Best Hikes in Peru: From the Inca Trail to the Cordillera Blanca

You reach the Salkantay Pass with your heart pounding at 4,630 m, wrapped in every layer you own, and the glacier hangs right above the trail. A day later the same path has dropped you into cloud forest, and you are walking past coffee plants in a T-shirt. Peru on foot works like that: a few days, two climates, and a different country every time the trail turns.

Short answer: Our ten best hikes in Peru: the Classic Inca Trail, Salkantay, Lares and Choquequirao around Cusco, the Santa Cruz trek, Laguna 69 and the Huayhuash circuit in the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash, the Colca Canyon near Arequipa, and the day hikes to Humantay Lake and Rainbow Mountain. Cusco has the ruins, Huaraz the glaciers.

Peru has two great hiking regions, and they have almost nothing in common. Around Cusco, the trails lead to Inca sites and most of them end at Machu Picchu. Around Huaraz, eight hours north of Lima by road, the Cordillera Blanca and the Cordillera Huayhuash hold the highest tropical mountains in the world, turquoise lakes and almost no ruins. A third region, the canyons near Arequipa, trades height for depth in a dry climate. This list covers all three, and it says plainly which hikes we run and which we do not.

The best hikes in Peru at a glance

The table ranks the ten hikes with the numbers that decide a choice: region, days, high point and if you need a permit. The last column shows where we have a departure from Cusco. For the Cusco treks in more depth, with our day-by-day notes, read the best treks from Cusco compared.

The best hikes in Peru compared

Hike	Region	Days	High point (m / ft)	Permit	With us
Classic Inca Trail	Cusco	4	4,215 / 13,830	Yes, capped	From US$797
Salkantay	Cusco	5	4,630 / 15,190	No	From US$707
Lares	Cusco	4	about 4,700 / 15,420	No	From US$787
Choquequirao	Cusco and Apurímac	4	about 3,050 / 10,010 at the site	No	From US$767
Humantay Lake	Cusco	1	4,200 / 13,780	No	US$137
Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca)	Cusco	1	5,036 / 16,522	No, community entrance	US$137
Laguna 69	Ancash (Huaraz)	1	about 4,600 / 15,090	Park entrance	Not offered
Santa Cruz	Ancash (Huaraz)	3 to 4	about 4,750 / 15,580	Park entrance	Not offered
Huayhuash circuit	Ancash, Huánuco and Lima regions	10 to 14	passes above 5,000 / 16,400	Community fees	Not offered
Colca Canyon	Arequipa	2 to 3	rim near 3,300 / 10,800, descent of about 1,200 m	Tourist ticket	Visited by road on the 15-day tour

Around Cusco: hikes that end at the ruins

1. Classic Inca Trail, 4 days

In our opinion, the best hike in Peru for anyone who cares about the Incas. You walk about 43 km (26 mi) of original road from KM 82, over Dead Woman's Pass at 4,215 m (13,830 ft), past Sayacmarca, Phuyupatamarca and Wiñay Wayna, and into Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate. Permits are capped at 500 a day including staff, and the trail closes every February. Our Classic Inca Trail costs from US$797, with a partner operator authorized by SERNANP running the trek.

2. Salkantay, 5 days

The mountain route to Machu Picchu, about 72 km (45 mi). It climbs over the Salkantay Pass at 4,630 m (15,190 ft) below a glacier, then drops into cloud forest and coffee country. No permit needed. Our Salkantay trek costs from US$707, and the Salkantay guide has the day by day.

3. Lares, 4 days

Weaving villages, hot springs and one high pass at about 4,700 m (15,420 ft), ending with the train to Machu Picchu. This is the trek for travelers more interested in people than in ruins. From US$787 on our Lares trek. Torn between this and the Inca Trail? Read Lares trek vs Inca Trail.

4. Choquequirao, 4 days

The hardest of the Cusco treks. You go down into the Apurímac canyon and climb up the other side to an Inca city at about 3,050 m (10,010 ft), with no road to it and very few visitors. Then you come back out the same way, and there is no Machu Picchu at the end. From US$767 on our Choquequirao trek.

5 and 6. Humantay Lake and Rainbow Mountain, one day each

These are the two day hikes most visitors to Cusco do. Humantay Lake, at 4,200 m (13,780 ft), is a turquoise lake under a glacier after about 1.5 hours of climbing. Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) reaches 5,036 m (16,522 ft), the figure in Peru's official tourism inventory, after about 1 hour 45 minutes on foot. Both cost US$137 with us, and both need two nights in Cusco first. Not sure about the second one? Read is Rainbow Mountain worth it.

Around Huaraz: the glacier hikes

We do not run hikes in the Cordillera Blanca or Huayhuash. They are on this list because no list of the best hikes in Peru is honest without them. Book them with an operator based in Huaraz, in the Ancash region, and give yourself two or three days in Huaraz to adjust before any of them.

7. Laguna 69, a day hike

A day hike in Huascarán National Park to a blue glacier lake at about 4,600 m (15,090 ft), below the peak of Chacraraju. Expect a long drive and a steady climb to one of the most photographed lakes in the country. It also makes a good test before a longer trek in the range.

8. Santa Cruz, 3 to 4 days

The classic multi-day trek of the Cordillera Blanca, about 50 km (31 mi) between Vaquería and Cashapampa, over the Punta Unión pass at about 4,750 m (15,580 ft), with views of peaks above 6,000 m. Camping only and no ruins. In our opinion it is the best mountain scenery you can reach in four days in Peru.

9. Huayhuash circuit, 10 to 14 days

The big one. A loop of about 130 km (81 mi) around the Cordillera Huayhuash, with several passes above 5,000 m (16,400 ft) and most camps above 4,000 m, per Wikipedia's description of the range. It suits experienced trekkers with two weeks to spare and a real tolerance for cold nights in a tent.

Near Arequipa: the canyon hike

10. Colca Canyon, 2 to 3 days

The Colca Canyon is about 3,270 m (10,730 ft) deep at its deepest, per Wikipedia, and the popular hike runs upside down compared with the Cusco treks. You go down first, from the rim near Cabanaconde to the Sangalle oasis about 1,200 m (3,900 ft) below the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint, then face a steep climb out at dawn. Our Complete Peru in 15 days visits the Colca by road, with a night in Chivay and the condors at Cruz del Cóndor, but does not include the canyon hike.

How to choose a hike in Peru

Start with what you want to see at the end of the day. For ruins and Machu Picchu, go to Cusco, with the Inca Trail first and Salkantay second. For glaciers and lakes, go to Huaraz, with Laguna 69 for a day and Santa Cruz for four. For a deep canyon in a dry climate, go to the Colca. Then check the season. The Andean dry season runs from May to September, and every hike on this list is better then. Wherever you go, sleep at altitude before you hike. The CDC Yellow Book places the start of altitude illness risk at sleeping altitudes of 2,450 m (8,000 ft), and every trailhead here is above it. Our Cusco altitude guide explains the CDC's advice, and you can browse all our treks from Cusco on one page.