7 of the best cities and towns to visit in Peru in 2024

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Peru is as enchanting a vacation spot as any in South America, providing guests an impressively wealthy mix of historic landmarks, colonial-era cities and superb pure websites, from the stirring magnificence of (*7*)Machu Picchu to the lush landscapes of the Amazon.

Cities corresponding to Arequipa and the sprawling capital, Lima, are the centre of creative, cultural and culinary scenes that assist Peru greater than match its bigger neighbours.

Much like Brazil or Colombia, Peru additionally advantages from an abundance of pure magnificence round towns like Puerto Maldonado and Chachapoyas, so there’s much more past distinctive meals and landmarks, whether or not journeys to the Amazon rainforest, hikes in the Andes and sand boarding in the desert.

Peru’s dimension and the unfold of its inhabitants hubs means it requires some analysis to make the most of a visit right here. To show you how to plan, listed here are the best cities and towns to visit throughout your vacation.

Lima

Peru’s capital showcases a bit of bit of all the issues that make the nation a fantastic vacation spot. Starting on the Pacific shoreline beside the Miraflores neighbourhood, the metropolis spreads inland in direction of the historic centre, Lima Centro, the place a slew of colonial buildings lead to the Plaza de Armas (these plazas served as the coronary heart of New World cities, with all building going down in grids stemming from them).

Many guests will select to keep close to the coast in Miraflores, the place the malecon, Lima’s six-mile promenade, is the star of the present (together with seashores corresponding to Costa Verde, the place swimming, paddle boarding, browsing and even paragliding are common). Alternatively, fashionable Barranco is the metropolis’s bohemian nightlife capital, whereas San Isidro has change into a barely extra glitzy space and the most secure neighbourhood.

Visitors can strolls via the Art Gallery of Lima and museums corresponding to the Larco (which displays artefacts from historical Peru), however this can be a metropolis the place tradition and historical past are can simply be absorbed in the streets, plazas and parks. Aside from the structure, nowhere is that this extra related than in the metropolis’s culinary scene, the place some of the world’s best eating places, like Central (named the high restaurant in the 2023 World’s 50 Best Restaurants rating) sit alongside superb avenue meals stalls, all of which serve Peruvian and Creole specialties, together with ceviche, hen and chilli stew, or barbecued beef coronary heart.

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Cusco

Cusco is named a gateway to Machu Picchu, and is the centre of a area that comprises a stunning combine of historical ruins, colonial structure and pure magnificence. The metropolis is situated excessive in the Andes, with an previous city that could be a picture-perfect sea of russet-roofed buildings that disguise a big selection of museums, from the Museo Inka, devoted to Incan historical past, to the Museo Machu Picchu, which showcases 360 artefacts taken from the unique expeditions to the citadel.

The centre of the metropolis is the Plaza de Armas, whereas its most notable website is the Qorikancha, as soon as an Incan temple and now a church, an eclectic mix of Incan and Christian architectural types. Nevertheless, most who visit Cusco will use it as a base for exploring the Sacred Valley of the Incas and its archaeological websites, together with Pisac (akin to a mini Machu Picchu) and Chinchero.

Machu Picchu will be reached by way of a journey to both Aguas Calientes or Ollantaytambo (with a 90-minute hike from the former and a two-hour practice from the latter). Alternatively, tackle the four-day Inca Trail for one of South America’s bucket-list journey experiences. This historical route takes you throughout the river, valleys and mountains of the Andes in a winding, 24-mile path.

Arequipa

Peru’s second metropolis is neglected by snow-capped volcanoes and blessed with a lot of the most interesting colonial structure in the nation. The metropolis centre is surrounded by areas crammed with spiritual buildings, corresponding to the Santa Catalina monastery or the cathedral, and lovely white-washed streets.

For one thing completely Peruvian, begin at the Museo Santuario Indios, the place you’ll uncover the mummied stays of an Incan sacrifice; visit the cathedral’s museum or the Museum of Contemporary Art for one thing much less unsettling. Break for lunch, or a memento, at San Camilo market, house to contemporary produce, native handicrafts and avenue meals (together with conventional stuffed sizzling peppers and stir-fried salted beef). Continue on to neighbourhoods corresponding to fashionable San Lazaro, the oldest space of the metropolis recognized for its buildings created from a volcanic stone known as ashlar, or quieter Yanahuara, the place there are a number of well-preserved colonial church buildings.

For the extra adventurous, past hikes up the imposing Misti volcano, there’s the alternative for trekking and climbing in the close by Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world.

Puerto Maldonado

Puerto Maldonado is the gateway to the Peruvian Amazon. It sits deep in the jungle, surrounded by nature however nonetheless accessible from Cusco on a one-hour flight. The metropolis has benefitted from growing infrastructure to hyperlink it to the relaxation of the nation, and it’s now a real jungle metropolis, surrounded by Amazonian hills and with low-rise buildings scattered amongst the dense greenery.

The Tambopata-Candamo National Reserve is house to a whole bunch of species of birds and bugs, whereas inside the Manu Biosphere Reserve yow will discover round 20,000 plant species. Alternatively, the Pampas de Heath National Sanctuary gives a special setting, consisting of huge plains and tropical moist grasslands that seem like one thing out of the Serengeti (and are house to uncommon animals, together with jaguars, tapirs and maned wolves).

For these wanting to discover additional into the wilderness, many ecolodges – corresponding to Inkaterra Reserva or Posada Amazonas – provide lodging in addition to actions, inclding strolling excursions, boat journeys and wildlife recognizing.

Ica

A metropolis surrounded by towering sand dunes (some as excessive as 400m), Ica lies in the south of the nation in the Atacama desert, round 30 miles from the Pacific coast. It is house to few notable points of interest, although this half of the nation is understood for producing wine and pisco, Peru’s nationwide spirit (created from distilling fermented grape juice), so there are a selection of extremely regarded vineyards, corresponding to Tacama and Caravedo.

The space instantly surrounding Ica is an adventurer’s paradise. The solely mountains you’ll discover are these made of sand, and so actions like dune buggying and dune boarding are common, whereas additional exploration of the desert takes the type of trekking via areas like the Lost Canyon, a two-kilometre canyon that was found as lately as 2011.

In the desert, only a few miles from Ica, lies Huacachina, an oasis village that seems so idyllic that you just’d be forgiven for considering it was a mirage. It’s a spot to loosen up, the place streets are lined with palm timber and comprise dozens of bars, eating places and locations to swim; it’s a common vacation spot with these wanting to mix desert tranquility alongside the high-adrenaline actions.

Chachapoyas

A area settled earlier than even the Incans arrived, Chachapoyas was the centre for the civilisation of the identical identify. Translated from Quecha (one of Peru’s indigenous languages) as “cloud forest”, the identify is alleged to derive from the pure landscapes round Chachapoyas, the place a blanket of mist and cloud covers the slopes of the Andes.

The city will be reached by a 90-minute flight from Lima and is a captivating base for exploring the surrounding space, with lodging and eating places cheaper than in vacationer centres. The coronary heart of city is unsurprisingly the Plaza de Armas, however stroll to the Virgen de la Natividad viewpoint for panoramic views over the valley and the city beneath.

Chachapoyas is most famed for being house to Kuelap, the ruins of a walled Chachapoyan citadel. Little is understood about the civilisation, with the website crammed by a whole bunch of round stone buildings unfold all through, however the views from 3,000m above sea degree are superb. The dramatic Gocta and Yumbilla waterfalls, in addition to the Sonche canyon, are common pure points of interest close by.

Oxapampa

Oxapampa, a city in the Peruvian Amazon that was based by Austrian and German settlers as lately as 1891, is a very eclectic place. This is actual ‘off-the-beaten-path’ Peru. The quickest approach to attain it’s by way of a 30-minute flight mixed with a three-hour bus journey – it isn’t someplace you simply find yourself.

Architecture from the Tyrolean Alps lies amongst the mountains of the Andes and the jungle of the Amazon basin, with Alpine-style visitor homes and loads of alternatives for ecotourism, together with exploring the close by Tsho’llet forest or sitting by a waterfall whereas sampling the espresso of the Villa Rica.

Natural highlights embody the El Tigre waterfall, the place guests can take a dip into the pool beneath, and the Yanachaga-Chemillén National Park, the place full-day treks via the misty cloud forest are provided alongside a whole bunch of alternatives to spot uncommon wildlife, corresponding to the spectacled bear. The spotlight of the yr in Oxapampa is Selvamonos, per week or so of cultural actions and music that takes place in June. Fifty miles away in Pozuzo, each September sees Pozuzofest, an area tackle Oktoberfest that also gives the identical beer and lederhosen that you just’d count on.

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