How Many Days to Spend in Peru During a Vacation?
James Bustamante is Native to New York but born to Peruvian parents. He has been traveling throughout Latin America since early 2003 and finally made his home in Peru. James has made his way by eating and traveling through almost every country in Central and South America.
Last Updated on November 8, 2021 by James Bustamante
Knowing exactly how many days to spend in Peru during your next vacation can be a difficult question to answer. This will vary by scheduling and it might really boil down to what destinations you are interested in visiting.
Regardless of how long you’ll be in Peru, no matter if it is only a few days or a couple of weeks, Peru offers some of the most memorable and unique experiences. Even with a limited number of days, travelers can visit the most important highlights like Cusco, the Sacred Valley, The Hike to Machu Picchu, and even a multiday trek. Let’s go through the guide that details how many days to spend in Peru according to destinations and activities.
Spending 3-4 Days in Peru
Spending 3-4 days in Peru basically means it is a long weekend full of adventures. For travelers who have 3-4 days to spend in Peru, we recommend going straight to Cusco and skipping time in Lima. Make sure your connecting flight from Lima to Cusco is properly scheduled to avoid wasting a day at the airport.
Once in Cusco you’ll be able to see the impressive buildings around the city, many of these vary from Spanish-style architecture while others are more reminiscent of the local Inca heritage. Your first day can actually be spent walking around the city while you acclimate to the elevation. Short walks around the main square with plenty of fluids and a good night’s sleep with be very advantageous.
On day 2 of the trip, you’ll have a few options for activities. Many travelers prefer to take the Sacred Valley full-day tour, this trip takes you to visit Inca ruins in Pisac, the Pisac Market, Ollantaytambo ruins, and other destinations in the Urubamba Valley. The scenery is quite spectacular and well worth the trip.
On day 3 you can finally go to see the Inca citadel. The Machu Picchu express tour is basically a day trip from Cusco to the Inca ruins and back. The tour starts very early though, at around 4 am. Then off to Ollantaytambo train station to catch a 7:00 am train to Aguas Calientes. We then head to Machu Picchu, have a full day tour, and then return to Cusco that very evening in time for dinner. The following day you would take your flight back home.
Alternatively, you can go straight to Aguas Calientes on day 2, visit the hot springs, and have an overnight stay there. Visit Machu Picchu early in the morning of day 3 and return to Cusco in the evening.
If you already saw Machu Picchu and have an additional 3-4 days to spend then a tour of the coastal region near Lima can be a good option. You can spend a day in Lima and then a couple of days visiting Ica, The Paracas nature reserve, and fly over the Nasca lines before returning to the capital.
A third option could be visiting the northern area of Peru. Some highlights would be the city of Trujillo, Chanchan, Huaraz, or Gocta falls. There are a few interesting hikes like the Santa Cruz trek you can book while in the north of Peru.
Spending 5-7 Days in Peru
When figuring out how many days to spend in Peru, considering a week might be more advantageous than a long weekend. An itinerary consisting of 5-7 days in Peru. With a full week to spend in Peru, you can take it easy the first couple of days while you acclimate. Head straight to Cusco and rest on the first day.
On day 2 you can explore the city on a full day city tour, this also includes the Sacsayhuaman fortress just outside the city limits. Famous structures like the Cusco Cathedral and the Korikancha gold museum near the center are also part of the city route.
With 5-6 days to spend in Peru, you can also make plans to visit the Maras salt ponds and the agricultural Moray terraces of the Inca. Stay overnight in Aguas Calientes and make sure to visit the hot springs before heading to Machu Picchu the next morning.
You can add Lima to the 7-day itinerary and spend a day taking a city tour and the second day doing some shopping in the Larcomar center in Miraflores.
A good way to spend 5-7 days in Peru could also be to take an alternative itinerary. The classic 4 day Inca trail is one of the best ways to spend your time in the highlands. For the first 3 days, you hike through the Andes down to the cloud forests before arriving at Machu Picchu on day 4 of the trek. Add a couple of days to acclimate and one overnight stays after the hike and you have a full 7-day trip.
Spending 9-12 Days in Peru
With 9-12 days to spend in Peru, you can comfortably visit two or three regions. Putting together a 5-6 day itinerary that includes Cusco, the sacred valley, and Machu Picchu with an additional 5-6 day itinerary that adds visits to Arequipa or the Amazon Rainforest.
We can begin this trip with a visit to Lima, Ica, Paracas, and an exhilarating Nazca lines flyover tour. Once we finish touring the coastal areas we head to the Peruvian highlands to visit the Arequipa, hike the Misti volcano, and explore the famous Colca Canyon as we watch giant Andean condors fly overhead.
A 10-day itinerary can also have a completely different set of destinations. With 9-12 days to spend in Peru, you can customize the trip to almost anything you want. Include Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu for the first part of the trip, we can then include a trip to Puno and a guided tour of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the entire world. Take an extra day to fully explore the Uros floating islands and the island of Taquile.
To end this itinerary consider spending 3-4 days in the Amazon rainforest. Fly to the hot and humid city of Iquitos and take a boat ride to the Tambopata nature reserve. The lodges here have scheduled activities like canoe trips, jungle excursions, canopy treetop tours, birdwatching, riverboats, and more.
Spending 14 Days in Peru
If you have 14 days to spend in Peru you’ll have enough time to go through all 3 regions including the coast, the highlands, and the jungle region.
With 12 weeks to spend in the country, we recommend heading straight to Cusco first. Explore the Andean city of the Incas, the Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo, the Rainbow Mountain, Maras and Moray, and Machu Picchu.
The doesn’t include all the highlights but you get to see most of them. Afterward, we take a plane and visit Lake Titicaca in Puno. We explore the lake on a full-day tour that goes to the floating islands of Uros and then to Taquile. Once done at the lake we head further south to Arequipa, The Misti Volcano, have some of the most delicious Andean food in the country and take an excursion to the Colca Canyon.
Lima can be the next stop on our 14-day trip. We take a Lima city tour and explore the colonial buildings in the center of the city. The following morning we go to the Ica desert, sea critters at the Paracas Reserve, and take a small plane over the enigmatic Nazca lines.
We can end this trip with a few days pend in the deep Amazon rainforest. Some of the more popular nature reserves we can visit include Tambopata and the Manu national park in Puerto Maldonado.
Riverboats that take you along the Amazon rainforest have also been growing in popularity in the last few years. Take a luxury boat that doubles as a boutique hotel while you tour the winding Amazon rivers’ paths and watch elusive pink dolphins swing quickly past the boats.
Conclusion
If you wanted to see all of Peru in 1 single trip you might need at least a couple of months of hardcore traveling. There is a lot to see and many places that to visit that are not even mentioned in this article. The northern route through the Cordillera Blanca also offers some amazing treks and activities for travelers.
The northern beaches near Tumbes offer shores that seem untouched by humans and where you might not see another person outside of your hotel. So just to make it as easy as possible remember that when you calculate how many days to spend in Peru, try to first think of the destinations you definitely want to see. You might need more time than you thought in some cases while in others you might only need 4-5 days.
Cover photo by: by WILLIAN REIS
