Peru · 6 days · Easy to moderate
6-Day Lima, Cusco & Machu Picchu
The standard first trip to Peru, and it is standard because it works: a day in Lima on the way in, three in and around Cusco, and Machu Picchu at the end when you are acclimatised rather than at the start when you are not.
Short answer
6-Day Lima, Cusco & Machu Picchu is a 6-day, 5-night Peru itinerary starting in Lima and finishing in Cusco, for private. It starts from US$1,663 per person sharing a double room in our standard hotel category, in low season. International flights are not included. Every day of it is published below, and we rebuild it around your dates at no extra cost.
Highlights
- Lima: the Huaca Pucllana pre-Inca site in Miraflores and the colonial centre
- Four archaeological sites around Cusco on one ticket
- Pisac and Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley
- Machu Picchu with a guided circuit
How this trip moves
5 nights, 2 places to unpack
The thing most itineraries hide is how much of your holiday is spent getting somewhere. Here it is up front.
Where you sleep
- Lima 2 nights
- Cusco 3 nights
The shape of it
- 1 The day you get there
- You sleep here
- Flight
- Road
- Train
Day by day
- Day 1
Welcome to Peru
Met in Lima and transferred to the hotel in Miraflores.
- Change of base
- None — you stay where you slept
- Meals
- Not included
- You sleep at
- Lima
- Day 2
Lima city tour
The Huaca Pucllana adobe pyramid in the middle of the modern city, then the historic centre: the colonial convent, its bell tower, the changing of the guard at the Government Palace when the schedule allows, and Santo Domingo.
- Change of base
- None — you stay where you slept
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- Lima
- Day 3
Fly to Cusco — city tour
Morning flight, then the afternoon at the Cathedral, Qoricancha, Qenqo and Sacsayhuamán. Take the first day slowly; Cusco is 1,200 m higher than Lima.
- Change of base
- Flight
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- Cusco
- Day 4
The Sacred Valley
Pisac and its terraces and market, lunch in the valley, then Ollantaytambo — the only place the Inca beat the Spanish in a pitched battle, and the town is still on its original Inca street grid.
- Change of base
- Road
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch
- You sleep at
- Cusco
- Day 5
Machu Picchu
Train to Aguas Calientes, bus up, guided circuit of the site, free time, and the train back down the valley.
- Change of base
- Train
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- Cusco
- Day 6
Cusco airport
Transfer for your onward flight.
- Change of base
- Train
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- — last day, you fly home
What is included
- Five nights in the selected hotel category with breakfast
- Meals as listed: 5 breakfasts, 2 set lunches
- Private service throughout
- Airport transfers in Lima and Cusco, and comfortable ground transport
- Certified English/Spanish-speaking guide
- Voyager or Expedition train ticket and the Machu Picchu entrance fee
- Lima city tour and the four Cusco archaeological sites
What is not included
- International flights and the Lima–Cusco flight
- Meals not listed
- Travel insurance
- Tips
Per person in double occupancy. Final price depends on your dates, party size and hotel category — high season and single occupancy carry supplements. Full breakdown →
When to do this trip
April to October, dry season. Book Machu Picchu entries early — daily capacity is capped. Inti Raymi (late June), Fiestas Patrias (28–29 July), Christmas and New Year carry supplements and limited availability.
Good to know before you book
- Group size
- Private
- Starts
- Lima
- Ends
- Cusco
- Pace
- Easy to moderate
- Passport
- Valid at least six months beyond your arrival date. Entry requirements →
- Insurance
- Not included and not optional in our view. Medical evacuation from the islands or the rainforest is expensive.
- What moves the price
- Hotel category, private versus shared guiding, your dates, and party size — a solo traveller pays the room, not half of it. Tell us your party and dates and we will price it properly.
- If we have to change something
- Weather, park regulations and flight schedules occasionally force a swap. We tell you before you travel, not on the day, and we replace like with like.
Who this trip is not for
We would rather lose the booking than sell you the wrong week. These are the reasons people come back from this itinerary disappointed, and all of them are predictable before you pay.
Anyone who wants to skip Lima
Two nights here are partly an altitude buffer, not just sightseeing. Cutting them is the most common way this trip goes wrong.
Anyone expecting warm weather everywhere
Lima is coastal and often grey; Cusco is high and cold at night. People pack for one and get both.
Anyone in a hurry
Six days across three places means three travel mornings. If you want fewer moves, the five-day Sacred Valley trip is better value.
If any of those describe you, tell us — there is almost always a version that fits, and it is usually not more expensive.
Questions about this itinerary
How long is the 6-Day Lima, Cusco & Machu Picchu?
6 days and 5 nights, starting in Lima and ending in Cusco.
How difficult is it?
Easy to moderate. Group size: Private.
When is the best time to do this trip?
April to October, dry season. Book Machu Picchu entries early — daily capacity is capped. Inti Raymi (late June), Fiestas Patrias (28–29 July), Christmas and New Year carry supplements and limited availability.
What extra costs should I budget for?
Per person in double occupancy. Final price depends on your dates, party size and hotel category — high season and single occupancy carry supplements.
Photographs
These islands, photographed by us
Not a picture library. These are ours, taken on the islands this itinerary visits — each one says where and when.
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The Miraflores clifftops, on the Lima city tour Lima — photograph by Trip360, our Peru operator -
A colonial interior in Cusco, on the city tour Cusco — photograph by Trip360, our Peru operator
If this one is not quite it
