Cusco in July

When to go

The climate table that the WMO relays from Peru's national weather service shows little rain in July and mean minimum temperatures close to freezing. Peru's government portal lists the Air Force Day holiday and the Fiestas Patrias national holidays in late July, so check the list for your travel year and confirm opening hours around those dates. Machu Picchu's daily visitor cap can rise in the high season, when extra routes open, so check ticket availability on the ministry's system early.

Trip facts

• The WMO's World Weather Information Service lists, for Cuzco, Peru, a mean daily maximum temperature of 19.1 °C (66.4 °F), a mean daily minimum temperature of 0.1 °C (32.2 °F) and a mean total rainfall of 4.0 mm in July, from Peru's Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (SENAMHI), without stating the period the averages cover. (worldweather.wmo.int, checked 2026-10-16)
• Peru's government portal lists, among the national holidays of 2026, Thursday July 23 (Día de la Fuerza Aérea del Perú) and Tuesday July 28 to Wednesday July 29 (Fiestas Patrias). (www.gob.pe, checked 2026-10-16)
• PromPerú's official Peru travel site says Cusco sits at over 3,399 meters (11,150 feet) above sea level, an elevation that can cause some visitors to experience altitude sickness, known locally as soroche. (www.peru.travel, checked 2026-10-16)
• The CDC's Peru destination page says many popular destinations in Peru, such as Machu Picchu, are at high altitudes, that you may experience altitude sickness as a result, and that you should talk to your doctor about ways to prevent and treat it. (wwwnc.cdc.gov, checked 2026-10-16)
• Peru's Ministry of Culture Resolution 528-2023-MC, posted on the official Machu Picchu site, approves from January 1, 2024 a capacity for the Llaqta of Machupicchu of up to 4,500 people per day, with a maximum increase to 5,600 people per day in the high season, which it defines as the months of highest visitor demand. (www.machupicchu.gob.pe, checked 2026-10-16)
• The Ministry of Culture's official Machu Picchu site says three visit circuits grouping 10 routes have been in force since June 1, 2024, and that four of the routes (Intipunku Gate, Inka Bridge, Great Cavern and Huchuypicchu) are available only in the high season. (www.machupicchu.gob.pe, checked 2026-10-16)
• Resolution 528-2023-MC says visitors to the Llaqta of Machupicchu need their entry ticket and an official identity document, with the passport among the valid documents for foreign visitors, and that a ticket is valid only for the date and time it was bought, with no change of date or of the holder's name allowed. (www.machupicchu.gob.pe, checked 2026-10-16)
• PromPerú's Machu Picchu page gives a route of about 1 h 15 min by air from Lima to Cusco, about 1 h 30 min by bus or car from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, and about 2 h by train from Ollantaytambo to Machupicchu. (www.peru.travel, checked 2026-10-16)
• Peru's Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones says a passport with a minimum validity of six months is mandatory, and that travelers whose passport does not meet this requirement cannot enter the country. (www.gob.pe, checked 2026-10-16)
• Peru's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' table of visa requirements and exemptions for ordinary passports lists citizens of the 'Estados Unidos de América' as exempt from a tourist visa for 90 days, extendable once for an equal period within 365 days of their first entry. (cdn.www.gob.pe, checked 2026-10-16)