Peru travel resources

Before you go

• Peru’s immigration authority, Migraciones, says in its guide for tourists that your passport must be valid for at least six months or you cannot enter. You can check the stay you were authorised by downloading your virtual Andean Migration Card, and each day over it costs a fine of 0.1% of a tax unit (UIT). If you leave by land for a neighbouring country, pass through a Migraciones checkpoint to register your exit, or you may be unable to re-enter Peru or board a flight from its territory.
• The Ministry of Culture sells Machu Picchu tickets on its TuBoleto platform (in Spanish). Ministerial resolution 334-2026-MC (in Spanish) prohibits issuing tickets outside the official channels. A ticket is valid only for the date, time, circuit and holder named on it, cannot be changed, and an unused one loses its validity without a refund. You can also buy one in person at the Cusco culture directorate’s authorised offices. You need your passport to buy one and to enter.
• The site’s own rules of conduct (in Spanish) ban bags larger than 40 × 35 × 20 cm, food, tripods and camera extensions, umbrellas and walking sticks, hard-soled shoes or heels, and drones. Breaking them gets you expelled without a refund.
• Inca Trail tickets are sold in the same way. Under the Ministry’s amended trail regulation (in Spanish), they are bought only on TuBoleto, by travel agencies registered with the Cusco culture directorate (DDC Cusco) on behalf of their clients, and are valid only for the date, circuit and holder named. Article 10 of the original trail regulation (in Spanish) closes the trail every February for maintenance, and the park service SERNANP announced the 2026 closure (in Spanish).
• At Lima’s Jorge Chávez airport, the operator, Lima Airport Partners, lists its taxi firms at counters in domestic and international arrivals.

Top destinations in Peru

• Machu Picchu: official site · Wikivoyage
• Cusco: Wikivoyage
• Lima: Wikivoyage
• Sacred Valley: Wikivoyage
• Lake Titicaca: Wikivoyage

Travel resources

• Peru Travel
• PeruRail
• Lima Airport
• Machu Picchu tickets (Ministry of Culture)

Travel tips

1. In an emergency call 105 for the police, 116 for the fire brigade or 106 for an ambulance. The government’s emergency numbers page, linked in the quick facts, lists 105 as the police switchboard and 116 for the fire brigade. The Ministry of Health’s SAMU page, also linked there, says to call 106 for a medical emergency and that the service is free, wherever you are.
2. Go slowly on arrival at altitude. The Ministry of Health advises (in Spanish) taking precautions above 2,500 m, resting for the first hours, avoiding intense effort, drinking plenty of fluids, eating light meals and taking acetazolamide only on prescription. If severe symptoms do not ease with rest, it says the most effective step is to go down at once.
3. Don’t hail taxis in the street. GOV.UK warns of criminals posing as taxi drivers, especially at Jorge Chávez airport and bus terminals, and advises licensed phone or app-based taxi services, a taxi your hotel books, or an official company at the airport.
4. Protests can stop trains. GOV.UK says services in the south, including those to and from Machu Picchu, are occasionally suspended or disrupted, and that it is illegal for foreigners in Peru to take part in demonstrations. Ask your travel provider for the latest before you book a tight connection.
5. Don’t buy souvenirs made from wild animal parts, such as condor feathers. GOV.UK says their sale is illegal in Peru and that they are often sold in tourist markets in Cusco and Iquitos.
6. GOV.UK gives the rainy season as November to May, with heavy rain and snow in the Andes, including Cusco. That can disrupt travel in the mountains, so allow spare days around Machu Picchu.