Peru

Overview

Peru is best understood as three countries stacked sideways: a rainless desert coast, the Andean cordillera, and the Amazon basin, which covers 60% of the national territory and holds a fraction of its population. Altitude, not distance, should shape your itinerary — Cusco sits at 3,400m and deserves two days of doing very little.

Things to see and do

Four things worth building an itinerary around, rather than a list of everything.

• 01

  Choquequirao

  Machu Picchu's larger sister, reached only by a two-day hike in and out, receiving a few dozen visitors a day.

• 02

  The Sacred Valley

  Ollantaytambo, Moray's agricultural terraces and the Maras salt pans, all 600m lower than Cusco.

• 03

  Arequipa and Colca

  White volcanic-stone architecture and a canyon twice the depth of the Grand Canyon, with condors at dawn.

• 04

  Northern Peru

  Kuélap's cloud-forest fortress and the Gocta falls, still largely off the standard circuit.

When to go

The usable window is May–Sep. January is typically the warmest month and May the wettest; the shoulder weeks either side of the peak give you most of the weather at a fraction of the price.

Getting there and around

International arrivals concentrate on Lima, and for most visitors that is the sensible entry point even when it is not the first place you want to be.

Overland

Roads follow the valleys, which means the shortest line on the map is rarely the fastest route. Buses are cheap and slow; a shared car is often the better use of a day.

Local transport

In Lima, use the metered taxi or a ride app rather than negotiating at the kerb, and carry small notes — change is a genuine problem in most of the country. Intercity travel is worth booking a day ahead during the May–Sep peak.

Food and drink

Eat where the turnover is fastest. In Peru that usually means the market stalls at lunch and the neighbourhood places that open at seven and stop serving when the pot is empty.

Portions, timings and the position of the main meal in the day all vary from what you are used to. Ask what the kitchen is doing well today rather than reading down the menu, and order what the next table is eating.

Passport and visa

Current position: Visa-free 90 days for many nationalities.

Most nationalities need a passport valid for six months beyond the date of entry, with at least two blank pages. Onward or return tickets are checked at the gate more often than at the border, and airlines apply the rule more strictly than immigration does.

• Check your own government’s travel advice as well as the destination’s rules — they update at different speeds.
• Where an e-visa or travel authorisation applies, apply through the official government portal. Search results are full of paid intermediaries.
• Keep a photo of your passport page and any approval separately from the documents themselves.

Money and costs

The currency is the Peruvian sol (PEN). Card acceptance is normal in cities and patchy outside them; carry enough cash for two days of small purchases at all times.

Tipping

Rounding up is normal and welcomed; a set percentage is not universal. Check whether service is already on the bill before adding to it.

Health and safety

Standard travel advice applies: routine vaccinations up to date, comprehensive insurance that covers the activities you actually intend to do, and a pharmacy plan for the ordinary things rather than the dramatic ones.

• Carry oral rehydration salts. Most travel stomach upsets resolve in a day, and fluid loss is the part that causes trouble.
• Check whether your insurance covers altitude and trekking above 3,000m — many policies exclude it by default.
• Save the local emergency number to your phone on arrival, and note the nearest hospital to where you are staying.

Petty theft in busy tourist areas is the most common problem visitors report. Situational awareness handles nearly all of it.

Culture and etiquette

The official language is Spanish, Quechua. Learning six words — hello, please, thank you, yes, no, and the number two — changes how a trip goes far more than the effort suggests.

Coca tea genuinely helps with altitude. Ascending slowly helps more.

City guides in Peru

AgainErick / BY-SA

City guide

Cusco

An Inca capital wearing a baroque overcoat at 3,400m.

September 6, 2026 1 min