Peru travel?

My experience isn't that recent (2019), but you can read my trip report here, in case it might be helpful. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/peru-mini-trip-report

I haven't been for a long while but a work mate went and they have made things easy with a hop on hop off bus between cities. I did a 2 week tour that did a counter clockwise route from Lisa, down the coast to Arequipa, to Puno on Lake Titicaca, then along the Andes to Cusco and Machu Picchu. The HOHO bus will do a lot of that route as well. I liked Arequipa a lot and that route has a lot of variety.
For reference, here is the trip I took, though I see they shifted the sequence a bit https://www.gadventures.com/trips/inca-explorer/8243/.
I am older so wasn't interested in the Inca Trail, but plenty do that.
Some like to add a jungle visit from Peru, but I added from Ecuador where the boating in was a little less onerous.

We love Peru and have been there twice.

Our last trip included Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu and it was fabulous. We used a local company, PeruAgency.com for the Cusco, Sacred Valley, MP tour for four days in 2019, total cost $799 pp plus airfare from Lima to Cusco.

My Son and three of his friends just came back from a Gate 1 Tour of Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, MP and a huge canyon farther south. They said the tour was super and they were in five star hotels and loved it.

Thank you all, especially for tour agency recommendations. We have never taken a group tour before, but the political unrest at the end of 2022 makes it seem like being part of a group would be safer. . .

I just got back from two weeks in Peru in May 2023. I also went with a group tour because I felt that was safer given the recent situation. I also thought it would make things easier if there was a sudden change in the political situation while we were in Peru. I figured the tour company would have to help us with a Plan B, rather than us spending our vacation time cancelling and rescheduling things. I chose to go with Intrepid on their Premium Peru trip and it was amazing!!

As it turned out, everything went smoothly and there was very little mention of the unrest or cause for concern, at least as it related to us as tourists while we were there. Transportation (flights and trains) seemed to be running as usual and we didn't feel unsafe at all or encounter any issues. The people of Peru were friendly and seemed to be glad we were there. We had a wonderful time and I would definitely consider traveling with Intrepid again in the future. It was wonderful to have someone else worrying about all the logistics and we were just along for the ride enjoying our vacation.

FWIW, when I was in Peru in 2010(?) There had been a major flood in Cusco area washing out bridges and the train lines. My tour started early April and the train was only going g to reopen April 1, so lots of uncertainly. The guide worked to get us tickets as they were only running a few cars with limited people and weight. She got us on, but we had to shift our schedules a day. We had to leave all but overnight luggage behind. It was rather daunting seeing some lines right along the rushing swollen river. Our hotel room actually was on ground so eroded that there was now a space between the floor and wall where we could see the river below.
Then there was a mining protest across the entire country. They closed the PanAmericana highway 2 hours after we had driven down it. Many mines in that area as well as in the jungles, so flights to jungle towns for start of 'Amazon' tours were curtailed. Eventually they allowed one flight every 2 days for locals only.
So, all that to say that a tour takes care of things. We didn't even realize the mine strike issue until after we had passed the PanAmericana section.

I remember a little Spanish from having it in college, but have been to six South American countries and never had a language problem there. Of course, we always take tours, never do stuff on our own. Frankly, going with a tour group is safer.

As for taking the long hike of the Inca Trail, I must caution anyone that with the altitude of Cusco at over 10,000 ft and Machu Picchu at over 8,000 ft. extensive physical activity is much more difficult. My wife and I did Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu in 2019, in our early 70s. We are physically active, walking 3.2 miles every other day or riding bikes 30 miles. However, this is at sea level.

If you are young and fit, go for it, but otherwise, I can tell you climbing around those hills can tire you out way sooner than normal.