Arequipa & Canyon Country
The highest point on the road between Arequipa and Chivay is this almost lifeless pass which, at 4910m, is significantly higher than Europe’s Mt Blanc and…
Must-see attractions in Peru
Lima & Around
Lurín is a working-class enclave 50km south of Central Lima on the Panamericana. At its southern edge, crafts collective Ichimay Wari has its studios…
Huaraz & the Cordilleras
When the Antamina Mining Company needed a paved road to move mining equipment from Yanacancha to the Conococha crossroads (some 200km east of Huaraz),…
North Coast
Halfway between Trujillo and Chan Chan, this Chimú temple is south of the main road, four blocks behind the Mansiche Church. Huaca Esmeralda was buried by…
Arequipa & Canyon Country
This high plain that lies between El Misti/Chachani and the Colca Canyon has an average height of around 4300m and supports plentiful bird and animal life…
Reserva Nacional Lomas de Lachay
North Coast
Just a couple of hours' drive north of Lima, the Reserva Nacional Lomas de Lachay is a 5070-hectare natural reserve where moisture from coastal mists has…
North Coast
The adobe temple of Paramonga, known locally as La Fortaleza, is situated beside the Panamericana Norte, 4km beyond the turnoff for the Huaraz road, and…
South Coast
This early-Inca lowland outpost, about 45km northeast of Pisco, was named for the red paint that once completely covered its adobe walls. It’s one of the…
South Coast
Post-earthquake, Pisco’s main Plaza de Armas is a mishmash of the vanquished and the saved. The equestrian statue of José de San Martín, hand raised…
Cuzco
More austere than many of Cuzco’s other churches, Iglesia San Francisco dates from the 16th and 17th centuries and is one of the few that didn’t need to…
Santuario Nacional Lagunas de Mejía
South Coast
About 6km southeast of Mejía along an unbroken line of beaches, this 690-hectare sanctuary protects coastal lagoons that are the largest permanent lakes…
South Coast
Located 1.5km south of the entry point to Reserva Nacional de Paracas, this visitor center seems to be aimed for the most part at school groups rather…
Cuzco
This eclectic museum is housed in the colonial Casa Garcilaso de la Vega, the house of the Inca-Spanish chronicler who now lies buried in the cathedral…
Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca
Arequipa & Canyon Country
The paved road from Arequipa climbs northeast past volcanoes El Misti and Chachani to this national reserve, which covers 367,000 hectares at an average…
Lima & Around
The site of Puruchuco hit the news in 2002 when about 2000 well-preserved mummy bundles were unearthed from the enormous Inca cemetery. It’s one of the…
Lima & Around
A pre-Columbian site, Cajamarquilla is a crumbling adobe city that was built up by the Wari culture (AD 700–1100) on the site of a settlement originally…
Lima
In a brutalist concrete tower, this museum provides a cursory overview of Peru’s civilizations, from Chavín stone carvings and the knotted-rope quipus …
Cuzco & the Sacred Valley
Meaning ‘the Place of the Flea,’ Piquillacta is the only major pre-Inca ruin in the area. Built around AD 1100 by the Wari culture, it’s a large…
South Coast
This museum located inside the train station gives the impression of stepping back in time. You can wander amid beautiful, though poorly maintained, 20th…
North Coast
A few kilometers north of Pacasmayo, just before the village of Guadalupe, a track leads toward the ocean and the little-visited ruins of Pacatnamú, a…
Cañón Del Colca
The remnants of this pre-Inca settlement aren't visible from the road, but can be reached by a half-hour uphill hike from Yanque (or one hour along Carr…
South Coast
The town’s oldest church collapsed during a massive earthquake in 1868. It's front wall has been reconstructed sans bell tower and fronts the plaza; the…
Ollantaytambo
The 6km hike to the Inca quarry on the opposite side of the river from the main ruins is a good walk from Ollantaytambo. The trail starts from the Inca…
Iglesia y Convento de Santa Clara
Cuzco
This 16th-century church, part of a strict convent, is difficult to visit but it's worth making the effort to go for morning services, because this is one…
North Coast
About 6km south of Tumbes, off the Pan-American Hwy, is an archaeological site that was the home of the Tumpis people and, later, the site of the Inca…
South Coast
This archaeological site marks the spot from where fresh fish was once sent all the way to Cuzco by runners – no mean effort! The ruins include some low…
Lake Titicaca
The imposing 1557 church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción has an expansive courtyard approach that may awaken urges to oratory. Its interior is airy, and…
South Coast
Unlike almost every other town in Peru, Tacna’s main plaza is not called the Plaza de Armas because the city was never formally founded by the Spanish. It…
Puno
Tiny and quirky, this museum offers lots of interesting information – historical, medicinal, cultural – about the coca plant and its many uses…
South Coast
Around 7km south of Pucusana, off Km 64 along Carr Panamericana Sur, is the turnoff to the village of Chilca, famed for its muddy and mineral-rich lagoons…
South Coast
Located around 34km, or an hour's drive, south of the reserve entrance, this remote village has a large inlet protected by a peninsula sand bar that…
Lima
At the end of the attractive Alameda de los Descalzos, all but forgotten is this 16th-century convent and museum, run by the Descalzos (‘the Barefooted,’…
Museo de Sitio Manuel Chávez Ballón
Aguas Calientes
This museum has superb information in Spanish and English on the archaeological excavations of Machu Picchu and Inca building methods. Stop here before or…
Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo
Cuzco
The small collection of contemporary Andean art on display at this museum in the municipality building is really one for the fans. Museo Quijote has a…
Cuzco & the Sacred Valley
Twenty minutes past Sicuani – just before Abra la Raya, the high pass that marks the boundary between the Cuzco and Puno departments – are these hot…
Ayacucho
Most of Ayacucho's old mansions are now mainly political offices and can be visited, usually during business hours. These offices of the department of…
Lake Titicaca
The Museo Lítico Pucará displays a surprisingly good selection of anthropomorphic monoliths from the town’s pre-Inca site, Kalasaya. The museum is next to…
South Coast
Turkey vultures feast on the washed-up remains of yesterday’s marine carcasses on the lonely beach at Lagunillas, 5km south of the visitor centre, where a…
Arequipa
This historic mill was built in 1785, fell into disrepair and was restored two centuries later; it now grinds once again for visitors. The neat grounds,…
Arequipa
The house where Peruvian writer, activist and Nobel Prize in Literature recipient Mario Vargas Llosa was born has been converted into a creative museum…
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