South Coast
Just before the Lagunillas turnoff, a spur road branches off the main La Mina road and heads to the southwest for a few kilometers to a parking area near…
South Coast
Just before the Lagunillas turnoff, a spur road branches off the main La Mina road and heads to the southwest for a few kilometers to a parking area near…
Cuzco & the Sacred Valley
A demonstration of the Incas’ mastery over their environment, this extensive Inca site consists of some impressive terracing at the head of a small valley…
South Coast
This 43-hectare archaeological site is an outdoor gallery of pre-Hispanic art and is considered to be one of the most important collections of rock art in…
South Coast
This vast desert reserve occupies most of the Península de Paracas and houses remote beaches backed by dramatic arid landscapes and plenty of wonderful…
Museo Arqueológico Municipal de Moche
North Coast
Not to be confused with the Museo Huacas de Moche at the Huaca de la Luna site, this museum on the main square in the town of Moche houses around 500…
Lake Titicaca
These pre-Inca ruins are spread out across a large area above the town and consist of nine pyramid-like structures, the largest of which gives the site…
Trujillo
Northeast of the cathedral, this c 1735 mansion, also known as Casa de los Léones, is considered to be the best-preserved mansion of the colonial period…
South Coast
Right next to the park visitor center, in front of the Paracas Necropolis burial grounds on Cerro Colorado, this recently expanded museum features…
Puerto Maldonado
Although this strangely cosmic blue building, surrounded by statues of locals in various poses of labor outside, was designed as a modern mirador (lookout…
Trujillo
Owned and maintained by Banco Central de la Reserva del Perú since 1972, this beautiful colonial mansion’s history dates to 1604, though the original…
South Coast
This beach is a short drive or walk south of Lagunillas on a dirt road and has gentle waters that make it the best swimming area in the reserve…
Hacienda Concepción Research Center
Amazon Basin
Formerly the ITA Aceer Tambopata Research Center, Inkaterra’s reconstructed lodge, 8km downriver from Puerto Maldonado, is an important research center of…
Cuzco & the Sacred Valley
Dating from the 17th century, this Jesuit church houses many carvings and paintings, including a canvas of the Immaculate Conception attributed to Esteban…
Cuzco & the Sacred Valley
Named after the Inca site of Rimactambo, Limatambo is popularly known as Tarawasi. The site was used as a ceremonial center and a resting place for the…
Huaraz & the Cordilleras
A remote 4157m pass in the Cordillera Negra is the center of a huge stand of 5000 rare Puya raimondii plants; the biggest known for these 10m-tall members…
North Coast
This clean beach, accessed by a spur road south of the town of San Pedro de Lloc, has a fine long left break and has become a popular spot for those in…
Arequipa & Canyon Country
This remote canyon is the deepest known canyon in the world - around twice the depth of the Grand Canyon, with stretches dropping down to below 3500m (11…
Iquitos
Every guidebook mentions the ‘majestic’ Casa de Fierro (Iron House), designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame). It was made in Paris in 1860 and…
Amazon Basin
There are many impressive waterfalls around San Ramón, but this 35m cascade is the most visited. El Tirol crashes down 5km east of San Ramón off the La…
Museo de Arte Virreinal de Santa Teresa
Arequipa
This gorgeous 17th-century Carmelite convent is open to the public as a living museum. The colonial-era buildings are justifiably famed for their…
Huaraz & the Cordilleras
Many Peruvian towns have a cross on a hill with a path leading tantalizingly to the top, but no others have a pinch-yourself view of the snowy Huayhuash…
Lima
This cultural center focuses on the arts, particularly technology and digital formats. Though it's part of the largest Spanish multinational and housed on…
Trujillo
This well-curated museum features a rundown of Peruvian history from 12,000 BC to the present day, with an emphasis on Moche, Chimú and Inca civilizations…
Museo Arqueológico Hipólito Unanue
Ayacucho
Wari ceramics make up most of the small exhibition here, along with relics from the region’s other various civilizations. The museum buildings are set in…
The Sacred Valley
A visit to the community of Patabamba offers a fascinating participative demonstration of the weaving process, all the way from picking the plants to…
North Coast
The poshest of the beach towns near Chiclayo, Pimentel has a long pier, a broad malecón (boardwalk) fronted by high-end, glassed-in houses, and the nicest…
Cuzco
Originally the palace of Inca Roca, the foundations of this museum were converted into a grand colonial residence and later became the archbishop’s palace…
Machu Picchu
A scenic but level walk from the Hut of the Caretaker takes you right past the top of the terraces and out along a narrow, cliff-clinging trail to the…
Trujillo
This imposing gray early 19th-century mansion is impossible to ignore. Built in neoclassical style, it has beautiful window gratings, 36 slender interior…
Amazon Basin
The inexorably Germanic Pozuzo, three hours north of Oxapampa by daily minibus, is picturebook Tyrolean, from the architecture to the residents, straight…
Trujillo
Now the Banco BBVA Continental, this building features a mishmash of colonial and Republican styles and is best known as the site where Trujillo’s…
South Coast
A giant three-pronged figure etched into the sandy hills, which is more than 150m high and 50m wide. No one knows exactly who made the glyph, or when, or…
Arequipa
This magical neighborhood lane is Arequipa's most picturesque with radiant white sillar (volcanic rock) houses – people really live here – and pavers,…
Cañón Del Colca
This university-run museum is unexpectedly comprehensive for a small village, explaining the culture of the Cañón del Colca in conscientious detail…
Amazon Basin
The community of Baltimore, just after Refugio Amazonas lodge, is the only real settlement on the river, and has a few simple hospedajes (homestays)…
Ayacucho
A huge monument and tiny museum mark the site of the Battle of Ayacucho (1824) above Quinua – a small pueblo (town) once famous for marking the end of…
The Inca Trail
Towards the end of the Inca Trail, you'll reach the beautiful, well-restored ruin of Phuyupatamarka (Place Above the Clouds), about 3570m (11,712ft) above…
Cañón Del Colca
No light pollution equals excellent Milky Way vistas. The Casa Andina hotel six blocks southwest of the Plaza de Armas has a tiny observatory which holds…
Ayacucho
This museum in the Casona Vivanco, a gorgeous 16th-century mansion, houses maps and military paraphernalia from the period of its namesake, a local man…
Cuzco & the Sacred Valley
The Inca site of Saihuite, 45km east of Abancay, has a sizable, intricately carved boulder called the Stone of Saihuite, which is similar to the famous…