2 weeks in Peru itinerary

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Perú is a very big and diverse country with lots of interesting places that are worth visiting. It is probably one of the most beautiful countries I’ve visited, full of diverse landscapes and a super interesting culture. This is a complete itinerary to spend 2 weeks in Peru.

Peru trip organization

Before you start planning your itinerary, I recommend that you make a list of the places that you want to visit. Machu Picchu is certainly a must visit but Perú has many places that are as amazing as this wonder of the world.

Make a list of your priorities and then start discarding places. In my case for example, visiting the Colca Valley was a must. In order to visit Colca I had to left out of the itinerary the Uros Floating Islands.

Once you have the list of places that you want to visit, you have to see how you are going to move between those places.

If you’re wondering what to pack for your trip read: The ultimate Peru packing list

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2 weeks in Peru itinerary

This is the itinerary of my trip to Perú. The idea is that you use it as an example and adapt it to your needs taking into account the number of days available or your preference of places to visit.

• Day 1: Arrival in Lima

It is most likely that your trip starts in Lima as it is where most international flights arrive. Lima Airport is located in the area of Callao and although it isn’t far from downtown, Lima traffic can be terrible, especially during peak hours. I recommend that you don’t plan any important things for this first day.

Most of the accommodation in Lima is in the neighbourhood of Miraflores which is very nice and full of restaurants to eat. I stayed at Courtyard Marriott Miraflores and I really recommend this hotel. It is located in Miraflores, close to many restaurants and main attractions. If you’re on a budget Ibis Lima Reducto Miraflores is a great choice.

On this first day you can walk around Miraflores where you find beautiful parks like Parque del Amor and spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean

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• Day 2: Lima

The capital of Peru is very nice and I recommend you stay at least 2 days. In my case I opted to visit Lima one day at the beginning of the trip and one day at the end. Here’s my guide with the best things to do in Lima in 3 days

On the second day of your trip you can head to Plaza de Armas de Lima, the founding site of the city. A great option is to take this free tour of Lima to discover the city’s highlights and history.

In the afternoon you can visit Parque de la Reserva to see the spectacle of water and lights in the Magic Water Circuit.

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• Day 3: Lima → Cusco

The idea of this day is to take a flight to Cusco in the morning. Cusco is located almost at 3400 m above sea level, so many people are affected by the famous altitude sickness (dizziness, nausea, headache, etc.). So the best thing is to leave this day free to rest, walk around the city, maybe go to some market or historical site but don’t make any big plan.

Recommended accommodation in Cusco:

• El Balcón Cusco – I stayed at this small boutique hotel and loved it.
• Hotel Monasterio San Pedro – a great hotel where I stayed my first days at Cusco. Amazing location and an excellent price-quality relation.
• JW Marriott El Convento Cusco – Located in a former convent, the Marriott achieves a combination of luxury, modernity and the original colonial style of the convent.

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• Day 4: Cusco. Visit Pisac.

Cusco is a beautiful city, and there are many places to visit in the city or around it. My recommendation is to stay in Cusco at least 5 days.

This day we decided to visit Písac, located about 30 km from Cusco. Many people visit Písac as part of the Sacred Valley tour but we wanted to visit Písac at our own pace so took a van from Cusco To Písac and visited it by our own.

In Písac you will find the archeological site which is one of the most incredible places in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. In addition to this you can visit the Pisac market which is perfect to buy handicrafts, ponchos and other beautiful things.

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• Day 5: Sacred Valley tour

The Sacred Valley of the Incas is composed of several archaeological sites of the region and it is something that you can’t miss on a trip to Perú.

The easiest way is to visit the Sacred Valley is to take a Sacred Valley day tour from Cusco which usually includes roundtrip transportation, and lunch.

Some places that you can’t miss: Pisac, Chinchero, Moray, Salineras de Maras and Ollantaytambo.

As we had the train to Aguas Calientes from Ollantaytambo the next morning, we decided to finish our tour in Ollantaytambo and spend the night here. We left our luggage at the hotel in Cusco, and took only a backpack.

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• Day 6: Ollantaytambo → Aguas Calientes

To get to Machu Picchu, you first have to go to Aguas Calientes, the village at the base of Machu Picchu. There are three ways to get to Aguas Calientes: Inca trail, by train or by taking a combi to Hidroeléctrica and then a 3 hour walk.

In my case I opted for the train as I was invited by PeruRail to experience the Vistadome train. You can read my experience at PeruRail’s Vistadome here.

Aguas Calientes is a tourist town with restaurants and hotels. There is not too much to do really, rather than rest for the next day to finally visit Machu Picchu.

If you can’t spend the night in Aguas Calientes I recommend you take a tour to Machu Picchu from Cusco. This day trip includes the pickup at your hotel in Cusco, train tickets, round trip bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu, entrance to Machu Picchu and guided tour.

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• Day 7: Machu Picchu. Night in Cusco

Finally the most expected day of your trip is here. For visiting Machu Picchu it is really important that you buy the tickets in advance, especially if you go in high season.

You also need to book a bus ticket from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu. This is the best option to get there because you will save time and energy.

Machu Picchu is an incredible place and you will need several hours to tour the whole complex. We took the first visit at 6 AM and it was the best decision, as we had almost the whole day to explore the citadel.

After visiting Machu Picchu, it’s time to get the train back to spend the night in Cusco.

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• Day 8: Cusco

Again in Cusco, take this day to the city. Some places in Cusco that you can’t miss are: Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral of Cusco, the neighborhood of San Blas, San Pedro Market and Mirador de San Cristóbal. This day you can also visit the ruins of Sacsayhuamán, an archaeological site located on the outskirts of Cusco.

For more info about Cusco read: Best things to do in Cusco

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• Day 9: Cusco. Rainbow Mountain

The Vinicunca mountain, also called Rainbow Mountain, was one of the places I most wanted to visit on my trip to Peru.

The simplest way to get there is to take a tour from Cusco like this one, as the base of the mountain is about three hours from Cusco and there is no public transport to get there. You leave Cusco around 4:30 AM and return around 3 PM.

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• Day 10: Cusco → Arequipa

The best thing is to take one of the first flights of the day to the city of Arequipa. You can also opt for taking a night bus the evening before.

In my case I arrived to Arequipa in the morning and went straight to get the car we’d rented to visit the Colca Valley. The car journey between Arequipa and Colca is about 3 hours. If you don’t want to rent car, there are also buses and tours that visit Colca Valley from Arequipa.

In Colca there are several villages where you can stay. In our case, we decided to take a relaxing day staying at the amazing Colca Lodge Hotel.

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• Day 11: Colca

As I said, Colca Valley was one of the places I wanted to visit the most and this was because I really wanted to hike the Colca Canyon. This canyon is one of the deepest in the world! You can hike to the bottom of the canyon, where there are some places to spend the night.

We basically spent this whole day hiking and resting at the canyon.

If you are not interested in trekking, you can explore other areas of the Colca valley like Cabanaconde, Chivay, etc.

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• Day 12: Colca

This day we started at 5 AM to climb from the bottom of the canyon before the sun hit hard. Then we visited the Mirador del Cóndor where you can see Andean condors fly Incredibly close!

We spent the rest of the day at Colca Lodge, resting our legs after the trekking.

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• Day 13: Explore Arequipa

Arequipa is one of the most beautiful cities in Perú. It is surrounded by volcanoes and its constructions are characterized by being made with a white stone of volcanic origin.

If you spend one day in Arequipa, it is enough to see the city’s main attractions. Some of the places that you can’t miss are: Plaza de Armas of Arequipa, Santa Catalina Monastery and the Yanahuara viewpoint.

That night we took the night bus from Arequipa to Ica (11 hs trip).

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• Day 14: Ica & Huacachina Oasis

The Huacachina Oasis is one of Peru’s most popular sites. This place is unique in the world and it is located about 10 min from the city of Ica, which you can easily reach from Lima.

The Oasis is small but there are several hotels and restaurants. The most popular activity in Huacachina is the buggy and sandboard tour in the desert. The dunes are really amazing and it was one of the best experiences in my entire trip to Peru in two weeks.

You can spend the night inside in the oasis like I did in Ecocamp Huacachina or visit the oasis from Ica.

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• Day 15: Lima

It’s time to go back to Lima for your final day your trip.

The bus tour from Ica to Lima takes about 4 hours so you can take one of the first buses of the day so you have time for one last tour around Lima.

I spent this last day in the Barranco neighbourhood, watched the sunset in Miraflores and said goodbye to the delicious Peruvian food.

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How to get around in Peru

Peru is a really big country and the distances between the places are big. Therefore, it is important that you plan the itinerary taking into account the transport between cities. There are many transportation options so it is a perfect trip to organize by yourself.

Here are some options of how to get around Peru:

• Plane: The main cities of Peru are connected by plane. It is not the cheapest option but it is the fastest. There are two Peruvian airlines: Viva Air and Star Peru. I didn’t use them so I don’t really have an opinion on them. For internal flights I always used Latam.
• Bus: The cheapest option to travel around Perú are buses. There are several companies that connect the whole country. One of the most known bus companies is Cruz del Sur and it’s the one I used during the trip. The service is good and the seats are very comfortable.
• Car: Another option if you want to have more independence is to rent a car. My boyfriend and me rented a car through rentalcars.com to visit the Colca Valley area and the experience was amazing. Peruvians are a bit crazy when driving and in general the traffic in cities like Lima is heavy but for more isolated places like the Colca Valley, renting car is a great idea.

Obviously there are many interesting places in Perú that aren’t in this itinerary but it is possible to explore some of the most important places in Perú in 2 weeks.

Other Peru posts:

• The ultimate Peru packing list + downloadable checklist
• How to visit Machu Picchu on your own
• Taking the Vistadome train to Machu Picchu
• Huacachina buggy and sandboard tour
• Rainbow Mountain tour from Cusco

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