8 Best Hotels in The Central Highlands, Peru

Experience life at a Spanish hacienda at this charming bed-and-breakfast just a 10-minute drive from Tarma. Rooms, which sleep up to four guests, are furnished with period pieces, local art, and handmade textiles that evoke the 18th century. Staff can also prepare meals made with artisanal local products for guests. There's even a campground with a bathroom and hiking trails that lead to ruins and highland villages. The lodging has served as a retreat for numerous Peruvian writers and artists, who have been inspired by its stirring mountain views.

The city's most expensive hotel, in a graceful colonial building partly overlooking the Plaza de Armas, has spacious gardens and opulent sitting areas that belie the modest rooms with parquet flooring and simple modern furnishings. The best (and quietest) accommodations are on the second floor, where there's a view of the terra-cotta roofs and courtyard. You can request a balcony facing the plaza, but beware the ever-present commotion outside—especially on Sunday and during festivals.

This colonial-style building, built in 1943, is chic, swanky, and completely out of place in simple Huánuco, which explains the business travelers wandering its wide halls. Rooms, all with private baths and hot water, are modern and eclectic. Some overlook the plaza, but beware of noise on mornings and weekends. Public areas are opulent yet intimate, with corners in which to relax and have a quiet conversation. The courtyard pool, sauna, and gym provide respite for those returning from long day tours of the surrounding pampas. The on-site restaurant is also solid and serves both regional and international dishes.

Rooms at the El Márquez are comfortably modern, if a bit bland; the more upscale ones have cathedral views and Jacuzzis. Service is brisk and efficient, so if you just want a cozy place to sleep, look no further.

The hacienda-style exterior of this elegant hotel gives it a worldly charm that sets it above the city's newer lodgings. Public areas are ornate, with traditional Peruvian paintings and local crafts and textiles. Rooms are sparkling clean, and all have TVs, phones, and private baths with hot water. Ask to see several different options before you agree to stay, as rooms vary in size, decor, views, and amenities. Although the neighborhood is quieter than those around the plaza, the hotel is conveniently in the middle of town. Like many lodgings in Peru's sierra, this accommodation has now been incorporated into the Casa Andina chain, so brisk service is a priority.

Many international visitors to Tingo María stay at this excellent Danish-Peruvian-run lodge, a nine-room bird-watchers' haven on 10 hectares (25 acres) not far from the national park.

On the plaza, Huancavelica's top hotel is an attractive, Spanish colonial building with bland but sizable rooms that have individual heating, Wi-Fi, and hot showers. The hotel is now part of the Casa Andina chain, so the common areas and staff are looking a bit spiffier than in the past. The restaurant serves good criollo dishes and chifa.

The most popular lodging among visiting limeños has all the comforts of a modern hotel: rooms with Andean accents, TVs, Wi-Fi, phones, and private baths with hot water. True, the 20th-century architecture is boring, but service is brisker since the hotel was incorporated into the Casa Andina chain. It also features a wheelchair-accessible elevator and a coworking space.