10-Day Peru Itinerary: Lima, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Arequipa & Lake Titicaca

Day-by-day plan

1. 

   Day 1Lima →

   Arrival + Miraflores cliff sunset

   • •Land at Jorge Chávez (LIM); 30-45 min taxi or Uber to Miraflores (~$20)
   • •Larcomar cliff walk + Parque del Amor at sunset
   • •Dinner at La Mar (Gastón Acurio cevichería) — book ahead
   • •Pisco sour at Ayahuasca, a converted Barranco mansion

   Start in Miraflores or Barranco — safe, walkable, and where the food is. Avoid Lima Centro hotels for a short trip.

2. 

   Day 2Lima →

   Lima food crawl + Huaca Pucllana + Barranco art

   • •Huaca Pucllana — pre-Inca adobe pyramid in the middle of Miraflores
   • •Lunch: tasting menu at Maido (Nikkei) or Central — book 2+ months ahead
   • •Barranco art walk: MATE photo gallery, Bridge of Sighs, street murals
   • •Coffee at Café Bisetti or chocolate at Xocolatl
   • •Dinner: causa + leche de tigre at El Mercado

   → Next: flight · ~1h 20m LIM→CUZ · ~$110 — Morning flight Lima → Cusco. Drink coca tea on arrival, take it slow.

3. 

   Day 3Sacred Valley →

   Skip Cusco altitude — go straight to Sacred Valley

   • •Cusco airport → private transfer or shared van to Urubamba (~1h 30m, $40-80)
   • •Lower altitude (2,800m vs Cusco's 3,400m) = easier first night
   • •Light afternoon: Pisac Sunday market (or any-day Pisac ruins on the hilltop)
   • •Dinner at Hacienda Huayoccari or Tunupa Restaurant — alpaca steak with quinoa
   • •Early bedtime + ibuprofen + lots of water — altitude is real

   This is the single most useful trip-rule in Peru: do NOT sleep in Cusco on your first night. Sacred Valley puts you 600m lower while you're acclimatizing.

4. 

   Day 4Sacred Valley →

   Maras + Moray + Ollantaytambo

   • •Maras salt evaporation pans — 5,000+ active salt ponds on a hillside
   • •Moray circular Inca terraces — 30°C microclimate experiment
   • •Lunch at Cuchara de Palo or Tres Keros
   • •Ollantaytambo fortress + working Inca-era town climb
   • •Dinner in Ollanta — sleep here tonight if heading to MaPi tomorrow

   → Next: train · ~1h 30m · ~$75 — PeruRail Vistadome or Inca Rail from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. Book 4+ weeks ahead.

5. 

   Day 5Machu Picchu →

   Machu Picchu — the day

   • •Early train (5:07 AM Vistadome) to Aguas Calientes
   • •Bus to the citadel ($24 round-trip) — first buses leave 5:30 AM
   • •Sunrise at the Sun Gate (Inti Punku) if you have a Circuit 1 + Huayna Picchu / Mountain ticket
   • •Guided tour through the citadel (mandatory in 2026, ~$30, 2-3h)
   • •Optional: Huayna Picchu hike (vertiginous, capped at 200/day, book months ahead)
   • •Late afternoon train back to Cusco direct

   Tickets sell out 6-8 weeks ahead in peak (May-Sep). Use the official Joinnus / Boleto Electronico site or a reputable agency. Don't buy from random stalls in Aguas Calientes.

   → Next: train · ~3h 30m · ~$90 — PeruRail Aguas Calientes → Poroy/Cusco direct, evening service.

6. 

   Day 6Cusco →

   Cusco proper — Plaza de Armas + San Pedro Market

   • •Coca tea breakfast at your hotel — your body should be acclimatized by now
   • •Qorikancha (Sun Temple) — Spanish convent built on Inca walls
   • •Plaza de Armas + Cusco Cathedral
   • •Lunch at Chicha (Gastón Acurio) or Pachapapa for Andean tasting
   • •San Pedro Market afternoon — fruit juices, frog soup if brave
   • •Sacsayhuamán fortress at sunset (taxi 10 min above town)
   • •Dinner at Cicciolina or Limo (Nikkei) on Plaza de Armas

   → Next: flight · ~1h CUZ→AQP · ~$95 — LATAM or Sky direct flight to Arequipa.

7. 

   Day 7Arequipa →

   Arequipa — the White City + Santa Catalina

   • •Santa Catalina Monastery — 20,000 m² walled city-within-a-city, 2-3h visit
   • •Plaza de Armas + Cathedral + sillar-stone arcades
   • •Lunch: rocoto relleno + chupe de camarones at Zig Zag or La Nueva Palomino
   • •Mirador de Yanahuara for the El Misti volcano panorama
   • •Dinner at Chicha (Acurio's Arequipa branch) or Tradición Arequipeña
   • •Optional: 2-day Colca Canyon trip if your timing allows (depart 3 AM next day)

   → Next: flight · ~50 min AQP→JUL · ~$80 — LATAM or Sky to Juliaca; bus 1h to Puno.

8. 

   Day 8Puno →

   Lake Titicaca — Uros floating islands + Taquile

   • •Full-day boat tour from Puno: Uros floating reed islands + Taquile weaving island
   • •The Uros people still build their islands from totora reeds; you walk on living reed mats
   • •Lunch on Taquile — quinoa soup + lake trout
   • •Back in Puno by 5 PM — dinner at Mojsa or Colors
   • •Sleep at altitude (3,827m) — go easy on the alcohol tonight

   Group tours run $25; private guide + boat $200+. The group option is fine — same boats, same islands.

   → Next: flight · ~1h 50m JUL→LIM (with bus to airport) · ~$110 — Bus Puno → Juliaca (1h), morning flight LATAM/Sky to Lima.

9. 

   Day 9Lima →

   Lima return — final tasting menus + Barranco

   • •Late morning arrival in Lima — sea-level oxygen feels like a superpower after Titicaca
   • •Lunch at Isolina (criollo cooking, family-style) or Maido / Central if you missed them
   • •Barranco gallery walk + MATE photo museum
   • •Sunset at Parque del Amor in Miraflores
   • •Last dinner: Astrid y Gastón at Casa Moreyra
10. 

    Day 10Lima →

    Departure

    • •Last pisco sour in the airport lounge
    • •Taxi or Uber to LIM — leave Miraflores 4 hours before your flight (Lima traffic is unpredictable)
    • •Allow 3 hours for international departures

Want to swap something?

Hike instead of train: replace Day 4-5 with the 4-day classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (book 6+ months ahead, ~$700 with a permitted operator). Skip Titicaca: drop Days 8-9 and add a Colca Canyon overnight from Arequipa (condor flight at 8 AM at Cruz del Cóndor). Foodie focus: drop Puno entirely, sleep two nights in Arequipa, and use Day 9 for Pueblo Libre's Larco Museum + a Maido dinner.

Practical tips

• •Altitude rule: do NOT fly Lima → Cusco and sleep in Cusco. Sacred Valley first night, Cusco second night onward — the difference is enormous.
• •Machu Picchu tickets sell out 6-8 weeks ahead May-September. Buy via the official Joinnus site or use a reputable Cusco agency. 2026 rules require a guide for first-time circuits.
• •Domestic flights LATAM and Sky are reliable; Viva Air closed in 2023 — don't book on resale sites listing it.
• •Cash matters in markets and small towns; carry crisp USD and soles. ATMs work in cities.
• •Best months May-September (dry, peak season). January-March is rainy and the Inca Trail closes in February for maintenance.