eSIM for Peru

In Peru your eSIM uses Claro's 4G LTE network, which shared the top download-speed award with Bitel in Opensignal's February 2026 report. Lima's new Jorge Chávez terminal, open since June 2025, still has awkward road access. And the UK Foreign Office warns about phones being snatched at the roadside and about fake-kidnapping calls made from stolen phones.

The classic first visit: a day in Lima, then a flight to Cusco and straight down to the lower Sacred Valley to adjust to the altitude, the train to Machu Picchu, and two days in Cusco before flying back. Suits most fitness levels if you pace the altitude.

Length

7 days

Bases

4

When to go May to September is the dry season in the Andes, with clear skies at Machu Picchu but the biggest crowds in June to August; November to March is the rainy season, and the Inca Trail closes every February for maintenance.

1. 01

   Day 1 Lima (Miraflores or Barranco)

   Lima: the historic centre and Miraflores

   → Jorge Chávez airport (LIM) is about 17 km from Miraflores; use the official taxi desks and allow for slow traffic around the new terminal.

   Start in the historic centre at the Plaza Mayor, with the cathedral and the Government Palace, and visit the Monastery of San Francisco, whose catacombs hold the bones of thousands of colonial-era burials. In the afternoon, head to Miraflores to walk the clifftop Malecón and the Parque del Amor above the Pacific. End the day in Barranco, crossing the Bridge of Sighs and watching the sunset over the ocean.

   Signal Claro 4G is strong across Lima, but keep your phone out of sight at the roadside, as motorbike snatch theft is common.

2. 02

   Day 2 Sacred Valley (Urubamba or Ollantaytambo)

   Fly to Cusco and down to Pisac

   → Flights Lima–Cusco take about 1 hour 20 minutes; Cusco airport to Pisac is about 1 hour by road, and Pisac to Urubamba a further 45 minutes.

   Take an early flight to Cusco, at about 3,400 metres, and head straight down into the Sacred Valley, which sits lower and makes it easier to acclimatise. Stop at Pisac to walk through the Inca terraces and citadel above the town and browse its market, which is busiest on Sundays. Continue along the Urubamba river to your base, and take it easy for the evening, drinking plenty of water.

   Signal Claro 4G covers Cusco and the valley towns, but there are dead spots on the mountain road down to Pisac and on the upper terraces.

3. 03

   Day 3 Aguas Calientes

   Moray, Maras and Ollantaytambo

   → Urubamba to Moray and Maras is about 45 minutes; the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes takes about 1 hour 30 minutes.

   Visit Moray, a set of circular Inca terraces in deep hollows that may have served as an agricultural testing site, then the Maras salt pans, thousands of small terraced pools fed by a salty spring. In the afternoon, climb the terraces of the Ollantaytambo fortress and walk the old Inca grid of streets in the town below. Take the late-afternoon train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes for an early start tomorrow.

   Signal Moray and Maras have weak coverage on the high plateau; the train runs through a narrow gorge with long gaps, but Aguas Calientes has 4G.

4. 04

   Day 4 Aguas Calientes

   Machu Picchu

   → The bus from Aguas Calientes to the citadel takes about 25–30 minutes; the train back to Ollantaytambo takes about 1 hour 30 minutes, with a connecting bus to Cusco of about 1 hour 45 minutes.

   Take one of the first buses up the switchback road to Machu Picchu, with your timed ticket and passport ready. Follow your assigned circuit past the Temple of the Sun, the Intihuatana stone and the agricultural terraces, with Huayna Picchu rising behind. If you booked ahead, climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain for a view down on the citadel. Return to Aguas Calientes and take an afternoon train back towards Cusco.

   Signal Signal at the citadel is limited and unreliable, so save your entry ticket and train booking offline before you go up.

5. 05

   Day 5 Cusco

   Cusco: Plaza de Armas and Qorikancha

   Spend the day in Cusco's historic centre, a UNESCO site. Visit the cathedral on the Plaza de Armas, with its colonial paintings, then walk to Qorikancha, the Inca temple of the sun, where Spanish builders put the church of Santo Domingo on top of the original stone walls. Walk up Hatun Rumiyoc street to see the twelve-angled stone, and finish in the San Blas quarter, with its steep lanes and craft workshops.

   Signal Claro 4G is reliable across central Cusco; use the phone indoors or away from the kerb, and watch for protest disruption in local news.

6. 06

   Day 6 Cusco

   Sacsayhuamán and the hills above Cusco

   → Sacsayhuamán is about a 30-minute walk uphill from the Plaza de Armas; Tambomachay is about 15 minutes further by road.

   Walk up to Sacsayhuamán, the Inca complex with huge zig-zagging stone walls above the city. Continue to the smaller nearby sites of Q'enqo, a carved rock shrine, and Tambomachay, a set of stone fountains, using a taxi between them. In the afternoon, visit the San Pedro market for local produce and juices, and the Museo de Arte Precolombino for pre-Inca ceramics and gold.

   Signal 4G is good at Sacsayhuamán and in the city; it gets weaker around Tambomachay, at the edge of the hills.

7. 07

   Day 7 Lima (Miraflores or Barranco)

   Fly back to Lima

   → Flights Cusco–Lima take about 1 hour 20 minutes.

   Take a morning flight back to Lima. If you have time before your international departure, visit the Museo Larco in Pueblo Libre for its pre-Columbian collections, or Huaca Pucllana in Miraflores, an adobe pyramid built by the Lima culture before the Incas. Leave plenty of time to reach the airport, as access roads around the new terminal remain slow at peak hours.

   Signal Strong 4G in Lima and at Jorge Chávez airport for checking in and tracking your taxi.