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peru Travel Guide

Peru is a country in South America that's home to a section of Amazon rainforest and Machu Picchu, an ancient Incan city high in the Andes mountains. The region around Machu Picchu, including the Sacred Valley, Inca Trail and colonial city of Cusco, is rich in archaeological sites. On Peru’s arid Pacific coast is Lima, the capital, with a preserved colonial center and important collections of pre-Columbian art.

In southern Peru, vast Lake Titicaca (shared with Bolivia) offers sapphire waters and folkloric festivals at high altitude. The city of Arequipa is popular for outdoor recreation, such as climbing volcanoes and viewing Andean condors at Colca Canyon. The Sacred (Urubamba) Valley has many hiking, rafting and mountain-biking opportunities. In the southern desert, small planes fly visitors over the Nazca Lines, huge ancient pictograms. In the northeast, Iquitos is the gateway to Peru’s Amazon basin.

best tour places in peru

Machu Picchu

One of the most beautiful and impressive ancient sites in the world, Machu Picchu is the undisputable nr 1 among the top tourist attractions in Peru. The “Lost City of the Incas” is invisible from the Urubamba Valley below and completely self-contained, surrounded by agricultural terraces and watered by natural springs. Although known locally, Machu Picchu was largely unknown to the outside world before being rediscovered in 1911 by historian Hiram.

Inca Trail

The Inca Trail is one of the most famous hikes in the world, running 42 km (26 miles) through the Andes Mountains to connect the small town of Aguas Caliente and Machu Picchu. The trail also goes through cloud forests, jungles and Inca ruins. This is a high-altitude trek; hikers may experience altitude sickness. May to September are the best months to make the multi-day hike. Hikers should be prepared for cold nights on the trail.

Colca Canyon

Travelers who think the U.S. Grand Canyon is deep are likely to change their minds after visiting Colca Canyon in southern Peru. At 4,160 meters (13,650 feet), Colca Canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, though the canyon’s walls are less steep. The big attraction here, in addition to the awesome sights, are the Andean condors. The condors can be seen at fairly close range as they float on the rising thermals.

Plaza de Armas

The Plaza de Armas has always been the heart of Cuzco, from the time of the Inca Empire when the square was called Huacaypata or Aucaypata, to modern day. The plaza is carefully landscaped with plenty of benches and walls for sitting, making it a popular outdoor lunch destination. Located in the city center, the plaza is lined with restaurants and shops as well as two Spanish churches; the Cathedral and the Church of La Compañía.

Uros Islands

Made of dried totora reeds, the artificial islands of the Uros are Lake Titicaca’s top tourist attraction. The lives of the Uros, a pre-Incan people, are interwoven with these reeds, which is a primary source of food and are also used to make their homes, their boats and even a reed flower tea. Reeds are added to the top of the islands constantly, about every three months, as they rot from the bottom, so the ground is always soft and springy.

Santa Catalina Monastery

Founded on October 2, 1580, the Santa Catalina Monastery in Arequipa covers a walled area of 20,000 square meters with walls, streets, walkways, stairways and small squares. The monastery is predominantly of the Mudéjar style, and is characterized by the vividly painted walls. It is one of the most important monasteries of colonial Peru and Latin America.

Nazca Lines

The Nazca Lines are located between the towns of Nazca and Palpa along the northern Pacific coast. Created between 200 BC and 700 AD the figures range from simple lines to stylized spiders, monkeys, fish, llamas, lizards and human figures. The lines were created on such a large scale that it wasn’t until the 1920′s, when Peruvian airlines started to fly from Lima to Arequipa, that they were recognized as figures. Hotels and tour agents in Nazca offer round flights in a Cessna to view the lines. There is also an observation tower along the Pan-American highway with a view of three of the figures.

Iquitos & Amazon River

According to some, the Peruvian Amazon jungle is a better adventure holiday destination than its Brazilian counterpart around Manaus, with basically the same wildlife but less spoilt and better value. Starting point to an Amazon boat tour in Peru is Iquitos, the world’s largest city that cannot be reached by road. That leaves planes and boats as the primary means of entrance and exit for both people and supplies.

Chan Chan

The vast adobe city of Chan Chan in Peru was once the largest city in pre-Columbian America. It is estimated that around 60,000 people lived in the city. The city was built by the Chimu around 850 AD and lasted until its conquest by the Inca Empire in 1470 AD. Although Chan Chan must have been a dazzling sight at the time, devastating floods and heavy rainfall have severely eroded the mud walls of the city. Today the most impressive aspect of the site is its sheer size.

Paracas National Reserve

Paracas National Reserve, on Peru’s southern coast, is a desert reserve that occupies most of the Península de Paracas. Nature Conservancy says it’s a great example of Pacific subtropical coastal desert, with desert extending right to the beach. The area produces food for a wide variety of animals, including sea-lions, dolphins and 215 types of birds. The reserve also contains dozens of ruins of the Paracas people who lived there in ancient times.

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