10 Places to visit in Peru

December 18, 2017 SouthAmerica

Peru is a country that offers spectacular places to visit from the magnificent Cordillera of the Andes, the rich Amazon rainforest, the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu, to the vibrant city of Lima and its surroundings. Peru provides fascinating journeys that draws many tourists with its rich culture and extreme geography.

Chan Chan

The coastal plain ruins of Chan Chan in northern Peru comprises a large city constructed with adobe materials by the Chimu people. It is located on the town of Huanchaco in Trujillo. Chan Chan was a city with a set of ten sites or ciudadelas as follow: Gran Chimu (casa grande), Squier (casa del norte), Velarde (casa del mar), Laberinto (casa del oeste), Tello (casa pequeña), Bandelier (casa de aves), Uhle (casa del este), Rivero (casa nueva), Tschudi (casa del centro), and Chayhuac (casa antigua). The Tschudi center was surrounded by areas of less importance signifying different social classes. They had a mausoleum, food warehouse, plazas, workshops, kitchen complexes, and a ceremonial areas. The city in its totality was bordered by high walls with only one main entrance as a way to protect the city. Chan Chan is most admired by the detailed work on the walls on high reliefs that were made by molds decorating the walls through the city, some of the most used patterns are fish and birds.

Iquitos

Iquitos is the sweltering capital city of Loreto department in the Amazon basin and it is the largest jungle city in Peru. Iquitos was founded in 1757 as a Jesuit mission of La Compañia de Jesus. In 1880 Iquitos was hit by the great rubber plantation boom, or fiebre del gaucho forming the rich barons that profited from indian slavery working the plantations. Remnants of this great era are found in the tiled buildings in the city, but this upswing ended in 1914. Iquitos flourished again in 1938, this time thanks to oil bringing back wealth to the city. Wealthy Europeans that lived in Iquitos left behind mansions marking that great era. The best example is the Casa de Fierro, or Iron house, designed by Gustave Eiffel, who also designed the Eiffel tower in Paris. Iquitos is the main city providing quick access from the airport for those seeking out experiences on the Amazon river. Trips out from Iquitos include short day excursions, more lengthy stays in Eco-resorts, and longer river travel downstream into Brasil and onto the Atlantic Ocean.

Cajamarca

Cajamarca served as the ruling center for the Inca royal leader Atahualpa, who was the contested king of the empire engaged with his older brother over the throne. In 1532 Atahualpa was captured and imprisoned here in Cajamarca by Francisco Pizarro. “El cuarto del rescate” as Peruvians know it, was the building that the Inca king had to completely fill with gold as a ransom payment. This didn´t change his fate– Atahualpa was executed in Cajamarca´s square by the Spanish following a trial for the murder of his brother Huascar. Other places of interest in this city are the Baños del Inca natural hot springs. It has been said that Atahualpa was using the hot springs when Pizarro arrived to the city. On this same road you can find Las Ventanillas de Otuzco a pre-Inca necropolis, includes hundreds of niches carved into the soft ash-flow tuff. Another point of attraction is Cumbemayo that has complex carved rock and petroglyphs. Cajamarca´s buildings with their colonial style attract local tourists, and the main plaza has a fountain that dates back to 1692.

Huaraz

Huaraz is located at 407 km north from Lima and it is the base for local and international tourists on their way to the Cordillera Blanca and the Huascaran National Park. The main attraction for climbers and trekkers alike are the world-class 6,000-meter high snowy summits. Nearby Huaraz are the ruins of Huilcahuain, which is a legacy from the Wari culture. The main building is called the Templo and is considered a mausoleum, similar to the Chavin ruins. Tourists should also visit the museum or Museo Arqueologico de Ancash “Augusto Soriano Infante” with its displays of ceramics, textiles, metals, animals, and mummies. Exemplifying the cultural development in the Ancash region during the pre-Hispanic period (10,500 B.C – 1532 A.C) is the Pre-Inca cultures of Chavín and Recuay.

Caral

One of the largest and oldest massive temple complexes in South America, the Caral ruins date well back similar to the oldest of the Egyptian pyramids. Located along a wide alleviated terraces of Rio Supe, the ruins are nestled in the western flank of the Peruvian Andes to the north of Lima. The ruins date from 2600 B.C., making them more than 5,000 years old and the oldest in the Americas. It has a total of 19 pyramids in the Supe Valley. Major structures consist of tiered raised platforms. Visits to the Caral ruins are by daily guided tours following sets of designated footpaths.

Huancavelica

The historic mercury mining town of Huancavelica is tucked away in a 3,700 meter high deeply incised east-west running canyon. With over 450 years of mercury mining, the history is rich and deep. During the Virreynato era the Spaniards discovered Las minas de azogue de Santa Barbara, on what was called the Cerro Rico de Oropesa. Huancavelica was founded in 1571 and thanks to its richness the Virrey Teodoro la Croix referred to the Huancavelica mines as “the greatest wonder of the world.” To this day Huancavelica is small but still holds its character of a colonial town, with weathered old adobe buildings, some of the oldest stone churches in Peru, and many fine examples of second-floor Spanish balconies. Very few tourists reach this city and it remains in poverty and seclusion.

Ayacucho

Ayacucho city was founded on January 9^th, 1539 by Francisco Pizarro in the deep arid valley running between the two cordilleras. It sits on a volcanic plateau in almost a large bowl-like topography that opens north and east to the larger intermontane valley. The Ayacucho valley is shrouded in cactus and Painted-Desert style ravines, making it a harsh environment, and yet in the northern half of the valley, at the town of Huanta, it has extensive agriculture focused on the palta (avocado). Unfortunately, Ayacucho is not as visited as other colonial towns. Ayacucho is recognized by locals and national tourists as “La ciudad de las Iglesias” the town that holds the most churches in Peru (they have 33 churches in the city, all well decorated). Ayacucho also offers the famous retablos, the crafts made with la Piedra de Huamanga, and the folk music of Huaynos. The best time to visit Ayaucho is during Semana Santa or Easter, when one can really appreciate the magnificence of the city. The plaza de armas has distinct stone archways in the two-storied buildings and stone cathedral overlooking the east side of the square. Ayacucho is serviced by an airport with flights from Lima, and it is the jumping off point to see the pre-Inca ruins of the Wari cultures capital city called Pampas de Quinoa. The stacked tombs there, once called a necropolis, yields the Quechua name of Ayacucho (ciudad de los muertos), which means the Place of the Dead.

Cusco and Machu Picchu

The Inca Ruins were discovered in 1911, and thereby changed the town of Cusco and reputation of Peru forever. The main plaza called Huacaypata or Aucaypata was twice as big from what we know now, it was the heart of the Inca Empire. If you visit Cusco you will see two flaming flags; one the Peruvian flag red and white, and the other the rainbow-colored flag, this is the Tahuantinsuyo flag and it represents the Inca Empire, which is similar to the Aymara flag. Machu Picchu covers an area of 32,592 hectares comprises almost 200 archaeological sites, including platforms, ceremonial centers, roads, canals, stairways, storage areas, etc. It is located on the top of a mountain at a 2,430 meters above sea level. Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary was recognized on the World Heritage List in 1983. This is South America most visited site by tourists, and with good reason, it is beautiful.

Arequipa

La Ciudad Blanca gains this title thanks to the Misti volcano, with is conical peak always topped with snow that provides a great backdrop to Arequipa´s celebrated Plaza de Armas. Misti´s summit is at 5,822 meters above sea level and to the left one can admire Chachani volcano complex at 6,075 meters above sea level. Arequipa has the historic Santa Catalina convent that draws many tourists to explore this still active religious complex. The cathedral sitting in the center of the plaza was destroyed by fire and reconstructed in 1844, but it is considered the best neo-classic building in Peru. Arequipa has a historic center that includes 246 casonas or historic buildings. This historic center has 332 hectares and many buildings are considered patrimony of the city. Outside Arequipa the most visited place is El Cañon del Colca or Colca Canyon, the exclusive place to admire the elusive Condor.

Puno

The city of Puno lies at 3,830 meters above sea level, making this city cold, and it takes many lives every year during the coldest months of June, July, and August when temperatures drop below freezing. Puno attracts people to see the famous Lago Titicaca. The main attraction is seeing the Caballitos de Totora and the floating islands of Los Uros, Isla Taquile, and Isla Amantani. The Titicaca Lake is the highest navigable lake in the world, located in the Andean Altiplano between Peru and Bolivia. The lake has a navigation system that connects Peru and Bolivia. It is not until one gets out to drive the highway around the southwest side of the lake does it become apparent how truly massive this body of water is.

For more about Peru don´t forget to check Jim´s PERU 100 a great photography collection from his 100 Series.