The Top 10 Peru Tourist Attractions
Peru is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, it combines beautiful landscapes, modern and ancient cultures, from the mysterious Nazca lines to the enigmatic Machu Picchu.
Peru is one of the most visited destinations by foreign tourists, as it not only has Archaeological wealth and monuments, but also a rich culture, beautiful tourist cities that combine the coast, highlands and jungle, the Peruvian cuisine is well known worldwide. We also have musicians, dancers, the famous Peruvian Pisco, and friendly people who always give tourists a warm welcome.
Peru has the best tourist attractions as we mentioned below.
1. Machu Picchu – Cusco
The city of Machu Picchu, is the most popular tourist attraction in Peru and one of the new seven wonders of the modern world. It is the most visited destination in Peru, with its complex constructions since the Inca time and culture. Machu Picchu was the ceremonial center of the Incas. The tourists like to visit the ruins, because they get a lot of energy of the Apus (Gods of the Incas). To visit Machu Picchu, we can take a domestic flight from Lima to Cusco, it takes around one hour (by Bus, it takes around 20 hrs) once there you have to book the train ticket from Cusco to the town of Aguas Calientes, as soon as you arrive to Machu Picchu, you will climb the ruins and admire the stunning city.
2. Nazca Lines
The Nazca Lines are located in the Nazca desert, in the south of Lima- Peru.
This is a unique place in the world, with mystery and mysticism, the great constructions of observatories of astronomical cycles, were used by the farmers to control the metrological agrarian cycles, also for their religious significance. This is the theory of Maria Reiche, who studied for several years the Nazca Lines.
These lines are formed by drawings of several kilometers in the Nazca desert, with animal forms; some of them can only be seen from an airplane. The figures of the Spider, the Monkey, the Small Lizard, the Hummingbird, the Condor, the Dog, and the Astronaut, among others.
3. Sacred Valley – Cusco
The Sacred Valley of the Incas is one of the favorite places to visit by a foreign tourist. It is located one hour from Cusco. The Incas fortress of Ollantaytambo is a ¨MUST¨ to visit , Constructed on the highest part of the mountain in the region. There are a lot of places to visit , like Chincheros market on Sundays, The Maras , where you can find salt works, and Moray, where you can find the ruins made up of a succession of circles, which was an important agricultural center for the Incas.
Pisac , the place where you can visit the small market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; and also you can find handicraft articles.
4. Titicaca Lake – Puno
The Titicaca Lake is the highest navigable lake in the world and the largest one in South America. The weather in this region is dry and very cold at night (below 0°C or 32°F), but it’s sunny during the day (13°C or 55°F).
The Titicaca Lake has a big island named Taquile. These people have kept their ancient customs of wearing colorful typical clothes and living like they did a century ago.
Everybody is prepared to receive tourists and show their dances, typical food and also sell their products. The other island is Amantani, there you can stay for a night in a family house in one of the communities. As soon as you arrive to the Island, people from there give you a warm welcome, and finally you will be able to see the Uros island which is a group of islands, known as the “floating islands” ,those small islands are hand-made by the communities, who using an ancient technique have built their own island with “totora” reed.
5. Colca Canyon- Arequipa
This canyon is said to be the deepest in the world, even to be twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA. The Colca Valley has Very beautiful landscapes with strong winds, over flight by condors which are the biggest birds in the world. Along the way visitors can see herds of Vicuñas and various kinds of birds, like the giant hummingbird, eagles, gooses and the Andean Condor. If you like adventure tours, the Canyon also offers wonderful treks down to its button, descending throughout huge mountains, exploring oasis-like valleys, thermal springs, and camping outdoors.
6. The Amazon River – Iquitos
The Amazon River supports the most important biodiversity ecosystem of the world, there are a variety of monkeys to macaws, herons to hawks, and turtles to toucans, flora and fauna overwhelm the visitor. For many tourists this is the paradise, they are amazed with the wonderful view. You can buy a tour to Iquitos with a travel agency, and spend days in a lodge inside the jungle or take a cruise to the Amazon River and have the most wonderful experience.
7. Tambopata National reserve – Puerto Maldonado
The Tambopata National Reserve is the gateway to the extraordinary environments and to the Amazon Rainforest; where you will have a wonderful experience, the sounds, the colors and the different kind of birds, enjoy your trip in an exotic lodge inside the forest. This will be an amazing adventure tour that you have never experienced before.
8. The Cathedral of Lima
The cathedral of Lima was built in 1564.The interior of Lima cathedral is very attractive, has a delicate vaulted ceiling and a checkerboard floor. It is embellished with some impressive baroque furnishings, the most notable are the intricately carved choir stalls.
Tourists coming to Peru, have to go through the city of Lima, where you can not miss the chance to go through the main square visit the cathedral and surrounding areas.
9. Huaraz
Huaraz is one of the best places in South America to enjoy adventure tours such as trekking, mountain climbing, skiing and rafting. The city of Huaraz, is about 8 hours by bus from Lima, this is the only way to get there. The setting of the city, is at the bottom of the Cordillera Blanca, where You can see over 20 snow-capped peaks over 5000 meters, of which the most notable is Huascaran (6,768m), which is the highest mountain in Peru.
Many tourist come to Huaraz to enjoy the different adventure tours.
10. Chan Chan – Trujillo
The city of Chan Chan is located near Trujillo on the north coast of Peru. On November 28, 1986, UNESCO declared Chan Chan the World´s Heritage site. The archaeological site covers an area of approximately 20 square kilometers. The central area is formed by a set of 10 small walled towns and other pyramids.