Planning a Trip to Peru: Everything You Need to Know

On a map, Peru looks straightforward: Lima on the coast, Cusco in the mountains, Machu Picchu next door. Then you start planning and the country reveals its actual shape. Lima to Cusco is a flight over the Andes, not a drive. Cusco sits at an altitude that demands respect. Machu Picchu has no road, a daily visitor cap and timed entry. And the coast, the mountains and the jungle run on three different weather calendars.

None of this is a problem. It is just a sequence — and once you know the sequence, Peru becomes one of the easiest great trips in the world to get right. This guide is the whole sequence in one place, with links to the deeper answers where a decision deserves its own page.

Peru at a glance

How many days do you need?

Seven days is the honest minimum for the classic circuit. Ten is the sweet spot: Lima, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Cusco with room to breathe. Fourteen lets you add a second region — the Amazon or Lake Titicaca — without compressing the core. We wrote a full comparison in how many days you really need in Peru and a complete day-by-day in the 10-day Peru itinerary.

When to go

The Andes have a dry season (roughly May to September: sunny days, cold nights, high-season crowds) and a wet season (November to March: green valleys, afternoon rain, far fewer people). Lima runs on the opposite clock — grey and mild while the mountains are dry, sunny while they are wet. May and September are the quiet sweet spots. The month-by-month detail lives in the best time to visit Peru.

Where to go

Lima

One of the great food cities of the world, with a colonial center, pre-Inca pyramids inside the city grid and clifftop neighborhoods above the Pacific. Worth one to two real days, not a layover — the case is made in is Lima worth visiting.

Cusco

The Inca capital with a Spanish city built on top of it, literally — you can see both layers in a single wall. Museums, markets, San Blas workshops and the fortress of Sacsayhuamán above town. Two to three days once you are acclimatized.

The Sacred Valley

The green corridor of villages, terraces and fortresses along the Urubamba river between Cusco and Machu Picchu — and, at roughly 2,800 m, the smart place to sleep first. Maras, Moray, Chinchero, Pisac and Ollantaytambo are all here. See Sacred Valley vs Cusco for why the order matters.

Machu Picchu

The reason most people come, and it earns it. In our plans it is a full day from the Sacred Valley: early private transfer to Ollantaytambo, the train down the gorge, the citadel with a guide, and the ride back the same evening ending in Cusco. What the full day includes and costs is broken down on our Machu Picchu price page.

Arequipa and Colca

Peru's white-stone second city, at a friendlier 2,300 m, with the Colca canyon and its condors two days away. A natural add for trips of twelve days or more.

Lake Titicaca

The highest navigable lake in the world, at 3,800 m, shared with Bolivia — floating reed islands, weaving communities and a sky that feels close enough to touch. Add three days and go after you are acclimatized, not before.

Ica, Paracas and Nazca

South of Lima: desert dunes, the Ballestas islands, pisco cellars and the Nazca Lines. Reachable by road, which makes it the one region you can add without another flight.

The Amazon

A short flight from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado puts you in a jungle lodge by lunchtime. Three days minimum to be worth it; a genuine change of world at the end of an Andes trip.

Altitude, honestly

Cusco is at about 3,400 m — a thousand meters higher than Machu Picchu. Most travelers feel something in the first day or two: shortness of breath on stairs, a headache, shallow sleep. The fix is not a product, it is sequencing: sleep your first Andean nights in the lower Sacred Valley, keep the first afternoon slow, and put the demanding hikes at the end of the trip. The full explanation — including when symptoms deserve medical attention — is in our Cusco altitude guide.

Getting around

• Lima ↔ Cusco: fly. Several airlines run the route all day; morning flights are more reliable in the mountains.
• Within the Sacred Valley: private transfers or arranged vehicles. Distances are short but roads are mountain roads.
• To Machu Picchu: train from Ollantaytambo to the town below the citadel, then the shuttle bus up. No road goes there — this is the one leg you cannot improvise.
• Airport pickups: arrange them ahead. Landing in a new country and negotiating a taxi at midnight is a bad first chapter.

Where to stay

Peru's hotel scene runs from simple three-star comfort to some of the most beautiful five-star properties in South America — converted monasteries in Cusco, hacienda-style hotels in the Valley. Hotel category is also the single biggest lever in your budget, bigger than trip length. Our take on where an upgrade is actually felt is in the Peru budget guide.

The food

Peru is a food destination in its own right: ceviche on the coast, Andean ingredients that exist nowhere else, Lima restaurants that book out weeks ahead, and market lunches that cost pocket change and stay with you for years. Build at least one unhurried meal into every city. In Cusco, a cooking session that starts in the San Pedro market teaches you more about the Andes than a museum.

Safety, briefly

Peru receives millions of visitors a year and the tourist circuit is well-policed and well-trodden. The real risks are mostly petty: phones lifted in crowds, bag snatches in transit hubs, the wrong unlicensed taxi. Standard city habits prevent most of it. The honest, situation-by-situation version — including solo travelers and demonstrations — is in is Peru safe for tourists.

Money

• The currency is the sol. Cards are normal in cities and hotels; markets and small towns run on cash.
• Use ATMs inside banks or malls, in daylight, and decline the machine's own conversion rate.
• Carry small bills — breaking a 100-sol note at a market stall is a small social event.
• Tipping is appreciated, not obligatory: round up in restaurants, tip guides and drivers who earn it.

What to pack

Layers, sun protection you take seriously (the sun at 3,400 m does not negotiate), a rain shell in any season, and shoes that have already been walked in. The complete list, including what Machu Picchu allows through the gate, is in the Peru packing list.

What it costs

Four things move the total, in order: hotel category, private versus shared services, the train class to Machu Picchu, and only then trip length. Live, current prices for the classic days are published on our Peru trip cost page, and the budget-building logic is in the realistic budget guide.

Three sample shapes

The mistakes to skip

Sleeping in Cusco on night one. Scheduling a 5,000-meter hike for day two. Treating Lima as an airport. Trying to see all of Peru in nine days. We collected the full dozen — with the better approach for each — in 12 Peru travel mistakes.

Your planning timeline

• 6 months out: pick your dates against the seasons, decide trip length, and hold the international flights. If you travel in June–August, this is also Machu Picchu entry time.
• 3 months out: lock the itinerary order, Machu Picchu entry and train, and the hotels you care most about. Check your passport has six months of validity left.
• 1 month out: confirm pickups and guides, sort travel insurance that covers altitude, and start any conversation with your doctor about altitude or vaccines you want to have.
• Arrival week: download offline maps, carry a paper copy of your Machu Picchu entry and passport, and re-confirm the airport pickup. Then stop planning — it is done.

Changes often: Entry requirements, Machu Picchu ticket rules and train schedules all change with little notice. Treat this article as the map, and confirm the current rules against official sources close to your dates.