Peru's vibrant Andean culture will liven your travels: tucked-away highland towns burst into color on market day, and local fiestas are celebrated with infectious enthusiasm.
Have a bucket list trip trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and is one of the biggest attractions for tourists around the world. This remote Inca temple is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Enter the site before dawn, then sit and wait for the first rays of sun to spill over the surrounding granite peaks to illuminate the buildings. The best time to go is in the winter. June to August are warm months.
Peru is also home to natural wonders like the Lake Titicaca, Amazon, and Rainbow Mountain. The world's richest heritages is topped by the Inca Empire and its fabulous archeological gems, not to mention the monumental adobe temples and pre-Inca ruins along the desert coast.
You can partake in any number of adrenaline pumping sports, including ocean kayaking, mountain biking, zip lining, surfing, and sandboarding. You can go viewing the country's natural wildlife, which includes jaguars, pink dolphins, otters and thousands of species of butterflies.
Get dazzled by choices in cuise with ceviche with slivers of fiery chili and corn, slow-simmered stews, velvety Amazonian chocolate. Great geographic and cultural differences has ushered in ingredients from cuisine with Spanish, indigenous, African and Asian influences. Vacationers also go for the food scene of Lima.
Practice your Spanish and learn about the local indigenous culture.
The Barranco neighborhood of Limacan be likened to entering Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory; it is a lively respite from the moody skies and gray clouds lurking above Lima.
In Nasca Lines, another UNESCO World Heritage site, there are drawings of animals, etched in the sand for eternity by an ancient civilisation, which are only visible from the air.
Giant sand dunes, chiseled peaks and Pacific breaks lie just a few heartbeats away from the capital's rush-hour traffic where you could go rafting and paragliding. Catch the sunset over ancient ruins or get swallowed by festivals.
The Floating Islands of the Uros are home to the indigenous Uros people who have built their own houses, islands and boats from the tortora reeds which grow along the banks of the lake.
Mancora is Peru's surfing mecca; one of the finest beaches in South America.
In Lima, get your bearings in the central district of Miraflores or walk along (or parasail from) the elegant Malecón cliff-top promenade.
Arequipa is a calmer affair - a grid of streets lined with colonial townhouses having leafy plazas.
In festivals, pilgrims climb mountains in the dead of night, deities of old are reincarnated as Christian saints, and icons are paraded through crowded plazas as how the mummies of Inca rulers were paraded.
No worries because you'll easily find ATM's that accept Visa cards for cash withdrawals and it is the most widely accepted card in Peru for purchases at shops and restaurants.
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