Peru Travel Tips 2026: Highlights beyond Machu Picchu

It had been a while since my last visit to Peru, and I'm a firm believer that it's always worth going back as there’s always something new to discover- especially as a travel specialist. Rules change, new experiences appear, and the only way I can give our customers the best possible advice is to see it all for myself. This autumn I went back to Peru with one question in mind: what would our customers want to know before they go?

Machu Picchu is the reason most people come to Peru, but after this second visit I really want to highlight how much more there is to discover in this incredible country that I think everyone should know about. But first, let’s look at the big ticket highlight and see what’s changed, how it works, and what to expect.

Last time I visited, I trekked in and arrived through the Sun Gate which felt much quieter that time around. This time, I stayed the night before in Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Machu Picchu, then took the bus up with everyone else, which is what most travellers do, unless they're finishing the classic Inca Trail.

If I had to describe the town I’d say it’s got a Disneyland-like feel: it’s geared entirely around tourism, from the souvenirs to the two-for-one cocktails. It's convenient and fun after days in the jungle without seeing another soul, but I'd rather you knew what to expect. Going up to Machu Picchu this way on the bus also did feel busier. When I first visited, there were no limits on numbers at all, but today, visitors are capped at 5,600 a day, and the site works on a system of circuits (1, 2 and 3), with entry split into timed slots. In practice, that means everyone arrives at different times and follows a route that keeps people on different levels of the ruins, so it didn't feel packed once we were up there. Once you're inside, you realise how enormous and layered the complex is - the famous postcard view is just one corner of it!

Machu Picchu is well worth seeing, and I'll always recommend people to go, but these were the personal highlights of my trip, in this order.

I’d seen Rainbow Mountain in photos and part of me wondered whether it was all just heavily edited. Then I got there and thought: wow. It really is that colourful. The day before, it had been snowing and the views were clouded over, but the day we went was perfect with blue skies. It was also the only place on my itinerary I hadn’t been to before, which probably made it feel even more special. And it’s not just the mountain: the scenery on the drive and the glaciers around Red Valley make the whole day.

Be prepared for a big day. You'll set off from Cusco at 4am, drive for around three and a half hours, with a stop for breakfast en route, then walk for about an hour - 1.5 hrs at altitude (around 5,000m). Walk slowly, and expect to be out of breath. The reward is a landscape of striped, colour-soaked rock, with llamas and alpacas grazing nearby. You can also add on the Red Valley hike. It’s a bit longer, and the way down is steep and loose underfoot, but the whole landscape turns red, and you can see huge glaciers in the distance.

One thing I'd steer you away from: the alpacas dressed in sunglasses for photos. This isn’t something we would encourage at Rickshaw, and I'd rather you enjoy the animals as they are.

This was a real highlight and something I had been really looking forward to. The journey from Puno to Cusco (and can also be done in reverse) takes around 10.5 hours. Onboard you'll find comfortable armchair-style seating, a three-course lunch with a vegetarian option, a welcome pisco cocktail and even a pisco sour-making workshop in the afternoon, plus other entertainment best left as a surprise!. The highlight is the observatory carriage at the back of the train. It's open-air, and from there I saw flamingos, llamas, alpacas, lakes and mountains. You can read more about my train experience here.

My advice: make sure to get to the observatory carriage before you pass through Juliaca town. The tracks cross right through the middle of the market, meaning you are completely immersed in the haggling.

The Titicaca Train is an optional extra on our Peru in a Nutshell itinerary. Get in touch and I’ll tell you how it would fit into your trip.

If the classic Inca Trail doesn't suit everyone in your group, our Hiking and Biking to Machu Picchu trip is a bite-sized, family-friendly alternative that we've been offering for about a year and a half, and it was incredible.

It begins with a 55km downhill cycle, starting among snowy, barren landscapes and glaciers, then winding down hairpin bends and dropping thousands of metres in altitude. In just a couple of hours, you go from high mountains to the jungle, with cicadas buzzing and pineapples growing at the roadside. Then you trek towards Machu Picchu. Over the next two days, your guide points out coffee, cocoa and coca plantations and explains how coca is used, and you follow an original Inca path towards Machu Picchu. On my trip there were just a few of us and our private guide, and we saw hardly anyone else for days. You’ll stay in simple, comfortable hotels run by local families, which is part of what makes the trip feel so connected to the places you pass through. If you’d like, you also have the option to add in hotsprings and adrenaline-inducing activities like rafting and ziplining along the way.

The best way to see Peru depends entirely on you: how active you want to be, who you're travelling with, how much time you have and what you'd love to come home with.

If you need help with planning Peru, get in touch, tell me what you're dreaming of, and I'll help you build a trip that's yours.