279 Best Sights in Peru

The 16th-century Iglesia San Francisco, the city's second-oldest church, has unusual, icinglike scrollwork on its yellow-brick Renaissance facade and bell gables. Peek inside to see the spectacular gilt altarpiece and a handful of Cusco School paintings.

Soaring ceilings, ornate stained-glass windows, and the fact that it's the only one of Ica's historic churches still open to visitors after the 2007 earthquake make this the city's most frequented Catholic temple. Yet even this colossal monument didn't escape the quake unscathed. If you look on the floor toward the front of the church, you can see the gouges left in the marble blocks by falling pieces of the main altar.

And this wasn't San Francisco's first brush with seismic fate: since the 16th century, it has been destroyed by tremors no less than six times. The present incarnation, of neo-Romanesque cast, was inaugurated in 1961.

This 18th-century church has been entrusted with the care of the Virgin of Candlemas, the focus of Puno's most important yearly celebration in February, the Festival de la Virgen de la Candelaria. The statue rests on the main altar. It's worth passing by at night to see the neon exterior lighting.

With hints of the Islamic style in its elegant brick arches and stone domes, this cathedral carries an aura of elegance. Step inside to view simple furnishings and sunlight streaming through stained-glass windows as small silver candles flicker along the back wall near the altar. A working Dominican monastery is in back.

One of the world's signature outdoor excursions, the four-day Inca Trail (Camino Inca) is a 43-km (26-mile) section of the stone path that once extended from Cusco to Machu Picchu. Nothing matches the sensation of walking past the Intipunku, or Sun Gate, just as the sun casts its first yellow glow over the ancient stone buildings. The trip is best done from May to September because by November rain makes the trail muddy and difficult, though it only closes for one month each winter for maintenance. Because of the trip's popularity, SERNANP (the organization overseeing the trail) limits participants to 500 per day. A guide is required, and you'll usually have cooks and porters, but you still need to be in decent shape; altitude sickness is always a concern. Although the camps themselves have toilets, the trail does not, so this is real camping and fairly strenuous, requiring some preparation in addition to the costs.

To see Huaraz's colonial remnants, head to Jirón José Olaya, a pedestrian-only street that's one of the few places untouched by the cataclysmic 1970 earthquake. The handsome, white-and-green facades stand east of the town center, on the right-hand side of Avenida Raimondi and a block behind Avenida Confraternidad Inter Este. The best time to visit is on Sunday, when there's a weekly feria de comida típica, a regional street festival with local food and craft stalls.

Considered one of South America's oldest religious sanctuaries, the 4,000-year-old Kotosh is famous for its Templo de las Manos Cruzadas (Temple of the Crossed Hands). The partially restored ruins are thought to have been constructed by a pre-Chavín culture whose origins are still unknown; some of the oldest Peruvian pottery relics in existence were discovered below one of the niches surrounding the temple's main room. Inside, you'll see only a replica of the image of the crossed hands: the original mud molding is dated 2000 BC and stored at Lima's Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia del Perú.

The site was named Kotosh, Quechua for "pile," in reference to the piles of rocks found strewn across the fields. Taxi fare is S/30 for the round-trip journey from Huánuco, including a half hour to sightsee.

This massive step platform, encompassing several sunken plazas and perched on a hilltop with sweeping views of the encircling valley, is—along with Cumbe Mayo—Cajamarca's star pre-Hispanic ruin. Construction probably began around 1000 BC, with the inhabitants adding more platforms, stairs, and tombs as the centuries progressed. Among the site's most intriguing elements is a series of stone monoliths, one of which features a baleful, leering feline god; the slabs have led some to conclude the area belonged to the Chavín culture. The museum is also home to a 14-faced crown that's one of the oldest gold pieces forged in the Americas. Travel time from Cajamarca is about two hours; to get here, book a tour from one of the city's tour companies.

Reconstructed more than five times, this 17th-century colonial building, once a chaplaincy, now houses a fair-trade café, a library, and a few upscale handicraft stores. It was originally home to Silvestre de Valdés, a Catholic priest who served as a corregidor (a Spanish official who acts as governor, judge, and tax collector) and who oversaw construction of the nearby cathedral. The house had a long history of changing owners until its present owner, Ana Maria Piño Jordán, bought it at public auction.

This Jesuit church’s facade is one of the most striking in the Peruvian sierra. A relatively simple Renaissance design flames vividly into life due to the blood-red brick used around the main doorframe. No less intriguing are the floral ornaments that stud the twin bell towers, carved in a decorative style known as plateresco that derives from some of Spain's most flamboyant palaces. Built in the mid-1600s, the church retains the Jesuits' insignia on the frieze above its entrance, despite King Carlos III's having banished the society from Latin America in 1767.

These wooden pillars west of Nazca, carved of huarango wood and placed on mud-brick platforms, were once thought to have been an astronomical observatory. More recent theories, however, incline toward their use in mummification rituals, perhaps to dry bodies of deceased tribal members. They are usually visited on a tour of Cahuachi.

A popular spot for explorers of all ages, Isla de los Monos (Monkey Island) is home to more than 40 monkeys of eight species. The 250-hectare (618-acre) island is a private reserve, where monkeys that were once held in captivity or were confiscated from animal traffickers now live in a natural environment. In addition to the monkeys, there are sloths, parrots, macaws, and a small botanical garden. Since most of the animals are former pets, you can get very close to them; maybe even closer than you might want. The easiest way to visit the island is on a tour. If traveling solo, visit the office in Iquitos ( Loreto 380) for information on speedboats to the Varadero de Mazan. Note that it's forbidden to use bug repellent or sunscreen here.

First owned by the founder of Arequipa, Don Garcí Manuel de Carbajal, La Mansión del Fundador, about 6½ km (4 miles) outside Arequipa—about a 20-minute journey—is a restored colonial home and church. Alongside the Río Sabandía, the sillar-made home perches over a cliff and is said to have been built for Carbajal's son. It became a Jesuit retreat in the 16th century, and, in the 1800s, was remodeled by Juan Crisostomo de Goyeneche y Aguerrevere. While intimate, the chapel is small and simple, but the home is noted for its vaulted-arch ceilings and spacious patio. There's also a cafeteria with a bar on-site. To reach the home, go past Tingo along Avenida Huasacache.

The church may be overshadowed by the more famous Catedral and Iglesia de la Compañía, but La Merced contains one of the city's most priceless treasures—the Custodia, a solid gold container for Communion wafers that's more than a meter high and encrusted with thousands of precious stones. Rebuilt in the 17th century, this monastery, with two stories of portals and a colonial fountain, gardens, and benches, has a spectacular series of murals that depict the life of the founder of the Mercedarian order, St. Peter of Nolasco. A small museum is found to the side of the church.

Changes in the course of Amazon tributaries have created countless oxbow lakes, which are formed when the riverbed shifts and the abandoned bend fills with water. Lago Sandoval, created by the Madre de Dios River, lies just inside the Tambopata National Reserve, a short trip from Puerto Maldonado. It is a lovely sight, hemmed with lush jungle and a wall of aguaje palms on one end. It is also an ideal spot for wildlife-watching. Herons, egrets, kingfishers, and other waterfowl hunt along its edges; several species of monkeys forage in the lakeside foliage; and chestnut-fronted macaws fly squawking overhead. A family of elusive giant otters lives in Lake Sandoval, making it one of the few places you can hope to see that endangered species. The lake is a 30-minute boat ride east from Puerto Maldonado. Once you disembark, there's a flat 3-km (1.8-mile) hike, mostly atop a boardwalk, to a dock in the aguaje palm swamp from where you'll be rowed to the actual lake. Unfortunately, Sandoval is very popular, so you'll see plenty of tourists on the trail and lake. Fewer people visit the lake in the afternoon, but it is best experienced by spending a night or two at the Sandoval Lake Lodge.

This oxbow lake, a short hike from the Tambopata River, is a great place to see wildlife, including the endangered giant river otter. It is also home to side-necked turtles, hoatzins, sun grebes, jacanas, and dozens of other bird species. Its dark waters hold black caimans (reptiles that resemble small alligators) and a plethora of piranha, so try to resist any urge you have to go for a swim. Most people visit Tres Chimbadas on an early-morning excursion from the nearby Posada Amazonas.

Once an off-the-beaten-path secret, this high-altitude azure lake and its two sisters lie north of Pisac and have become a favorite tour from town or Cusco. Situated at more than 4,200 meters (13,780 feet) in elevation and located near Paru Paru mountain, Kinsa Cocha, Puma Cocha, and Azul Cocha are a stark contrast from Pisac's touristy town and Inca ruins. A trip here provides easy access to jaw-dropping—and literally breathtaking, given the altitude—Andean landscapes dotted by packs of wild llamas and vicuñas. To help contend with the high altitude, consider chewing some coca leaves as you walk around. For about S/150, you can hire a taxi to take you to the first lagoon and wait a couple of hours while you hike and explore the two neighbor lakes. 

The largest lake in Huascarán National Park glows with the same miraculous turquoise hue as its sister lagoons farther south—but with few visitors to spoil the solitude. The placid waters are surrounded by peaks that climb 6,100 meters (20,000 feet) into the clouds. Lake Parón is more easily accessed from Caraz, and many hikers take the opportunity to explore Mt. Artesonraju to the north. You must pay the national park admission fee to access the lake.

One of the peninsulas that form the bay of Puno, Llachon juts out on the lake near Amantani and Taquile.

The land is dry and barren with rows of pre-Inca terraces, and original ancient paths and trails, which are great for exploring.

Locals are more than willing to guide visitors on a light trek to Cerro Auki Carus. Here a circular temple remains the sacred place for villagers to honor the Pachamama (Mother Earth). As the highest point on the peninsula, Cerro Auki Carus serves as an excellent viewpoint to admire the splendor of Lake Titicaca. You can venture out yourself from the port in Puno via water colectivo and then arrange a homestay once in Llachon, or for slightly more money, you can have a tour operator arrange the accommodations for you. By land back from Puno it's about two to three hours. Llachon is also a great place to kayak. Cusco-based Explorandes as well as Edgar Adventures offer kayak excursions around here.

From 1980 to 2000, two terrorist groups waged a fierce war against the Peruvian state: Sendero Luminoso and the Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru. Their assaults and the brutal reaction of the Peruvian military left some 70,000 citizens dead—mostly poor campesinos (country folk) from the sierra. This somber museum commemorates that dark period, with historical exhibits and video testimony from many of the victims. The displays are all in Spanish, but even if you don't know the language, this place makes an impression.

You can view an even more powerful exhibit on Sendero Luminoso on the sixth floor of the Ministerio de la Cultura, in the San Borja district.

This pleasant waterfront walk between Brasil and Pevas is a good place for a sunset stroll. During high-water season, the Itaya River reaches the cement, but during the dry months (May through November), it recedes into the distance. You'll find some lovely rubber-boom-era architecture here, such as the Hotel Palacio, now a military post. There are also several nice bars and restaurants on the malecón's northern end, near the Plaza de Armas. Its southern end gets less traffic, and muggings have been reported there at night, so stick to the three northernmost blocks after 6 pm.

A warren of vendors' stalls lines the couple of blocks between the train station and the bus stop for shuttle transport up to the ruins. You can find some souvenirs here that you may not see in Cusco. The prices for crafts such as textiles, bags, and magnets may or may not be cheaper (this largely depends on your negotiating skill and patience), but it's a great way to spend time before your train leaves.

If you've come to Pisac in search of its famous Indigenous market, you’ll be ushered a few blocks north of its former location at Plaza de Armas to this new pavilion, open daily and hosting about a hundred stalls packed to the gills with a lot of stuff—most of it standard souvenir fare. Even if the quality is a bit disappointing, it's not all bad: the alpaca shawls, hats, and jewelry here are cheaper and of better quality than in Cusco, and you can bargain for the best price. Some stalls even accept credit cards. 

For a down-to-earth look at Andean culture, head to this market, where you'll see fruits and vegetables grown only in the highlands, as well as cuyes (guinea pigs), chickens, ducks, and rabbits, all available for purchase alive or freshly slaughtered.

This jam-packed collection of shops sells everything from snacks and local produce to clothing and household goods. It's an excellent place geared more to locals than tourists so you can spot rare types of potatoes, sample queso helado (ice cream), or eat chicharrones. It's on Calle San Camilo, between Avenidas Peru and Piérola.

This lookout point has an excellent view of Huaraz, the Río Santa, and the surrounding mountains. It's a 45-minute walk up, and the directions are complicated, so it's best to hire a guide or, better yet, take a taxi.

One of Puno's three viewpoints offers fantastic views of the lake from a platform where a statue of a condor spreads its wings wide (it's also commonly known as Mirador El Condor). The views are worth all of the 625 breathtaking steps to the top, especially at sunset.

Perched on a hilltop in the town's northern Alto Puno neighborhood, this park is fun for kids and a great scenic spot for everyone. As it's the only mirador that's not reachable on foot from the town, most guided tours to Sillustani stop here along the way to let people take a few pictures with the giant 26-foot-tall puma statue that prowls above the city and Lake Titicaca's shore. A tunnel ending with two snake heads surrounds the statue. It can be fiercely cold when it rains and extremely hot under the high-altitude sun, so come prepared.

There's a colorful story behind the area's first stone molino (mill), 7 km (4 miles) southeast of Arequipa. Built in 1621 in the gorgeous Paucarpata countryside, the mill fell into ruin over the next century. Famous architect Luis Felipe Calle was restoring the Arequipa mansion that now houses the Central Reserve Bank in 1966 when he was asked to work on the mill project. By 1973, the restoration of the volcanic-stone structure was complete, and Calle liked the new version so much that he bought it, got it working again, and opened it for tours. Bring your swimsuit and walking shoes in good weather—there's a pool and trails amid the lovely countryside. Adjoining the site is the traditional village of Yumina, which has numerous Inca agricultural terraces. If you're not driving, flag a taxi for S/25–S/30 or take a colectivo (shared taxi) from Socabaya in Arequipa to about 2 km (1 mile) past Paucarpata.