Full Itinerary of the Peru Tour 9 Days

Nine days in three worlds: the coast, the Andes and the Amazon. Here is each day with times, meals and hotels. Private service, extra nights and upgrades are arranged on request.

Day 1: Arrival in Lima - Afternoon City Tour

Welcome to Peru. We meet you at Lima airport and drive you to your hotel in Miraflores, Casa Andina Standard or similar. Rest, have lunch on your own and get ready for the afternoon.

Around 2:00 p.m., your guide picks you up. First, the ocean side: Parque del Amor on the Miraflores cliffs, with its mosaic walls and the sculpture El Beso, and a view of Huaca Pucllana, a pre-Inca adobe pyramid in the middle of the city.

Then the old center: Plaza San Martín, Plaza Mayor with the Government Palace and the Cathedral, and the Convent of San Francisco, with its library, cloisters and underground catacombs. There is a pisco tasting along the way. Back in Miraflores around 6:00 p.m. Rest early: tomorrow you fly to the Andes.

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

Tips: Arrive in Lima in the morning so you can join the tour. Bring walking shoes, a light jacket, sunscreen and some cash. More ideas in our Lima travel guide.

Day 2: Flight to Cusco - Afternoon City Tour

After breakfast, we take you to Lima airport for the flight to Cusco, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Our Cusco team meets you and drives you to San Agustín Internacional or a similar 3-star hotel near the historic center.

Cusco sits at about 3,400 m / 11,155 ft. Use the late morning to rest, drink water and eat light. Walking slowly today makes a real difference.

Around 1:00 p.m., your guide picks you up. On foot: the Plaza de Armas, the old Inca streets, the Twelve-Angled Stone and Qoricancha, the Temple of the Sun, where Inca walls stand inside a colonial convent. Then by vehicle to the sites above the city: Sacsayhuaman and its huge zigzag walls, Qenqo, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay, with its still-running fountains. When time allows, a stop at Cristo Blanco for the view.

• 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: Walk slowly, drink water, skip alcohol today and tell your guide if you feel unwell. Bring a warm layer, rain protection and sunscreen. The next three days are lower than Cusco, and most people find them easier. See our guide to altitude in Cusco.

Day 3: Sacred Valley - Pisac, Moray and Maras - Night in Ollantaytambo

Pickup at 7:00 a.m. for a full day in the Sacred Valley, the green corridor of the Urubamba River where Inca terraces still feed the villages below them.

First, an alpaca and llama farm, where you learn why these animals matter so much in Andean life. Then the Taray viewpoint for the classic view over the valley, and Pisac: terraces and temples above the town, and time in its colorful market below.

After lunch in the valley, the circular terraces of Moray and the Maras Salt Mines, where local families still harvest salt the way they always have. The day ends in Ollantaytambo, a living Inca town and the best place to sleep before the trail. Tonight your guide confirms the time for tomorrow.

• Meals: breakfast and lunch
• Tour: full day
• Hotel: Cocatambo, Ollantaytambo, or similar
• Difficulty: easy

Tips: Pack a small bag for two nights, Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes; your main suitcase stays at your Cusco hotel or in our free storage. Lay out your hiking clothes tonight. More in our Sacred Valley guide.

Day 4: Short Inca Trail - Wiñay Wayna - Sun Gate - Machu Picchu

The adventure day. After an early breakfast in Ollantaytambo, the train follows the Urubamba River to Km 104, the official start of the Short Inca Trail. At the checkpoint you show your original passport and begin with your guide.

Before the hike, our trekking team has a fresh picnic breakfast ready. Then Chachabamba, an Inca site near the river, and a gradual climb through cloud forest: mountain views, orchids, waterfalls and original Inca stone paths under your boots.

After several hours you reach Wiñay Wayna, terraces and temples hanging over the valley, where your guide explains the site before a picnic lunch prepared by our trekking chefs.

In the afternoon, the last stretch to the Sun Gate, Intipunku. The trail opens, the mountains step back and Machu Picchu appears below you. We stop there; nobody rushes you. Then down to the upper viewpoints for the classic photos, the bus to Aguas Calientes, check-in at Ferré Machu Picchu or similar and dinner at a local restaurant.

• Meals: picnic breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner
• Hike: 13 km / 8 mi, around 7 hours
• Highest point: 2,700 m / 8,858 ft
• Hotel: Ferré Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes, or similar 3-star hotel
• Difficulty: moderate

Tips: Original passport, hiking shoes with grip, rain jacket, sunscreen, hat, insect repellent, 1.5 liters of water and snacks. Trekking poles must have rubber tips. Read our Short Inca Trail guide before you go.

Day 5: Machu Picchu Guided Tour - Vistadome Train - Cusco

After breakfast, the bus back up to Machu Picchu for your main guided visit. Yesterday you saw it from above; today you walk through it. Your guide takes you through terraces, temples, plazas, royal quarters and sacred spaces, and explains how a city was built on a ridge between two peaks.

Your route inside depends on the official ticket and circuit assigned for your date; we plan the schedule around the best option available, so the visit feels calm and complete. If you booked Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain in advance, the hike comes after the tour.

Bus down to Aguas Calientes and lunch on your own. In the afternoon, the Vistadome train to Ollantaytambo, with panoramic windows along the river, and a private transfer to your Cusco hotel for your last night in the Andes.

• Meals: breakfast at the hotel
• Guided tour: around 2.5 hours, plus buses
• Altitude: 2,430 m / 7,972 ft
• Return: Vistadome 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: Passport, small daypack, rain protection, sunscreen and water. No large bags, drones, tripods or food inside. See our Machu Picchu rules guide. Tonight, repack for the jungle: light clothes, long sleeves and repellent on top.

Day 6: Flight to Puerto Maldonado - Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica

After breakfast, our team takes you to Cusco airport for the flight to Puerto Maldonado. This flight is not included; buy it only after our reservations team confirms the recommended schedule.

In Puerto Maldonado, the lodge team welcomes you and drives you to the river pier. Your rainforest days begin with a 45-minute ride in a motorized wooden boat along the Madre de Dios River, watching the town disappear as the forest closes in.

At Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica, a short welcome briefing explains the excursions on offer, so your stay can follow your interests. Depending on your arrival time, lunch, then your cabana and a hammock. In the afternoon, a walk along the Trail System with your Explorer Guide: towering trees, birds, insects and the chance of monkeys or sloths high in the branches.

At sunset, a gentle Twilight River cruise to watch the forest change shifts. Look along the banks for nightjars, owls, capybaras and caimans. Back at the lodge, an Amazon-inspired dinner with a complimentary pisco cocktail, and sleep to the sound of the rainforest.

• Meals: breakfast at the hotel, lunch depending on arrival time, and dinner at the lodge
• Not included: flight from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado
• Transport: road and 45-minute boat transfer to the lodge
• Lodge: Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica
• Difficulty: easy

Tips: Long sleeves and trousers in light fabrics, insect repellent, a headlamp, a rain poncho and a dry bag for your phone. Ask your doctor about the yellow fever vaccine well before you travel.

Day 7: Lake Sandoval - Canopy Walkway - Rainforest by Night

Start early, as the forest wakes around you. After breakfast, travel with your Explorer Guide to Lake Sandoval, a quiet oxbow lake inside the protected Tambopata National Reserve.

A shaded trail leads toward the lake, with monkeys, butterflies and bright birds along the way. Then a traditional wooden canoe, paddled quietly through a narrow stream and out onto open water. The lake is home to giant river otters, red howler monkeys, red-bellied macaws, side-necked turtles, black caimans and many tropical birds. Sightings are never guaranteed, but your guide helps you notice the sounds, tracks and movements most visitors miss.

Back at the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon, the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway: suspension bridges linking eight platforms high above the forest floor, with the first tower 42 m / 138 ft up. From the treetops, look for toucans, woodpeckers, trogons, monkeys and three-toed sloths.

After dark, the Rainforest by Night walk with a flashlight and your guide: frogs, insects and the animals that only appear after sunset. Dinner at the lodge. An ENA Spa treatment, sunset drinks on a canopy tower or a Tree House night can be requested at extra cost.

• Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner at the lodge
• Tour: full day
• Lodge: Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica
• Difficulty: easy to moderate, with a forest walk and a canoe

Tips: Binoculars make this day. Wear closed shoes, apply repellent before each walk and keep your camera in a dry bag on the canoe.

Day 8: Gamitana Creek - Hacienda Concepción - Canoe at Dusk

After breakfast, a short boat ride to the Gamitana farm, where local families grow forest fruits and crops; taste what is in season, then walk a jungle trail to Gamitana Creek, known for piranhas, caimans, turtles and birds. Back to the lodge for lunch.

In the afternoon, a boat upriver to Hacienda Concepción, Inkaterra’s sister lodge on a former cocoa and rubber plantation that once served as a mission medical post and research station. Your guide explains its plants and their traditional uses. Then a quiet canoe trip at dusk to look for turtles, grebes, nightjars and herons, and a last dinner at the lodge.

The three-day Inkaterra program is a suggested itinerary. Excursions are chosen at the lodge and may change with your interests, flight times, weather, river conditions and wildlife activity.

• Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner at the lodge
• Tour: full day
• Lodge: Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica
• Difficulty: easy

Tips: Pack your bag tonight and check your flight time for tomorrow. Tipping the lodge staff and guides is optional and always your choice.

Day 9: Amazon - Transfer to Puerto Maldonado Airport

Breakfast and a last morning surrounded by the sounds of the rainforest. Watch for bright birds in the trees and small animals moving between the cabanas before you pack.

Check-out is at 10:00 a.m. Depending on your flight, lunch can be arranged at the lodge at extra cost. Then the 45-minute boat ride back along the Madre de Dios River and your transfer to Puerto Maldonado airport, where the TreXperience service ends. The onward flight is not included.

• Meals: breakfast at the lodge
• Not included: lunch and the flight from Puerto Maldonado
• Tour ends: Puerto Maldonado airport

Want more of Peru? Add Rainbow Mountain, Humantay Lake, Lake Titicaca or the Colca Canyon before the jungle, or a few days in Lima after it. Write to us and we suggest the best order for your dates.

Peru Tour 9 Days Price and Booking

Prices are per person in US dollars. They include the 3-star hotels (Casa Andina Standard, San Agustín Internacional, Cocatambo, Ferré Machu Picchu, or similar), three nights at Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica with meals and excursions, the Short Inca Trail permit and trekking team, both Machu Picchu entrances, the Vistadome train, all listed tours and tickets, local guides and ground transport. Flights are not included. All services are subject to availability.

Small-Group Tour Price

Private Tour Price

Your own guide and vehicle, your own pace, your own timing, including a private guide on the Short Inca Trail. Good for families, couples and groups. Prices depend on group size and availability.

Note: Private service covers selected parts of the itinerary; we confirm which when you book. Trains, the Machu Picchu buses and the lodge excursions are shared services.

Booking and Payment

• Deposit: US$[TO CONFIRM] per person. It secures your Short Inca Trail permit, Machu Picchu tickets, train seats, hotels and lodge. Pay the balance online or at our Cusco office by card, PayPal or wire transfer.
• We need each traveler’s full name as on the passport, passport number, date of birth, passport expiry and nationality. Inca Trail permits and Machu Picchu tickets are issued in your name and can’t be changed or transferred, so send the passport you will travel with.
• Permits cannot be held without traveler details and the deposit. For May to September, book at least three months ahead; permits sell out well before that in high season.
• Tell us about dietary needs, pregnancy, or any heart, lung, knee or mobility concern, so we can plan the trail and the jungle days safely or suggest an alternative.
• Tell us why you’re traveling too: a milestone birthday, a first big trip together, a long-postponed dream. It helps us prepare.
• Cancellation and change rules: see our Terms and Conditions. Inca Trail permits are non-refundable once issued.

Student and Child Discount

Children under 17 and students under 25 with a valid university ID showing name, photo, university and expiry date may qualify for lower official Machu Picchu and Inca Trail rates. ISIC cards are not accepted. Send a copy of the ID or the date of birth when booking and we confirm the discount [TO CONFIRM]. If the ID is not accepted at the gate, the adult rate applies.

Customization and Upgrades

• Private service for selected parts of the itinerary, including the Short Inca Trail.
• Hotel upgrade to selected 4-star or 5-star hotels in Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Aguas Calientes.
• Lodge extras at Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica: a Tree House night, the ENA Spa or sunset drinks on a canopy tower.
• Extra nights in Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley or the Amazon.
• Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain on Day 5, when tickets and the schedule allow.
• Extensions to Rainbow Mountain, Humantay Lake, Lake Titicaca or the Colca Canyon.

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

Packing List for the Peru Tour 9 Days

Three climates in nine days: Lima’s mild coast, cool Cusco mornings and the cloud forest on the trail, then the heat and humidity of the Amazon. Pack light layers, keep your passport and valuables in your daypack, and bring two small bags: one for the two trail nights in Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes, one for the jungle. More tips in our Peru Packing List.

Essentials

Original passport (checked at Km 104, Machu Picchu, the trains and your flights), medication, travel documents, money and insurance details. Keep some cash in soles for small purchases, tips and the lodge extras.

What to Wear?

Hiking shoes with good grip for the trail and Machu Picchu, breathable layers and a light rain jacket for the Andes, a warm layer for Cusco evenings, and long sleeves and trousers in light fabrics for the Amazon. A hat and sunglasses work in all three.

What to Put in the Daypack?

On the trail: 1.5 liters of water, snacks, sunscreen, insect repellent, rain poncho, camera and personal items; trekking poles need rubber tips. In the jungle: repellent, headlamp, binoculars, a dry bag for your phone and a refillable bottle.

What to Pack for the Trail Nights and the Lodge?

For Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes: a change of clothes, toiletries, medication and a charger; your main suitcase stays at your Cusco hotel or in our free storage and you pick it up on Day 5. For the lodge: quick-dry clothes, sandals for the cabana, a swimsuit and your repellent. See our Machu Picchu packing list.

What We Provide

The hotels and the lodge, the Short Inca Trail permit, picnic breakfast and lunch on the trail, both Machu Picchu entrances, the Vistadome train, all listed transport, tickets and guides, a first-aid kit and oxygen on the trail, and the boats, guides and rubber boots for the jungle excursions [TO CONFIRM].

Optional Gear and Extra Items

Trekking poles with rubber tips (also available to rent), a power bank, a small towel, motion-sickness remedies for the boat, blister plasters, and a waterproof cover for your camera.

Travel Information for the Peru Tour 9 Days

What to know before you book: permits, the pace, the flights you need, altitude, the Short Inca Trail itself, Machu Picchu tickets, the Amazon lodge, health in the jungle, hotels, weather and luggage.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Peru Tour 9 Days

Quick answers about the itinerary, permits, the hike, flights, hotels, Machu Picchu tickets, the Amazon lodge, meals, health and customization.