Peru itinerary for two: Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu in 10 days

We based ourselves in Miraflores, Lima's most walkable, easy-going district, a stroll from the Malecón. That first afternoon, fresh off the plane, all we did was walk the clifftop path with the Pacific below and, after dark, look in on Huaca Pucllana, a pre-Inca adobe pyramid wedged among the buildings and lovely floodlit. Surreal to have a 1,500-year-old mud ruin in the middle of a modern neighbourhood.

We gave a whole morning to colonial Lima: the Plaza Mayor with its carved wooden balconies, the San Francisco convent and its catacombs, and the Larco Museum, which holds tens of thousands of pre-Hispanic pieces — the gold and silver of the pre-Inca cultures leaves you speechless. But if there was one thing we came to Lima for, it was the food. We headed down to Barranco for ceviche at a beloved old-school cevichería: leche de tigre, the freshest fish and an ice-cold chicha morada. Go early to eat, because the good places fill up. Barranco is also the bohemian district: murals, galleries and the Bridge of Sighs for a last stroll before dinner.

It deserves its own section, because Lima is one of the world's great food capitals and you feel it at any price point. We had classic ceviche at an unpretentious cevichería — one of those legendary, always-packed spots — for about twenty euros, and from there all the way up: hearty Limeño taberna classics like lomo saltado, ají de gallina or seco de res at a Barranco taberna, and one nikkei tasting-menu splurge that ranks among the world's best, fire-cooking signed by Venezuelan-Peruvian chefs.

A tip we wish we'd had earlier: Lima's top restaurants book up weeks ahead, just like Machu Picchu. If you know you want one big dinner, lock it in from home. And don't fixate only on fine dining: a neighbourhood cevichería or a market stall will give you some of the best bites of the trip for a fraction of the price.

On day four we switched worlds with a direct domestic flight of barely an hour and a half. We took an afternoon departure to squeeze the most out of our last day in Lima, and you should book it before the train to Machu Picchu so you don't lose the connection. In the space of a short hop we went from sea level to Cusco, at 3,400 metres, and here's the most important warning of the trip after the one about the tickets: respect the altitude.

We did absolutely nothing that first evening. Coca tea — it's free at every hotel — plenty of water, no alcohol the first night and an early bed. Going straight from the coast up to nearly three and a half thousand metres is noticeable: a mild headache, a slow-motion feeling, your heart racing after four steps. It's manageable if you take it easy the first few days; that's why we kept the following day gentle. If you're sensitive to altitude sickness, ask your hotel or pharmacy about acetazolamide before you travel.

We kept our first full day in Cusco for acclimatising without giving up on seeing the city: a half-day city tour, at an easy pace. The Qorikancha, the former Inca Temple of the Sun on which the Spanish built a convent — that clash of perfect Inca stonework with colonial baroque on top is the image that best sums up Cusco — the Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas and, high above town, the Sacsayhuamán fortress, with its cyclopean blocks that fit together without a drop of mortar.

Cusco is made for wandering on foot: cobbled lanes, colonial balconies and the square lit up at dusk. That night we had elevated Andean cooking at one of the city's best restaurants — alpaca loin, quinoa chowder — in a cosy room you'll be grateful for once the cold drops in the moment the sun goes. In July the nights are genuinely cold: pack a good warm layer even if it's t-shirt weather at midday.

A full day through the Sacred Valley, and for us one of the highlights of the trip — plus the perfect warm-up before Machu Picchu, because the valley sits lower than Cusco and you breathe more easily. We started in Pisac, with its Inca ruins clinging to the hillside and its artisan market, carried on to the circular terraces of Moray, an Inca agricultural amphitheatre that looks like a piece of land art, and the Maras salt pans: thousands of stepped salt pools on the mountainside, white and ochre, worked since pre-Inca times.

We finished in Ollantaytambo, an Inca fortress-town still lived in, with its original layout and the climb up to the military terraces. It's also where the train to Machu Picchu departs, so it's worth getting your bearings for the next day. We got back to Cusco wrecked but with the feeling we understood the Incas far better before the main event.

The day you come for. An early start, the scenic train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes following the Urubamba river boxed in between mountains, and from the town the bus that zigzags up to the citadel. We did a guided visit of a couple of hours and it's worth it: the guide gives order to what you're seeing and makes sense of the precincts, the terraces and the sacred mountain behind. Even if there's mist when you arrive — which is normal first thing — it usually lifts and reveals that postcard you already know from a thousand photos and which, even so, is staggering in person. The llamas grazing among the ruins are the finishing touch.

And here's the bit that can't go wrong: the Machu Picchu ticket has a strict daily quota and in July, high season, it sells out weeks ahead. Official tickets are bought ONLY at tuboleto.cultura.pe (around €50 per person for foreigners), and at the same time you have to book the train from Ollantaytambo (PeruRail or Inca Rail). This is the FIRST thing to lock in for the whole trip, even before the domestic flights; the rest of the itinerary is built around the date you get for the citadel. Don't improvise with this.

We left Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) as optional, and we'll say it plainly: it's hard. Pickup around 4:30am, a good stretch of road and a guided hike up to 5,200 metres, where the air really weighs on you. The ridge with its bands of colour — mineral oxides that paint the slope red, ochre, green and turquoise — is rare beauty, but we only dared do it because we'd already had several days acclimatising in Cusco and the Valley. If the altitude is getting to you, there's absolutely nothing wrong with swapping it for a rest day; we nearly did.

We wound down our last full day: San Blas, Cusco's artisan barrio, all cobbled climbs, ceramic and textile workshops and the church with its famous pulpit carved from a single piece of wood. And at midday, the real Cusco on a plate: the San Pedro market, with its stalls of caldo de gallina, chicharrón, freshly squeezed juices and Andean cheeses. Eating there for a few euros, amid the market bustle, was as good a finale as any restaurant.

A couple of things we were glad to have sorted before leaving. Paperwork: Spain doesn't need a visa for short tourist stays in Peru, but it's worth confirming on the official Foreign Ministry country sheet before you travel, and your passport should have plenty of validity. There are no compulsory vaccines for the Lima–Cusco–Machu Picchu circuit (yellow fever only applies if you head into the Amazon); even so, check the official health recommendations in good time.

On the weather: July is peak Andean dry season — sunny days and very cold nights in Cusco and the Valley, so layers and a good coat for the evenings — while Lima lives under the garúa, that grey, damp coastal sky that never quite rains but never quite clears either. We took out solid travel insurance with medical-evacuation and altitude-sickness cover, which on a trip with hikes up to 5,200 metres is non-negotiable, and an eSIM with data from the moment we landed for taxis, maps and booking on the fly. And, as we've said a thousand times: Machu Picchu first, everything else after.