Full Itinerary of the Best of Peru 10 Days

From sea level to a 4,910 m / 16,109 ft pass and back down to the White City, with every pickup time, meal and hotel spelled out. Clarity in the logistics; the surprises are left for the landscape.

Day 1: Arrival in Lima - Afternoon City Tour

Lima welcomes you with sea air. Our driver meets you at the airport and takes you to Casa Andina Standard in Miraflores, or similar, close to the clifftop parks. Drop your bags, find lunch nearby and let the flight wear off.

At about 2:00 p.m., your guide shows you two faces of the city in one afternoon. First Miraflores: Parque del Amor and its mosaic benches above the Pacific, and a look at Huaca Pucllana, an adobe pyramid older than the Incas that still stands between apartment blocks. Then the historic center: Plaza San Martín, Plaza Mayor with the Government Palace and the Cathedral, and the Convent of San Francisco, where you go down into the catacombs. A pisco tasting rounds it off, and you are back at the hotel by about 6:00 p.m.

• Meals: not included
• Tour: half day, about 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
• Hotel: Casa Andina Standard, Lima, or similar 3-star hotel
• Difficulty: easy

Tips: A morning flight into Lima lets you join the tour the same day. Comfortable shoes, a light jacket for the sea breeze, sunscreen and some soles for lunch. More in our Lima travel guide.

Landing late, or want more of Lima? Come a day early and we add a hotel night, a guided food tour through the markets and cevicherías, or a free morning in Barranco. Contact us and we build it around your flight.

Day 2: Flight to Cusco - Afternoon City Tour

Breakfast, then the drive to Lima airport for the 1-hour-20-minute flight over the Andes. In Cusco, our local team is waiting at arrivals to take you to San Agustín Internacional, or similar, a few minutes on foot from the Plaza de Armas. The city sits at 3,400 m / 11,155 ft, so the morning is yours to rest, drink water and keep lunch light; moving slowly on your first day is the best favor you can do yourself.

At about 1:00 p.m., the tour begins on foot: the Plaza de Armas, the Inca street of Hatun Rumiyoc with the Twelve-Angled Stone, and Qoricancha, the Temple of the Sun, where the finest Inca stonework in the city carries a Dominican convent on top. A vehicle then takes you to the hills: the giant blocks of Sacsayhuaman, the carved rock of Qenqo, the outpost of Puca Pucara and the fountains of Tambomachay, with a stop at Cristo Blanco for the view over the roofs when time allows.

• Meals: breakfast at the hotel
• Tour: half day
• Hotel: San Agustín Internacional, Cusco, or similar 3-star hotel
• Maximum altitude: about 3,700 m / 12,139 ft
• Difficulty: easy, with walking and stairs at altitude

Tips: No alcohol today, small meals, lots of water, and tell your guide about any headache. Pack a warm layer, rain protection and sunscreen in your daypack. The next two days are lower than Cusco, which is why the city comes first. See our guide to altitude in Cusco.

Day 3: Sacred Valley - Pisac, Moray and Maras - Train to Aguas Calientes

Pickup at about 7:00 a.m. for a day that drops from the hills into the green floor of the Sacred Valley. A camelid center comes first, where you learn to tell a llama from an alpaca and a vicuña from a guanaco, then a viewpoint over the Urubamba River. In Pisac, the terraces and temples sit high above the town; the market below is the place for textiles, ceramics and silver. Lunch is at a local restaurant in Urubamba.

The afternoon is about ingenuity: the concentric terraces of Moray, built to test crops at different temperatures, and the Maras Salt Mines, thousands of pools fed by a single salty spring and still harvested by local families. Ollantaytambo closes the loop, an Inca town where water still runs through stone channels in the streets. Dinner is included tonight, in Ollantaytambo or Aguas Calientes depending on your train time, and the Expedition train carries you along the river to Ferré Machu Picchu, or similar. Set an early alarm.

• Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Transport: tourist vehicle and Expedition train
• Hotel: Ferré Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes, or similar 3-star hotel
• Altitude: Aguas Calientes, 2,040 m / 6,693 ft
• Difficulty: easy to moderate, with walking and stairs at the sites

Tips: The train allows a small bag of about 5 kg / 11 lb, so pack one night of clothes and leave the suitcase at your Cusco hotel or in our free storage. More in our Sacred Valley guide.

Day 4: Machu Picchu Guided Tour - Return to Cusco

Breakfast before dawn and one of the first buses up the switchbacks. The reward for the early start is Machu Picchu in soft light, with the crowds still on their way. Passport and ticket at the gate, then your guide leads you along the route your circuit allows, Circuit 2 whenever it is available, for 2 to 3 hours of terraces, temples, water channels and the story of how and why the Incas built a city on this ridge. There is time to stop and look. Booked Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain? Your hike follows the tour, timed to your ticket and train.

Back down by bus, lunch on your own in Aguas Calientes, and the Expedition train to Ollantaytambo, where a private vehicle waits to drive you to your Cusco hotel, usually by about 7:30 p.m.

• Meals: breakfast at the hotel
• Guided tour: 2 to 3 hours
• Altitude: 2,430 m / 7,972 ft
• Return: bus, Expedition train and private transfer to Cusco
• Hotel: San Agustín Internacional, Cusco, or similar 3-star hotel
• Difficulty: easy to moderate, with stairs and uneven stone paths

Tips: Original passport, a small daypack, rain poncho, sunscreen, hat, water and some cash. Big bags, drones, tripods and food stay outside. See our Machu Picchu rules guide. Tomorrow is the earliest start of the trip, so dinner early and lights out.

Day 5: Rainbow Mountain and the Red Valley - Cusco

Pickup at 4:30 a.m. and a three-hour drive toward the Ausangate range, with breakfast at a local restaurant on the way. The hike itself is short on paper, about 1.5 to 2 hours up to the Vinicunca viewpoint, but the viewpoint stands at about 5,200 m / 17,060 ft, and the thin air turns every step into a slow one. Your guide walks at the pace of the slowest person and stops as often as needed; horses wait at the trailhead for anyone who would rather ride.

The colors are mineral layers, sharpest under a blue sky. If the weather and your legs allow, another 30 minutes brings you into the Red Valley, where the hills turn the color of rust and most visitors never go. Lunch at a local restaurant on the way back and arrival in Cusco at about 6:00 p.m.

• Meals: breakfast and lunch at local restaurants
• Hike: about 10 km / 6.2 mi round trip, including the Red Valley
• Highest point: about 5,200 m / 17,060 ft
• Hotel: San Agustín Internacional, Cusco, or similar 3-star hotel
• Difficulty: moderate to challenging, because of the altitude

Tips: Gloves, hat and warm layers for the freezing start; sunscreen and sunglasses for the midday sun; water and snacks. Headache or nausea? Say so at once; no viewpoint is worth it. More in our Rainbow Mountain guide.

Day 6: Cusco to Puno - Tourist Bus with Guided Stops

Today the road is the attraction. After breakfast, the tourist bus heads south across the altiplano with a guide on board and four stops along the way: the church of Andahuaylillas, whose painted ceiling earned it the name Sistine Chapel of the Andes; Raqchi, where the walls of the Temple of Wiracocha rise far above the fields; a sit-down lunch at a restaurant on the route; and the La Raya pass at 4,335 m / 14,222 ft, the roof of the journey, with snow peaks on both sides.

The last stop is the Pukara museum and its stone sculptures from one of the earliest cultures around the lake. About 10 hours after leaving Cusco, you reach Puno and Casa Andina Standard, or similar, near the shore of Lake Titicaca. Stops may vary with the bus schedule.

• Meals: breakfast and lunch
• Bus: about 10 hours, including stops
• Highest point: La Raya pass, 4,335 m / 14,222 ft
• Hotel: Casa Andina Standard, Puno, or similar 3-star hotel
• Difficulty: easy

Tips: A warm layer and a bottle of water within reach; the stops are brief. Puno, at 3,827 m / 12,556 ft, is a little higher than Cusco, so go easy at dinner. See our Puno guide.

Day 7: Lake Titicaca - Uros Floating Islands and Taquile Island

After breakfast, a boat takes you out onto Lake Titicaca, 3,812 m / 12,507 ft above the sea and the highest navigable lake in the world. The Uros come first: islands woven from totora reeds, soft underfoot, that the families who live there rebuild layer by layer. They show you how an island is made, how a reed boat is built and what daily life looks like on the water.

Then two hours of open water to Taquile, where the men do the knitting and the island’s textiles are on UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage list. A stone path climbs to the village; lunch is served with the lake spread out below. You are back in Puno at about 5:00 p.m. for your last night by the lake.

• Meals: breakfast and lunch
• Tour: full day by boat
• Altitude: 3,812 m / 12,507 ft
• Hotel: Casa Andina Standard, Puno, or similar 3-star hotel
• Difficulty: easy to moderate, with stone steps at altitude on Taquile

Tips: The sun on the water is fierce: hat, sunscreen and sunglasses. A warm layer for the boat and small bills if you want to buy a knitted hat from the people who made it. More in our Lake Titicaca guide.

Day 8: Puno - Patapampa Pass - Colca Valley

Pickup between 6:00 and 6:15 a.m. for the drive west across the high plains. Around the lakes of Lagunillas, llamas and alpacas graze beside wild vicuñas, and Andean flamingos wade in the shallows. A quick stop at Patahuasi for the restrooms and a coca tea, then the climb to Patapampa.

Patapampa is the Volcanoes Viewpoint, 4,910 m / 16,109 ft, the highest point of the trip and reached by vehicle, with Ampato, Sabancaya and Misti lined up on the horizon. From there the road drops into the Colca Valley and Chivay, around 1:00 p.m. Lunch is on your own, and the afternoon is free: thermal baths a few minutes away, or a rest at the lodge. In the evening, dinner in Chivay, where some restaurants add a folk music show.

• Meals: breakfast at the hotel; lunch not included; dinner [TO CONFIRM]
• Highest point: Patapampa, 4,910 m / 16,109 ft, by vehicle
• Hotel: Colca Lodge, Colca Valley, or similar
• Difficulty: easy, with a long drive at altitude

Tips: Patapampa is cold even under full sun, so keep the warm layers and sunglasses handy and move slowly at the viewpoint. Pack a swimsuit for the hot springs; after Rainbow Mountain, your legs will thank you.

Day 9: Cruz del Cóndor - Colca Canyon - Arequipa

Departure between 6:15 and 6:30 a.m. In Yanque, you may catch the Wititi dance in the main square. Then Cruz del Cóndor, a viewpoint on the rim of one of the deepest canyons on Earth, more than 3,000 m / 9,800 ft from edge to river in places. As the morning warms, the condors start to ride the thermals along the walls, sometimes close enough to hear the air in their feathers. Most mornings they come; no one can promise it.

The way back passes Maca and its colonial church, and viewpoints over the pre-Inca terraces that climb the valley. Lunch in Chivay around 1:00 p.m., then the road down to Arequipa, with arrival at Casa Andina Standard, or similar, at about 4:30 p.m. The evening is yours in the White City.

• Meals: breakfast at the lodge; lunch in Chivay [TO CONFIRM]
• Day: about 10 hours, including the drive to Arequipa
• Hotel: Casa Andina Standard, Arequipa, or similar 3-star hotel
• Difficulty: easy to moderate, because of the altitude and the long day

Tips: Layers for the cold start, binoculars for the condors and comfortable shoes. Arequipa sits at 2,335 m / 7,661 ft, the lowest you have been since Lima, so breathing is easy tonight; try rocoto relleno for dinner.

Day 10: Arequipa - Departure

Breakfast and, if your flight allows, a last walk through streets built of white volcanic stone: the Plaza de Armas, the cathedral and the Santa Catalina Monastery a block away. At the agreed time, a private transfer takes you to Arequipa airport, where the TreXperience service ends. Ten days ago you landed on the coast; you leave having stood inside Machu Picchu, on top of Rainbow Mountain, on an island made of reeds and at the edge of the Colca with condors overhead.

• Meals: breakfast at the hotel
• Transfer: hotel to Arequipa airport, according to your flight
• Not included: flight from Arequipa

Want more of Peru? Add the Amazon after Arequipa, the Nazca Lines before Cusco or an extra night in the White City. Write to us and we suggest the best order for your dates.

Best of Peru 10 Days Price and Booking

Prices are per person in US dollars and cover all hotels, the Lima to Cusco flight [TO CONFIRM], the Expedition train, the Machu Picchu entrance and guided tour, the Rainbow Mountain, Lake Titicaca and Colca Canyon tours, the tourist bus to Puno, all listed tickets, local guides and ground transport. International flights and the flight out of Arequipa are not included.

Small-Group Tour Price

Private Tour Price

Your own guide and vehicle, at your pace, on the Lima, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain and Colca days. Prices depend on group size and availability.

Note: Private service covers the guided tours and transfers. Trains, the Machu Picchu buses, the tourist bus to Puno and the lake boat are shared.

Booking and Payment

• Deposit: US$600 per person to lock in your Machu Picchu ticket, train seats and hotels. The balance is paid online or at our Cusco office by card, PayPal or wire transfer.
• We need each traveler’s full name, passport number, date of birth, passport expiry and nationality. Machu Picchu tickets and train seats are nominal and can’t be changed or transferred.
• For May to September, book at least two months ahead; Machu Picchu tickets are capped per day and per circuit. See our Terms and Conditions.
• Tell us about dietary needs, pregnancy or any heart, lung, knee or mobility concern, and what this trip means to you. It helps us prepare the right way.

Student and Child Discount

Students under 25 with a valid university ID (name, photo, university and expiry date) get US$30 off the adult price. ISIC cards are not accepted. Children under 17 may qualify for lower official Machu Picchu rates; send the ID or date of birth when booking and we confirm the discount.

Customization and Upgrades

• Private service on all guided days.
• Vistadome panoramic train instead of the Expedition, one way or both ways.
• Hotel upgrades to 4-star or 5-star in Lima, Cusco, Aguas Calientes, Puno, the Colca and Arequipa.
• Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain on Day 4, US$75 per person.
• Extra nights and extensions: a day more in Lima, the Nazca Lines before Cusco, or the Amazon after Arequipa.

Changes depend on availability and may change the price. Contact us for a quote.

Packing List for the Best of Peru 10 Days

You cross four climates in ten days: Lima’s mild, humid coast; the warm cloud forest around Machu Picchu with its afternoon showers; the cold, bright altiplano of Rainbow Mountain, Lake Titicaca and the Patapampa pass; and dry, sunny Arequipa. Thin layers you can add and remove beat one heavy coat. More in our Peru Packing List.

Essentials

Original passport (checked at the airports, the train, Machu Picchu and the bus), medication, documents, insurance details and some cash in soles for meals on your own and small purchases in the villages and on the islands.

What to Wear?

Walking shoes with grip, breathable layers and a light rain jacket for Machu Picchu; a warm jacket, hat and gloves for Rainbow Mountain, the lake and the Colca pass, where dawn can be below freezing; and something lighter for Arequipa.

What to Put in the Daypack?

1.5 liters of water, snacks, sunscreen, sunglasses, lip balm, a rain poncho and a warm layer. At altitude, the sun burns even when the air feels cold.

What to Pack for the Night in Aguas Calientes?

A small bag of about 5 kg / 11 lb with a change of clothes, toiletries and a charger; the train limits luggage, and your suitcase waits in Cusco. The swimsuit for the Colca hot springs goes in the suitcase. See our Machu Picchu packing list.

What We Provide

Hotels and the lodge, the Expedition train, the Machu Picchu entrance and buses, the tourist bus and the lake boat, all listed tickets and guides, and a first-aid kit and oxygen on the Rainbow Mountain hike.

Optional Gear and Extra Items

Trekking poles with rubber tips for Rainbow Mountain, binoculars for the condors, a power bank, motion-sickness remedies for the bus and boat, and anything your doctor recommends for altitude.

Travel Information for the Best of Peru 10 Days

What you need to know to prepare: the route and flights, altitude, pace, Machu Picchu tickets, hotels and transport, luggage, booking and weather.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Best of Peru 10 Days

The questions travelers ask us most before booking this trip, answered plainly.