Route One — The Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu
Cuzco → Pisac → Ollantaytambo → Machu Picchu → Tipón → Cuzco. About 250 km. Eight days. The canonical itinerary.
The standard tourist circuit, expanded to include the less-visited sites in the Cuzco hinterland. Best done as part of a longer trip that begins in Lima or Arequipa, to give the visitor time to acclimatise to Cuzco's 3,400 metre altitude before going higher.
Day 1 — Arrive Cuzco. Rest, drink coca tea, walk gently around the central plaza, retire early. Do not, under any circumstance, attempt strenuous activity on the first day at altitude.
Day 2 — Cuzco. The cathedral, the Coricancha, Hatunrumiyoc, the Plaza de Armas, the San Blas neighbourhood. Easy walking.
Day 3 — Sacsayhuamán and the four Cuzco fortresses. Sacsayhuamán, Q'enqo, Pukapukara, Tambomachay — accessible by single ticket and bus or taxi.
Day 4 — Pisac. Drive to the Sacred Valley; visit the upper site (allow three hours) and the market in the lower town.
Day 5 — Ollantaytambo. The fortress and the residential town.
Day 6 — Machu Picchu. Train to Aguas Calientes the evening of Day 5; up to the site at dawn on Day 6; train back to Cuzco that evening.
Day 7 — Tipón and Pikillaqta. Day trip east of Cuzco. The Inca hydraulic gardens at Tipón and the pre-Inca Wari administrative centre at Pikillaqta, which the Inca state inherited.
Day 8 — Departure from Cuzco.
Route Two — The Classic Inca Trail
Km 82 → Wayllabamba → Pacaymayu → Wiñay Wayna → Machu Picchu. About 43 km. Four days walking. Permits required well in advance.
The classic four-day Inca Trail trek (the canonical one — there are also two-day, five-day, and various alternative routes) follows a surviving section of the southern Qhapaq Ñan from Km 82 of the railway line to the Sun Gate above Machu Picchu. Substantial original Inca paving and stone steps survive on the route. Permits are limited (500 per day, including guides and porters) and must be booked typically six months in advance.
Day 1 — Km 82 to Wayllabamba. 12 km, modest altitude gain to about 3,000 m. Easy first day.
Day 2 — Wayllabamba to Pacaymayu via Dead Woman's Pass. 11 km, climbing to 4,215 m at the pass before descending. The hardest day of the trek.
Day 3 — Pacaymayu to Wiñay Wayna. 16 km, several smaller passes, the spectacular middle section of the trail with multiple Inca sites including Sayacmarca, Phuyupatamarca, and the final approach to Wiñay Wayna ("forever young," in Quechua).
Day 4 — Wiñay Wayna to Machu Picchu via the Sun Gate. Early start; the arrival at the Sun Gate at sunrise (if you are lucky with the weather) and the descent to the site itself.
Route Three — The Southern Qhapaq Ñan
Cuzco → Puno → La Paz → Tiwanaku → Sucre → Potosí → Uyuni → San Pedro de Atacama. About 1,500 km. Fourteen days. Cuzco to the southern frontier.
A long overland route following roughly the line of the southern imperial road from Cuzco through the Lake Titicaca basin, the Bolivian altiplano, and into the Atacama. The route involves substantial altitude (most of it above 3,500 m) and crosses two international borders. The main transport on each leg is bus, with optional rail segments at the start (Cuzco-Puno on the Andean Explorer) and the end (Calama-San Pedro). Driving by rental car is possible but the Bolivian segment in particular requires good road awareness.
Days 1–2 — Cuzco. Recover from international travel, see the city.
Day 3 — Cuzco to Puno via Raqchi. The Temple of Viracocha at Raqchi en route; arrive at Puno on Lake Titicaca in the evening.
Day 4 — Lake Titicaca. The Uros floating reed islands and Taquile island in Peruvian waters.
Day 5 — Puno to Copacabana (Bolivia). Cross the border; afternoon in Copacabana.
Day 6 — Isla del Sol. Day trip from Copacabana.
Day 7 — Copacabana to La Paz. Bus along the eastern shore of Lake Titicaca.
Days 8 — La Paz and Tiwanaku. The Bolivian capital at 3,650 m; day trip to Tiwanaku.
Day 9 — La Paz to Sucre. Long bus or short flight; arrive at the formal Bolivian capital.
Day 10 — Sucre to Potosí. Two hours by bus; the colonial silver city.
Day 11 — Potosí to Uyuni. Five hours by bus; arrive at the salt-flat town.
Days 12 — Uyuni salt flats. Day tour of the Salar.
Days 13–14 — Uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama. Three-day jeep tour across the southern Bolivian altiplano, through the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve, crossing the Chilean border at the Hito Cajón pass and descending to San Pedro at 2,400 m. The last Inca outpost. Fly home from Calama.