Peru
Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley anchor most first journeys to South America, with Cusco, Lake Titicaca, the Amazon and one of the continent’s great food cities in Lima.
Far more than
one morning
Almost everyone arrives in Peru for Machu Picchu, and almost everyone leaves talking about something else. The country holds three worlds stacked against each other — a desert coast on the Pacific, the high Andes behind it, and the Amazon beyond that — and the journey between them is the point.
The Inca built the empire the world remembers, but they were late arrivals. Caral on the coast is one of the oldest cities in the Americas; the Nazca drew their lines centuries before Cusco existed; the Moche and the Chimú left pyramids, gold and the walled city of Chan Chan. What survives is not one ruined site but a sequence of civilisations, and Cusco is where the layers are most visible — Inca stonework carrying colonial churches, still in daily use.
Then there is the food. Lima has become one of the places people fly to in order to eat, and the reason is the same geography: cold Pacific current, high valleys and rainforest, feeding one kitchen. For Indian travellers Peru is the most complete introduction to South America there is — the archaeology, the mountains, the rainforest and the eating, in one country, with short internal flights between them.
When is your Peru?
Peru sits in the tropics, so the calendar matters far less than altitude and geography. The coast, the Andes and the Amazon run on three different rhythms, and the coast is the reverse of the mountains — clear on the coast is grey in the hills. There is no single best month for the country.
How to Explore the World
Six ways to find your next journey — by map, by moment, or by the feeling you are chasing.
Explore the world continent by continent, country by country — every place mapped to the right season.
The landmarks that define a journey, from ancient sites to natural marvels worth crossing the world for.
Beyond the headline sights — the quiet streets and local secrets our specialists know first-hand.
Each destination timed to its finest moment, so you arrive when it is at its very best.
Direct routes, visa-on-arrival and e-Visa options that make the world more reachable than you think.
Use any destination as a starting point — every journey is shaped entirely to your taste.
Peru visa — what you need to know
Indian passport holders require a visa for Peru unless they qualify for an exemption that a great many travellers already meet. It is worth checking that first, because it removes the application entirely.
The Peruvian Foreign Ministry states that Indian passport holders do not need to apply for a tourist or business visa if they hold a valid visa from the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom or any Schengen state, with a minimum of six months of validity — or permanent residence in any of those countries. Under the exemption the maximum stay is 180 days within a one-year period.
The Embassy states that an application should begin at least 15 calendar days before travel — that is a cut-off, not a plan, and it is the latest they will take an application for that date rather than the time the process needs. Applications from India are made in person in New Delhi and include an interview, so the realistic sequence is — secure an interview appointment (lead time varies and is set by the Embassy), travel to Delhi, attend in person, then 7 to 10 working days of processing during which the Embassy holds your passport. Confirm current appointment availability and passport collection arrangements with the Embassy, and start weeks rather than days ahead.
The Embassy publishes the tourist visa cost as ₹3,000 in cash and states plainly that it charges no additional fees beyond that official cost — worth knowing if anyone offers to handle it for more. Confirm the current figure with the Embassy before applying; we do not restate fees as a promise. Final visa decisions remain with the relevant authorities.
A tourist visa is issued for 183 days with multiple entries, and must be used within six months of issue or it expires. The maximum stay is 183 calendar days within twelve months of issue, whether in one visit or several — but the immigration officer decides the stay actually granted when stamping your passport.
Visa requirements, fees, appointment availability and processing times are set by the Peruvian authorities and change without notice. Verify the current position with the Embassy of Peru in New Delhi before booking travel and again before you apply.
For all Peru journeys we design, we prepare your complete visa documentation package — the forms, the supporting documents, the sequence of submission. Our visa specialists help travellers prepare complete applications with careful document guidance. Final visa decisions always remain with the relevant authorities.
Travel Peru intelligently
Most of what makes a Peruvian trip succeed or fail is decided by altitude and by how early you booked.
Peru travel FAQ
The questions Indian travellers ask most often before booking Peru.
Peru for every kind
of traveller
Peru is best travelled as two or three regions with flights between them, not as one long overland loop. These are the shapes that work.
Cusco, the valley towns of Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero, and the train down to Machu Picchu itself.
The civilisations before the Inca — the Nazca Lines, Caral on the coast, Chan Chan and the tombs of Sipán in the north, and Kuélap in the cloud forest.
Peru suits couples who want a sense of occasion without a beach. Lima to eat, the Sacred Valley to slow down, Machu Picchu for the morning, and an Amazon lodge to finish.
The classic Inca Trail, the higher and wilder Salkantay, the gentler Lares, and the Colca Canyon and Cordillera Blanca further out.
Tambopata and Manu from Puerto Maldonado, an hour by air from Cusco, or Iquitos in the northern rainforest — a city with no road to it at all.
Peru does high-end unusually well: lodge-to-lodge trekking, private archaeological access, cellar dinners and river ships on the Amazon.
Lima for the restaurants and the markets, Arequipa for picanterías, and the Sacred Valley for what the altitude grows.
The Sacred Valley is the easiest base in Peru with children — lower than Cusco, spread out, and full of things to do that are not ruins.
Tell us how long you have and whether you want ruins, rainforest, trekking or food, and our travel designers will shape the route around it.
How far in advance
should you book Peru?
Peru is the most capacity-constrained country in South America to plan. Machu Picchu entry is capped daily, Inca Trail permits are capped harder, and both sell out long before the hotels do.
A qualifying US, Canadian, UK, Australian or Schengen visa removes the application. If not, allow the 15-day minimum plus 7 to 10 working days after the interview.
Everything else is built around it: the entry ticket carries a circuit and a time slot, and the train is booked to match.
The Inca Trail needs a permit months ahead and closes each February. Salkantay and Lares are the alternatives, not the fallbacks.
Amazon, Lake Titicaca, Arequipa and the Colca, or the north. One of them, not all four.
What to pack
for Peru
Peru is packed by altitude. One fortnight can take in a sea-level city under grey mist, a mountain town at 3,400m and a rainforest at thirty degrees and humid.
Layers, and a genuinely warm one. Highland days can be hot in direct sun and near freezing after dark, and the sun at altitude burns far faster than it feels.