini
My name is Dineo Dowd — but everyone calls me Dini. I was born and raised in South Africa. I grew up watching mountains from the window, being told they weren’t for people like me. At 25, I immigrated to the United States. Three days after landing in Salt Lake City, Utah, I followed strangers up a trail with no map, watched the sun set from the top, and felt — for the first time — completely free. Nature had been calling me my whole life. I had finally answered.
I’ve since summited Kilimanjaro three times — each time raising funds to build digital libraries in South African schools. I’ve guided women across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Peru, and the American West. In 2017, I founded Wisconsin Adventure Family in Madison, Wisconsin: a platform built on the belief that every woman deserves to know what she is capable of in wild places.
And I have been to Peru. In 2025 I walked the Salkantay Trek, stood on Rainbow Mountain, climbed Huayna Picchu on impulse the same day I visited Machu Picchu, and took a cooking class in Cusco. I came home changed — and I built this trip from that experience.
Before You Go
Travel Insurance — Protect Your Investment
You are trekking the Inca Trail and climbing above 16,500 feet, far from major medical facilities. Travel and emergency evacuation insurance is strongly recommended for every participant on this trip — it is part of your preparation, not an afterthought. Here is what I personally recommend and use.
Global Rescue
Global Rescue provides best-in-class emergency medical evacuation and travel protection — including field rescue from remote wilderness locations. This is the coverage I carry on every international expedition, including Kilimanjaro. For a trip with this altitude, Global Rescue is what I trust.
Use my link to access coverage designed for adventure travelers.
Chase Travel Benefits
Traveling with your Chase credit card? Many Chase cards include built-in travel protection — trip cancellation and interruption, baggage delay, and more. Check your card benefits before purchasing additional coverage. You may already be more protected than you think.
Check your existing card benefits — coverage may already apply.
Cusco, the Inca Trail & Inti Raymi · June 15–25, 2027
You Have Always Wanted
to Do Something Like This.
This trip is full, and registration is now closed. Two big hiking days, ten nights in real beds, zero tents. If a spot opens up, the women on the waiting list hear about it first, and you will be the first to know about our next Peru trip.
