When to go to Peru? The season by region

Choose the regions first

A beach stay, a hike in the Andes and a trip on the Amazon rivers are not planned around the same calendar. Our method: choose a main region, look at its seasonal constraints, then add a compatible extension. The effects of rain on a road or a trail often matter more than a city’s average temperature.

Peru is in the southern hemisphere. The southern winter, from June to August, is the dry season in the Andes and the grey season in Lima; the southern summer, from December to March, is the rainy season in the Andes and the sunny season on the coast. The two never coincide: a full trip is always a compromise.

Peru month by month

The rainfall and temperature figures come from the tables further down; they are averages, not a forecast. Festival dates are detailed in the festival calendar.

January

High summer on the coast: in Lima, the sun shines almost every day, and the beaches to the south fill up at weekends, all the more so as Peruvian schoolchildren are on holiday until mid-March. In the Andes, it is the heart of the rainy season: about 150 mm in Cusco and Puno, showers almost every afternoon, peaks often in the clouds. The Machu Picchu train switches to the bus-then-train service. In the southern Amazon, it is one of the wettest months. A good month for Lima, the south coast and the north coast, keeping some flexibility for the Andes.

February

The hottest month in Lima, around 27 °C in the afternoon. The Inca Trail is closed all month; the Machu Picchu site stays open. In Puno, the Virgen de la Candelaria festival lasts several weeks around 2 February: the town is full, so book early. The rain stays heavy in the Andes. On the north coast, usually dry, some rain becomes possible; in El Niño years, it is from February to April that it is heaviest. Depending on the year, carnival falls in February or March.

March

The end of summer and of the Peruvian school holidays: classes start again in mid-March (on 16 March in 2026). The rain eases in Cusco but stays frequent, and March is Huaraz’s wettest month. The Inca Trail reopens at the beginning of March. Holy Week sometimes falls in March: in 2027, Easter Sunday is on 28 March.

April

A month of transition, often very beautiful: the Andean valleys are still green, the rain becomes less frequent (about forty millimetres in Cusco) and the Machu Picchu bus-then-train service ends with the month. Arequipa enters its dry season. In Lima, summer ends gently. Holy Week, when it falls in April, draws large crowds to Ayacucho, and Machu Picchu goes into high season around Easter (from 2 to 5 April in 2026).

May

The start of the dry season in the Andes: clear skies, less than 10 mm of rain in Cusco, nights getting cooler. It is one of the best months: few people, landscapes still green. The season recommended by SERNANP begins for Tambopata, Huascarán and Pacaya Samiria. In Lima, the sky starts to cloud over. In 2027, the Qoyllur Rit’i pilgrimage and Corpus Christi in Cusco fall at the end of May; in other years, often in June.

June

The dry season is well established, and the nights turn cold: about 2 °C on average in Cusco, below 0 °C in Puno. On 24 June, Inti Raymi fills Cusco, and San Juan is celebrated throughout the Amazon. Machu Picchu’s high season begins (on 19 June in 2026). In Lima it is garúa time, but the Lachay lomas start to turn green again.

July

The busiest month: summer holidays in Europe and North America, Fiestas Patrias on 28 and 29 July, and two weeks of Peruvian school holidays at the end of the month (from 27 July to 7 August in 2026). Blue skies and the coldest nights in the Andes: about 1 °C on average in Cusco. It is also the driest month in Puerto Maldonado, sometimes with a cold snap, the friaje. The whale season begins on the north coast. Book tickets and trains as soon as your dates are fixed.

August

Still the height of the dry season in the Andes, and still very busy, because of the European holidays. In Lima, it is the greyest month: fewer than 30 hours of sunshine in the whole month, on average. The southern Amazon stays dry. In Pacaya Samiria, taricaya turtles lay their eggs on the beaches in July, August and early September: SERNANP asks visitors not to go near them in the afternoon and at night.

September

The crowds thin out, the sky stays dry in the Andes and the nights grow milder: one of the best months for a full trip. The whales are still there on the north coast. Lima stays grey. In Huaraz, the trekking season continues until October, when the rain comes back.

October

The first rain arrives in the Andes, often in the afternoon: about fifty millimetres in Cusco, more in Huaraz. Machu Picchu stays in high season (until 2 November in 2026). In Lima, the sky clears and the city turns purple for the Señor de los Milagros processions. The whales stay until the end of October. A good month, with a little flexibility.

November

A quiet month: Machu Picchu goes back to low season at the beginning of November. The rain increases in the Andes (nearly 80 mm in Cusco) but stays irregular; Puno remains fairly dry, with about forty millimetres. Lima gets its sunshine back. The season recommended by SERNANP for Manu comes to an end. A good month for flexible travellers.

December

Summer begins on the coast: sunshine in Lima, warm water on the north coast. The rain sets in over the Andes (about 125 mm in Cusco). Christmas and New Year fill hotels and transport, and Machu Picchu goes back into high season for the last days of the year. The Peruvian school holidays begin at the end of the month (classes ended on 18 December in 2026). In Chincha and El Carmen, the Afro-Peruvian Christmas dances go on until 6 January.

Rainfall, month by month

Average monthly rainfall, in millimetres, rounded to the nearest millimetre: orders of magnitude to compare the seasons, not a forecast. They come from normals published by SENAMHI, NOAA, the German weather service or the World Meteorological Organization, depending on the city; the station and the period for each line are given below the table.

How to read it: the values are those of the climate tables of Wikipedia (English), consulted on 7 October 2026, which cite these bodies; the periods are not all the same, and a single station sums up a whole city. The bodies’ original data have not been recalculated by SwissLima.

This table says the essentials: the coast is a desert; the Andes have a very marked dry season from May to August and a rainy season from December to March; the Amazon gets rain all year round, with a relative lull from June to August, very clear in Puerto Maldonado, barely noticeable in Iquitos.

Temperatures, day and night

Average highs and lows, in °C, rounded to the nearest degree, for four reference months. Same sources and same stations as for the rainfall (Wikipedia tables consulted on 12 October 2026), except for Lima, where SENAMHI’s Campo de Marte station (1991–2020), in the heart of the city, replaces the airport.

In the Andes, the days are mild all year round, around 20 °C in Cusco; it is the night that changes, from 8 °C in the rainy season to 1 °C in July. In the dry season, the gap between the afternoon and the end of the night reaches 15 to 20 degrees in Cusco, Puno or Arequipa: dress in layers.

In the Amazon, the heat is constant, but SENAMHI announces several friajes every year: a mass of cold air from the south brings rain, then makes the temperature drop for a few days, especially in the south. In August 2013, for example, it forecast a low of 10 °C in Puerto Maldonado (SENAMHI, warning published by SINIA). A fleece has its place in the bag, even for the rainforest.

In Lima, the contrast is in the sky more than on the thermometer: according to the German weather service’s 1961–1990 normals for the airport, the city gets on average about 185 hours of sunshine in January, and fewer than 30 in August.

Three phenomena to understand

The garúa. From June to September, a layer of low cloud covers Lima and the central coast: the sky stays grey, a fine drizzle dampens the air, it is 15 to 20 °C. The cold Humboldt Current, which cools the air on contact with the sea, contributes to the aridity of the central coast: it rains very little there on average, but the current does not prevent all precipitation, and exceptional episodes (El Niño years, for example) can bring real rain. From December to April, the sun returns, with highs around 27 to 28 °C in Lima.

Altitude. In the Andes, the dry season is also the cold season: in Puno, the lows drop below 0 °C in June and July, in Cusco to around 1 to 2 °C. The sun is strong during the day, the nights icy. In the rainy season, temperatures are milder, but afternoon showers and clouds hide the peaks.

The Amazon rivers. They rise and fall by several metres over the year. At high water, you travel by canoe through the flooded forest; at low water, you walk more and some channels become impassable. SERNANP advises visiting Pacaya Samiria from May to September; PROMPERÚ advises the Alto Mayo from May to November. See Northern Amazon.

Region by region, activity by activity

The Inca Trail: the whole of February, for maintenance and safety in the rainy season (1 to 28 February in 2026). The Machu Picchu train: from January to April, departures from Cusco go by bus to a station in the valley.

The seasons recommended by the national parks

SERNANP, the public body in charge of protected areas, gives for each one a recommended visiting season and a rainy season (see for example the Machu Picchu page, in Spanish). Its pages, consulted on 12 October 2026:

At Lachay, the “rainy season” is the garúa season: it is this winter drizzle that turns the hills green again, hence a visit recommended in the middle of winter. See the Lachay lomas.

Festivals and high season: the pressure on bookings

Some periods fill up hotels and transport:

• July and August, the European and North American holidays, and the Fiestas Patrias at the end of July;
• the Peruvian school holidays: the summer break, from late December to mid-March, fills the beaches; the mid-year break, two weeks between late July and early August, adds to the high season (2026 calendar, in Spanish);
• Holy Week and Christmas and New Year;
• the big local festivals: the Candelaria in Puno in February, Inti Raymi in Cusco on 24 June.

At Machu Picchu, the daily limit is 5,600 visitors a day in high season, 4,500 in low season. The 2026 high season covers: 1 January, 2 to 5 April, 19 June to 2 November, 30 and 31 December. In July and August, book your entry ticket, your train and, for the Inca Trail, your permit as soon as your dates are fixed. If the ticket you want is sold out, see the solutions. See also Festivals and calendar and booking.

The low season. From November to March, except for the end-of-year holidays and Holy Week, the Andes are quieter: fewer people at the sites, more availability, green landscapes, in exchange for showers and cloud. It is also the high season on the coast.

Your holidays, their season in Peru

If your dates depend on school holidays, in Europe for example, here is what they mean in Peru:

What to pack for each season

• In the Andes, all year round: layers (T-shirt, fleece, light down jacket), a woolly hat and gloves for the evening, sun cream and sunglasses, as the sun is strong at altitude. See altitude.
• In the Andes, from November to April: a waterproof jacket, walking shoes that cope with mud, a rain cover for your bag.
• In Lima, from June to September: a jumper and a light jacket for the grey skies and the 15 to 20 °C.
• In the Amazon: light long-sleeved clothes, insect repellent, a rain jacket, and a fleece for a possible friaje.
• On the coast: swimwear and sun protection; in the centre and the south, the sea stays cool, even in summer.

Average climate, forecast, alert

Three different pieces of information, to check at three different times:

1. The average climate (these tables): to choose the period, months in advance.
2. The forecast: from a week before, to adjust the order of the days. SENAMHI publishes the official forecasts.
3. The alert: the day before a journey, to find out whether a road is closed. The FDFA points out that heavy rain causes floods and landslides; your provider and the local authorities know which roads are passable.

One year is not like another: an El Niño episode can bring very heavy rain to the usually dry north coast. See El Niño in Peru.

For a trip between December 2026 and April 2027, this is the point to follow: an El Niño episode was under way in October 2026, with above-normal rain forecast on the north coast and the central coast. The summary below is dated; the authorities publish new forecasts several times a month.

Closed roads and trails, and fallback plans

In the rainy season, landslides (huaicos) cut mountain roads, and sometimes the Machu Picchu railway. Keep:

• a day in hand before the international flight;
• a fallback activity for each outdoor day: a museum, a market, a workshop, a town;
• bookings you can change for the exposed stages.

A stay organised entirely around a photo of a summit has few fallback options. A stay that also includes a workshop, a town, a market and a free day has many more. When booking, ask what happens if the main activity becomes impossible: another route, a postponement, a refund or a lost day?

Four trips, four calendars

• An Andean trip (Cusco, Machu Picchu, Puno, Huaraz): May to September, avoiding the July and August crowds if possible.
• A beach trip: the north coast all year round, Lima and the south from December to April.
• A rainforest trip: from May to October for the south (Tambopata, Manu), all year round in the north, choosing between boating and walking.
• A mixed trip: May, June, September and October, the best compromise between dry Andes, an acceptable coast and a less rainy Amazon.