Language · 11 published
Country guide
Peru is 1,285,216 square kilometres arranged in three long bands: an arid Pacific coast, the Andes behind it, and Amazon rainforest east of the mountains. Which band a city sits in decides nearly everything about visiting it — Lima, the capital, is a coastal city under grey winter cloud, Cusco sits high enough in the Andes to cost a first day doing nothing, and Iquitos in the rainforest has no road connecting it to the rest of the country. It is the third largest country in South America. The distances between those three worlds are why itineraries here are counted in flights rather than in bus rides.
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Corminos · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photograph · gertrudis2010 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
42 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Centro Histórico del Cusco
The Historic Centre of Cusco is the UNESCO World Heritage-listed core of Peru's former Inca capital. It encompasses the original Inca street grid, surviving stone walls, colonial-era churches, and public plazas built atop and around Inca foundations.
Plaza Mayor de Lima is the historic square at the core of Lima's World Heritage-listed centre. UNESCO identifies the surrounding historic centre as the colonial core whose monuments and urban fabric express Lima's role as a major Spanish American capital.
San Blas Quarter, known locally as Barrio de San Blas, is a historic neighbourhood in Cusco, Peru. It occupies a steep hillside above the city centre and retains narrow lanes from the Inca era.
The Puente de los Suspiros is a wooden footbridge in Lima's Barranco District, a coastal neighborhood known for its bohemian character. The bridge spans a narrow ravine and has become an emblematic landmark of the area.
Ciudadela de Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel situated on a mountain ridge approximately 80 kilometres northwest of Cusco. The archaeological complex stands at an elevation that creates dramatic cloud-forest surroundings.
Palacio Municipal de Lima
The Municipal Palace of Lima, known locally as Palacio Municipal de Lima, serves as the city hall of Peru's capital. It stands on the historic Plaza Mayor, the foundational heart of Lima's colonial grid.
Palacio Arzobispal del Cusco
The Archbishop's Palace of Cusco, known locally as Palacio Arzobispal del Cusco, stands on Hatunrumiyoc street in the historic centre. The site represents significant architectural layering, incorporating the former Inca Roca palace beneath colonial structures.
Sacsayhuamán
Sacsayhuaman, known locally as Saqsaywaman, is an immense Inca ceremonial and defensive complex situated on a hill above Cusco.
Choquequirao is a remote Inca archaeological site situated in the Vilcabamba mountain range of the Cusco region. Often called the sister city of Machu Picchu, it remains far less visited due to its isolated location.
Tampu Mach'ay
Tambomachay is an Inca archaeological site on the northern outskirts of Cusco, Peru. It functions as a ceremonial water shrine, featuring finely engineered stone channels, aqueducts, and waterfalls that demonstrate sophisticated hydraulic engineering.
Plaza Santa Ana
Santa Ana Square is a historic public plaza in the upper part of Cusco’s colonial centre. It sits beyond the busiest circuit around Plaza de Armas and offers a quieter view of the city’s traditional neighbourhood fabric.
Centro Histórico de Lima
The Historic Centre of Lima, locally Centro Histórico de Lima, is the UNESCO World Heritage-listed colonial core of Peru's capital. Founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535, it preserves a substantial ensemble of Spanish colonial architecture, religious buildings, and civic structures.
Puka Pukara is a small Inca archaeological site situated on the northern outskirts of Cusco, Peru. Its Quechua name translates to Red Fortress, referencing the distinctive reddish hue of its stonework.
Palacio de Gobierno
The Government Palace of Peru, known locally as Palacio de Gobierno del Perú, serves as the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Peru.
Moray is an archaeological complex near Cusco in Peru’s Sacred Valley. Its defining feature is a group of circular agricultural terraces cut into a natural depression.
Plaza San Martín is a monumental republican square in Lima's historic centre. It forms the southern anchor of the historic-centre walking route, connecting visitors to the broader colonial and republican urban fabric.
Huaca Pucllana is an archaeological complex inside Miraflores, where successive Lima, Wari and Ychsma communities left evidence of construction and use.
Pisaq
Písac is a town in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, approximately one hour northeast of Cusco. The settlement sits at a lower elevation than the city, making it a common destination for visitors adjusting to altitude.
Fortaleza del Real Felipe
The Real Felipe Fortress, locally named Fortaleza del Real Felipe, stands as Callao's monumental colonial fortress and ranks as the strongest military-history site in the Lima metropolitan area.
Plaza de Armas del Cusco stands as the historic main square of Cusco, Peru, occupying the ceremonial heart of the former Inca capital. Spanish colonial architecture now dominates the space, with arcades, churches, and portals surrounding the open plaza.
Q'enqo Grande
Q'enqo Grande is the principal and larger section of the Q'enqo archaeological complex near Cusco, Peru. This Inca site features ceremonial passages and altar-like rockwork carved from living stone.
Zona Histórica Intangible del Morro Solar
Morro Solar is a headland located in the Chorrillos district of Lima, Peru. It rises above the Pacific coastline and serves as a prominent geographical landmark for the southern part of the city.
Convento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán
The Convent of Santo Domingo stands on the Qorikancha complex in central Cusco.
Huaca Huallamarca is a restored adobe pyramid located in the San Isidro district of Lima, Peru. The site functions as both an archaeological monument and a site museum.
Casona de San Marcos
The Casona of San Marcos is the historic main building of the National University of San Marcos, located in central Lima, Peru. Its local name is Casona de San Marcos.
Quinta de Presa is an unusual Rococo country house located in the Rímac district of Lima, Peru. It stands as one of Rímac's most significant surviving viceregal residences, representing an important architectural heritage from the colonial period.
Quinta Heeren is a rare nineteenth-century residential compound located in Lima, Peru. It preserves original streets, gardens, and eclectic republican-era architecture within its boundaries.
Huchuy Qosqo is an Inca archaeological complex situated on a hilltop above the Sacred Valley near Cusco, Peru. Its name translates from Quechua as Little Cusco.
Piedra de los Doce Ángulos
The Twelve-Angled Stone, known locally as Piedra de los Doce Ángulos, is a celebrated polygonal stone embedded in the Hatunrumiyoc wall in central Cusco. It forms part of a historic Inca wall that demonstrates imperial masonry techniques.
Huaca Florida
Huaca La Florida is a monumental early pyramid located in the Rímac district of Lima, Peru. It stands as one of the oldest major ceremonial constructions in the Rímac valley, representing significant pre-Columbian architectural achievement.
Huaca San Marcos is a large truncated pyramid and a principal surviving monument of the Maranga archaeological complex. It is located on the campus of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, Peru.
InkillTanbo
Inkilltambo is a restored Inca ceremonial and agricultural complex situated on the urban edge of Cusco, Peru. The site represents a significant archaeological zone that combines religious and farming functions typical of Inca landscape engineering.
Ollantaytambo Archaeological Park is a monumental Inca fortress-temple complex and living town in the Sacred Valley of the Cusco region. The site preserves one of the most intact examples of Inca urban planning, with original street grids still inhabited.
Templo de la Luna
The Temple of the Moon, or Templo de la Luna, is a rock-cut ceremonial site located on the hills near Sacsayhuaman above Cusco. Unlike the grand fortress of Sacsayhuaman, this location offers a more intimate archaeological experience.
The Arc of Santa Clara is a republican ceremonial arch on the western approach from San Pedro into Cusco’s historic centre.
Chinchero Archaeological Park is an Inca-era site in the Sacred Valley near Cusco, Peru. The complex combines pre-Columbian agricultural terraces, a colonial-period church built atop Inca foundations, and a contemporary indigenous community known for textile traditions.
Huaca Santa Catalina is a restored archaeological site attributed to the Ychsma culture, serving as an administrative and ceremonial centre. Located in the La Victoria district of Lima, it represents a compact urban archaeological destination within the modern city.
Killarumiyoc is an open-air ceremonial stone site in the Cusco region, known for a carved rock associated with Inca ritual traditions.
Q'enqo Chico is the smaller companion archaeological site to the better-known Q'enqo Grande, forming part of the broader Q'enqo archaeological complex situated on the hills above Cusco.
Qochapata is an Inca archaeological site at the urban edge of Cusco, where the city gives way to the wider landscape shaped by Inca settlement.
The Salineras de Maras are pre-Columbian salt evaporation ponds cascading down a hillside above the Urubamba Valley. Local families have harvested salt here for centuries using traditional methods.
Complejo Arqueológico Mateo Salado
Complejo Arqueológico Mateo Salado is an archaeological complex located in Lima, Peru. The site represents pre-Columbian architectural heritage within the modern urban environment of the capital city.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
Ten to fourteen days can combine Lima, Cusco and the Sacred Valley with one additional region. Altitude adjustment and rail or road transfers need their own time, so compressing the Andes and Amazon into the same short visit is unwise.
Peru’s Migraciones authority publishes admission information. Passport, nationality and permitted-stay rules must be checked for the actual traveller, and any border or immigration form should come from the government service.
Lima is the principal air hub, with domestic services to Cusco, Arequipa and other gateways. Intercity buses cover many routes, and selected tourist trains serve the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu area.
May to September is the broad dry-season window for many Andean routes. Lima’s coastal conditions and Amazon rainfall follow different patterns, so an itinerary spanning regions needs separate forecasts and access checks.
Peru uses the sol (PEN). Current acceptance and withdrawal charges are Not recorded here; confirm whether an operator expects soles, cards or advance payment before leaving a major city.
Peru records 105 for police and 116 for fire services. Type A and C sockets use 220 V; national tap-water guidance is Not recorded, so obtain local advice.
