Peru Itineraries

How these itineraries are built

Peru is large, and the places most visitors want are far apart. A route that looks short on the map can swallow a full day once airports, security queues and a transfer at each end are counted. The itineraries below are written around that reality: fewer bases, a night or two in each, and days that leave room for delays.

Each route follows three rules. First, altitude comes in steps, so the highest nights and the longest walks fall after a few days of adjustment. Second, the order of places follows the logic of the transport, not only the sights, so you do not cross the country twice. Third, travel times are given as ranges, because buses, flights and roads vary with the season and the day.

Choose by the days you have

With five days, the realistic trip is Lima briefly, then Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. It works, but only if you accept that this is one region, not "Peru". See the 5-day route and why five days is not really five.

Seven days gives breathing space in the same region, so the altitude is easier and Machu Picchu is not rushed. Ten days is the first length at which a second region, usually Arequipa and the Colca Canyon or the coast, fits without feeling like a race. Fourteen days allows the classic first-time loop of coast, south and Cusco area.

Three weeks opens up Lake Titicaca and a stay in the Amazon rainforest. A month lets you slow down and add the north or the Cordillera Blanca.

All the routes

Main routes by length: Peru in 5 days, in 7 days, in 10 days, in 14 days, in 21 days and in 30 days. Each one is a different design, not a stretched version of the previous one, so read the one closest to your time and then adapt it.

Themed routes: Peru and the Amazon, the southern Peru loop, a trekking itinerary, northern Peru, and Peru combined with Bolivia. If you are unsure how long to stay, start with how many days to spend in Peru. The themed routes assume that you already know which region you want, so they are best read after the main ones.

What every route assumes about flights and trains

The routes use domestic flights for long legs, such as Lima to Cusco or Lima to Arequipa, and say where an overland alternative exists. A flight saves a day on legs of eight hours or more by road, but it adds a transfer at each end and is exposed to mountain weather. Morning flights are the more reliable ones, and the routes use them for any leg that matters.

The Machu Picchu part of every route uses the train from the Sacred Valley or from Cusco area to Aguas Calientes, with a timed entry ticket. These items have limited capacity, so the routes recommend booking them before hotels. For the options, see Machu Picchu planning, and for the airlines and the usual airport times, flights in Peru.

How to adapt a route to your trip

Treat each itinerary as a template. Keep the order of altitude and the travel logic, and swap sights inside each base freely. If your arrival or departure day does not match the route, move the buffer day, not the Machu Picchu day, because the ticket and the train are the hardest elements to change.

If you travel with children, older relatives or a slow walker, add a night to each stage and drop an excursion. If you are fit and have time, you can trade a valley day for a trek, but only after the adjustment days. Too many cities gives a simple way of counting bases, and the rule of thumb in how many days to spend shows when a plan is too tight.

Season changes the plan

The same route behaves differently in the dry and the rainy season. In the dry months, roughly May to September, the mountain roads and trails are more reliable and the views are clear, but tickets and trains sell out earlier and the nights are cold. In the rainy months, travel is quieter, but delays on roads and flights are more likely and some trails are closed.

Where a route depends on long overland legs, such as the southern loop or the northern route, it is best done in the dry months. Where a route is mostly flights and short transfers, such as the 7-day route, the season matters less. Check the dry and rainy seasons before you fix your dates.

Where to go next

Once you have a route, the practical details fill it in: tickets and trains for Machu Picchu, the flights and buses, and altitude and health. See reality of travel in Peru for the problems most plans meet.

If you are still choosing between ideas, read the comparisons, which put two options side by side, and the advice for each type of traveller. When the route is clear, book the capacity-limited items first, then the flights, then the hotels, and leave a spare day before the flight home. That sequence is the same in every itinerary, and it removes most of the avoidable problems.