So where did Kate Moss and Susan Sarandon jet off to last month? The Caribbean? The Indian Ocean? Nope – they’d both heeded the call of the panpipes and were holidaying in Peru.
Serious flooding and subsequent landslides closed the Inca site of Machu Picchu at the end of January, but it reopened on April 1 – with Oscar-winning actress Sarandon attending the festivities.
The site itself was not damaged, with the major disruption occurring due to the effect on the railway between Cusco and Aguas Calientes, the station below Machu Picchu. A partial service is currently running, with the entire railroad from Cusco expected to reopen next month.
Peru is a solid seller in Latin America, and it’s no wonder – Machu Picchu is just the start of its attractions. Make sure you’re clued up with our round-up of Peru’s highlights and an overview of what’s new.
Machu Picchu, Cusco and the Sacred Valley
Tucked into an Andean valley, the city of Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire. It’s a lively, charming city with plenty to explore, from Inca ruins to Spanish colonial buildings. Both combine at Koricancha, where the lower walls of the Inca temple were used as foundations for the Dominican Convent of Santa Domingo.
The city is a great hub from which to explore the area. Ten minutes away, clients can see the imposing walls of the Sacsayhuaman fortress, and one hour away the Sacred Valley is scattered with ancient sites between Ollantaytambo and Pisac.
Overlooking the valley is the most famous site of all, Machu Picchu. The detailed craftsmanship is stunning in itself, but combined with the remote location, the city really becomes a marvel.
The easiest way to access Machu Picchu is by train. Until June, when the entire line is scheduled to reopen, visitors are taken from either Wanchaq station in Cusco or Valle Sagrado station in Ollantaytambo to Piscacucho by coach, where they can board the train to Aguas Calientes.
The whole journey takes three and a half hours from Cusco, and two hours and 10 minutes from Ollantaytambo and gives travellers panoramic views of the Sacred Valley.
The more active can save the train for the way back and make their way to Machu Picchu on foot. The most famous route, the Inca Trail, takes four days, cutting through stunning scenery and passing Inca ruins. Only 500 people a day are permitted to walk the trail, so clients should book six months in advance.
Alternative trails include the more challenging eight-day High Inca Trail, which circles the ice-capped Mount Salkantay, and the four-day Moonstone Sun Temple Trek, both of which also end at Machu Picchu.
If clients wish to make the trek, but don’t like the idea of camping, they can book with Mountain Lodges of Peru, where they will be able to stay in luxury lodges while following the quieter Salkantay route to Machu Picchu.
The Nasca Lines
Despite having no means of flight, the ancient Peruvians managed to draw figures in the desert so vast they can be deciphered only from the air. Luckily, there are plenty of small aircraft offering a birds-eye view.
Clients will see images of hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, sharks and llamas, among other designs that measure some 200 metres across. Scenic flights run out of nearby towns Nasca and Ica.
The Amazon
Peru gives visitors three bites at the Amazon cherry. In the north, Iquitos is the boarding point for cruises of the upper Amazon, and is close to the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, where visitors can find pink dolphins, manatee, turtles and anaconda in the lagoons and swamps. It’s only accessible by air and river.
Further south, Puerto Maldonado is the most common point to access the Peruvian Amazon, with regular flights from Cusco and Lima and a wide range of lodges to suit most budgets.
The more remote (and as a result more expensive) Manu National Park is home to pristine jungle, providing a habitat for giant otters and tapirs.
Lake Titicaca
Sitting on the border between Peru and Bolivia, Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable lake at 3,820 metres above sea level. The lake is home to the Uros people, who live on floating islands made of the local reeds.
Clients can also visit Isla Taquile, where the indigenous people have retained their old ways of life, with a communal society supported by farming, tourism and the sale of their brightly-coloured textiles. Lakeside town Puno is the main Peruvian base at Titicaca.
Arequipa and the Colca Canyon
Three huge volcanoes rise above Peru’s second-largest city, and it gets its nickname ‘the white city’ from its churches and colonial mansions, built from the pale, volcanic stone.
Famous sights include the Catalina convent, a 16th-century nunnery, and the Juanita Mummy, a preserved Inca sacrifice in the Andean Sanctuaries Museum.
Just over 100 miles from Arequipa, the Colca Canyon is a mind-boggling 3,400 metres deep. It is covered with pre-Hispanic agricultural terraces that are still used today.
Visitors can see the ancient towns along its length, head to the highest lookout point, from which they can see condors in their natural habitat, or get active by hiking, biking, rock climbing or paragliding.
Trujillo and Chiclayo
The northern coastal region of Peru is home to many ancient wonders. Trujillo is a city of handsome colonial architecture, and is also the base from which to see Chan Chan, a 7.7sq mile pre-Colombian adobe city, and the colourful frescoes on the walls of the mud-pyramids known as the Temples of the Sun and Moon.
Ancient civilisations flourished further north near Chiclayo. Sights include the pyramids at Tucume and the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum, which houses a glittering display of artefacts belonging to the Lord of Sipan – Peru’s answer to Tutankhamun.
Chachapoyas and Cajamarca
The northern highlands are off the tourist map, but are starting to open up to more adventurous travellers.
The cloud forest area around the regional capital of Chachapoyas is littered with archaeological remains, including the 2,000-year-old fortress of Kuelap, which has 25-metre-high defensive walls covered in stone friezes.
The picturesque town of Cajamarcas sits in an agricultural area, and is a city with beautiful Spanish colonial architecture and naturally hot mineral pools, the Banos del Inca.
