Things to Do in Peru

1Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at 2,430 meters (7,970 ft). It is situated in the Machupicchu District of Urubamba Province about 80 kilometers northwest of Cusco, above the Sacred Valley and along the Urubamba River, which forms a deep canyon with a subtropical mountain climate.

Martin St-Amant (S23678) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

2Plaza de Armas

The Plaza de Armas of Cusco is located in the city of Cusco, Peru. Located in the historic center of the city is the main public space of the town since before its Spanish foundation in 1534. Geological studies carried out in the area show that it originally had a swamp, crossed by the Saphy River (currently channeled and covered). During the Inca Empire, this swamp was dried up and transformed into the administrative, religious and cultural center of the imperial capital. It was the place where all kinds of ceremonies were held and the victories of the Inca army were celebrated. After the Spanish conquest, it was transformed into a plaza (square) by the new rulers, who built Catholic temples and mansions on the ruins of the ancient Inca palaces. In this square, Túpac Amaru II was executed in 1781 as well as the cacique Bernardo Tambohuacso, Mateo Pumacahua and several other heroes of the independence of Peru. Today it is the central core of modern Cusco, surrounded by tourist restaurants, jewelry stores, travel agencies and the same Catholic churches built during the colonial period and which constitute two of the most important monuments of the city: the Cathedral of Cusco and the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús (Church of the Society of Jesus). Since 1972, the building has been part of the Monumental Zone of Cusco, declared a Historic Monument of Peru. Likewise, in 1983, as part of the historic center of the city of Cusco, it became part of the central zone declared by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.

Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0)

3Lima Main Square

Lima is the capital and largest city of Peru, as well as a primate city. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of the country, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The city is considered the political, cultural, financial and commercial center of Peru. Jurisdictionally, the metropolis extends mainly within the province of Lima and in a smaller portion, to the west, within the Constitutional Province of Callao, where the seaport and the Jorge Chávez Airport are located. Both provinces have had regional autonomy since 2002. The 2023 census projection indicates that the city of Lima has an estimated population of 10,092,000 inhabitants, making it the second-most populous city in South America after São Paulo and the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world in terms of city proper population. The Lima Metropolitan Area, which forms a contiguous urban area with the seaside city of Callao, has a population of 10,151,200 inhabitants. When considering the additional seven districts contained in the Constitutional Province of Callao, the total agglomeration reaches a population of 11,342,100 inhabitants, one of the most populated urban agglomerations in the world. Lima was named by natives in the agricultural region known by native Peruvians as Limaq. It became the capital and most important city in the Viceroyalty of Peru. Following the Peruvian War of Independence, it became the capital of the Republic of Peru. Around one-third of the national population now lives in its metropolitan area. As the headquarters of the Andean Community, Lima plays a crucial role in regional diplomacy and trade integration. In October 2013, Lima was chosen to host the 2019 Pan American Games; these games were held at venues in and around Lima, and were the largest sporting event ever hosted by the country. The city will host the games for a second time in 2027. It also hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Meetings three times in 2008, 2016 and 2024; the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in October 2015, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2014, and the Miss Universe 1982 contest.

JulioKuLu (CC BY-SA 4.0)

4Circuito Magico del Agua

5Larcomar

Latin America For Less (CC BY 2.0)

6Ollantaytambo Archeological Site

7Larco Museum

The Larco Museum is a privately owned museum of pre-Columbian art, located in the Pueblo Libre district of Lima, Peru. The museum is housed in an 18th-century vice-royal building. It showcases chronological galleries that provide a thorough overview of 5,000 years of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. It is well known for its gallery of pre-Columbian erotic pottery.

Velvet (CC BY-SA 4.0)

8Qorikancha

Håkan Svensson (Xauxa) (CC BY 2.5)

9Saqsaywaman

Sacsayhuamán ( SACK-sy-wuh-mən; Spanish pronunciation: [saksajwaˈman]) or Saksaywaman (from Quechua Saksay waman pukara, pronounced [ˈsaksaj ˈwaman], lit. 'fortress of the royal falcon or hawk') is a citadel on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru, the historic capital of the Inca Empire. The site is an important example of Inca architecture and sits at an altitude of 3,701 metres (12,142 ft). The Spanish chroniclers recorded that within the Inca's oral history, the fortress was said to be built during the reign of Sapa Inca Pachacuti and his successors, Topa Inca Yupanqui and Huayna Capac. Dry stone walls constructed of huge stones were built on the site, with the workers carefully cutting the boulders to fit them together tightly without mortar. In 1983, Cusco and Sacsayhuamán together were designated as sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List, for international recognition and protection. The archeological site is now a tourist destination.

tamara semina (CC BY-SA 3.0)

10Parque del Amor

11Bridge of Sighs

12Mercado Central de San Pedro

Chuck Moravec (CC BY 2.0)

13Pucllana Site Museum

McKay Savage (CC BY 2.0)

14Basílica and Convent of San Francisco

Velvet (CC BY-SA 4.0

15Zona Arqueologica Moray

Moray (Quechua: Muray) is an archaeological site in Peru approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) northwest of Cuzco on a high plateau at about 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) and just west of the village of Maras. The site contains Inca ruins, mostly consisting of several terraced circular depressions, the largest of which is approximately 30 m (98 ft) deep. As with many other Inca sites, it also has an irrigation system. The purpose of these depressions is uncertain, but their depth, design, and orientation with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 15 °C (25 °F) between the top and the bottom. Closed depressions such as these can trap cold air, particularly on calm cloudless nights at altitude. Heat in the form of long-wave radiation is free to escape skyward and cold air is heavier than warmer air, so it flows downslope. In most landscapes the cooler air drains into the valleys creating down-canyon winds at night and leaving the higher slopes a few degrees warmer. This pattern is called an inversion because the typical pattern of air cooling as elevation increases is inverted. If air can flow into a closed basin, the capture of cold air is accentuated. Warmer air is displaced from the basin leaving the cold air trapped under a stable inversion. Temperatures in the basins can be several degrees cooler than the surrounding lands and remain colder until strong winds flush the cold air out. By being colder, the basins can simulate agriculture that is several thousand feet higher in elevation. Air at the bottom of the basin is typically colder than the air higher up, so the test altitude can be adjusted by moving the plantings a few feet up or down the slope. In this way, the basins at Moray permit crop testing at this single site, by a consistent group of scientists, thus providing much better control for their tests than spreading their tests to distant locations.

McKay Savage from London, UK (CC BY 2.0)

16Gran Teatro Nacional

Courret Hermanos (Lima) (Public domain)

17Parque Arqueológico Pisac

18Parque El Olivar

Bosque el Olivar is a public park located in the neighbourhood of the same name in San Isidro District, Lima, Peru. Named after the olive trees located there since their introduction in 1560, it is part of the cultural heritage of Peru.

19Playa Waikiki

20Islas Palomino