10 ESSENTIAL PLACES TO VISIT IN PERU

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There are many essential places to see in Peru, beyond the wonderful Machu Picchu, although we cannot deny that this, by itself already justifies a trip to one of our favorite countries. Peru is one of the most popular trips in South America, where we will find Inca ruins, historical cities, the wild nature of the Amazon, incredible landscapes of valleys, deserts and beaches, next to one of the best gastronomies in the world, with ceviche as Star dish, which will make this trip exceed all your expectations.
During our trip to Peru for free in 21 days we visited many of its wonders and based on our experience, we have made a list of what we think, are the 10 essential places to visit in Peru. We start!

1. Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas and one of the seven wonders of the world, is the place what to visit in Peru more essential. This ancient Inca citadel, remained hidden for centuries between the mountains and the thick vegetation, until it was discovered by the American explorer Hiram Bingham in 1911.
Machu Picchu is located about 130 kilometers from Cusco, above 2500 meters of altitude between the Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu peaks, two magnificent viewpoints of the ruins, which you can climb, taking the corresponding entrance next to the ruins.
The most mystical and spectacular way to arrive is making the Inca trail, traveling more than 40 kilometers in 4 days, through incredible roads and steps of ancient stones, lush forests, valleys and mountains wrapped in dense fog, will take us Until the dream of many travelers.
Other more comfortable ways to get to the old citadel, is to start at a point closer to Machu Picchu, which will save us 2 days of walking, or take a van or train to Aguascalientes and there very early, go by bus or Walking to the ruins
Keep in mind that there is a limited number of tickets to see Machu Picchu and they sell out quickly, so you have to book as far in advance as possible. In addition, as it happened to us and many travelers have explained to us, buying them through the official website is often problematic, since non-Peruvian cards give payment errors. With this in mind, a good option is to reserve the official Ticket for the Lost Citadel of Machu Picchu here.

- Book excursion to Machu Picchu by train with guide in Spanish from Cusco
- Book 2-day tour of the Inca Trail with guide in Spanish from Cusco
- Book 4-day tour of the Inca Trail with guide in Spanish from Cusco
- Book excursion to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes
- Book private tour to Machu Picchu with guide in Spanish from Aguas Calientes.
- Book a two-day tour to Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu from Aguas Calientes.

For more information we recommend you read this post on how to get to Machu Picchu.

Macchu Picchu. Peru

2. Cuzco

Cuzco, declared a World Heritage Site, is one of the most beautiful cities in America and our favorite in Peru. This ancient capital of the Inca Empire retains very few buildings of this era, although in some of the colonial buildings you can see Inca remains on its walls, such as the stone of twelve angles.
The Plaza de Armas is the epicenter of the city, in which its cathedral stands out, a place chosen by many inhabitants to spend a few hours in the afternoon, enjoying the life of Cuzco.
Other major attractions of the city are strolling through the beautiful neighborhood of artisans of San Blas, getting lost in the San Pedro market, seeing the Inca remains of the Temple of the Moon or entering the Convent of Santo Domingo, built on the Temple of the sun.
If you have more time it is very worthwhile to make a walking route to see the Inca ruins of Tambomachay, Pukapukara, Qenqo and the spectacular Sacsayhuaman fortress, which are located very close to the city. During the tour you will also pass by a viewpoint near the Cristo Blanco, one of the most essential places to visit in Cusco, from where you have the best views of the city.
A good option to know the great history that hides this city and discover the surrounding Inca ruins, is to book this tour with a guide in Spanish.

Cuzco, one of the essential places to see in Peru

3. Iquitos

One of the most important decisions, depending on the days available, is whether or not to include the Peruvian Amazon in the trip and enter the jungle from Iquitos or Puerto Maldonado.
We, after the experience, have no doubts, we recommend booking between 3 and 5 days to visit the Amazon, one of the most essential places to visit in Peru and whenever possible, both for days and for budget, do so in the Iquitos area.
Puerto Maldonado, is more accessible and cheaper than Iquitos, although over time it has become a tourist attraction which can distort the true image of the immense and wild Amazon.
Iquitos can only be reached by boat or plane from Lima, so being more isolated will allow you to live the most authentic Amazon, although as we mentioned earlier, the price is more expensive.
In this area, the lodges are located in the Amazon jungle and all have a transfer service in small rafts from Iquitos, although you must consider that the journey can last several hours.
The days in the lodge will be spent enjoying the wildest nature, making walking routes through the jungle to see the fauna and flora, other times by raft through its narrow rivers and a night tour to see the shyest animals.

Iquitos

4. Colca Valley, one of the essential places to see in Peru

From the beautiful Arequipa you can make one of the best excursions in Peru, the 2-day tour of the Colca Valley and thus be able to see the flight of its most famous bird, the condor.
During the trip by bus to the valley from Arequipa you pass through heights of between 4000 and 5000 meters, so it is highly recommended to chew coca leaves so as not to suffer the dreaded altitude or soroche.
During the 4-hour tour you will see landscapes that look like another world, with snowy volcanoes and large plains where alpacas and vicunas roam freely.
When you arrive at the Colca Valley, you can stay in a hotel that has hot springs and take a relaxing bath, something we assure you, is unforgettable.
The next day very early, the condor usually fly early in the morning, you will enter the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest in the world, to the viewpoint of the Cruz del Condor, where if you are lucky you can see these huge Birds flying a few meters from you.
On the way back you can enjoy the incredible viewpoints of the canyon and some traditional town like Chivay, which will be the best end point of the trip.

- Book the 2-day tour of the Colca Valley

Altiplano on the way to the Colca Valley

5. Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, is located very close to the city of Puno at 3,800 meters. This immense lake, in which its calm blue waters merge with the sky, is one of the most essential places to see in Peru.
To tour the lake and visit the islands of Uros and Taquile from Puno you can take a boat in the port, from where just over 5 kilometers from the jetty you will find the Iros Island, built with totora, a typical aquatic plant in the area.
The houses and most items are made of this plant, and you can even navigate a cattail boat and although it seemed to us a general very tourist visitWe believe it is worth knowing its history and if you have time, it is a visit that should be done in this area of the country.
Another island that can be visited is the Island of Taquile, more than two hours by boat from Puno, where you can also spend the night on the island sleeping in a house of its neighbors. We, having no extra day, choose only to cross the island on foot, eat a good fish and enjoy its viewpoints to the lake.

- Book excursion to the Uros and Taquile Islands with guide in Spanish
- Book a 2-day excursion to Isla de los Uros with a guide in Spanish

Titicaca lake

Recommended travel cards
Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

6. National Reserve of Paracas and the Ballestas Islands

Just under 4 hours by bus from Lima is the Paracas National Reserve, located next to the Peruvian coast and another of the best places to see in Peru. This national reserve forms a unique ecosystem in the world, which combines a desert area with great marine diversity due to the great abundance of plankton-shaped food.
This protected natural area is recommended to visit with a guide, especially to not miss places such as the red beach, fossil sites, fauna and archaeological remains of the ancient Paracas Culture, explained by an expert, who will bring you closer to the History of this area of the country.
Very close to Paracas is another of the places to visit in Peru, the Ballestas Islands, small rocky islands that are surrounded by small boats that leave from the Paracas jetty to see their large number of birds, the Humboldt penguin colony and the sea lions.

- Book a tour of the Paracas National Reserve in Spanish
- Book buggy ride through the Huacachina desert
- Book boat trip to Ballestas Islands in Spanish

Paracas

7. Arequipa

Arequipa, known as the White City and built above 2,000 meters of altitude, in the mountains of the Andes desert, it is together with Cuzco, one of the most beautiful cities in Peru, dominated by white volcanic stone houses, which next to the historic center were declared World Heritage by UNESCO.
Our favorite place in the city is the monastery of Santa Catalina, a small citadel with beautiful streets, houses and cloisters where you can get lost for hours.
Other essentials of Arequipa are the Plaza de Armas with its Cathedral, the Church of the Company and its cloisters, the Casa del Moral and the Mirador de Carmen Alto or Yanahuara, with magnificent visits to the city and the Misti volcano.
A good option to know the history of the city is to book a guided tour in Spanish where you will also climb its spectacular viewpoints.

Arequipa, one of the essential places to visit in Peru

How to have internet in Peru?
If you want to have internet in Peru a good option is to buy one Holafly SIM card, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, several GB of data, keeping your WhatsApp number and support service in Spanish.
You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader.

8. Huacachina Oasis

Located about 5 kilometers from the city of Ica, is the photogenic Oasis of Huacachina, another place that enters all the routes through the country and is on the list of essential to visit in Peru.
This oasis located in the middle of the coastal desert, with emerald green waters and surrounded by palm trees, is one of the few natural oases left in all of America.
The oasis has a hotel infrastructure to spend the night and many leisure activities such as the buggy ride through the desert, sandboarding from its high dunes or simply walking to the top of a dune to contemplate the beautiful sunset over the oasis.
The Oasis of Huacachina is located about 80 kilometers from Paracas and you can get from Lima by bus from Cruz del Sur station to Ica and then take a taxi to the oasis.

Huacachina Oasis

9. Nazca

One of the great archeological mysteries of history is in the arid Nazca desert. Between the years 700 B.C. and 200 AD the Nazca culture developed in this area, in which its inhabitants created the Nazca Lines, removing the red stones and leaving the white sandstone from below, thus forming huge geoglyphs with human, animal or geometric figures, only visible from the air.
Many theories, from a huge calendar to religious ceremonies or the visit of aliens, have been written about the reasons why these huge figures were created, without today reaching any definitive conclusion or any demonstrable theory.
The only way to see the figures is to fly over the Nazca lines by plane from its small airport next door. The flight because of the wind and the maneuvers of the pilot, is usually moved so it is advisable not to have breakfast before, drink something for dizziness and be prepared with the bag they will give you when climbing.
Other visits that are very worthwhile in Nazca, is the Chauchilla Cemetery, a pre-Inca era necropolis, which is a perfect complement to the Nazca Lines overflight.

- Book flight over the Nazca Lines

Nazca Lines

10. Sacred Valley

Between Písac and Ollantaytambo, on the banks of the Urubamba River, is the famous Sacred Valley of the Incas. Due to its climate and geography, this fertile valley was one of the main sources of food sub-minister of the Inca empire where the archaeological ruins of several Inca settlements remain and where you can also visit several traditional villages of the colonial era.
Pisac with its artisan market and Inca archaeological remains located on a mountain is one of the most famous places in the sacred valley and we advise you, you can not miss visiting Peru.
Other essentials are the fortress of Ollantaytambo, the town of Chinchero, the salt mines of Maras and Moray, one of the agricultural research centers of the Inca empire.
The best way to visit the Sacred Valley is from Cusco by taxi or by booking a guided tour in Spanish to not miss any detail of one of the most incredible areas of the country.