4 Best Sights in The North Coast and Northern Highlands, Peru

Although people come to Huanchaco for the beach, one of Peru's oldest churches, El Santuario de Huanchaco, on a hill overlooking the village, is a nice side trip. The sanctuary was built on a Chimú ruin around 1540. In the second half of the 16th century, a small box containing the image of Nuestra Señora del Socorro (Our Lady of Mercy) floated in on the tide and was discovered by locals. The image, which is kept in the sanctuary, has been an object of local veneration ever since.

This wide, rocky beach south of the pier is less popular for swimming, but there's good surfing. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude, surfing.

North of the pier, this is the town's most popular beach, and it is filled with rows upon rows of restaurants. Local craftspeople sell their goods along the waterfront walk, and fishermen line up their caballitos de totora, the reed fishing rafts that are used more as a photo op or to rent to tourists than for actual fishing. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

This small fishing port, 14 km (9 miles) north of Tumbes on the way to the Ecuadorean border, sits near the point where the Río Tumbes and the Pacific Ocean meet and not far from the Santuario Nacional Manglares de Tumbes. The mix of fresh- and saltwater is ideal for mangroves, not to mention the aquatic creatures that thrive among their roots. Tour operators in Tumbes and Mancora sell half-day or full-day tours starting from the port, but it is just as easy to come here and arrange a trip directly. Prices are based on the time and the number of stops, which include bird and wildlife watching in the mangroves, a small reptile zoo, and tiny islands with pleasant beaches and informal beach-shack restaurants.