10 days in Peru
A ten day route planned backwards from one timed ticket, and ordered by altitude rather than by fame.
Last updated . Machu Picchu ticketing rules, circuit definitions and daily capacity change year to year, and the official platform is the only truth. Rail timetables and strike disruptions move faster still. Recheck before booking anything.
The famous mistake in Peru is doing it in the famous order. Fly to Cusco, wake up at 3,400 metres, feel dreadful, see the sights through a headache. The route that works is the one the trip reports keep converging on: land in Lima at sea level, sleep two nights in the Sacred Valley at a gentler altitude, ride to Machu Picchu from there, and only then climb to Cusco with several days of acclimatisation already banked. The other thing the reports agree on is that the Machu Picchu ticket, sold by circuit on the state platform, is the first thing to buy and the last thing to leave to chance.
How many days do you need in Peru?
10 days: 2 in Lima, 3 in the Sacred Valley, 1 at Machu Picchu and 3 in Cusco.
A week is possible if you cut Lima to a landing strip, but it compresses the acclimatisation that makes the rest enjoyable. Two weeks adds Arequipa and the Colca canyon or the Amazon properly.
How far ahead should you book Machu Picchu tickets?
For June to August and other peak dates, 3 to 6 months ahead for the popular circuits; tickets are sold on the Ministry of Culture's official platform.
The classic viewpoint circuits and the Huayna Picchu climb go first, and morning slots before afternoon. A daily allocation of around 1,000 tickets is held for in-person sale in Aguas Calientes for the unlucky, which means queueing the day before and taking what remains.
Should you sleep in Cusco or the Sacred Valley first?
The valley. Ollantaytambo and Urubamba sit around 2,800 to 2,900 metres against Cusco's roughly 3,400, and that difference is what a first night's sleep needs.
This is the single most repeated piece of advice in recent trip reports, and the medical logic is simple: sleep low, climb high. The route below only reaches Cusco on day 7, by which point the altitude is an afterthought.
How do you actually get to Machu Picchu?
Train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, about 90 minutes, then a 25 minute shuttle bus or a steep 1.5 hour walk up to the gate.
The trains are run by two private operators and want booking weeks ahead in season, the same evening you buy the entry ticket. There is no road for private cars; the rail leg is not optional.
The plan at a glance
- Days
- 1 to 2
- Where
- Lima
- Altitude
- Sea level
- What needs arranging
- Nothing fixed
- Days
- 3 to 5
- Where
- Sacred Valley
- Altitude
- About 2,850 m
- What needs arranging
- Nothing daily; it is the acclimatiser
- Days
- 6
- Where
- Machu Picchu
- Altitude
- 2,430 m
- What needs arranging
- The circuit ticket, months ahead, plus the train
- Days
- 7 to 9
- Where
- Cusco
- Altitude
- About 3,400 m
- What needs arranging
- Rainbow Mountain only if day 8 feels good
- Days
- 10
- Where
- Fly Cusco to Lima and out
- Altitude
- What needs arranging
- The domestic hop, booked with the long haul
| Days | Where | Altitude | What needs arranging |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Lima | Sea level | Nothing fixed |
| 3 to 5 | Sacred Valley | About 2,850 m | Nothing daily; it is the acclimatiser |
| 6 | Machu Picchu | 2,430 m | The circuit ticket, months ahead, plus the train |
| 7 to 9 | Cusco | About 3,400 m | Rainbow Mountain only if day 8 feels good |
| 10 | Fly Cusco to Lima and out | The domestic hop, booked with the long haul |
The route at a glance
12 mapped stops · 10 days
Live route map
OpenStreetMap tiles
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Route stops
Follow the numbered order through each day.
Day 1: Lima, Miraflores and the sea
- 1The Miraflores malecon · about 3 hours
- ·A cevicheria, early · about 2 hours
Day 2: The centre and Barranco
- 2Plaza Mayor and the cathedral quarter · about 3 hours
- 3Barranco · about 3 hours
Day 3: Fly high, sleep low
- ·Lima to Cusco, then to Ollantaytambo · about 5 hours door to door
- 4Ollantaytambo town · about 2 hours, slowly
Day 4: Pisac
- 5Pisac ruins · about 3 hours
- ·Pisac market and town · about 2 hours
Day 5: Ollantaytambo fortress and rest
- 6Ollantaytambo fortress · about 2.5 hours
- ·The valley, idly · the rest of the day
Day 6: Machu Picchu
- ·Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes by rail · about 2 hours with boarding
- 7Machu Picchu, on your circuit · about 3.5 hours
- ·Rail back, then to Cusco · about 4 hours
Day 7: Cusco, gently
- 8Plaza de Armas and the cathedral · about 2.5 hours
- 9Qorikancha · about 90 minutes
Day 8: Sacsayhuaman, or the rainbow gamble
- 10Sacsayhuaman · about 3 hours
- 11San Blas · about 2 hours
Day 9: San Pedro market and the last museums
- 12San Pedro market · about 2 hours
- ·Museo Inka or the Precolombino · about 2 hours
Day 10: Down and out
- ·Cusco to Lima to home · half a day
Day 1: Lima, Miraflores and the sea
Land at sea level on purpose, and spend the first day where the oxygen is.
- On foot
- About 6 km on foot, flat
Afternoon
The Miraflores maleconabout 3 hours
Clifftop parks above the Pacific, paragliders overhead, and the city's best walking. The right first afternoon after a long haul.
Evening
A cevicheria, earlyabout 2 hours
Ceviche is a lunch and early evening dish here; the good places run out rather than stay open. This is the meal Lima's reputation rides on.
Day 2: The centre and Barranco
Colonial Lima in the morning, the painted streets of Barranco after lunch.
- On foot
- About 7 km on foot
Morning
Plaza Mayor and the cathedral quarterabout 3 hours
The viceregal centre, wooden balconies and all. The San Francisco monastery's catacombs are the memorable interior.
Afternoon
Barrancoabout 3 hours
The small bohemian district, murals and the Bridge of Sighs, at its best in the late golden light.
Day 3: Fly high, sleep low
The Cusco flight, then straight DOWN into the valley without sleeping in the city.
- On foot
- About 2 km on foot, plus 2.5 hours of road
- Book before you go
- The domestic flight, and a driver from Cusco airport to the valley
Morning
Lima to Cusco, then to Ollantaytamboabout 5 hours door to door
The flight is about 80 minutes; the drive down into the valley about 2 hours more. The whole point is not stopping at 3,400 metres: the day ends 500 metres lower than the airport.
Afternoon
Ollantaytambo townabout 2 hours, slowly
A living Inca grid, canals still running down the streets. Walk gently, drink water, and let the altitude introductions happen at valley grade.
Day 4: Pisac
The valley's other great ruin and its market town, an easy day at kind altitude.
- On foot
- About 5 km on foot with a descent
Morning
Pisac ruinsabout 3 hours
Terraces pouring down a ridge, with the best approach being a taxi to the top gate and a walk down through the site to the town.
Afternoon
Pisac market and townabout 2 hours
Touristy and worth it anyway; the artisan alleys behind the main square are calmer than the front rows.
Day 5: Ollantaytambo fortress and rest
The terraces above town in the morning, deliberate idleness after; tomorrow is the early one.
- On foot
- About 4 km on foot with steep Inca stairs
- Book before you go
- Nothing today, but lay out tomorrow's tickets tonight
Morning
Ollantaytambo fortressabout 2.5 hours
The terraces Manco Inca actually defended, climbed before the day trip crowds arrive from Cusco around mid morning.
Afternoon
The valley, idlythe rest of the day
Coffee, a slow lunch, an early night. Day 6 starts before dawn and rewards being boring today.
Day 6: Machu Picchu
The day the whole trip was booked around, on the circuit your ticket names.
- On foot
- About 6 km on site, stairs throughout
- Book before you go
- Everything: the circuit entry months ago, the train weeks ago, the shuttle on arrival
Early morning
Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes by railabout 2 hours with boarding
About 90 minutes down the Urubamba gorge. Sit on the left going for the river side.
Morning
Machu Picchu, on your circuitabout 3.5 hours
Circuits are one way and enforced; the classic postcard terraces belong to the upper circuits, so buy the view you want months ahead rather than hoping at the gate. Passports are checked against tickets.
Evening
Rail back, then to Cuscoabout 4 hours
Train to Ollantaytambo and a pre arranged car up to Cusco. Arriving at 3,400 metres on day 6 is fine; arriving there on day 1 was the mistake this route exists to avoid.
Day 7: Cusco, gently
The imperial capital at last, with the altitude already paid for.
- On foot
- About 5 km on foot, hilly
Morning
Plaza de Armas and the cathedralabout 2.5 hours
The Inca capital's heart under colonial stone. The cathedral's Cusco School paintings include the famous guinea pig Last Supper.
Afternoon
Qorikanchaabout 90 minutes
The Sun Temple whose Inca masonry the conquerors could not better, so they built on top of it. The single best wall in the city.
Day 8: Sacsayhuaman, or the rainbow gamble
The fortress above the city for most; the 5,000 metre Rainbow Mountain only for the fully acclimatised.
- On foot
- About 6 km on foot, or a 3 am tour bus
- Book before you go
- Rainbow Mountain, the evening before, and only if day 7 felt easy
Morning
Sacsayhuamanabout 3 hours
Zigzag walls of hundred tonne stones above the city, walkable from the plaza in 45 uphill minutes. This is the sane day 8.
Afternoon
San Blasabout 2 hours
The artisan quarter's lanes and balconies, and the best coffee in the old town for the descent.
Day 9: San Pedro market and the last museums
Cusco without a checklist: the market, a museum, the streets between.
- On foot
- About 4 km on foot
Morning
San Pedro marketabout 2 hours
Juice ladies, whole aisles of potatoes, and the city eating breakfast. Go hungry.
Afternoon
Museo Inka or the Precolombinoabout 2 hours
One museum, chosen by taste: the Inka for archaeology in a conquistador mansion, the Precolombino for objects lit like jewellery.
Day 10: Down and out
The morning hop to Lima and the flight home, with a connection buffer that respects Andean weather.
- On foot
- About 1 km on foot
Morning
Cusco to Lima to homehalf a day
Book the domestic leg on the same ticket as the long haul or leave at least 4 hours between separate tickets: Cusco mornings misbehave and the airport closes to weather more than schedules admit.
The options below are separate choices rather than a package. Read how RoamWeek chooses and orders suggestions before using any of them.
Book the separate parts
Book the parts that need booking
The entry ticket is bought on the state platform and nowhere else. What is worth arranging elsewhere is the flights, the valley and Cusco rooms, and the guided days.
You book each service directly with its supplier. These separate bookings do not form a RoamWeek package.
- Flights
Lima is the gateway and the Cusco hop prices sanest bought with the long haul; the route below 3,000 metres starts at this desk.
Search on Aviasales
- Stays
The valley nights are the acclimatisation plan itself, and Ollantaytambo's small hotels near the station sell out with the train timetable.
Search on Booking.com
- Activities
The circuits are one way and unsignposted; a licensed guide at the gate is the difference between a ruin and a city, and valley day tours solve the Pisac logistics in one booking.
Search on GetYourGuide
What is worth the time, and what is not
Worth your time
- Buying the Machu Picchu circuit months out. The circuit decides your photographs and the sell-out decides your dates; it is the cheapest insurance in the trip.
- Three nights in the Sacred Valley before Cusco. It converts altitude from the trip's biggest risk into a non event, and the valley is magnificent in its own right.
- Ollantaytambo as the valley base. It is a living Inca town, the fortress is on the doorstep, and the Machu Picchu trains leave from the end of the street.
Skip it
- Sleeping in Cusco on arrival night. It is the classic mistake: 3,400 metres straight off a sea level flight, and day two disappears into a headache.
- Rainbow Mountain before day 7. It tops 5,000 metres; unacclimatised visitors describe it as the worst day of their trip, and the tour leaves at 3 am regardless.
- Separate-ticket tight connections through Lima. Cusco weather delays mornings routinely, and a missed separate ticket long haul is the most expensive mistake this trip can make.
Why this order
Lima opens the trip because it is at sea level and because its food deserves better than jet lagged company at the end. The Sacred Valley comes second and gets 3 nights because it is the acclimatisation plan, not a stop on one. Machu Picchu sits on day 6 so that the trip's fixed ticket has 5 days of buffer in front of it and a spare morning behind. Cusco is last, not first: by day 7 the altitude is paid, the ruins read richer with the valley behind you, and the flight home leaves from its runway anyway.
Book the trip
Start with Peru, dates and travellers
Compare the travel services first, then use the itinerary below to plan each day.
- Flights
Choose your airports, travel dates and passenger count.
Search flights - Hotels
Search stays near the places in this route.
Search Booking.com - Activities
Check tours and tickets for the stops you want to keep.
Find activities
You book each service directly with its supplier. These separate bookings do not form a RoamWeek package.
Read next
- 7 days in Bolivia
The overland continuation: Puno, the border and the salt flats are the classic next chapter.
- 7 days in Ecuador
The northern Andes counterpart, for a longer South America run.
What we checked
- TuBoleto, Ministry of Culture official ticket platform read 31 August 2026
- Machupicchu official visitor site read 31 August 2026
- Peru official tourism portal read 31 August 2026
Why this page exists. This is the only RoamWeek route that sequences Peru by acclimatisation, Sacred Valley before Cusco because the valley is lower, and says plainly that Machu Picchu circuits are sold on the state's own platform and sell out months ahead in season.