Peru has a fascinating history spanning millennia, from pre-Columbian civilizations like the Moche and Huari to the Incan Empire, and through the Spanish Colonial period to today’s modern Republic. With such a rich array of interesting destinations and tourist attractions, Peru has so much to offer the modern-day traveler.
Explore Cusco and the Sacred Valley on one of our treks or excursions, take the train to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu, or add on a visit to one of Peru’s other hot destinations like Arequipa or Puno. Or, let us plan your entire Peru tour and see more of what Peru has to offer!
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Click on the links below to learn more about six of Peru’s top tourist hot spots, including what to do, where to stay and where to eat.
Cusco is a fascinating city, once the capital of the Inca Empire. Located in the Southern Sierras, Cusco is a Unesco World Heritage Site and is one of Peru‘s most visited cities as it is the largest and most comfortable city from which tourists can visit Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and other Inca sites in the region.
Take a journey north of Cusco and you will soon find yourself heading along narrow, winding roads. Suddenly, you round a corner and below you unfolds the Sacred Valley of the Incas – a breathtaking vista of verdant hillsides cascading into an expansive valley of farmland, cut through the middle by the Vilcanota River.
Named for the hot springs where you can soak after a long trek, Aguas Calientes is the service town for Machu Picchu. There is a large range of hotels and restaurants catering to most tastes. The average restaurant is considerably more expensive than Cusco due to its proximity to Machu Picchu.
Lima – the City of Kings. This fascinating and enormous city has a lot to offer, so don’t be intimidated! With incredible colonial history behind the ornate facades of its most important buildings, there is much to explore. Museums, restaurants and the malecón – a gorgeous walk along the oceanside cliffs of Miraflores and Barranco – Lima
Known as the White City, Arequipa is Peru’s second largest city and the capital of the region of the same name. Arequipa was a highly important economic center during the Colonial period, and was even capital of the country for a time after Peru gained independence from Spain.
The capital of the Puno region of Peru, the city of Puno is an interesting mix of Spanish-Colonial and indigenous cultures. Located on the shores of Lake Titicaca, Puno shares characteristics of other high Andean cities like Cusco and La Paz, Bolivia, and indigenous languages include both Quechua and Aymara.