Sanctuary Lodge, A Belmond Hotel, Machu Picchu

Sanctuary Lodge is the only hotel beside Machu Picchu, about 50 metres from the citadel and a three-minute walk to the entrance. That position changes the visit: guests can be among the first through the gates at dawn, when the mountains rise out of the mist, and the lodge offers out-of-hours visits with expert guides. The lodge first housed explorers and researchers and became a Belmond hotel in 1999. It has 31 rooms and suites, and the gardens are a quiet counterpoint to the ruins, planted with more than 140 kinds of orchid and busy with hummingbirds and butterflies. Massages draw on Inca techniques, yoga sessions face Huayna Picchu, and a shaman can perform a traditional Pachamama offering. Tampu Restaurant cooks Peruvian dishes with ingredients such as Oxapampa cheese and Sacred Valley mushrooms, Tinkuy serves a buffet lunch, and the Tampu Bar pours piscos. Most guests arrive by train from Cusco or Ollantaytambo, followed by a 25-minute drive up from Aguas Calientes.