Peru 7-Day Tour: Lima, Cusco & Machu Picchu with Flights

Seven Days Across Peru: From Lima's Markets to Machu Picchu's Stone

You get airport pickup in Lima, seven nights in hotels, round-trip flights to Cusco, and a professional guide for the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu days. The itinerary moves you through Paracas wildlife, pisco country, Cusco's temple ruins, and the Inca sites of the Sacred Valley before the train ride to Machu Picchu and a guided tour of the citadel itself. Lunch is included on some days; others you choose your own restaurant. The pace is steady but not rushed—most days have a few hours of walking or exploring, with transport between stops.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Arrival and hotel check-in in Lima

• Driver picks you up at airport
• Drive to hotel and check in

Day 2 — Lima city highlights tour

• Pick up from hotel
• Visit Huaca Pucllana pyramid (panoramic)
• Photo stop at Park of Love
• Visit Lima fishers village and fish market
• Explore Barranco district and Bridge of Sighs
• Lunch at indigenous market with ceviche
• Tour San Francisco church catacombs
• Walking tour of Historic Center
• Visit Main Square and San Martin Plaza

Day 3 — Paracas, Ica and Huacachina adventure

• Depart Lima early morning
• Walk in Paracas National Reserve by sea
• Observe sea lions, penguins, dolphins, birds
• Travel to Ica vineyards and pisco tasting
• Lunch at typical restaurant in Ica
• Drive to Huacachina Oasis
• Buggies and sandboarding in desert dunes
• Walk around oasis and take photos

Day 4 — Flight to Cusco and city tour

• Drive to Lima airport
• Fly from Lima to Cusco
• Meet driver and check in hotel
• Visit Qorikancha temple
• Explore Sacsayhuaman fortress and carved rocks
• Visit Inca ceremonial rock complex
• Panoramic view of Sacsayhuaman site
• Visit Tambomachay water worship site

Day 5 — Sacred Valley and train to Machu Picchu

• Pick up from hotel after breakfast
• Drive past Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo, Pucapucara
• Stop at Awana Kancha to see textiles and animals
• Photo stop at Sacred Valley lookout
• Visit Pisac Inca site and learn agriculture
• Visit Pisac traditional market
• Lunch stop in Urubamba (not included)
• Visit Ollantaytambo Inca site
• Board train to Aguas Calientes
• Arrive and check in hotel in Aguas Calientes

Day 6 — Machu Picchu tour and return to Cusco

• Breakfast at hotel
• Bus to Machu Picchu entrance
• Guided tour of Machu Picchu
• Free time to explore Machu Picchu
• Bus down to Aguas Calientes
• Lunch in Aguas Calientes (not included)
• Free time for souvenirs
• Train to Ollantaytambo
• Transport to Cusco hotel

Day 7 — Return flight to Lima

• Drive to Cusco airport
• Fly from Cusco to Lima

The Experience

You're driving out of Lima airport in the early morning, heading toward the coast. The trip starts with a pickup at your hotel and a five-hour journey south to Paracas National Reserve, where the Pacific opens up and you're walking along cliffs watching sea lions surface and penguins move through the water. The reserve sits where the desert meets the ocean, and the light hits the rock formations—the Candelabra carved into the hillside—in a way that makes sense why people have been drawn to this coast for centuries. After Paracas, you drive inland to Ica, where Peru's oldest vineyards sit in the middle of nowhere, and you taste pisco and wine made the way it's been made for generations. Then comes the adrenaline part: buggies and sandboarding across the dunes around Huacachina Oasis, a small lake surrounded by palms in the middle of the desert.

The next morning you're on a flight from Lima to Cusco, and the landscape changes completely—mountains rising up, the air getting thinner. Your guide meets you at the airport and takes you straight into the Inca sites around the city. Sacsayhuamán sits above Cusco with massive carved rocks fitted so precisely that a knife blade won't fit between them; Qorikancha, the Temple of the Sun, still shows the original stone foundations where smaller temples to the moon and stars once stood. You'll see Tambomachay with its water channels and fountains, built as a center for worshipping water. These aren't museums—they're the actual structures, and your guide walks you through what each one was used for, how the Incas cut and moved these blocks without mortar.

Day five takes you into the Sacred Valley. You leave Cusco at 7:30 in the morning, stop briefly at Awana Kancha to see llamas and alpacas and watch weavers work, then drive to the Pisac archaeological site overlooking the valley with its agricultural terraces running down the mountainside. The Pisac Market is still a working market—not a tourist version—where locals sell pottery, jewelry, and textiles. After lunch in Urubamba, you visit Ollantaytambo, another major Inca citadel with a rock formation that locals say represents the god Wiracocha. At four in the afternoon you board the Inca Rail train from Ollantaytambo station, following the Vilcanota River down into cloud forest, arriving in Aguas Calientes by 6:10 pm.

The morning of day six, you're on a bus climbing up to Machu Picchu. Your guide takes you through the site—the temples, the residences, the water systems—explaining how it was built and what made it significant. Then you have free time to walk around on your own, sit with the view, take the photos you came for. You come back down to Aguas Calientes for lunch, catch the train back to Ollantaytambo at mid-afternoon, and drive back to Cusco, arriving around six in the evening. The last day is a morning flight back to Lima.

What’s included

• Seven nights of hotel accommodation in Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Aguas Calientes.
• round-trip flights from Lima to Cusco.
• professional guide service for Cusco archaeological sites, the Sacred Valley tour, and Machu Picchu.
• all ground transportation between hotels, sites, and train stations.
• Inca Rail train ticket from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes.
• bus transport to and from Machu Picchu entrance.
• entry to Sacsayhuamán, Qorikancha, Tambomachay, Pisac ruins, Ollantaytambo ruins, and Machu Picchu.
• stop at Awana Kancha textile center and Pisac Market.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Pingan First Travel

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see Machu Picchu and the major Inca sites without arranging flights, hotels, guides, or train tickets separately—the seven days handle all of that, and the fixed itinerary means you know exactly when you'll be where and what you'll see.

Top questions

How many nights of hotel accommodation are included?

Seven nights total: one in Lima on arrival, one after the Paracas and Ica day trip, one in Cusco, one in the Sacred Valley, one in Aguas Calientes, one back in Cusco after Machu Picchu, and one final night in Lima before departure.

Are the flights from Lima to Cusco and back included?

Yes, round-trip flights from Lima to Cusco are included in the package.

What time does the Sacred Valley tour start?

Hotel pickup is between 7:30 and 7:45 am, and the guide drives you from Cusco through the mountain passes to the valley.

Is lunch included every day?

No. Lunch is not included on the Sacred Valley day (though you stop in Urubamba where restaurants offer buffet options) or on the Machu Picchu day in Aguas Calientes. Other days include meals or you arrange your own.

How long is the train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes?

The Inca Rail train departs at 4:00 pm and arrives in Aguas Calientes by 6:10 pm, following the Vilcanota River through the cloud forest.

Do I need to be very fit for this tour?

The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels. Machu Picchu involves walking around the site, but the pace is guided and you have free time to move at your own speed. Cusco and the Sacred Valley sites involve some walking and stairs, but stops are built in.

What is included in the Machu Picchu visit?

The package includes bus transport up to the entrance, a professional guided tour of the citadel, and free time to explore on your own afterward. Bus transport back down to Aguas Calientes is also included.

Is there a guide with me the whole time?

You have a professional guide for the Cusco ruins, the Sacred Valley day, and the Machu Picchu tour. Drivers handle transport between cities. On the Paracas and Ica day, the itinerary describes the stops but does not specify if a guide is assigned.