Find places in Peru

Must-Haves

• Malecón de Miraflores (Miraflores)
  Clifftop parks and paths above the Pacific, perfect for a sunset walk or bike ride.

Fun for Everyone

• Circuito Mágico del Agua (Parque de la Reserva)
  An evening fountain and light show in a large park, popular with families.

Off the Beaten Path

• Chorrillos fishing pier (Chorrillos)
  Watch the morning catch come in and eat ceviche at the small stalls by the water.

Must-Haves

• Huaca Pucllana (Miraflores)
  A pre Inca adobe pyramid in the middle of the city, with guided tours and a restaurant overlooking it.
• Museo Larco (Pueblo Libre)
  Superb pre Columbian ceramics, gold and textiles in a colonial mansion with bougainvillea gardens.
• San Francisco Monastery (Historic Centre)
  A baroque monastery with a famous library and bone filled catacombs beneath the church.
• Plaza Mayor (Historic Centre)
  The grand main square with the cathedral, the Government Palace and the midday changing of the guard.

Great for Date Night

• Puente de los Suspiros (Barranco)
  The romantic wooden Bridge of Sighs, surrounded by murals and colourful houses.

Must-Haves

• Central (Barranco)
  Virgilio Martínez's tasting menu that travels through Peru's altitudes and ecosystems, booked well ahead.
• La Mar (Miraflores)
  Gastón Acurio's lively lunchtime cevichería, a classic for fresh seafood.

Great for Date Night

• Maido (Miraflores)
  Nikkei cooking that blends Japanese technique with Peruvian ingredients in an intimate setting.

Low Cost and Authentic

• El Chinito (Historic Centre)
  An old school sandwich counter famous for chicharrón and roast pork sandwiches.
• Barrio Chino (Historic Centre)
  Lima's Chinatown, the birthplace of chifa, with dozens of busy Chinese Peruvian restaurants.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Mercado de Surquillo (Surquillo)
  A local market for tropical fruit, fresh fish and inexpensive lunch counters.

Fun for Everyone

• Inka Market (Miraflores)
  A big craft market for alpaca textiles, ceramics and souvenirs from across Peru.

Must-Haves

• Tostaduría Bisetti (Barranco)
  A roaster and café pouring Peruvian single origin coffee near Barranco's main square.

Great for Date Night

• Ayahuasca Bar (Barranco)
  Creative cocktails in the salons of a restored nineteenth century mansion.

Fun for Everyone

• Bar Cordano (Historic Centre)
  A historic bar beside the Government Palace serving butifarras and drinks since the early twentieth century.

Off the Beaten Path

• Pachacamac (Lurín)
  A vast pre Inca sanctuary of adobe temples south of the city, with a modern site museum.

Fun for Everyone

• Parque El Olivar (San Isidro)
  A peaceful old olive grove in the business district, ideal for a picnic.

Must-Haves

• Belmond Miraflores Park (Miraflores)
  A luxury hotel on the Malecón with a rooftop pool facing the ocean.

Great for Date Night

• Hotel B (Barranco)
  A boutique art hotel in a restored mansion near Barranco's cliffs.

Must-Haves

• Qorikancha (Centro)
  The Inca Temple of the Sun, its fine stone walls built into the Santo Domingo convent.
• Sacsayhuamán (Above the city)
  Giant zigzag Inca walls on a hill above Cusco, centre stage for Inti Raymi.
• Cusco Cathedral (Plaza de Armas)
  Colonial paintings of the Cusco School, including a Last Supper with guinea pig.

Fun for Everyone

• Museo de Arte Precolombino (San Cristóbal)
  A compact, beautifully lit collection of ancient Peruvian art in a colonial mansion.

Off the Beaten Path

• Twelve angled stone (Hatun Rumiyoc)
  A single Inca stone fitted perfectly with twelve corners, in a quiet lane off the plaza.

Must-Haves

• San Pedro Market (San Pedro)
  The city's main market for juices, bread, cheese and inexpensive set lunches.

Off the Beaten Path

• San Blas artisan workshops (San Blas)
  Small studios of potters, carvers and painters in Cusco's bohemian quarter.

Fun for Everyone

• Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco (Avenida El Sol)
  Weavers from local communities demonstrate techniques and sell textiles directly.

Great for Date Night

• Chicha por Gastón Acurio (Plaza Regocijo)
  Andean ingredients from the Cusco region cooked with flair.
• Cicciolina (Centro)
  A warm, candlelit upstairs restaurant and tapas bar loved by locals and visitors.

Must-Haves

• Pachapapa (San Blas)
  Courtyard restaurant with a wood fired oven for Andean and Peruvian classics.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Quinta Eulalia (San Cristóbal)
  A traditional quinta serving hearty Cusqueño dishes at lunchtime in a garden courtyard.

Fun for Everyone

• ChocoMuseo Cusco (Centro)
  Chocolate workshops where you make your own bar from Peruvian cacao.

Must-Haves

• Museo del Pisco (Centro)
  A bar devoted to pisco, with tasting flights and creative cocktails.

Must-Haves

• San Cristóbal viewpoint (San Cristóbal)
  A church terrace with a classic view over the red rooftops of Cusco at sunset.

Fun for Everyone

• Planetarium Cusco (Sacsayhuamán road)
  An evening show explaining how the Incas read the stars and the dark constellations.

Must-Haves

• Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca)
  Striped mineral slopes at close to 5,000 metres, a tough but famous day hike.
• Humantay Lake (Soraypampa)
  A turquoise glacier lake beneath Salkantay, reached on a steep morning hike.

Off the Beaten Path

• Palccoyo (Checacupe)
  A quieter rainbow mountain with an easier walk than Vinicunca.
• Waqrapukara (Acomayo)
  A dramatic Inca site on a rock horn above the Apurímac canyon, far from the crowds.

Must-Haves

• Inti Raymi (Sacsayhuamán)
  The Inca festival of the sun on 24 June, with a grand ceremony and city wide celebrations.

Fun for Everyone

• Corpus Christi (Plaza de Armas)
  Saints from Cusco's parishes are paraded through the plaza with music and feasting.

Must-Haves

• Belmond Hotel Monasterio (Centro)
  A luxury hotel in a sixteenth century seminary with a cloister and chapel.

Great for Date Night

• Inkaterra La Casona (Plaza Nazarenas)
  An intimate boutique hotel in a colonial manor house.

Must-Haves

• Pisac archaeological park (Pisac)
  Sweeping Inca terraces and temples on a mountain above the town.
• Ollantaytambo ruins (Ollantaytambo)
  A terraced temple fortress above a town still built on its Inca street plan.
• Moray (Maras)
  Circular Inca terraces thought to have been an agricultural laboratory.
• Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes)
  The Inca citadel on its mountain ridge, the reason many people come to Peru.

Must-Haves

• Pisac Market (Pisac)
  A busy craft and produce market spreading across the town's main square.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Chinchero Sunday market (Chinchero)
  A market where farmers trade produce and weavers sell their textiles.

Must-Haves

• Maras salt pans (Maras)
  Thousands of terraced salt pools on a hillside, worked since before the Incas.
• Inca Trail (Km 82)
  The classic four day trek to the Sun Gate above Machu Picchu, with permits that sell out early.

Fun for Everyone

• Sky Lodge Adventure Suites via ferrata (Pachar)
  Climb a cliff on a via ferrata and zipline down, or stay in glass pods on the rock face.

Off the Beaten Path

• Huchuy Qosqo (Lamay)
  A hilltop Inca site reached on a beautiful day hike above the valley.
• Lares trek (Lares)
  A trek through weaving villages and high passes, with hot springs at the start.

Fun for Everyone

• Awana Kancha (Pisac road)
  Llamas, alpacas and vicuñas, with weaving demonstrations along the valley road.

Must-Haves

• Huayna Picchu (Machu Picchu)
  The steep peak behind the citadel, climbed on a limited ticket for a bird's eye view.

Must-Haves

• MIL (Moray)
  Virgilio Martínez's Andean tasting menu right beside the Moray terraces.

Must-Haves

• Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel (Aguas Calientes)
  Cloud forest cottages and orchid gardens on the edge of the village.

Great for Date Night

• Tambo del Inka (Urubamba)
  A riverside resort with its own train station to Machu Picchu.

Fun for Everyone

• Sol y Luna (Urubamba)
  A lodge of garden casitas with a pool, horse shows and a good restaurant.

Low Cost and Authentic

• El Albergue (Ollantaytambo)
  A historic guesthouse on the station platform with a farm and restaurant.

Must-Haves

• Santa Catalina Monastery (Centro)
  A walled city of painted lanes and courtyards where nuns lived for centuries.
• Museo Santuarios Andinos (Centro)
  Home to Juanita, an Inca child offering found frozen on Ampato volcano.
• Plaza de Armas de Arequipa (Centro)
  Arcaded square of white sillar stone with El Misti rising behind the cathedral.

Fun for Everyone

• Iglesia de la Compañía (Centro)
  A Jesuit church with a carved stone façade and painted chapel.

Must-Haves

• Mirador de Yanahuara (Yanahuara)
  White stone arches framing the cone of El Misti.

Off the Beaten Path

• Molino de Sabandía (Sabandía)
  A restored colonial stone mill in green countryside outside the city.

Fun for Everyone

• Mundo Alpaca (San Lázaro)
  See alpacas and the stages of turning fleece into fine cloth.

Low Cost and Authentic

• San Camilo Market (Centro)
  The city market for fruit juices, cheeses, bread and local lunches.

Must-Haves

• La Nueva Palomino (Yanahuara)
  A classic picantería for rocoto relleno, chupe de camarones and chicha.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Sol de Mayo (Yanahuara)
  A long running picantería with courtyard tables and Arequipeño dishes.

Great for Date Night

• Zig Zag (Centro)
  Meats grilled on volcanic stone in a sillar building with a cast iron staircase.
• Chicha Arequipa (Centro)
  Gastón Acurio's take on regional cooking in a colonial courtyard.

Fun for Everyone

• Queso helado stands (Plaza de Armas)
  Sample Arequipa's cinnamon dusted ice cream from vendors around the plazas.

Must-Haves

• Cruz del Cóndor (Colca Canyon)
  The viewpoint where condors rise on morning thermals above the canyon.

Fun for Everyone

• La Calera hot springs (Chivay)
  Hot pools by the river, a welcome warm up after the high pass.

Off the Beaten Path

• Sangalle oasis (Colca Canyon)
  Palm shaded pools at the bottom of the canyon, reached on a hard trek.
• Salinas y Aguada Blanca Reserve (Arequipa)
  High plains where vicuñas graze below volcanoes on the road to Colca.

Great for Date Night

• Casa Andina Premium Arequipa (Centro)
  A hotel in a colonial mansion that once housed the mint.

Off the Beaten Path

• Colca Lodge (Yanque)
  Riverside lodge with thermal pools and terraces in the Colca valley.

Must-Haves

• Arequipa anniversary week (Centro)
  Parades, music and food fill the city around 15 August.

Must-Haves

• Uros floating islands (Lake Titicaca)
  Islands built from totora reeds, a short boat ride from Puno.

Off the Beaten Path

• Amantaní homestay (Lake Titicaca)
  Spend a night with a family on a rural island with hilltop temples.
• Llachón community tourism (Capachica)
  Homestays and lake walks on a quiet peninsula.

Fun for Everyone

• Kuntur Wasi viewpoint (Puno)
  A condor statue above the town with wide lake views.

Must-Haves

• Taquile (Lake Titicaca)
  A hilly island known for its men's knitting and stone arched paths.
• Sillustani (Lake Umayo)
  Tall circular burial towers on a peninsula above a lake.

Fun for Everyone

• Yavari steamship (Puno port)
  A Victorian ship carried over the Andes in pieces, now a museum.

Off the Beaten Path

• Juli churches (Juli)
  A small lakeside town with several grand colonial churches.

Must-Haves

• Fiesta de la Candelaria (Puno)
  Tens of thousands of dancers in elaborate costumes each February.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Mercado Central de Puno (Centro)
  A local market for quinoa, potatoes, cheese and warm woollens.

Great for Date Night

• Titilaka (Lake Titicaca)
  A remote lakeside lodge with guided walks and kayaking.

Must-Haves

• Libertador Lago Titicaca (Isla Esteves)
  A lake island hotel with wide views of the water.

Must-Haves

• Ballestas Islands (Paracas)
  A boat trip to rocky islands crowded with sea lions, penguins and seabirds.
• Paracas National Reserve (Paracas)
  Desert cliffs, red beaches and the viewpoint of La Catedral.

Must-Haves

• Paracas Candelabra (Paracas)
  A giant figure cut into a sandy hillside, seen from the boats to Ballestas.

Fun for Everyone

• Museo Julio C. Tello (Paracas)
  A site museum on the ancient Paracas culture and its textiles.

Fun for Everyone

• Huacachina oasis (Ica)
  A lagoon in giant dunes, with sandboarding and dune buggy rides.
• Kitesurfing in Paracas Bay (Paracas)
  Steady afternoon winds and flat water make the bay good for lessons.

Must-Haves

• Nazca Lines overflight (Nazca)
  Small planes fly over huge ancient lines and figures in the desert.

Great for Date Night

• Hotel Paracas, a Luxury Collection Resort (Paracas)
  A bayside resort with pools and a private pier.

Low Cost and Authentic

• El Chorrillo seafront restaurants (Paracas)
  Simple cevicherías along the waterfront by the pier.