Peru Itinerary for 10 Days: Lake Titicaca or More Andes

Day eight. After the stop on the Capachica peninsula, the boat noses into the jetty at Amantaní and a woman in an embroidered skirt is waiting to walk you up the path to her family's house. Dinner is soup in her kitchen. Later the night over the lake turns cold and the sky fills with more stars than you have seen in years. A seven-day trip never gets you here.

Short answer: A 10-day Peru itinerary fits Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca if you go to the lake last: about 2 days on the coast, 4 in the Cusco region, 1 on the road to Puno and 2 on the lake, flying out of Juliaca. Without the lake, the same 10 days fit Nazca and two high day hikes.

Ten days is the length we recommend for a first trip to Peru, and Lake Titicaca is why. It is the shortest trip where the lake fits after Cusco, which is the right order for altitude, with no night bus and no single rushed afternoon on the water. The real decision at ten days is the second half: the lake, or more of the Andes around Cusco. We sell both, so you get both below, day by day, with who each one suits.

Day by day: the lake version

The lake version climbs in steps: sea level, then Cusco at 3,399 m (11,152 ft), then Puno at about 3,830 m (12,570 ft), with five nights in the Andes before the lake. Our 10-day trip from Lima to Lake Titicaca, from US$1,347 per person, follows this outline and adds an Andean water ceremony on the lake.

1. Day 1, Lima. Arrival and a city tour with the Huaca Pucllana adobe pyramid and the historic center.
2. Day 2, Paracas and Huacachina. The Ballestas Islands by boat in the morning and the dunes in the afternoon, back to Lima.
3. Day 3, fly to Cusco. A city tour in the afternoon, and an early night.
4. Day 4, Sacred Valley and the train. Chinchero, Moray, Maras and Ollantaytambo, then the train to Aguas Calientes.
5. Day 5, Machu Picchu. A guided morning visit, the train and the road back to Cusco.
6. Day 6, a day in the valley. On our package, a day with a farming community: field work in season and a huatia earth oven for lunch. On your own, Pisac or a slow day in Cusco.
7. Day 7, the Sun Route to Puno. About nine hours by daytime tourist bus, with stops at the Andahuaylillas church, the Raqchi temple and the La Raya pass at 4,335 m (14,222 ft).
8. Day 8, the lake. A boat to the Capachica peninsula and on to Amantaní, where a family hosts you for the night.
9. Day 9, the Uros islands and Puno. The reed islands on the way back, the afternoon in Puno.
10. Day 10, fly home. Juliaca airport is about an hour from Puno, with flights to Lima.

Who it suits: first-time visitors who want the three classic places (Cusco, Machu Picchu and the lake), and travelers who care about people and villages as much as ruins.

Day by day: the Andes version

The Andes version skips the lake and spends the extra days on Nazca and two high day hikes from Cusco. Our Peru in 10 Days with Nazca, Machu Picchu and the Andes, from US$1,720 per person, runs it. Despite the "Puno" in its web address, this package does not go to Lake Titicaca. We say so plainly because travelers ask.

1. Day 1, Lima.
2. Day 2, Paracas, Ballestas and Huacachina, night in Nazca.
3. Day 3, the Nazca Lines flight, bus back to Lima.
4. Day 4, fly to Cusco, Qorikancha and Sacsayhuamán.
5. Day 5, Sacred Valley, train to Aguas Calientes.
6. Day 6, Machu Picchu, back to Cusco.
7. Day 7, Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca), the viewpoint at 5,036 m (16,522 ft) per MINCETUR.
8. Day 8, the South Valley: Tipón, Pikillacta and Andahuaylillas, an easy day between two hard ones.
9. Day 9, Humantay Lake, 4,200 m (13,780 ft).
10. Day 10, fly home.

Who it suits: travelers who hike at home, want the Nazca Lines and would rather stand at 5,036 m than ride a boat. It has more early starts than the lake version, and the two mountain days need the four Cusco nights in front of them.

Lake or Andes: how the two compare

The table puts the two versions side by side, with a third shape for travelers who want Bolivia. The lake version is kinder to your body and gives you more time with people. The Andes version gives you more mountain scenery and the coast.

A third shape: Peru and Bolivia in 10 days

If the Uyuni salt flats pull harder than Nazca, our Peru and Bolivia in 10 days, from US$1,817, goes Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Puno, Copacabana, La Paz and Uyuni. It moves fast, with two nights on buses, and we suggest it only to travelers who already know they cope well with altitude. US citizens no longer need a tourist visa for Bolivia, as our Bolivia guide for US travelers explains with the dated source.

Planning your own 10 days

Planning it yourself, keep three rules. Go to Cusco before the lake. Give Machu Picchu a night in Aguas Calientes. Leave one day without a booking in the middle of the trip, because strikes and weather in the Andes have a way of finding the tight plans. Our how many days in Peru guide has a calculator to add up your own stops, and the Peru itinerary planning guide explains the altitude order in detail. For prices across all lengths, see the Peru vacation packages page.