Cusco and Machu Picchu with Kids: A Family Planning Guide

Families ask us the same questions: will the kids cope with the altitude, how much walking is there, and which trip suits our children? There isn’t one answer, because a confident ten-year-old hiker and a tired five-year-old need very different days. What follows is how we think about planning a family trip, based on the terrain, the distances and the rules at Machu Picchu. It isn’t medical advice; your pediatrician knows your children.

Is Machu Picchu a Good Family Trip?

For most families, yes. Children tend to love the train ride along the river, the llamas on the terraces, the stone walls they can touch and the feeling of discovering a lost city. Machu Picchu is also lower than Cusco, at about 2,430 m (7,970 ft), and the visit itself is a few hours of walking on paths and stairs, not a hike.

The challenges are elsewhere: the altitude in Cusco, early starts, long travel days and the fact that Machu Picchu has no strollers, no food inside and toilets only at the entrance. Plan around those, and the trip becomes much easier.

Altitude and Children

Cusco sits at about 3,400 m (11,150 ft). According to U.S. travel health guidance, children are as likely as adults to feel the altitude, and younger children may not be able to explain what’s wrong. Watch for changes rather than complaints: unusual tiredness, irritability, poor sleep, loss of appetite or nausea.

What helps:

• Start low. Spend your first nights in the Sacred Valley, several hundred meters lower than Cusco.
• Go slowly. Plan one quiet day after arrival, with nothing booked.
• Keep them drinking and eating. Water, light meals and snacks they like.
• Save the high places for later, or skip them: Rainbow Mountain and the high lakes are serious days even for adults.
• Talk to your pediatrician before the trip, especially if your child has asthma or another health condition.

If symptoms get worse instead of better, or a child seems confused, very drowsy or breathless at rest, get medical help and move to a lower altitude. Our guide to Cusco’s altitude explains the signs to watch for.

Pacing a Family Itinerary

The best family trips we plan have three things in common: fewer early starts, shorter visits and an afternoon of rest most days.

• Base yourselves in the Sacred Valley first. It’s lower, calmer and closer to the train.
• Split Machu Picchu over two days. A night in Aguas Calientes avoids a very long single day and lets you visit rested.
• One main activity a day. A morning at Moray or the Pisac market, then the pool, a nap or a slow lunch.
• Keep a spare day for rain, a tired child or a favorite place worth repeating.

Our guide to how many days to spend in Cusco includes a slower six-day family plan.

Which Trips Work for Which Families

We don’t set minimum ages for our trips; we talk through each family’s ages, experience and pace. As a starting point:

Family suitability by trip

Trip	Works well for	Keep in mind
Machu Picchu by train, 2 days	Most families, including young children	Plenty of stairs at the site; no strollers
Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, 2 days	Most families; helps with the altitude	A full first day, so fewer valley stops with young kids
Machu Picchu by train, 1 day	Families with older children who don’t mind a long day	Early start and many hours of travel
Maras and Moray	Almost all ages	Watch small children on the salt pan paths
Short Inca Trail	Children and teens used to walking several hours	A long hiking day, narrow sections with drop-offs
Classic Inca Trail	Active teens with hiking experience	Four days, camping, cold nights, a high pass
Humantay Lake	Active, well-acclimatized kids used to hiking	A steep climb at high altitude after a very early start
Rainbow Mountain	Older, experienced and well-acclimatized children only	The viewpoint is around 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

Each tour page has a section on traveling with family, and we’re happy to talk through your children’s ages and experience before you book.

Choosing Hotels with Children

A few things make a big difference with kids: a family room or connecting rooms, reliable heating for the cold nights from May to September, and a quiet location. In the Sacred Valley, many hotels have gardens and space to run around, which helps after a day in the car. In Cusco, a central location saves long walks on steep streets, but ask for a room away from street noise. In Aguas Calientes, rooms are smaller, so one night is usually plenty.

Tickets and Rules for Kids

• Every child needs a ticket for Machu Picchu, issued in their name, and their own passport to show at the entrance. There are reduced rates for children, by age.
• No strollers are allowed inside Machu Picchu. A soft baby carrier is the practical choice for small children; large frame carriers may be treated as oversized bags.
• No food inside the site. Eat before you go up and bring snacks for after.
• Toilets are at the entrance only, outside the site. Everyone goes before entering.
• Routes are one-way, so you can’t turn back halfway. Route 3-B, in the royal sector, is the flattest option for little legs. See our guide to Machu Picchu circuits.

The Inca Trail has its own rules: every child who hikes needs a permit and must be on the group’s official list.

A Day at Machu Picchu with Children

With a night in Aguas Calientes, a family day at Machu Picchu can be relaxed:

• Breakfast early, then the bus up to the entrance. Everyone uses the toilets before going in.
• A two- to three-hour guided visit on a route that suits your children. Route 3-B is the flattest.
• A snack and a rest outside the entrance after the visit, since food isn’t allowed inside.
• The bus down, lunch in town and an afternoon train back, or a second night if you prefer.

Keeping Kids Engaged

Children enjoy Machu Picchu far more when it’s a place of stories rather than stones. A few ideas:

• Ask your guide for stories: how the Incas moved stones without iron tools, how the terraces drained the rain, why the city was abandoned.
• Give them a mission: count the llamas, find the stone that looks like a mountain, spot the Temple of the Condor.
• Read or watch something about the Incas before the trip, so the names mean something when they see them.
• Let them take photos. A cheap camera or a phone gives them a reason to look closely.

If Someone Gets Sick

Most family trips go smoothly, but it helps to know what you’d do if a child feels unwell. Rest first: a quiet afternoon at the hotel sorts out most tired or unsettled days. Hotels in Cusco and the Sacred Valley can call a doctor, and Cusco has clinics used to treating visitors. If a child shows signs of altitude illness that get worse instead of better, move to a lower altitude and get medical help.

Bring a small kit with children’s pain relief, rehydration salts and anything your pediatrician recommends, and make sure your travel insurance covers medical care for every member of the family.

Food, Health and Packing

Food. Cusco has plenty of familiar food alongside Peruvian dishes, and most restaurants are used to children. Keep meals simple in the first days. Drink bottled or filtered water rather than tap water, and carry snacks everywhere.

Sun and cold. The sun is strong at altitude, even when it’s cool, so pack hats, sunscreen and sunglasses for everyone. Evenings are cold in the dry season, so bring warm layers and a hat for each child.

Getting around. Car seats aren’t standard in Peruvian taxis and vans. If your child needs one, bring a travel seat and tell your operator in advance. The drives to the high lakes and Rainbow Mountain are long and winding; bring motion-sickness remedies if your children need them.

Packing list for kids:

• Passport for each child, and copies stored separately
• Comfortable walking shoes with good grip
• Layers: fleece, warm jacket, hat and gloves for the evenings
• Rain jacket or poncho (umbrellas aren’t allowed at Machu Picchu)
• Sun hat, sunscreen and sunglasses
• Snacks and a refillable water bottle
• A soft carrier for small children
• Any regular medication, plus what your pediatrician recommends

Our Advice for Parents

Decide what the trip is for. If the goal is for everyone to enjoy Machu Picchu together, the train and a night in Aguas Calientes will serve you better than an ambitious trek. If you have teenagers who love hiking, the Short Inca Trail or even the classic route can be the highlight of their year. Our guide to how hard the Inca Trail is helps you judge. Either way, leave room for the unplanned: the playground in a valley village, the market juice stand, the llama that won’t stop staring.