Altitude: 133  m.a.s.l.
Average Temperature: 19°C (max. 25ºC and min. of 13ºC).
Typical dishes: cebiche, escabeche, carapulcra, cau-cau,  anticuchos, lomo saltado, ají de gallina.
Typical dessert: mazamorra morada, suspiro a la limeña, turrón de Doña Pepa, picarones.
Typical drinks: chicha morada, pisco sour

Plaza de Armas


Plaza San Martín


Museo del Banco Central


Convento San Francisco


Huaca Pucllana

Plaza de Armas: the central and most important Park in any Peruvian town is called “Plaza de Armas” and Lima is no exception. This big plaza was ones the heart of Lima but this isn’t the original building. The oldest part that survived is the impressive bronze fountain in the middle of the park, was erected in 1650 and the oldest building on the plaza, the cathedral was reconstructed after the 1746 earthquake. 

Plaza San Martín:dating from the early 1900s is one of the major Parks in downtown Lima. The bronze equestrian statue of the liberator, General San Martin, was erected in 1921.

Museo del Banco Central de Reserva: specialized in ceramics from the Vicus culture, as well as housing a small collection of other pre-Columbian artifacts and 19th and 20th century Peruvian art.

El Convento San Francisco: this Franciscan church and monastery is famous for its catacombs. It’s less well known for its remarkable library where you can see thousands of antique texts, some dating back to the time of the conquistadors. Much of the church has been well restored in this original baroque style with Moorish influence.

The Huaca Pucllana: is an excavated pre-Inca temple. It dates to about the 4th century AD. Local tour guides say it was built in the shape of a frog (use your imagination!) and a communication passage has been found in the frog’s mouth that was supposedly an oracle. 

Miralfores & San Isidro:Miraflores is the Lima suburb, until the 1940s, it was a beachfront community separated from the capital by countryside and haciendas. Lima’s population boom had made this countryside the fashionably elegant residential district of San Isidro while Miraflores has become one of Lima’s most important shopping, entertainment and residential areas.

Islas Ballestas & Reservas Nacional de Paracas:both form the most important bird and marine sanctuary on the Peruvian coast. Guano producing birds include the pelican, Humboldt penguins and Chilean flamingos. Large colonies of sea lions are also found on these islands.

Nasca Lines: they are huge geometric designs drawn in the desert and visible only from the air. Some designs represent a variety of giant animals such as a 180 meter long lizard, a 90 meter high monkey with an extravagantly curled tail or a condor with a 130 meter wingspan. There are a several dozen different figures.  

Cementary of Chauchilla: here you’ll see bones, skulls, mummies, pottery shards and fragments of cloth dating back to the late Nasca period.

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Altitude: 2 335 m.a.s.l.
Average Temperature : 20°C (max. 24ºC  &  min. of  5ºC).
Raining season:  from December to March.
Typical dishes: chupes, rocoto relleno, soltero, adobo, ocopa,      escribano.
Typical desserts: queso helado

Monastery of Santa Catalina: this huge convent is practically a city within a city. A wealthy widow that chose her nuns from the richest Spaniards families founded it in 1580, but her new nuns generally lived it up in the style they had always been accustomed to. After about three centuries of these hedonistic goings-on, a strict Dominican nun arrived to straighten things out. From this point, the vast majority of the 450 people who once lived here never ventured outside the convent’s imposing high walls and the convent was shrouded in mystery until it finally opened to the public in 1970. 

Monastery of La Recoleta: was built in 1648 by the Franciscans, but has been completely rebuilt since then. The fascinating library on the grounds contains more than 20,000 historic books. Also have several 19th century Peruvians maps. 

Colca Canyon:This canyon is reportedly the deepest in the world, thought to be twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA. Unlike most of the Grand Canyon, portions of the Colca canyon are habitable, with pre-Colombian terraced fields still supporting agriculture and human life. As you pass through the canyon’s traditional villages. Look out for the local women’s painstakingly embroidered traditional clothing and hats

Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca: where vicuñas –the delicate wild cousins of llamas and alpaca- are often sighted. The road continues through the altiplano (high Andean plateau) over the highest point of 4800 meters before dropping spectacularly to Chivay. 

Chivay: the steaming-hot, mineral-laden water does a good job of boiling eggs and it’s particularly handy when the hot-water supply in Chivay packs up.

Cruz del Cóndor: Andean condors show here; early in the morning or late afternoon are the best time for this, although they have been reported at various hours during the day. 

Misti Volcano: 5822 meters high volcano looms over Arequipa and is the most popular local climb. It is technically one of the easiest ascents of any mountain of this size in the world.  


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Altitude: 3 395 m.a.s.l.
Average Temperature : 11°C (max. 17ºC & min. de -2ºC)
Raining season: November to March.
Typical dishes: queso kapiche, puchero, pepián de conejo, etc

The Cathedral


Koricancha


San Blas


Sacsayhuaman


Q´enqo


Puca Pucara


Tambo Machay


Patabamba

Huchuy Qosqo

Pisac

Chinchero


Ollantaytambo


Maras


Moray


Machupicchu


Choquequirao

Vitcos

Vitcos

The Ñusta Hispana

Espíritupampa

Tipón


Pikillaqta


Andahuaylillas


Raqchi

Ausangate

The Cathedral: is located next to the Inca Viracocha’s Palace and was built using stone blocks from Sacsayhuaman. It is one of the city’s greatest repositories of colonial art, especially the Cusco school, which mingled colonial styles with those of the Andean Indian artists. Opposite the silver altar is the magnificently carved choir, fating from the 17th century.

Koricancha or ‘Golden Courtyard’: the most important temple dedicated to the worship of the Sun and whose walls were plated with sheets of gold. The convent was built on a foundation of smoothened stone structures -the most finely crafted in Cusco- taken from the Inca sanctuary. The facade of the convent is an excellent example of Renaissance art and its distinctive spire, built in Baroque style, stands out over the thatched roofs of the Cusco skyline.  

San Blas Quarter: Also known as "the craftsmen's district", San Blas is one of the most picturesque parts of the city, with its long, inclined narrow streets that zigzag across old estates, which were built with Inca stones, and its tranquil squares. The church of San Blas, built in 1563, is the oldest parish church in Cusco and has an impressive pulpit, considered to be the colonial period's most outstanding example of engraved wood.  

Sacsayhuaman: the name means ‘Satisfied Falcon’. An imposing example of Inca military architecture, the fortress of Sacsayhuaman was built using large slabs of granite to safeguard the city from attack by Antis, or invading forces from the East. Sacsayhuaman is made up of three large terraces, which overlap in a zigzag formation surrounded by enormous stone ramparts of up to 300 meters in length. Its elevation and proximity to Cusco, as well as the dimensions of the stones -up to 5 meters high and weighing up to 350 tons- made Sacsayhuaman a quarry for certain structures in colonial Cusco.

Q’enqo: is a small yet fascinating ruin whose name means ‘zigzag’. It’s a large limestone rock riddle with niches, steps and extraordinary symbolic carving, including zigzagging channels that may have been used for the ritual sacrifice of blood. Scrambling up to the top of the boulder you’ll find a flat surface used for ceremonies, and if you look carefully, laboriously etched representations of animals.  

Puca Pucara: the commanding ruins appears red in certain light, and the name means ‘red fort’, though its function is unknown but apparently was a military installation made up of stairways, terraces and large walls which once formed part of the capital's defense system.  

Tambo Machay: the small ruin is a beautifully wrought ceremonial bath, still channeling clear spring water that earns it the little as The Bath of the Inca or ‘El Baño del Inca’, theories connect the site to an Inca water cult.

The Sacred Valley:

Patabamba: Patabamba is a rural community of 250 habitants, one hour by car away from Cusco. Located in the heights of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Patabamba remains unknown of the tourists and gets its resources from its agriculture (breading, corn, potatoes, etc.) and its handicraft. The artisans of Patabamba weave with wool from their sheep and alpacas they dye with locally elaborated natural colors, safeguard and rediscovery of traditional iconography used in weaves since ancient times. 

Huchuy Qosqo (Small Cusco) :

This military place had ceremonial ways, centers, buildings, platform, seats, channels, etc. and it was the next between the Sacred Valley and the Capital Inca, Cusco. It was magnifies and strategic location for political, administrative and economic reasons. Huchuy Qosqo is in Lamay and opposed to the APUS (mountains) Sahuasiray and Pitusiray

Pisac: has an old quarter, an archaeological site considered one of the most important in Cusco, and a modern quarter, dating from the colonial period. It also has a Sunday market, which attracts thousands of visitors and people from remote communities, dressed in colorful, traditional attire. 

Chinchero: here lie the remains of what was the royal hacienda of Túpac Inca Yupanqui, as well as a beautiful colonial temple built on Inca foundations. Its main attraction, however, is its Sunday market, which was originally dedicated to the barter of products by the people of the valley and the upper areas.

Ollantaytambo: named in honor of the chief Ollanta, who was famous for courting an Inca princess, daughter of Pachacútec. Also features an extensive archaeological site located on the imposing hillside overlooking the town, containing structures such as the Temple of the Sun, and the Mañacaray or Royal Hall, the Incahuatana and the Baños de la Princesa (Princes bath).

Maras: its main attraction, this church that dates from the colonial period is a salt mine. Salt is extracted from mines, which have been in use since pre-Columbian times. During the summer months (April - October) the shimmering spectacle offered by the pools is incomparable.

Moray: this community is famous for its embedded amphitheatre, formed by four circular terraces which seem to disappear into the interior of the puna, like an artificial crater. The Andean terraces, built on retaining walls filled with fertile soil and watered via a complex irrigation system, offer up more than 250 different types of vegetables and cereals, such as corn, quinua and kiwicha.

Machu Picchu: is the best-known and most spectacular archaeological site on the continent. The Lost City was indeed a complete city with industrial, ceremonial, residential and agricultural sectors. The city remained undiscovered until 1911 and is remarkably well preserved, with stairways, temples and terraces waiting to be discovered by you

Choquequirao: Choquequirao is located in the Southeastern part of the Cusco city, between the department of Cusco and the department of Apurímac; this is a magnificent variant to know instead of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. In a long five days walk, mountains with variety of flora and fauna will be combined. The ruins have been cleaned today partially by COPESCO, the governmental institution responsible for the tourism in Peru. In the route to Choquequirao, climate is varied, from inter Andean warm zone, to forest eyebrow. The Choquequirao name means “Gold Cradle”, and this city is considered, like sister of Machu Picchu by its similarities. Both are to 1500 meters over a river: Choquequirao - river Apurímac and Machu Picchu - Urubamba River. It was an administrative and religious center. It covers more than 8 hectares and only a single third have been discovered. The archaeologists discover more every day.

Vitcos: Vitcos was the places where the last battles between the Incas and Spaniards took place. Also was a military center of Ñusta Hispana where they controlled the payments for the cities Espiritu Pampa and Vilcabamba. It ‘s close to Huancacalle, 10 hours from Cusco by car. At Inti Raymi (party of the Sun) is celebrated here by the locals on June 21st

The Ñusta Hispana: It is a really strange white cal stone of the Incas. There a bits of rock cut out of the rock. The Incas dedicated it to the fertility of the land and of the woman. It's a very strange place; I kept on wondering why the Incas would make a rock like this. Rosaspata is the agricultural part of Ñusta Hispana that supported the alimentation of al the surrounding places. The Ñusta Hispana is situated close to Vitcos.

Espiritupampa: This the archeological place forms the last house of the last Inca of Tawantinsuyo, Manco Inca. In the year 1440 a great army under Inca Pachacutec entered the zone of Vilcabamba to conquer the aboriginal forest tribes “Antis” and “Chunchos”. The Expedition was successfull and the area was involved as a province in the expanding Inca-Empire. The same way the great Inca Pachacutec followed to conquer the jungle tribes, it was used by Inca Manco less than a century later retreating from a terrible army of Spaniards with steel armoured horses and swords. The beginning of the final for the Inca Empire. Here you could fine a white stone very similar to the Ñusta Hispana

Cusco to Puno:

Tipón: is a little-known Inca site noted for its ingenious irrigation system. An outstanding is the sense of harmony in the channeling of water via stone structures including aqueducts (some of which are underground), waterfalls and gullies, indicating the Incas' knowledge of hydraulics. 

Pikillacta: means ‘The Place of the Flea’. It’s the only major pre-Inca ruin and was built around AD 1100 by the Wari culture. It’s a large city of crumbling, two historical buildings, all with entrances strategically located on the upper floor.

Andahuaylillas: is famous for its lavishly decorated 17th century church almost oppressive in its heavy, baroque embellishments.  

Raqchi: are the ruins of the Temple of Viracocha, which once supported the largest known Inca roof. Look like a huge aqueduct. 

Ausangate: The Cordillera Vilcanota is an impressive range of mountains which include the massive Ausangate snowcapped mountain (6,372m) and three others over 6000m. Snow-capped mountain with icy snow peaks, blue and turquoise lakes and an insight to the rough life of the ancestors of the Incas, who still live in small stone houses surrounded by herds of llamas and alpacas. In the trek of Ausangate Circuit you can also enjoy the luxury of a relaxing bath in the hot springs that are found at both the beginning and the end of the trek

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Sillustani: The Inca Empire was known as Tahuantinsuyo, or the Land of Four Quarters. The southern quarter was called Collasuyo after the Colla tribe which dominated the Lake Titicaca area. They had and unusual burial customs for their nobility, they were buried in funerary towers called chullpas, which reaches a height of up to 12m.

Lago Titicaca:

Uros Islands: the floating islands were building using many layers of the buoyant totora reeds that grow abundantly in the shallows of Lake Titicaca.  They began thier floating existence centuries ago in an effort to stay far away from the aggressive Collas and the Incas. Today, several hundred people still live in these islands.

Amantani Island: Trips here usually involve an overnight stay with islanders and a rousing traditional dance, where travelers dress in the islander’s traditional partying gear. Several hills are topped by ruins, which date to the Tiahuanaco culture.

Taquile Island: is an island inhabited for many thousands of years. The Quechua-speaking islanders maintain lives largely untrammeled by the modernity of the mainland and have a deeply ingrained traditional of weaving. Several hills have pre-Incas terracing and small ruins.

Altitude: 183 m.a.s.l.
Average Temperature : 26ºC (max. 34ºC &  min. 21 ºC).
Raining season: December to March
Typical dishes: patasca, juane, asado de venado, tacacho con cecina, chicharrón de dorado
Typical drinks: masato, aguajina, pihuayo, chapo, hungurahui, cocona, carambola y maracuy

Tambopata National Park: 274,690 hectares of uninhabited land comprise the Tambopata National Park. Over 1,000 species of birds, 1,200 species of butterflies, 200 species of mammals, and countless species of plants live in the pristine, uncut forest. Travel along the river for excursions under the canopy of massive trees and hike among the rich undergrowth on well-maintained trails. Monkeys, caimans, and families of giant otters inhabit the adjacent oxbow lake. From an elevated lookout tower, you can see a colorful array of birds and great views over the national park. 

Manu National Park:

Located in the tropical rainforest of the departments of Cusco and Madre de Dios, the Manu National Park is Peru's greatest natural reserve, both for the number of species that it harbors as well as the diversity of eco-systems to be found there. It was established as a National Park in 1973 across a surface of 1’532,806 hectares and declared a Mankind Heritage Site by Unesco in 1987.
The reserve covers the entire watershed of the Manu River, running across an extraordinary range of altitudes, running from 4,300 m.a.s.l.  In the high Andean plain down to 200 meters in the Amazon Basin.

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