Impressive Inca ruins, highland villages, colonial cities and countless spectacular natural sceneries are part of the destinations proposed in this selection of the best tourist attractions in Peru.
While you are traveling to Peru you may need to keep communication or a translation app. That’s why you may need to use one of our mobile phone plans for tourists to have a tourist sim card. In order to make a nice trip here in PeruSIM. Here we show you the top 10 places to visit in Peru.
1- Lima:
Capital of Peru, recognized with the Travellers’ Choice award for best emerging destination, a city that captivates with its mix of modernity and history, where neighborhoods of vibrant activity and nightlife as Miraflores and San Isidro, intersect with the ancient colonial architecture of the Historic Center declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Famous also for being home to one of the best gastronomies in the world, being known as the Gastronomic Capital of America, hosting among its many neighborhoods, inexhaustible places to enjoy the spicy flavors that are present in its more than 400 typical dishes. More information in trips to Lima.
2- Cuzco:
One of the most fascinating tourist sites in Peru, home to priceless historical and cultural treasures, ruins that still allow to visualize the splendor of what was the capital of the Inca Empire, and magnificent civil and religious buildings that show the richness of its colonial era.
Today declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, it allows you to go back in time, walking through narrow streets that wind their way between beautiful colonial buildings built on the base of ancient Inca palaces, or between picturesque squares full of history surrounded by cafes, restaurants and bars.
3- Sacred Valley of the Incas:
Magical area of ravines, archaeological sites and picturesque colonial villages, which follow one after another, inhabited by indigenous communities, who have kept alive over time their folklore and traditions.
Its main enclaves are the archaeological complex and town of Pisac, the town of Chinchero with its famous weavers and the archaeological zone of Ollantaytambo, the only Inca city that is practically preserved intact, and whose buildings are now inhabited by their descendants.
4- Machu Picchu:
Impressive Inca city raised over 2,360 meters above sea level, breathtaking landscape of walls, terraces and ramps that seem to be carved into the rock itself, immersed between majestic mountain peaks, cliffs and the greenery of the Amazon forest.
Today declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, it allows you to recreate through its temples, palaces and stairways, what was once the most splendid construction built by the Inca empire, comprising an extensive area of 530 meters long by 200 wide, including at least 172 enclosures.
5- Arequipa:
Nicknamed the White City, a city that enchants with its colonial appearance, with a display of white volcanic stone architecture and a beautiful historic center declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Places of special interest are the Plaza de Armas with its neoclassical cathedral, convents like Santa Catalina that resemble real citadels or the neighborhood of San Lazaro, with its small squares and narrow cobblestone streets that evoke an Andalusian village. More information in trips to Arequipa.
6- Lake Titicaca:
Located at 3,812 meters above sea level, it is the highest navigable lake in the world, an immense body of water hidden among the mountainous landscapes of the Andes Mountains, on the border of Peru and Bolivia, near the city of Puno.
Its main attraction is its islands, home to various indigenous communities that keep alive their ancestral traditions. The most famous among them are Taquile, home of the Quechuas, known for their clothing and textile art, Amantaní with archaeological remains left by the Tiahuanaco culture and the floating islands of the Uros, corresponding to a group of artificial islands made of totora reeds by the Uru ethnic group, who live there surviving on fishing, hunting and weaving.
7- Mancora:
Undoubtedly one of the best tourist places in Peru to enjoy the rest, between kilometers of white sand beaches and warm waters surrounded by lush vegetation, exceptional waves for surfing and a privileged climate, with summer temperatures almost all year round.
The rather small town also has its interest, an extensive main avenue, crammed with craft stores and places to rent surfboards; and at least a dozen bars that light up the nights with reggae rhythms.
8- Chiclayo:
Known as the city of sorcerers, due to the intense esoteric atmosphere present, being home to a large number of shamans, healers and fortune tellers, who usually serve people who come from different corners of the country to seek answers to their ills. Among its most famous sites is the Mercado de los Brujos, a curious market that is installed near the main square, where it is possible to buy all kinds of ingredients for the preparation of potions and alternative medicines.
Chiclayo is also famous for its archaeological sites, including the Royal Burial of the Lord of Sipan and the Pyramids of Tucume, impressive enclaves of the Mochica and Lambayeque cultures, civilizations that reached their splendor before the Inca Empire.
9- Iquitos:
Gateway to the extraordinary beauty of the Amazon rainforest, the largest tropical forest on the planet, declared in 2011 as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The city is the starting point for most of the exploration routes that allow visitors to explore its virgin forests, either by navigating the mighty Amazon River or by hiking through its impressive reserves.
Among these, the huge Pacaya Samiria National Reserve stands out, known as the “Jungle of Mirrors”, with a size that could be compared to 50% of the area occupied by Switzerland or Denmark, housing huge swamps and lagoons, where it is possible to observe caimans, pink dolphins and anaconda boas, among other 1,025 animal species.
10- Nazca Lines:
Enigmatic archaeological enclave located in the Pampas de Jumana, where enormous geoglyphs that occupy kilometers of surface, extend between the hills and the surface of the desert, adopting animal and vegetable forms and geometric designs.
Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, they are probably one of the tourist sites in Peru and possibly in the Americas, which have generated greater curiosity and mysticism regarding their authorship and purpose. Although it is now known that they were drawn by the Nazca culture 200 years B.C., their reason for being is still under study, with theories that they were made as a giant astronomical calendar, indicating the various movements of the sun, moon and constellations.
Finally, we know that you have to keep communication with your relatives and friends, that you need to be able to orient yourself in new cities, that you might need help with translation and that you might need to search for restaurants or hotels. That’s why with PeruSIM you can buy a SIM card including the data plan of your need without having to worry about high roaming costs.