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Peru Travel Guide
Curated by Our Guild Explorers · Updated August 2026
The one country in the Americas that rewards a slow, well-planned trip more than a spontaneous one. Machu Picchu on its ridge above the Urubamba; Cusco, an Inca capital wearing a Spanish overcoat; the Sacred Valley, which is both lovelier and lower than the city above it; white-stone Arequipa under three volcanoes; and Lima, which quietly became one of the great eating cities of the world. This is the Guild’s chapter on Peru.
Machu Picchu, Cusco Region. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Where to stay & when to go
Guild guides to Peru’s headline destinations — and the best time to plan your trip. More chapters are being written this week.
Where to Stay in Lima ›
Clifftop Miraflores, arty Barranco, quiet San Isidro — and the one hotel worth booking at the airport.
Where to Stay in Cusco ›
Which hotels are on the level ground by the Plaza, which mean stone steps at 11,150 feet, and where the pools are.
Where to Stay for Machu Picchu ›
Aguas Calientes in its gorge, the one hotel at the citadel gate, and how to be on the first bus.
Where to Stay in Arequipa ›
The white-stone centre, the quiet streets by Santa Catalina, and why the one-day Colca trip is a mistake.
Best Time to Visit Peru ›
Month by month, region by region — the dry season in the mountains, and why Lima runs on the opposite calendar.
Why visit Peru
Three civilisations, three climates and one of the world’s great kitchens, inside a single set of borders.
Machu Picchu
Still, after everything written about it, worth the journey. A complete Inca town on a saddle of rock between two peaks, with the cloud moving through it at seven in the morning and almost nobody there. Lower than Cusco, and far gentler on the lungs than most people fear.
Cusco and the Sacred Valley
Inca walls carrying baroque churches, a valley of markets and terraces below, and the finest stonework left anywhere in the Americas at Ollantaytambo and Sacsayhuamán. The Valley is a thousand feet lower than Cusco, which matters more than the guidebooks admit.
Lima’s table
Ceviche cured in the hour it is served, four centuries of Spanish, African, Chinese and Japanese cooking folded into one another, and a run of restaurants that regularly place among the best in the world — on a clifftop above the Pacific.
Landscapes with no equal
The Colca canyon twice the depth of the Grand Canyon with condors riding the morning thermals out of it; Lake Titicaca at 12,500 feet; the Nazca lines; and, over the Andes, the Amazon at Iquitos.
Before anything else: the altitude
Peru is the one destination in this library where the itinerary itself is a health decision. Cusco sits at about 11,150 feet (3,400 m) and Puno, on Lake Titicaca, at roughly 12,550 feet (3,830 m). Flying from sea level at Lima straight into either is what makes people ill — headache, breathlessness, nausea and two ruined nights’ sleep.
The fix costs nothing and is the single most useful thing in this guide: sleep low first. Go from the airport at Cusco straight down to the Sacred Valley, around 9,400 feet, for two nights, and only then come up to the city. Every Peruvian guide will tell you the same thing, and most package itineraries still get it backwards.
Machu Picchu itself is only about 7,970 feet (2,430 m) — a good deal lower than Cusco, which surprises almost everyone. If you have heart or lung disease, or are on medication for blood pressure, speak to your own doctor before booking and ask about acetazolamide. We are travel writers, not physicians, and this is a conversation worth having at home rather than in a hotel lobby at altitude.
The regions of Peru
Five regions, five very different trips. Guild city guides are marked; the remaining towns link straight to hotels through our Trip.com partner.
The capital on its cliffs, the great kitchens, and the desert coast running south past the Paracas reserve and the Nazca lines.
The Inca capital, and the lower, warmer valley of the Urubamba beneath it where most travellers should spend their first two nights.
- Cusco guide
- Urubamba soon
- Ollantaytambo soon
The citadel, the timed circuits, and the little town in the gorge below it where the early train and the late train both begin.
- Aguas Calientes guide
A city built of white volcanic stone under three volcanoes, and the condor canyon two days’ drive north of it.
- Arequipa guide
- Chivay & the Colca soon
How the country divides up
Lima & the coast
Nearly every trip begins and ends in Lima, and it deserves better than the single night most itineraries give it. Stay in Miraflores or Barranco, on the cliffs above the Pacific, where the pavements are level, the sea is always in view and the restaurants are within walking distance. The colonial centre is worth a morning with a driver; it is not where you want your bed.
Cusco & the Sacred Valley
Cusco is the historical heart — Inca foundations under Spanish arches, the Qorikancha, and the great stone terraces of Sacsayhuamán above the roofs. But it is high, and its old centre is built on hills and steps. The Sacred Valley below is warmer, flatter, a thousand feet lower and full of the country’s best hotels. Two nights there first, then Cusco, is the itinerary we would give a friend.
Machu Picchu
The citadel is reached by train from Ollantaytambo or Poroy to Aguas Calientes, then a twenty-five-minute bus up the switchbacks — our guide to staying at Aguas Calientes covers the hotels and the logistics. Entry is now by timed slot on one of three numbered circuits, with a licensed guide required and no re-entry once you leave. Book the ticket, the train and the bus well ahead; in high season the good circuits go weeks in advance. A night in Aguas Calientes buys you the first bus of the morning, which is the whole difference.
The south and the Amazon
Arequipa is the handsomest city in Peru and, at 7,660 feet, a gentler place to acclimatise than Cusco. North of it the Colca canyon drops more than 10,000 feet, and the condors come up out of it on the morning air. Further east, Puno sits on Lake Titicaca; and beyond the Andes altogether, Iquitos is the largest city on earth you cannot drive to.
Top things to do in Peru
The experiences worth building a trip around.
Machu Picchu at first light
Stay the night at Aguas Calientes and take the first bus. The cloud is still in the valley, the circuits are quiet, and the site looks the way it does in the photographs for perhaps an hour.
Ollantaytambo’s terraces
A living Inca town with its original street plan and water channels, and a temple hill of six enormous rose-coloured monoliths hauled across a river and up a mountain. Fewer visitors than Cusco and a good deal lower.
Eat your way through Lima
Ceviche at lunch, never dinner; a pisco sour on a Barranco terrace; and, if you book months ahead, one of the tasting rooms that put South America on the world’s restaurant lists.
Condors over the Colca
An early start from Chivay to the Cruz del Cóndor, where the birds ride the first thermals out of a canyon twice the depth of the Grand Canyon. Level viewing platforms; dress for near-freezing at dawn.
The reed islands of Lake Titicaca
The floating Uros islands and the weaving villages of Taquile, out on a lake so high and so bright that the light hurts. Go slowly here; Puno is the highest place most visitors sleep.
Arequipa and the Santa Catalina convent
A walled city within a city, painted in ochre and cobalt, that housed cloistered nuns for four centuries. Shaded, level, unhurried, and the best afternoon in southern Peru.
Best time to visit & getting there
When to go
May to September is the dry season in the Andes — Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Arequipa and Lake Titicaca. Bright, clear days, cold nights, the highest prices and the fullest trains. June to August is the peak of the peak.
April and October are the shoulders and, to our eyes, the best value in the year: green landscape, thinner crowds, and rain that mostly comes in the afternoon. January to March is the mountain wet season, and the Inca Trail closes every February for maintenance — though the citadel itself stays open.
The coast runs on the opposite calendar: Lima is warm and sunny from December to April and grey under sea fog from June to October. See our month-by-month guide to the best time to visit Peru.
Getting there & getting around
Lima (LIM) is the gateway, with direct flights from a dozen North American cities and a new terminal in service since 2025. Nearly everything else is a domestic flight: Cusco (CUZ) about eighty minutes, Arequipa (AQP) and Juliaca (JUL) for Lake Titicaca a little longer. Book morning flights into Cusco; afternoon weather closes the airport more often than the airlines admit.
Between the Sacred Valley towns, a private driver or a hotel transfer is inexpensive and much less tiring than a rental car; almost no visitor to Peru needs to drive. In Lima, use a hotel taxi or a ride app rather than hailing on the street. Trains to Machu Picchu run from Ollantaytambo and Poroy and must be booked separately from your entrance ticket.
The currency is the sol. Bottled water everywhere; excellent private clinics in Lima, Cusco and Arequipa.
Peru travel FAQ
When is the best time to visit Peru?
For Cusco, Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Arequipa and Lake Titicaca, the dry season runs roughly May to September, and those are the clearest, coldest, busiest and dearest months. April and October are the quieter shoulders and often the best value of the year. On the coast, Lima works the other way around: December to April is its warm, sunny summer, while June to October brings the grey sea fog Limeños call the garúa. The Amazon at Iquitos is warm and wet all year, with higher water from December to May and better walking from June to November.
How high is Cusco, and how bad is the altitude?
Cusco sits at about 11,150 feet (3,400 m) and Puno on Lake Titicaca is higher still at roughly 12,550 feet (3,830 m). Machu Picchu itself is much lower, around 7,970 feet (2,430 m), which surprises many visitors. Most people feel the height as breathlessness, headache and poor sleep for the first day or two. The single most useful thing an older traveller can do is arrange the itinerary to sleep low first: two nights in the Sacred Valley at around 9,400 feet before Cusco is far gentler than flying straight from sea level into the city. Talk to your own doctor before you book, particularly if you have heart or lung disease, and ask about acetazolamide.
Do I need a visa to visit Peru?
US, Canadian, UK and EU citizens do not need a tourist visa for Peru. Visitors are generally admitted for up to 90 days within a 183-day period, with the exact stay granted at the immigration officer’s discretion. Your passport should be valid for at least six months beyond arrival, and you must be able to show proof of onward or return travel. Entry is registered digitally now rather than on the old paper Andean Migration Card. Confirm the current rules with the official Peruvian authority before you travel.
Do I need to book Machu Picchu tickets in advance?
Yes, and earlier than most people expect. Entry is by timed slot on one of three numbered circuits, tickets are capped daily, a licensed guide is required, and re-entry is not permitted. In the June-to-August high season the popular circuits and the Huayna Picchu add-on sell out weeks ahead. Tickets are sold through Peru’s Ministry of Culture, and the train to Aguas Calientes must be booked separately. If you are travelling with a tour operator they will normally hold both for you, but confirm the circuit number, not just the date.
What currency does Peru use, and can I pay in dollars?
The Peruvian sol (PEN, written S/). US dollars are accepted by many hotels and tour operators but almost nowhere else, and change comes back in soles at a rate that favours the house. Pay by card where you can, draw soles from a bank ATM rather than a street kiosk, and carry small notes for taxis, tips and markets. Decline any card terminal that offers to charge you in dollars. Torn or marked dollar bills are frequently refused in Peru, so bring clean ones.
How many days do you need in Peru?
Nine to twelve days is the comfortable length for a first trip: two nights in Lima, two or three in the Sacred Valley, two in Cusco, a night at Aguas Calientes for Machu Picchu, and a night back in Lima before flying home. Add three or four days if you want Arequipa and the Colca canyon, or Lake Titicaca at Puno. A week is possible but leaves no room for the altitude, and the altitude is the part of Peru that does not negotiate.
Ready to plan your Peru trip?
Compare hotels and flights across Peru — booked through Trip.com.
Search Peru hotels Find flightsDestinations Guild © 2026 · A Division of Guild Companies USA Destinations Guild may earn a commission when you book through our partner links, at no extra cost to you. Always confirm visa, entry and passport requirements with the relevant official authority before you travel. Nothing here is medical advice; discuss altitude with your own doctor.