MachuPicchu.com
Plan my trip

Planning guide

Machu Picchu Weather: Rainy Season and Official Outlook

Written and reviewed by the Highland Adventures trip specialist team · Updated

Planning for Machu Picchu weather starts with the rainy season. Peru's national weather service, SENAMHI, says the rains begin in the course of the southern spring, which starts in September, and build from November to January.

For the 2026 to 2027 rainy season, SENAMHI's official outlook gives a 60% probability of below-normal rain from November to January in the southeastern highlands, which include Cusco. It is a seasonal forecast, not a promise for your travel dates.

The official weather station

SENAMHI, Peru's national weather service, runs a conventional weather station named Machu Picchu in the district of Machupicchu (province of Urubamba, Cusco), at 7,871 ft (2,399 m), station code 000679. (SENAMHI station network, verified )

This page states no monthly temperature or rainfall figures, because we could not verify them against SENAMHI's own published data. Everything below comes from SENAMHI and ENFEN documents, each with its date.

The rainy season and the dry spells inside it

  • SENAMHI says spring begins in September in the southern hemisphere, and that the rainy period in Peru's Andean region begins in the course of that season. (SENAMHI climate bulletin, Sep 2020, verified )
  • SENAMHI describes November to January as the quarter in which the rains intensify progressively. (SENAMHI Technical Report 14-2026, verified )
  • SENAMHI calls a short dry spell during the rainy season a veranillo: at least 10 days on which daily rain does not exceed 0.04 in (1 mm). (SENAMHI drought bulletin 05, Sep 2024, verified ) So even at the height of the rains, a run of dry days can happen.
  • The SENAMHI documents we read give no official end month for the rainy season, so this page does not state one.

The Inca Trail closes every February

Official outlook, November 2026 to January 2027 (forecast)

These are seasonal probabilities from Peru's official forecasters, published in late October 2026. They describe the odds for the whole three-month period, not the weather on any given day.

  • ENFEN's Official Communique 19-2026 (October 30, 2026) keeps Peru on a coastal El Niño alert. It expects the coastal El Niño to stay at extraordinary magnitude until February 2027 and then weaken gradually until June 2027. Its next communique is due November 13, 2026. (ENFEN Official Communique 19-2026, verified )
  • For November 2026 to January 2027, ENFEN expects normal to below-normal rain in Peru's southeastern and central-eastern highlands and in the Amazon, and below-normal river flows in the central and southern Amazon, including the Apurimac and the Vilcanota. For summer 2027 it expects below-normal or normal rain in the southeastern highlands. (ENFEN Official Communique 19-2026, verified )
  • SENAMHI's Technical Report 14-2026 (October 26, 2026) forecasts below-normal rain for November 2026 to January 2027 in the southeastern highlands (Ayacucho, Apurimac, Cusco, Arequipa and Puno), at 60% probability, with daytime highs above normal (51%) and night lows below normal (59%). (SENAMHI Technical Report 14-2026, verified )
  • For the southern jungle (the jungle of Cusco, Puno and Madre de Dios), the same SENAMHI report forecasts rain between normal and below normal (46% below, 43% normal), daytime highs between normal and above normal, and night lows within the normal range (43%). SENAMHI expects to update the forecast around November 26, 2026. (SENAMHI Technical Report 14-2026, verified )
  • In SENAMHI's seasonal forecast, the eastern slope of the Andes counts as highlands from 6,562 ft (2,000 m) up and as jungle below that line. (SENAMHI Technical Report 14-2026, verified ) By altitude the Machu Picchu station sits above that line, but the report does not name Machu Picchu in either zone, so we show both forecasts.

Our advice: packing and planning for the weather

This section is our own travel advice, not an official source.

  • Pack layers you can add and remove through the day, and a rain shell whatever the month. Mountain weather changes fast, and a below-normal rain forecast still means rain.
  • From September on, add a pack cover or dry bag and footwear with good grip, because wet stone and trails get slippery. Our Machu Picchu packing list has the full checklist.
  • In the rainy months, check your train and bus before you travel. The rainy-season bus plus train service from Cusco is in the train to Machu Picchu guide, and the road up from town is in the Machu Picchu bus guide.
  • If a train is suspended, when the train to Machu Picchu is cancelled explains what happens to your tickets.
  • Your entry ticket is for one date, time and circuit, so plan around it rather than around a forecast. How Machu Picchu tickets work explains each piece.

Weather month by month

Each month has its own guide to weather, crowds and booking: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December.

For the whole year at a glance, see Machu Picchu month by month and the best time to visit Machu Picchu.

Questions travelers ask

When is the rainy season at Machu Picchu?

SENAMHI, Peru's national weather service, says the rainy period in the Andes begins in the course of the southern spring, which starts in September, and that the rains intensify progressively from November to January. It gives no official end month.

Will the 2026 to 2027 rainy season be wetter than usual?

The official forecasts point the other way. SENAMHI's report of October 26, 2026 gives a 60% probability of below-normal rain in the southeastern highlands, which include Cusco, from November 2026 to January 2027. ENFEN, which keeps Peru on a coastal El Niño alert, also expects normal to below-normal rain there. These are forecasts, not guarantees.

Does the Inca Trail close in the rainy season?

The Inca Trail network closes every February for maintenance. In 2026 it reopened on March 1. In 2025 the closure was extended to March 31 after heavy rain and landslides.

What is a veranillo?

SENAMHI's term for a short dry spell during the rainy season: at least 10 days on which daily rain does not exceed 0.04 in (1 mm).

Where does official weather data for Machu Picchu come from?

From SENAMHI's Machu Picchu weather station, in the district of Machupicchu at 7,871 ft (2,399 m).