Safety in Peru

Overall: moderate. The tourist routes are straightforward, but Peru asks for everyday attention, and the main problem is petty theft rather than violence.
Lima by district. Miraflores, San Isidro and Barranco are fine day and evening. The historic centre is daytime only. Callao, La Victoria and the outskirts are not worth it at all, particularly with a camera out.
Cusco. The centre is patrolled, but the lanes above San Blas empty out at night. Take a taxi back up the hill after dark; it costs almost nothing.
Common setups. Taxis flagged in the street in Lima are occasionally express kidnappings, where the car drives you around ATMs until the card is empty, so use an app where the driver is logged. At bus stations the classic is a spilt drink and a helpful stranger while your backpack leaves. And check the watermark and raised print on 100 and 200 sol notes, because counterfeits circulate.
Altitude sickness (soroche) is a bigger danger than crime. At 3,400 m it hits most arrivals with headaches, nausea and sleeplessness. What works: a first day with no exertion, plenty of water, light food, coca tea and, if needed, Sorojchi tablets. What does not: alcohol and toughing it out. If it gets worse rather than better, descend, which is the only reliable cure.
Insurance must cover altitudes above 4,000 m and evacuation from a trek, because standard policies exclude both. Check your own government's travel advisory for current regional warnings before you book.

Peru receives millions of tourists, and an entire industry has grown around Machu Picchu — along with its attendant deception.

Fake Inca Trail permits. Permits for the classic four-day trail are limited and sell out months ahead. Agencies promising "a place next week" sell either a different route under the same name or nothing at all. Check the operator against the Ministry of Culture register and demand your permit number in your name.

Taxis in Lima. Hailing from the street is not done. Use apps or book through your hotel. Express kidnappings with a tour of the cash machines do occur in Lima.

"Police" checking your money. They ask to see your cash on the pretext of checking for counterfeits. A real officer does not.

Counterfeit notes. Peru has plenty. Check the watermark and raised printing, especially in change from large notes.

Ayahuasca. The ceremony industry in Iquitos and Cusco is barely regulated. There have been poisonings, injuries and deaths. If you go, use an operator with medical supervision and a reputation, not a hostel notice board.

Rainbow Mountain. Sold as an easy walk, it stands at 5,000 metres. Some agencies do not mention this at all.

Cocaine in Cusco is a trap, not an offer. Sellers often work with the police, and a Peruvian prison for a foreigner means years before trial. Drug sentences are long and there is no bail.

Coca leaf. Legal in Peru, sold in shops and served as tea. But you cannot take it out of the country: in most states it is a narcotic raw material, and customs at home take that literally.

Machu Picchu. The rules have tightened: a ticket for a specific entry time and "circuit", a compulsory guide on some routes, and bans on drones, tripods, large rucksacks and food. Backtracking along a circuit is not possible. Buy tickets only on the official site.

Antiquities. Exporting archaeological objects is a criminal offence and customs in Lima check.

Drones. Prohibited outright over archaeological sites.

Protests and blockades. Road blockades are a common form of protest in Peru and regularly cut off Cusco, Puno and the route to Machu Picchu for days. This is a logistical risk rather than a danger: leave slack before your flight home.

Altitude is the trip's defining factor. Cusco sits at 3,400 metres, Puno and Titicaca at 3,800, and the passes above 4,500. Altitude sickness catches most visitors, and flying from Lima at sea level straight to Cusco means that gain in ninety minutes. The rules: no exertion, no alcohol and plenty of water for your first 24 hours in Cusco; start trekking no earlier than day three; chew coca or drink it as tea (the local remedy, symptomatic relief); and descend if symptoms worsen. Discuss Diamox with a doctor beforehand.

Vaccinations. None mandatory. For the Amazon: yellow fever (a certificate may be requested on domestic flights to Iquitos), hepatitis A, typhoid and malaria prophylaxis.

Water. Bottled only.

Food. Ceviche is raw fish cured in lime juice. Safe in decent establishments, risky at a market. Peruvian street food is excellent, but choose what is hot.

Healthcare. Lima has good private clinics, Cusco has limited ones, and the Amazon has almost none. Evacuation from altitude and from the jungle is expensive. Insurance naming your route's altitude is essential.

Emergency numbers: 105 police, 116 ambulance.

Peru sits in the lower half of the Corruption Perceptions Index, and low-level extortion occurs.

POLTUR tourist police. Operating in Lima, Cusco, Arequipa and Puno with English-speaking officers. This is the first place to go over a theft, a dispute with an agency or a document problem, and it genuinely helps.

Reporting theft. A denuncia filed with POLTUR satisfies insurers. The process is noticeably faster than at an ordinary station.

Do not resist a robbery.

Geography. Miraflores and Barranco in Lima, central Cusco and Arequipa are calm. Central Lima after dark, the Callao district and the outskirts of Cusco are not. In Puno and near the Bolivian border, stay alert.

Traffic police. Stops happen and hire cars attract attention. Calmly ask for a written report.

Night buses. The main way of crossing the country. Choose the large companies — Cruz del Sur, Oltursa — which carry insurance, seatbelts and speed monitoring. Cheap operators crash on the mountain hairpins regularly.

Emergency number is 105.