Peru 14-Day Itineraries: Classic, Cultural & Northern Discovery

Spending 2 weeks in Peru means you will have enough time to discover the most essential parts of this magnificent country, including Lima, Cusco, Arequipa, Puno, and the most iconic Machu Picchu. And you will have flexible time to decide where you want to stay for more days or explore more nearby attractions like Colca Canyon, Rainbow Mountain or more.

In this article, we prepare 3 distinct itineraries for your reference to plan your own Peru tour. You can choose the classic Peru tour if you are visiting Peru for the first time, the world heritage themed route is for those who are cultural and historical lovers, and the final off-the-beaten route of Peru's Northern adventure is for travelers who are visiting Peru for the second time or wants to have some different experience.

1. Classic Peru for First-Timers

PeruTravel Map - Classic Southern Route

If you are planning your first trip to Peru and decide to stay in this country for about 2 weeks, then you can choose this classic southern route. To start your journey from Lima, combining most highlights of Peru and you won't be disappointed. Despite Machu Picchu and the Uros floating island in Puno, you can also enjoy your serene time in the beautiful white city Arequipa, and learn more story about Peru in the Colca Canyon. Just check this classic route with some unique experience.

Begin your Peru adventure in Lima, where the most international flights arrive at. Explore the historic colonial center and taste authentic local flavors like grilled anticuchos (beef heart skewers) and ceviche at a traditional bodega. Visit the Larco Museum to see its important collection of pre-Columbian artifacts.

Travel south to Paracas for a boat tour to the Ballestas Islands. See large colonies of sea lions, penguins, and seabirds up close, and view the mysterious Paracas Candelabra geoglyph carved into the coastal cliffs.

Then transfer to the high Andes to Arequipa, known as the "White City" for its buildings made of volcanic sillar stone. Arequipa is my favorite city of Peru, it is not as busy as Lima or Cusco. Walk through the vividly painted courtyards and streets of the Santa Catalina Convent, a vibrant attraction painted in red and blue. Then, experience a highlight at Colca Canyon, one of the world's deepest canyons. At sunrise, watch majestic Andean condors (with wingspans up to 3 meters) soar above ancient terraces.

Experience authentic Andean culture with a homestay on Taquile Island in Lake Titicaca. Sleep on traditional reed floors, share meals with your host family, and learn about the intricate calendar belts woven by the local people.

The Sacred Valley shows the wisdom of the Inca people. Browse vibrant handicrafts and experience local traditions at the Pisac Market. Explore the impressive Inca fortress ruins at Ollantaytambo, which resisted Spanish conquest. For a deeper connection, learn traditional farming techniques like planting ceremonial corn using ancient foot plows (chaquitaclla) alongside farmers in the Patacancha community.

Machu Picchu

No trip to Peru is complete without Machu Picchu. Maximize your visit by hiring a certified local guide. Entering at dawn via the Sun Gate allows you to appreciate the site's remarkable celestial alignments, sophisticated engineering like the ritual baths, and symbolic trapezoidal windows. Choosing Circuit 2 offers the most comprehensive route covering key temples and terraces. After exploring, relax in the hot springs of Aguas Calientes below.

Conclude your journey in Cusco, the former Inca capital. See how Spanish colonial architecture was built directly upon massive Inca stone foundations. Visit the Santo Domingo Convent, constructed over the sacred Coricancha (Sun Temple), and feel the layers of history. End your trip with classic pisco sours at a rooftop bar, watching the sunset light up Cusco's distinctive stone streets.

You'll return home with memorable encounters with Peru's wildlife and landscapes, genuine insights into ancient and living Andean cultures, and a deeper understanding of the Inca civilization's achievements.

2. World Heritage of Peru

PeruTravel Map - World Heritage

This 2-week journey connects you with civilizations that mastered mountains, deserts, and clouds - their wisdom etched in adobe cities, mountain sanctuaries, and living textile codes. Private guidance unveils layers unseen by crowds, from Lima's foundational flavors to Andean peaks where condors trace Inca footsteps. The whole journey starts from Lima, conclude in northern Trujillo, then get south to explore Arequipa, Puno, and Cusco.

At Chan Chan, walk labyrinthine adobe corridors where ocean-worshipping Chimú engineers defied arid extremes with intricate irrigation. Further south, ascend above the Nazca Pampa – from the air, colossal geometric patterns and biomorphic figures (a hummingbird's wing, an astronaut's outline) emerge, an astronomical language only visible from the skies.

In the Cordillera Blanca, Huascarán National Park's glacial lakes reflect snow-capped peaks sheltering rare spectacled bears. Deeper in the mountains, explore the Chavín culture when visiting Chavín de Huantar (the most important political and religious center of pre-Inca civilization) in Huaraz. You can feel the resonance of its underground galleries where conch-shell trumpets once summoned pilgrims to gaze upon the Lanzón Monolith's otherworldly gaze.

Arequipa's pearly sillar stone architecture frames the cloistered city-within-a-city of Santa Catalina Convent (strongly recommended! It is my favorite attraction in Arequipa). On Lake Titicaca, step onto the buoyant reed islands of Uros, then sail to Taquile. Here, elders cinch waistbands woven with celestial maps - a tactile archive of Inca cosmology preserved through generations.

Lake Titicaca, Puno

The Sacred Valley pulses with enduring traditions: At Pisac, Quechua farmers trade rainbow-hued textiles using coca leaves as currency. You will see the Ollantaytambo's fortress stones still bear the scars of resistance against steel swords. Then comes the revelation: entering Machu Picchu at dawn. Circuit 2 guides you past gravity-defying terraces to the Temple of Three Windows, where solstice sunlight still aligns with sacred peaks as engineers intended. (Note: Intihuatana access restricted for preservation).

Cusco's foundations reveal the Incas' stone mastery - Sacsayhuamán's megaliths fit with paper-thin precision. Beneath Santo Domingo Convent, the golden spirit of Coricancha (Sun Temple) lingers in volcanic stonework that outlasted the Spanish conquest.

After this 14-day journey, you will have the chance to learn about the history and culture of different periods in different areas of Peru. If you are interested in other sites not mentioned in this route, we can design a customized route based on your interests.

3. Discover Northern Peru: Where Ancient Civilizations Meet Wild Coastlines

PeruTravel Map - Northern Adventure

The Northern Peru tour isn't just an alternative - it's a deeper, quieter, and more diverse exploration of Peru's soul. Where southern routes showcase Inca grandeur, the north reveals the raw origins of Andean civilization amid landscapes few travelers witness.

Trade crowded trails for Peru's hidden gem in the northern part, where pre-Inca pyramids stand on coastal deserts, waterfalls thunder through orchid-filled jungles, and cliffside tombs guard lost civilizations. This expertly guided adventure reveals 2,000 years of layered history - from Lima's colonial gastronomy and architecture to the Amazon's edge - with seamless private transfers letting you savor every discovery.

Begin in Lima, tasting ceviche where Pacific waves meet Spanish balconies, before flying north to Trujillo. Here, 1,500-year-old polychrome friezes at the Huaca del Sol & Luna pyramids depict Moche warriors battling mythic sea monsters, while the adobe city of Chan Chan (the world's largest pre-Columbian metropolis) hides the story of the Chimú Empire's ocean-inspired rituals.

Journey deeper into myth at Chiclayo, where the tattooed mummy of Lady of Cao - Peru's first known female ruler - stares eternally from her El Brujo pyramid sanctuary. Just east, unearth the "New World Tutankhamun" at Huaca Rajada: the jewel-encrusted Lord of Sipán rests among sacrificial llamas and warriors in a tomb so lavish, it redefined Andean archaeology. Then wander the Sacred Valley of the Pyramids at Túcume, where 26 adobe giants emerge from mist-shrouded forests like sleeping gods.

Climb into Andean clouds to Cocachimba, gateway to the Amazon's soaring secrets. Trek past neon-billed toucans to Gocta Falls - a 2,530-foot cascade plunging into orchid jungles where Peru's flame-red Cock-of-the-Rock dances in spray. In Chachapoyas, the "Cloud Warriors" defy gravity: spot their eerie Karajía sarcophagi - 2.5-meter-tall clay sentinels guarding cliff ledges for 800 years - then descend into Quiocta Cave's pitch-dark chambers glittering with stalactites and ancient bones.

Rise early to Kuélap Fortress, riding cable cars over emerald valleys to this mountaintop citadel older than Machu Picchu. Wander among 500 circular stone homes enclosed by 19-meter walls, imagining priests chanting over the Utcubamba River far below. Later, horseback through cloud forests reveals Revash's multicolored "tomb houses" clinging to cliffs like swallows' nests, while Leymebamba's Mallqui Museum displays 200 mummies - their teeth still stained by coca leaves - recovered from a sacred lagoon.

Descend into Cajamarca's fertile highlands, where Inca baths still steam beside Spanish cathedrals. Sample creamy queso mantecoso (Peru's finest cheese) before exploring the Otuzco Necropolis - a haunting hillside honeycombed with ancient burial niches - and the mystical rock forests of Cumbemayo, where pre-Inca engineers carved precision aqueducts through volcanic stone.

Return to Lima for a finale at the Larco Museum, surrounded by millennia of gold headdresses and erotic Moche pottery. You'll depart with more than souvenirs: you'll carry stories of warrior queens, cliffside tombs, and civilizations that thrived where the Andes kiss the Amazon.

More 2-Week Itinerary Ideas

Are you planning a 2-week vacation but have not decided where to go? You may also like the multi-country tour that combines Peru and Bolivia, or explore Peru and Brazil's Iguazu Waterfall, and Rio de Janeiro. There are more fun activities and attractions that are not included in this article. You can directly send an inquiry to tell us your preference, and let our travel expert help you design your own route depending on your interests.