Machu Picchu, altitude and pace: how to plan Peru well

Where everything sits: a map of heights

A journey through southern Peru keeps climbing and descending, and knowing the rough heights makes the route much easier to shape:

• Lima: on the Pacific, at sea level.
• The Sacred Valley (Urubamba, Ollantaytambo): roughly 2,800–2,900 metres.
• Machu Picchu: around 2,400 metres, lower than Cusco.
• Cusco: roughly 3,400 metres.
• Lake Titicaca and Puno: more than 3,800 metres.
• The Salkantay trek's high pass: more than 4,500 metres.

Start in the valley, not in Cusco

This list leads to one of the most useful principles of planning Peru. Although you fly into Cusco, many itineraries head straight from the airport down into the Sacred Valley, several hundred metres lower. Two or three nights there mean a gentler adjustment, warmer days and a calm rhythm: the market and terraces of Pisac, the circular terraces of Moray, the salt pans of Maras cut into the hillside, and the streets of Ollantaytambo, where Inca-era water channels still run today.

The valley is also the natural departure point for Machu Picchu: trains to Aguas Calientes, the town below the citadel, leave from Ollantaytambo. That puts Machu Picchu in the first half of the trip, and you return to Cusco already acclimatised. The old Inca capital, with the lanes of San Blas, balconied courtyards, the Qorikancha and its markets, is far more enjoyable then than on your first evening, when every staircase feels twice as steep.

None of this means you'll avoid the effects of altitude entirely. But easy first days, walking slowly, plenty of water and rest usually give the body time to adjust. How altitude will affect you in particular is hard to predict in advance, even for very fit people.

Three ways to Machu Picchu

The train. The simplest route, and the right one for many: about an hour and a half along the Urubamba, watching the valley narrow and dry slopes turn to cloud forest. From Aguas Calientes a bus climbs to the citadel. A night down in the town is worth considering: you can return for a second, unhurried visit, or climb one of the neighbouring peaks if tickets allow.

The classic Inca Trail. A four-day walk over mountain passes, through cloud forest and past Inca-era sites, ending on the last morning at the Sun Gate. Permits are limited, the most popular dates often sell out very early, and the trail usually closes in February for maintenance. It's for those who want to arrive on foot and are ready for several long days in the mountains.

Salkantay. Usually a five-day trek around the snowy peak of Salkantay: higher, wilder and physically harder than the Inca Trail, with a pass above 4,500 metres. Permits generally aren't needed so far in advance, and the scenery, from glaciers to subtropical forest, changes every day. It calls for particularly good acclimatisation.

A trip to Peru is won in its first days: slowly, and lower down.

Tickets, timing and crowds

Entry to Machu Picchu is now organised by timed slots and set circuits within the citadel, with visitor numbers capped. In practice, tickets, especially in the dry season, are worth arranging well ahead, and the visit follows a fixed route rather than free wandering. The rules have changed more than once in recent years, so we always check the current options when planning.

Morning or afternoon? Early mornings are often misty and wonderfully atmospheric, though the view may open up only later. Afternoons are sometimes quieter. If possible, two visits at different times of day are the best answer to unpredictable weather.

Seasons

In the Andes, the dry season generally runs from around May to September: sunny days, cold nights and the most visitors. It coincides with the Lithuanian summer and school holidays, which makes it a natural time for families, but also the period when tickets and permits need planning earliest. The wettest months are usually December to March: the mountains at their greenest and fewer visitors, but slippery trails and more cloud over the views. April and October–November are often a good compromise. The weather varies from year to year.

How long, and how to shape it

From Lithuania, Lima is reached via European hubs, and the journey each way often takes the best part of a day. A first night in Lima, before a morning flight to Cusco, is therefore not lost time for most people but a necessary breather. As a guide, we'd suggest roughly this rhythm for a twelve-day trip by train:

• Days 1–2: arrival and rest in Lima, a first taste of its food.
• Days 3–5: fly to Cusco and head straight to the Sacred Valley; easy days among terraces, markets and villages.
• Days 6–7: train to Aguas Calientes, a night below the citadel and Machu Picchu, ideally twice.
• Days 8–10: Cusco at an easy pace, now acclimatised.
• Days 11–12: back to Lima, or onward to Lake Titicaca or the Amazon.

With the Inca Trail or Salkantay, add a few days: the body needs rest after the trek and even better acclimatisation before it. Lake Titicaca, higher still, fits logically after Cusco rather than before. The Amazon, the Tambopata region for example, is low and warm, and can make a welcome breather at the start or end of a trip, especially with children. Those who already know Peru, or want somewhere quieter, might look north: the fortress of Kuélap in the cloud forest and the pre-Inca civilisations of the desert coast.

Above all, don't try to fit in too much. Distances in southern Peru aren't great, but altitude, mountain roads and early trains ask more energy of you each day than the itinerary suggests. Tell us how you imagine your way to Machu Picchu, by train, on foot or with children, and together we'll find the pace that suits you.