Peru · 8 days · Moderate
8-Day Magic Peru: Lima, Nazca, Cusco & Machu Picchu
The trip for people who want more of Peru than the Cusco circuit. It runs south down the desert coast first — Ballestas, the Nazca Lines from the air, the dunes at Huacachina — and only then turns inland for the Andes.
Short answer
8-Day Magic Peru: Lima, Nazca, Cusco & Machu Picchu is a 8-day, 7-night Peru itinerary starting in Lima and finishing in Cusco, for private. It is quoted on request, because the price moves with dates, party size and hotel category. International flights are not included. Every day of it is published below, and we rebuild it around your dates at no extra cost.
Highlights
- A flight over the Nazca Lines from Pisco: the only way they make any sense
- The Ballestas Islands — sea lions, Humboldt penguins, guano birds in enormous numbers
- Dune buggies and sandboarding at Huacachina, an oasis in the middle of the desert
- Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu to finish
How this trip moves
7 nights, 3 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
- Ica 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.
- Change of base
- None — you stay where you slept
- Meals
- Not included
- You sleep at
- Lima
- Day 2
Lima city tour
Huaca Pucllana, the historic centre, the colonial convent and its tower, and Santo Domingo.
- Change of base
- None — you stay where you slept
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- Lima
- Day 3
South to Ica and Huacachina
Down the Panamericana into the desert. Afternoon in dune buggies over the sand around the Huacachina oasis, with sandboarding for anyone who wants it.
- Change of base
- Road
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- Ica
- Day 4
Ballestas Islands and the Nazca Lines
A morning boat to the Ballestas — sea lions hauled out in the hundreds, penguins, and cliffs white with guano birds. In the afternoon, a light aircraft from Pisco over the Nazca geoglyphs.
- Change of base
- Road + Flight
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- Ica
- Day 5
To Cusco — city tour
Back to Lima and on to Cusco. Afternoon at the Cathedral, Qoricancha, Qenqo and Sacsayhuamán.
- Change of base
- Flight
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- Cusco
- Day 6
The Sacred Valley
Pisac, lunch in the valley, and Ollantaytambo.
- Change of base
- Road
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch
- You sleep at
- Cusco
- Day 7
Machu Picchu
Train, bus, guided circuit, and time on your own before the return.
- Change of base
- Train
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- Cusco
- Day 8
Cusco airport
Transfer for your onward flight.
- Change of base
- None — you stay where you slept
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- — last day, you fly home
What is included
- Seven nights in the selected hotel category with breakfast
- Meals as listed: 7 breakfasts, 2 set lunches
- Private service throughout
- Dune buggy and sandboarding at Huacachina
- Boat tour to the Ballestas Islands
- Flight over the Nazca Lines from Pisco
- Voyager or Expedition train ticket and the Machu Picchu entrance fee
- Certified English/Spanish-speaking guide and airport transfers
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. The Nazca flight is weather-dependent and can be delayed or cancelled — build a buffer day if it matters to you.
Good to know before you book
- Group size
- Private
- Starts
- Lima
- Ends
- Cusco
- Pace
- 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 dislikes small aircraft
The Nazca overflight is a light plane doing tight turns over the desert so both sides can see. A meaningful number of passengers are airsick, and it is a fixed part of the itinerary.
Anyone who wants depth over breadth
Eight days across Lima, Nazca, Cusco and Machu Picchu is a lot of moving. If you would rather see less and stay longer, say so and we will rebuild it.
Anyone arriving straight into altitude
The itinerary is sequenced low to high on purpose. Reversing it to save a flight is a false economy.
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 8-Day Magic Peru: Lima, Nazca, Cusco & Machu Picchu?
8 days and 7 nights, starting in Lima and ending in Cusco.
How difficult is it?
Moderate. Group size: Private.
When is the best time to do this trip?
April to October. The Nazca flight is weather-dependent and can be delayed or cancelled — build a buffer day if it matters to you.
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 Ballestas Islands, reached by boat from Paracas Paracas — photograph by Trip360, our Peru operator -
The Miraflores clifftops, on the Lima city tour Lima — photograph by Trip360, our Peru operator
If this one is not quite it
