Country Guide № 135 / 194 · South America
Peru
Machu Picchu is the postcard - the Andes, the Amazon and the best food on the continent are the trip.
“Machu Picchu is the postcard - the Andes, the Amazon and the best food on the continent are the trip.”
Peru compresses more altitudes, climates and civilisations into one border than anywhere else in South America. In a single two-week loop you can eat a tasting menu in Lima, acclimatise among Inca walls in Cusco, walk into Machu Picchu at dawn, and still have time for the Colca Canyon or a jungle lodge on a Tambopata oxbow lake.
The trick is respecting the geography. Cusco sits at 3,400 metres and punishes travellers who fly in and hike the same day; buses between regions take entire nights. Fly the long hops, budget two slow days for altitude, and book Machu Picchu and Inca Trail permits weeks - for the trail, months - ahead.
Chapter 01
Highlights
Machu Picchu at first light
Time your entry slot for the first buses from Aguas Calientes and watch the citadel emerge from cloud before the day-trip crowds arrive. Permits are capped - book the site, and any add-on climb, well ahead.
Cusco & the Sacred Valley
Inca masonry under colonial arcades, and a valley floor of markets, terraces and ruins from Pisac to Ollantaytambo. Sleep a night or two in the valley - it is lower, quieter and closer to the train.
Lima’s table
Cevicherías at lunch (never dinner - the catch is a morning thing), criollo classics in Barranco, and several of the world’s most awarded dining rooms. Even the market stalls are a masterclass.
Cordillera Blanca treks
From Huaraz, day hikes like Laguna 69 and the four-day Santa Cruz trek thread between 6,000-metre peaks - Andean scenery to rival anything in the Cusco region, at a fraction of the foot traffic.
Chapter 02
Entry requirements for Peru
Checking your passport…
up to 183 days · free entry
183 days on arrival
Before you fly
The detail
- Maximum stay
- up to 183 days
- Fee
- free entry
- Passport validity
- Most destinations want validity beyond your stay, and some want six months. Check yours against the return date.
- Onward travel
- Airlines may ask for a return or onward ticket at check-in.
- Health
- No vaccinations are mandatory for entry; hepatitis A and typhoid are standard advice, and yellow fever vaccination is recommended for jungle regions (Tambopata, Iquitos). Altitude sickness is the near-universal complaint - hydrate, skip alcohol on arrival, and consider acetazolamide if you have form. Drink bottled or treated water everywhere.
- Money
- The sol (PEN) is stable and ATMs are everywhere in cities - withdrawal fees of €2–5 make fewer, larger withdrawals sensible. Cards work in mid-range restaurants and hotels; markets, colectivos, site entrances and small-town Peru run on cash, ideally small notes. A mid-range day is €45–60; backpackers manage on €30–35.
No visa is needed, and Peru allows a maximum of 183 days in any 365 - but that is a ceiling, not an entitlement, and the number that governs your trip is the one the officer types on arrival. Ninety days, or sixty, or thirty is common, it is entirely at the officer’s discretion, and the stay is not extendable afterwards, so ask for what you need at the desk and check the record before you walk away. The old paper Andean Migration Card is gone; the entry is electronic and there is nothing to keep in your passport, which means the only way to know what you were granted is to ask or to look it up on the Migraciones site. Overstaying carries a small daily fine, payable at Migraciones or at the airport on departure, and it is genuinely small - the problem is being recorded as an overstayer, not the money. Passport validity of six months is the usual requirement, and a yellow fever certificate is recommended rather than required for the Amazon lowlands.
Check another destination with this passport →
Entry details: Editorial synthesis - Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones del Perú, Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2025–2026) · compiled 15 Sept 2026
Who needs a visa for Peru
12 common passports| Passport | Requirement | Stay | Process |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Visa-free | up to 180 days | No process · €0 / $0 |
| United Kingdom | Visa-free | up to 180 days | No process · €0 / $0 |
| Germany | Visa-free | up to 90 days | No process · €0 / $0 |
| India | Visa required | - | No Other passports record yet |
| China | Visa required | - | No Other passports record yet |
| Brazil | Visa-free | up to 180 days | No Other passports record yet |
| Nigeria | Visa required | - | No Other passports record yet |
| Indonesia | Visa-free | up to 180 days | No Other passports record yet |
| Philippines | Visa-free | up to 180 days | No Other passports record yet |
| Vietnam | Visa required | - | No Other passports record yet |
| Egypt | Visa required | - | No Other passports record yet |
| Nepal | Visa required | - | No Other passports record yet |
Holding a passport that is not listed? The picker above answers for any of them. See where your passport takes you. Source: Passport Index, updated 14 Aug 2026.
Chapter 03
When to go
BestMay–Sep. AvoidFebruary.
Dry season begins; arguably the single best month.
The band above each month is our editorial verdict - it weighs crowds, prices and access as well as weather. The line is average daily temperature, the bars are monthly rainfall. Select a month for the figures. Climate figures: ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2005–2024 normals.
Chapter 04
What it costs
A day in Peru
Comfortable · sample day
≈ $59
Line items are real prices we track. The daily budget is an editorial estimate for this level, not their sum.
Where this sits among 244 countries we have costed
Cusco and the Sacred Valley run 20–30 % above base prices in the June–August peak and around Inti Raymi; the Machu Picchu train is yield-managed and doubles if left late. Lima and Arequipa barely move seasonally. The rainy months (November–March) bring genuine hotel discounts across the sierra.
Updated Aug 2026 · Editorial synthesis - Budget Your Trip, backpacker cost guides, Cusco/Lima price reporting (2025–2026) · confidence medium
Excludes international flights - they depend on where you fly from.
Chapter 05
Regions to know
5Cusco & the Sacred Valley
The Inca heartland - Cusco’s stone streets, valley markets from Pisac to Ollantaytambo, and Machu Picchu at the end of the line. Acclimatise low in the valley first.
Lima & the coast
The gastronomic capital plus Paracas sea-lion colonies and the Huacachina dunes. Grey skies May–October; summer sun December–March.
Arequipa & Colca Canyon
The white volcanic-stone city and a canyon twice the depth of the Grand Canyon, with condors riding the morning thermals.
Cordillera Blanca (Huaraz)
Peru’s trekking capital - Laguna 69, the Santa Cruz trek and a wall of 6,000-metre summits, mercifully short on crowds.
Amazon (Tambopata & Iquitos)
Fly-in jungle lodges: Puerto Maldonado for accessible oxbow-lake wildlife, Iquitos for the deep river; macaw clay licks at dawn.
Chapter 06
Practical guide
Getting there
Lima has direct flights from Madrid (Iberia, Air Europa, LATAM), Amsterdam (KLM) and Paris (Air France); from Central Europe count on one stop and 15–17 hours door to door. Cusco, Arequipa and Iquitos are all short domestic hops from Lima - LATAM and Sky sell them cheaply if booked a few weeks out.
Getting around
Fly the long legs: Lima–Cusco is 80 minutes versus 20+ hours by road. Between nearby cities, premium bus lines (Cruz del Sur, Oltursa) run comfortable services - book a day ahead and prefer daytime departures on mountain routes. In the Sacred Valley, colectivos and taxis are cheap; Machu Picchu itself is reached by train from Ollantaytambo plus a shuttle bus, or the backdoor hike via Hidroeléctrica.
Money & costs
The sol (PEN) is stable and ATMs are everywhere in cities - withdrawal fees of €2–5 make fewer, larger withdrawals sensible. Cards work in mid-range restaurants and hotels; markets, colectivos, site entrances and small-town Peru run on cash, ideally small notes. A mid-range day is €45–60; backpackers manage on €30–35.
Safety
Petty theft is the main risk: keep phones off café tables in Lima, use official taxis or apps at night, and watch bags on buses. Political protests occasionally close roads and rail around Cusco - check news before tight connections. The serious, underrated risk is altitude: sleep low (Sacred Valley) before sleeping high, and give Cusco two easy days before any trek.
Health
No vaccinations are mandatory for entry; hepatitis A and typhoid are standard advice, and yellow fever vaccination is recommended for jungle regions (Tambopata, Iquitos). Altitude sickness is the near-universal complaint - hydrate, skip alcohol on arrival, and consider acetazolamide if you have form. Drink bottled or treated water everywhere.
SIM & internet
Claro and Movistar have the widest coverage; a tourist SIM with 10–20 GB costs €8–12 with a passport, or install an eSIM before landing. 4G covers the whole tourist circuit including Aguas Calientes; expect nothing on treks and long mountain roads - download offline maps and your train tickets.
Chapter 07
Driving
City limits drop to 40 km/h on ordinary streets (60 on avenues). Mountain roads are slow and lightly guard-railed - plan a 40–50 km/h real average in the sierra and avoid night driving.
Rules change - verify with an official source before you rent.
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Become ExplWorld Verified →Chapter 08
Itineraries through this country
Chapter 09
From the Journal
Chapter 10
Before you go
PeruChapter 11
Frequently asked questions
Is Peru safe for independent travellers?
The tourist circuit - Lima’s coastal districts, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Arequipa - is well used to visitors and generally safe with city common sense: use registered or app taxis, watch bags in bus terminals and markets, and skip protests when they flare. Altitude and long night buses on mountain roads are the more realistic hazards; take day buses on the dramatic routes.
When is the best time to visit?
May to September is the Andean dry season - reliable trekking weather and clear mornings at Machu Picchu, with June–August the peak. The wettest months, January to March, turn trails muddy, and the Inca Trail closes for maintenance every February. The coast runs on an opposite rhythm: Lima is grey May–October and sunniest December–March.
How much does a day in Peru cost?
Around €55 per person mid-range: €25–30 for your half of a double room, €12–15 on food, the rest on transport and entries. Backpackers manage on €30–35 with dorms and menú del día lunches at €2.50; the big fixed costs are Machu Picchu entry (~€38) and the train to Aguas Calientes.