The cultural briefing through Retablo made the whole visit come alive. Before arriving at Machu Picchu, I’d read the article Ruway prepared for that day. Standing at the Sun Gate, I understood what I was seeing in a way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.
Your journey, always with you
Culture to live and experience
Retablo is your travel companion for every Ruway journey. Your itinerary, your guide’s name, your pickup time — everything is in your pocket. And alongside every day of your trip, a curated layer of music, articles, and local insights that bring each place to life. Everything you need, before and during your journey.
To me, culture isn’t something you watch from a distance — it’s something you do. It lives in the music, the food, the stories, and the everyday rhythms of real people. That’s why I curate a layer of music, books, films, and local insight for every journey — not to explain a place to you, but to help you step into it and live it alongside the people who call it home.
Renato Wicked — Founder & Experience Architect
Your destinations, described
Every destination on your trip opens with a portrait of the place, then the highlights we always take our travelers to — written by our local team, the way a friend who knows the city would tell it.
Each highlight comes with what to do while you’re there — the small things that turn a visit into a memory. Buy picarones from a street cart at dusk. Sit on the cathedral steps and let an hour go by as the evening paseo fills the square. These are the tips we give our own friends, and they’re the difference between seeing a place and living it.
Around them, Retablo adds the layers that bring a place close: articles on the history behind what you’re looking at, music for the road, and the stories of the people who keep each tradition alive. Many pieces are also recorded as audio, so you can listen hands-free — on the drive into the Sacred Valley, or with your eyes on the stones themselves. It’s all in the app before you leave, ready to read or hear ahead of time.
Your itinerary, always in your pocket
Every day of your trip lives inside Retablo: your pickup time, your hotel, the day’s highlights, and a short biography of the people you’ll spend it with — starting with your guide. No more digging through emails for vouchers.
Described tells your day as a story: where you’ll start, what you’ll see as the road climbs out of the city, why the place you’re walking into matters, and where you’ll stop for lunch.
Every moment links to its full portrait in the app, so you can go as deep as you want — the night before, or standing right there.
Detailed is the same day at a glance: a short list of what you’ll do, in order, from pickup to your last stop.
Each step links to more — the place, the guide, the table we’ve booked for lunch — for when you want it. It’s the view to check in the morning, coffee in hand.
What travels with you
Every day of your itinerary carries its own layer of culture: the music, art, food, festivals, people, and stories of the place you’re in. Open it before the trip to prepare, or on the road to go deeper. It’s there when you want it — never in the way.
We believe a journey is a chapter of a longer one — the one we call life. The more you understand a place, the more of it stays with you: a song you’ll recognize years later, a dish you’ll try to cook at home, a name you’ll remember. That’s why we curate this layer by hand. Not to fill your days, but to let each place change the way you see.
Music
Immersive playlists curated for each destination and each day of your journey. The right soundtrack changes everything.
Plastic Arts & Visual Culture
The paintings, textiles, ceramics, and visual traditions that define the place you’re visiting. Context that makes beauty legible.
Events & Festivals
What’s happening during your stay. Local celebrations, markets, ceremonies, and cultural events timed to your journey.
Places & Faces
The people and places that give each destination its soul. Artisans, musicians, community leaders, and everyday life.
Articles & Insights
Essays, histories, and local perspectives written by Ruway’s editorial team. Deep knowledge for curious travelers.
Food & Gastronomy
The culinary culture of each destination — traditional dishes, key ingredients, markets, and the stories behind what you’ll eat.
General info for every destination
Every destination comes with the practical side of traveling well: altitude, weather, getting around, money, tipping, and the etiquette of the place — written for that destination, not copied from a generic guide.
Good logistics are what free you to be present. When you already know how to tip your driver, whether the tap water is safe to drink, or that you should ask before taking someone’s photo, you stop worrying about the small things and start noticing the place. It’s the advice we’d give a friend before they land.
Altitude & Acclimatization
How high you’ll be, what you may feel, and how to ease in during the first hours — or, at sea level, what to adjust for instead.
Weather & When to Come
The seasons as they really feel, which one to travel in and why, and what each means for rain, temperature, and crowds.
Getting Here & Around
How you arrive, how we coordinate your transfers, and the smartest way to move once you’re there.
Safety
Honest, calm guidance: where to stay aware after dark, which taxis to take, and the real hazards — often natural rather than human.
Health
Vaccinations, insect protection, pharmacies, and insurance — a short note for a city, a full guide for the jungle.
Packing
What to bring for the place’s real conditions: layers, footwear for the terrain, sun protection, and the gear each stop asks for.
Money
The local currency, where cards work and where only cash does, and why small, clean notes matter.
Tipping
Who to tip and roughly how much, scenario by scenario — guides, drivers, lodge staff — so you can be generous with confidence.
Language & Etiquette
A few useful words, the heritage languages you’ll hear, and how to be a good guest: asking before a photo, dressing for church, haggling at markets.
Always connected to your team
Things change when you travel — and when they do, you’ll know right away. Retablo notifies you the moment your itinerary is updated: a new pickup time, a different guide, a change of route.
And when you have a question, Retablo puts you in direct contact with the person on our operations team who handles your bookings — the one who knows which hotel is holding your room and which driver is coming for you. Not a chatbot, not a contact form: a real person who can solve it.
Real-time notifications
Instant updates when your pickup time, guide, or logistics change.
Direct messaging
Write straight to the person on our operations team who manages your bookings — no intermediaries.
Emergency support
A dedicated contact for urgent situations, available throughout your journey.
- Munayto want, to love
- Yachayto know, to understand
- Ruwayto do, to make, to give shape.
Every Retablo journey begins with a Ruway package
Discover South America with
Discover South America with
Tailored Tour Packages
Retablo is included in every Ruway journey — it’s not an add-on. It’s part of how we travel. Browse our South America packages and discover the journey that will become your Retablo story.
Classic Cusco & Machu Picchu6 days | From $995 per person
Lima, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu
Andean Treasures & Coastal Charms10 days | From $1,895 per person
Lima, Arequipa, Colca, Puno, Cusco, Machu Picchu
Atacama: Desert, Sky & Salt5 days | From $1,295 per person
Santiago, San Pedro de Atacama
Patagonia Essential7 days | From $2,495 per person
Santiago, Puerto Natales, Torres del Paine
Ecuador & the Galápagos9 days | From $3,150 per person
Quito, Mashpi Cloud Forest, Galápagos Islands
Peru Complete: Andes to Amazon14 days | From $2,750 per person
Lima, Amazon, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca
What Our Travelers Say
They’ve already lived the experience
Knowing my guide’s name and story before we met changed everything. Retablo showed me Rumi’s biography two days before our Sacred Valley tour. When we met, it wasn’t a stranger driving me around — it was someone I already respected. That detail alone was worth it.
Placeholder review. Replace this card with a real client review about Retablo, three or four lines long, so the cards keep an even height.
Placeholder review. Replace this card with a real client review about Retablo, three or four lines long, so the cards keep an even height.
Placeholder review. Replace this card with a real client review about Retablo, three or four lines long, so the cards keep an even height.
Placeholder review. Replace this card with a real client review about Retablo, three or four lines long, so the cards keep an even height.