Peru by permit, ticket and altitude
You’re planning one of the most managed sites in the world. Start with the rules, then picture one real route.
- LimaDays 1–2A welcome meeting, then a day of sightseeing and free time in the capital.
- Cusco to the Sacred ValleyDay 3Fly up from Lima (Trafalgar includes the internal air), then drop down into the valley to sleep lower.
- Machu PicchuDay 4 · day tripOut to the citadel and back to the Sacred Valley the same day.
- CuscoDays 5–6Sightseeing and free time in the old Inca capital, saved for the end of the trip.
- DepartDay 7The tour ends in Cusco.
From $1,365 for 2027 on Trafalgar’s US page (was $1,484). Groups average about 33; six breakfasts, one lunch and one dinner included.
Dry season, wet season, and the month in between
Peru has three climates in one trip. The Andes set the calendar, because that’s where Machu Picchu is.
The dry season
Intrepid’s guidance is simple: aim for May to October for blue skies over Cusco and the Inca Trail.
- June to August is the peak for trekking, Machu Picchu and the Amazon, with the biggest crowds
- Inti Raymi fills Cusco in June
- Machu Picchu’s higher 5,600 cap ran from June 19 to November 2 in 2026, which tells you when demand peaks
The shoulder months
Clearer skies start returning in April; October brings a mix of sun and showers.
- April trails can still be damp, but the big crowds haven’t arrived
- September is mostly dry with somewhat fewer visitors in Cusco, though Machu Picchu stays busy
- November starts the wet season with fewer trekkers
The wet season
Rain peaks around January, and the Andes trails can be muddy but manageable.
- The Inca Trail closes for all of February; the Quarry Trail and the trains stay open
- Machu Picchu is often quieter in January and March
- Bring an umbrella in Cusco
Lima and the Amazon
Lima’s summer runs December to March. From May to October the city sits under its overcast garúa fog.
- The Amazon’s drier period starts in June; May and July make wildlife easier to spot
- Heavier jungle rains arrive in October and run into November
- A dry-season Andes trip pairs well with a drier Amazon add-on
How Machu Picchu tickets work now
If you picture wandering the ruins all day, update the picture. Machu Picchu runs on one-way routes and time slots.
Your ticket is a circuit and an entry time, not a day pass. The citadel has three circuits, Panoramic, Classic and Royalty, with ten routes between them; some open only in high season.
For 2026 the Ministry of Culture capped visits at 5,600 a day on high-season dates and 4,500 on the rest. Tickets sell on the official site, tuboleto.cultura.pe, plus 1,000 a day in person in Machu Picchu Pueblo.
Bring your passport. Entry needs a valid ID, and for foreign visitors that’s the passport.
Booking yourself? Peruvian press reports the regular adult ticket for foreign visitors at S/ 152, about $45, plus an S/ 11 charge for foreign adults that Sernanp, Peru’s protected-areas agency, added in 2026. The S/ 64 fares you’ll see quoted are promotional rates for Peruvians, residents and Andean Community citizens, not for US visitors.
The 2027 caps and prices hadn’t been published when we checked. On a tour, the operator buys the tickets and picks the circuit, so ask which one, when, and whether the mountain climbs cost extra.
| Circuit | What it covers | Seasonal extras |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Panoramic | Upper Terraces, the classic postcard view | Intipunku (Sun Gate) and Inca Bridge, high season |
| 2 · Classic | The main designed route and lower terraces | Year-round |
| 3 · Royalty | The designed route through the royal sector | Huchuy Picchu, high season |
| Mountains | Machu Picchu Mountain, Huayna Picchu, Great Cavern | Separate, pricier tickets |
Machu Picchu morning, by the clock
This is day 4 of Intrepid’s Classic Peru, from its 2026 trip notes. It follows a night in Aguas Calientes and starts with an early alarm.
First bus up
The first bus leaves Aguas Calientes at 6:00. Intrepid expects you at the gate between 6:30 and 7:00. Breakfast is included.
Not this time
The sun rises around 5:30, so Intrepid says plainly you can’t be there for it. Plan on morning light, not dawn.
Guided circuit
Entry and a guided tour are included. You walk a set circuit, the group may split across circuits, and when the guided visit ends you exit.
Back to Cusco
The day ends back in Cusco, about three and a half hours of travel away.
Want Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain too? On this trip the leaders aren’t allowed to recommend or book those climbs, so buy the ticket yourself and tell your operator.
The Inca Trail: permits, porters and February
The four-day trek is the dream for some travelers and a hard pass for others. Either way, it runs on permits.
There are 500 Inca Trail permits a day, and that includes the crew. Intrepid puts the hiker share at about 200.
You can’t hike it alone; a licensed operator is mandatory. Permits for the next year go on sale in mid-October, and Intrepid advises booking June to August departures at least five to six months ahead.
G Adventures’ Inca Discovery shows what you’re signing up for: three nights camping, a top point of 4,198 meters at Warmiwañusca, and a physical rating of 4, “Demanding.” Porters carry up to 6 kg of your gear.
The trail closes every February. Departures that month, and any hit by a trail closure, switch to an alternative trek, the Lares on G’s trip. Read that clause before you pay.
Train or trail?
Most guided tours reach Machu Picchu by train, not on foot. If the trail is the point of the trip, book it first and build the rest around the permit date. If it isn’t, a train tour is cheaper per day, easier on the knees and doesn’t depend on a permit lottery.
The trains to Aguas Calientes
On a train tour you ride down the valley to Aguas Calientes, then take a bus up the mountain. Two companies run the trains.
| Item | PeruRail | Inca Rail |
|---|---|---|
| Services | Expedition, Vistadome, Vistadome Observatory, Belmond Hiram Bingham | The Voyager, 360, First Class, private train (up to 8) |
| From Poroy (near Cusco) | About 3 h 30 min | About 3.5 h |
| From Ollantaytambo | About 1 h 45 min | About 1.5 h |
| Then | Bus up to the ruins, about 30 minutes | Same bus |
| Luggage | One bag up to 8 kg (17.6 lb), 157 cm (62 in) in total dimensions, on Expedition, Vistadome, Observatory and Hiram Bingham | Inca Rail sets its own limit; check it if your tour uses Inca Rail |
Every Machu Picchu train ends in Aguas Calientes. Most tours use a Vistadome-type service; Tauck’s family trip names the Vistadome.
Belmond’s Hiram Bingham is the splurge: about 2 h 45 min each way with meals aboard. Belmond owns half of PeruRail and sold a Hiram Bingham package with a night at its Rio Sagrado hotel from US$1,047 per person on rates valid to March 31, 2026.
That 8 kg limit decides your packing. Your big suitcase stays behind in the Sacred Valley or Cusco, so pack one small overnight bag for Aguas Calientes.
Belmond also runs the Andean Explorer, a sleeper from Cusco to Puno (one night) or Arequipa (two). APT packages it into a 12-day Spirit of Peru from $11,995 (reseller listing). See our Belmond guide and scenic rail journeys.
Altitude: what the operators do about it
We’re not doctors, and nothing here is medical advice. What we can show you is how the tour companies plan around the height.
PeruRail’s figures for Cusco, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu; Intrepid’s for its highest night on Lake Titicaca; G Adventures’ for the Inca Trail’s high pass. Aguas Calientes sits below the citadel; the bus climbs up.
Cusco sits at 3,399 meters (11,152 feet) by PeruRail’s figure, and Intrepid’s Classic Peru sleeps as high as 3,827 meters on Lake Titicaca. G Adventures counts anything above 8,000 feet as high altitude.
Our advice is short: talk to your doctor before you book. Both companies say the same, and Intrepid adds that alcohol and strenuous exercise can make the effects worse.
Itinerary order is the operators’ main tool. Intrepid builds in time to adjust in Cusco on day 2. Globus’s Peru Escape and Tauck’s Mystical Peru sleep in the Sacred Valley first and save Cusco for later.
Ask before you book
Ask your operator which night you first sleep in Cusco, how much is planned that day, and how they handle a traveler who feels unwell. A good company answers all three without hesitating.
Who runs Peru: real 2027 tours
Almost every operator on our site runs Peru. The split is trail or train, and how many nights you spend above Cusco.
| Tour | Route | Days | From | Group & style |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trafalgar · Peru Explorer | Lima to Cusco | 7 | $1,365 | Avg about 33; internal air included |
| G Adventures · Inca Discovery | Lima to Cusco, Inca Trail | 8 | $1,599 | Max 16, avg 12; 3 nights camping |
| Globus · Peru Escape | Lima, Sacred Valley, Cusco | 7 | $1,904 | Group of 25+; “Very Easy”; internal air included |
| Intrepid · Classic Peru | Lima, Cusco, Titicaca | 9 | $2,695 (2026) | Max 12; homestay night |
| Collette · Peru: Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca | Lima round trip | 10 | $3,599* | Small group; night at the base of Machu Picchu |
| Cosmos · Mysteries of the Inca Empire with Arequipa & Colca Canyon | Lima round trip | 15 | $4,106* | Coach-style group |
| Globus · Peru Splendors with Peru’s Amazon | Lima round trip | 12 | $5,168* | Andes plus Amazon |
| Tauck Bridges · Mystical Peru | Lima, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Cusco | 8 | $5,990 | Family trip, June–July; on-tour air included |
| Trafalgar Premium · Peru with Machu Picchu & Nazca Lines | Lima round trip | 13 | $6,060* | Small Group (ex-Insight) |
| Intrepid · Premium Peru | Lima to Cusco | 9 | $6,370* | Premium tier |
| Abercrombie & Kent · Peru: Machu Picchu & the Sacred Valley | Lima round trip | 8 | $8,095* | Small Group Journey, max 18 |
| G Adventures & Nat Geo · Signature: Peru from Machu Picchu to the Amazon Jungle | Lima round trip | 12 | $9,999 | Max 22, avg 16; 29 meals |
From-prices per person, sharing a room, before international flights, as shown October 26, 2026 for 2027 departures. * From a US reseller’s listing, not the operator’s own page. Intrepid’s Classic Peru figure is from its 2026 trip notes. G’s Inca Discovery is its regular price; it was on sale from $1,119 for an October 2026 date. Prices move: confirm on your date.
The adventure brands own the trail. G Adventures and Intrepid make up most of the Peru tours on the US reseller listing we checked, from short treks to full loops with the Amazon and Bolivia.
The classic brands sell the train version with more comfort. Tauck adds two Peru-and-Galápagos combinations and an Inca Empire trip into Bolivia; A&K says its Machu Picchu trip includes a night at the only hotel on site.
For the Amazon, look at Globus’s Peru Splendors, Nat Geo’s Signature trip, or a short add-on like Intrepid’s 4-day Amazon Jungle Short Break from Puerto Maldonado (from $518, reseller listing). A&K also launched its own Pure Amazon riverboat in Peru in July 2025.
Limited mobility? Globus rates Peru Escape “Very Easy,” and G rates Inca Discovery 4, “Demanding.” Machu Picchu itself is a one-way walking circuit, so ask the operator how long the visit runs and what it can adapt.
What a day in Peru costs
Peru is one of the better-value long-haul tours on the market, until you add the Amazon or the luxury train.
From-price divided by days, per person, twin share, before international flights. * Reseller listing. Highlighted: the two luxury picks.
The spread is about fivefold. The bottom is Trafalgar, Globus, Cosmos and G Adventures at roughly $190 to $275 a day; the top is Nat Geo Signature and A&K at over $800.
The jump buys hotels, smaller groups and meals: Nat Geo’s Signature trip includes 29 of them, while Intrepid’s Classic Peru includes eight breakfasts but just two lunches and one dinner.
Domestic flights are the hidden variable. Trafalgar and Globus include internal air on the pages we read; ask everyone else whether Lima to Cusco is in the fare before you compare.
Price-per-day math
Put two Peru tours side by side
Divide each from-price by its days. We filled in two real examples; swap in your own shortlist.
Per person, sharing a room, before international flights. Check whether domestic flights (Lima–Cusco, Juliaca–Lima) are in the fare; Tauck, Trafalgar and Globus include internal air on the pages we read.
Find your Peru tour
Trail or train decides more than anything else. Start there.
Matcher
Which 2027 Peru tour fits you?
Answer as many as you like; tap again to clear one. We score eleven real tours and show the top three.
How many days you need
Machu Picchu itself is one day, sometimes two. The rest is getting there and getting used to the altitude.
| Trip | Days on the tours we checked | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu | 7–8 | Trafalgar Peru Explorer 7; Globus Peru Escape 7; Tauck Mystical Peru 8 |
| Inca Trail trek with Lima and Cusco | 8 | G Adventures Inca Discovery |
| Add Lake Titicaca | 9–10 | Intrepid Classic Peru 9; Collette 10 |
| Add the Amazon | 12 | Globus Peru Splendors with the Amazon; Nat Geo Signature |
| Add Arequipa and the Colca Canyon | 15 | Cosmos Mysteries of the Inca Empire |
Tours often start with an arrival day in Lima; G Adventures’ Inca Discovery and Globus’s Peru Escape both do. Add a night if your connection is tight.
A week covers the essentials. Ten days is the comfortable minimum with Titicaca.
Getting to Lima from Texas or Florida
Peru is a long flight but an easy time change. The paperwork is short, and the passport rule is the one that catches people.
Nearly every tour on this page starts in Lima, and several end in Cusco. Price a multi-city ticket, home to Lima and Cusco home, before you settle on a round trip.
The clock barely moves. Peru stays on UTC-5 all year with no daylight saving, so in the US summer Lima matches Texas, and in winter it matches Florida.
Your passport needs at least six months left after you enter Peru, plus one blank page. US citizens don’t need a visa for tourist stays of 90 days or less, per the State Department.
Peru’s currency is the sol (PEN). Cash over $10,000 has to be declared on the way in or out.
Arrive the day before the tour starts. G Adventures’ Inca Discovery and Globus’s Peru Escape both open with an arrival day in Lima, and Intrepid’s Classic Peru holds its welcome meeting at 2 p.m. on day 1.
State Department: Level 2
Peru’s advisory is Level 2, “Exercise increased caution,” issued September 4, 2026. It names Level 4 areas far from the tourist circuit and says Cusco, the Sacred Valley, the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu aren’t among them. It also warns that train service to Machu Picchu can be disrupted, and that losing your passport in Cusco can keep you off a domestic flight to Lima on some airlines.
Tipping and local customs on tour
On a trek you’re tipping a whole crew, not just a guide. Budget for it from the start.
Tipping guidance in Peru is published per trip, and it’s more detailed than in Europe. Intrepid’s Classic Peru suggests $4–7 a day for the leader plus an optional group kitty of PEN 110 for drivers, guides and hotel staff.
G Adventures suggests $20–25 a week for its CEO and $5–10 a day for local guides and drivers. On the Inca Trail it adds a crew pool: $15–30 for the head guide, $10–20 for the assistant and $40 for the trekking crew, per hiker.
Nat Geo Signature trips include tips for activities, meals and porters, then suggest $10–15 a day for the Expedition Leader.
Carry soles, not just dollars
Kitties and crew tips are often quoted in Peruvian soles or US dollars, depending on the trip. Read your trip notes, and carry small bills for the porters at the end of the trail. Your passport goes with you to Machu Picchu.
Ten checks before you pay a deposit
Ten minutes now saves a refused permit or a missed train later.
Ten checks
Who a guided Peru tour suits
Book it if
- You want Machu Picchu tickets, trains and transfers handled as one booking
- You want to hike the Inca Trail, which requires a licensed operator anyway
- You’re a first-timer in South America and want a guide for the logistics
- You’re traveling solo; G Adventures says it’s not uncommon for half a group to be solo
- You want the Amazon added without planning the flights yourself
Look elsewhere if
- You’re comfortable booking timed tickets and trains yourself, and want to linger
- Altitude worries you and your doctor advises against it
- You want a slow week in one place; the tours we checked change hotels every one to three nights
- You can only travel in February and the trail is the point
- Your budget is set by a luxury train; price the Hiram Bingham or Andean Explorer first
Our take
Peru is the rare long-haul trip where a tour isn’t a luxury but a logistics answer. Timed tickets, capped visitor numbers, permit-only trails and a train-or-trek final approach all reward someone who books them for a living.
Make one decision first: trail or train. If it’s the trail, G Adventures or Intrepid, and book months ahead. If it’s the train, choose by comfort: Trafalgar, Globus or Cosmos for value, Collette for Titicaca, Tauck or A&K for the hotels.
Then ask how the itinerary handles altitude. Their answer says a lot about the rest of the trip.
Where to go from here: who runs Peru, and what pairs with it
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Tell us trail or train, your month and your budget. We’ll check the permit and ticket timing, the domestic flights and the altitude plan, and compare two or three companies honestly.
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Hotels, day trips and flights around the tour
Hotel nights before and after
Arriving a day early gives you a buffer if a flight runs late, and most people add a night when the tour ends.
Your free days
The days either side of the tour are yours. Day trips and tickets for the start and end cities:
Getting there and around
Fly into one city and home from another when the tour is one-way.
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What Peru first-timers ask us
How many people can visit Machu Picchu a day?
For 2026, Peru’s Ministry of Culture set 5,600 visitors a day on high-season dates (including June 19 to November 2) and 4,500 on other days. The 2027 figures hadn’t been published when we checked in October 2026.
What are the Machu Picchu circuits?
The citadel is split into three circuits: Panoramic (1), Classic (2) and Royalty (3), with ten routes between them. Some routes open only in high season, and the mountain climbs (Machu Picchu Mountain, Huayna Picchu, the Great Cavern) are priced separately. Your ticket fixes the route and the entry time.
How far ahead do I need to book the Inca Trail?
The government releases the next year’s permits in mid-October, and Intrepid advises booking at least five to six months ahead for June to August. There are 500 permits a day including crew and porters, about 200 of them for hikers, and you must go with a licensed operator. The trail closes every February.
When is the best time to visit Peru?
For Machu Picchu and the Andes, the dry season from May to October, with June to August the peak. Intrepid flags April, May, October and November as shoulder months. November to April is wetter and quieter.
What about the altitude in Cusco?
PeruRail puts Cusco at 3,399 meters (11,152 feet), the Sacred Valley towns of Urubamba and Ollantaytambo at about 2,850 to 2,870 meters, and Machu Picchu at about 2,430 meters. Talk to your doctor before you go. Operators build in time: Intrepid schedules time to adjust in Cusco, and Globus and Tauck sleep in the lower Sacred Valley before Cusco.
Which train goes to Machu Picchu?
Two companies run it: PeruRail (Expedition, Vistadome, Vistadome Observatory and Belmond’s Hiram Bingham) and Inca Rail (The Voyager, 360, First Class and a private train). Trains run from Poroy near Cusco, about 3.5 hours, or Ollantaytambo, about 1.5 to 1.75 hours, to Aguas Calientes, then a bus climbs to the site in about 30 minutes.
How much does a Peru tour cost?
On the tours we checked, from about $195 a day (Trafalgar Peru Explorer, 2027) to about $1,012 a day (Abercrombie & Kent, via a US reseller), per person, sharing a room, before international flights. Most mid-range tours fell between about $270 and $470 a day. Add tips, the meals the fare leaves out, and any domestic flights it doesn’t include.
Is Peru safe to visit, and what do US citizens need to enter?
The State Department rates Peru Level 2, “Exercise increased caution” (advisory issued September 4, 2026). Its Level 4 areas are the Colombia border in Loreto, the VRAEM river valleys and areas around Abancay, Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Huancayo; it says Cusco, the Sacred Valley, the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu are not in those areas. US citizens need a passport valid at least six months after entry and one blank page, and no visa for tourist stays of 90 days or less.
Sources · 26 links · checked October 2026
- Andina: Machu Picchu 2026 ticket rates and visitor limits
- El Peruano: Ministry of Culture sets 5,600 daily maximum for 2026
- Andina: Machu Picchu 2026 visitor measures (ES)
- Intrepid: Inca Trail permits
- Intrepid: Best time to visit Peru
- Intrepid: Classic Peru trip notes
- G Adventures: Inca Discovery
- G Adventures: Signature, Peru from Machu Picchu to the Amazon Jungle
- PeruRail
- Aracari: Machu Picchu by train (PeruRail and Inca Rail)
- US State Department: Peru travel advisory (Level 2, issued Sept 4, 2026)
- PeruRail: Types of luggage
- PeruRail: Altitude sickness (altitudes of Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu)
- Andina: Machu Picchu 2026 promotional fares for nationals, residents and Andean Community (ES)
- Caretas: Sernanp adds a conservation charge at Machu Picchu
- Trafalgar: Peru Explorer
- Globus: Peru Escape
- Abercrombie & Kent: Machu Picchu & the Sacred Valley (2025 page)
- Belmond: From your room to Machu Picchu (Hiram Bingham flyer)
- Tauck: Mystical Peru
- Tauck: Peru tours
- Travelstride: Globus Peru Escape
- Frosch (reseller): Collette Peru, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca
- Global Journeys (US reseller): 2027 Peru tour listing, page 2
- Global Journeys (US reseller): 2027 Peru tour listing, page 3
- Global Journeys (US reseller): 2027 Peru tour listing, page 4