🇵🇪 South America
The land of Machu Picchu, the most awarded cuisine in South America, Lake Titicaca and the Amazon rainforest. A country that blends Andean peaks, coastal desert and colonial cities into a single unforgettable trip.
Peru is one of the most complete destinations in South America: a single trip combines the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, one of the new seven wonders of the world, the most awarded cuisine on the continent, Lake Titicaca at almost 3,800 metres, the coastal desert with its oases, and the Amazon rainforest. For travellers from Latin America it is also close and affordable: flights from half the region are cheap, and you get around on a network of sleeper buses that is among the best in South America.
Geographically, Peru is three countries in one: the Pacific coastal desert (Lima, Paracas, Nazca, Huacachina, the northern beaches around Máncora), the Andean highlands where the heart of the country's tourism sits (Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Arequipa, the Colca, Puno and Lake Titicaca), and the Amazon (Iquitos and Puerto Maldonado). The classic circuit links Lima with Cusco and Machu Picchu; many add Arequipa and the Colca, Puno, or the desert south on the way up to Cusco.
The best of Peru is that impossible mix of living history, brutal landscapes and a food scene that on its own justifies the trip. What surprises people is how completely everything changes from one region to the next in a couple of hours of flying. And what you have to plan carefully is the altitude: much of the unmissable stuff sits above 3,000 metres, so your body needs days to acclimatise.
The currency is the Peruvian sol (PEN). Always carry some cash in soles for markets, taxis and rural areas, where cards are not always accepted. It is better to change money at authorised exchange houses than at the airport, where the rate is usually less favourable. Check the day's rate before you pay.
Full converter for PEN →The main gateway is Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) in Lima, the country's biggest hub and one of the best connected in South America. Almost every domestic flight leaves from there. The other airports that matter for travellers are Alejandro Velasco Astete (CUZ) in Cusco, the gateway to Machu Picchu, and the one in Arequipa. The airlines flying domestic routes are mainly LATAM, Sky Airline and JetSMART. Given the long distances and the mountainous terrain, flying is the most comfortable option for long hops such as Lima–Cusco or Lima–Iquitos. The bus is the backbone of overland transport: companies such as Cruz del Sur, Oltursa and Movil Tours connect the main cities with very comfortable fully reclining sleeper services, ideal for overnight journeys. To get around within the cities, apps such as Uber, Cabify and inDrive work in Lima and other large urban areas; in small towns it is best to agree the taxi fare before you get in.
The dry season, from May to September, is the best time to travel to the highlands and the Andes (Cusco, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Huaraz): sunny days, clear skies and little risk of rain, ideal for trekking and for the high altitudes. It is also high season, with more people and higher prices, above all in July and August. The flip side is how cold the nights get up there: in Cusco or Puno the thermometer drops below zero in winter, so pack warm clothes even if the sun is out during the day.
The rainy season runs from November/December to March, with frequent downpours in the highlands (February is the wettest month, and the classic Inca Trail closes for maintenance). On the coast the logic is reversed: the Peruvian summer from December to March is the best time for the northern beaches such as Máncora, when it is sunny and hot; Lima, for its part, spends much of the year under a grey mist known as the 'garúa'. There is no bad time for the Amazon, though the drier stretch (June to October) makes hiking easier.
Peruvian cooking is, for many people, the best in Latin America, and trying it is a reason to travel in itself. The must-haves: ceviche (raw fish cured in lime with chilli and onion, eaten at midday and very fresh), lomo saltado (an inheritance from Chinese-Peruvian cooking, or 'chifa'), ají de gallina, causa limeña, grilled heart anticuchos, Arequipa's rocoto relleno and, in the jungle, juane. To drink: the pisco sour, chicha morada and the inevitable Inca Kola.
Eating well and cheaply is very easy. The midday 'menú' (starter, main course and sometimes a drink) at a local restaurant costs between 12 and 25 soles (about 3-7 USD) and is the best value of the whole trip. A ceviche at a cevichería runs 25-45 soles (7-12 USD); dinner at a mid-range restaurant, 50-90 soles (14-24 USD). Street food (anticuchos, emolientes, picarones) costs small change. A 10% tip is usual but not compulsory. One tip: eat your ceviche at lunchtime, which is when the fish is freshest. Figures verified July 2026.
Peru is a safe destination for tourism along its usual circuits, with the normal caution for big cities: the main risk is pickpocketing and opportunistic theft, above all in Lima (parts of the centre and the bus terminals) and in crowds. Basic rules: do not show your phone or valuables, use ride-hailing apps (Uber, Cabify, inDrive) instead of taxis hailed in the street, keep an eye on your bags on buses and in markets, and avoid walking at night through neighbourhoods you do not know. The most common scams are the fake taxi from the airport (book an official one or use an app) and street money changing.
The big health issue in Peru is not crime but altitude: soroche, or altitude sickness, affects a lot of people above 2,500-3,000 metres (Cusco sits at 3,400, Puno at 3,800). To prevent it, go up gradually, rest on your first day without exertion, drink plenty of water, eat light, skip alcohol when you arrive and try coca tea; if you are heading to Cusco, consider acclimatising first in the Sacred Valley, which is lower. For the Amazon, the yellow fever vaccine and insect repellent are recommended (dengue, and malaria in specific areas). Do not drink tap water: use bottled. Emergencies: 105 (police) and 106 (SAMU/ambulance). Travel insurance with medical cover is strongly advisable. Verified July 2026.
Peru is one of the cheapest destinations in South America for travellers from Latin America, with the exception of the Cusco-Machu Picchu stretch, which is priced in dollars and is expensive (train, ticket and tourist buses all add up). As a reference (verified July 2026, with the sol at around 3.7 to the dollar): a backpacking trip works on 30-45 USD a day, a mid-range one on 60-100 USD a day, and with 130 USD or more you travel comfortably. Eating and using local transport is cheap; what pushes the budget up is the logistics of Machu Picchu and domestic flights in high season.
Concrete examples: a hostel bed costs between 8 and 18 USD; a cheap double room, between 25 and 50 USD. The set lunch, or 'menú' of the day, comes to 3-7 USD and a good ceviche, 7-12 USD. Urban transport is dirt cheap (a ride on a combi or local bus costs a few soles; an Uber in Lima, 3-6 USD). The long-distance sleeper buses (Cruz del Sur, Oltursa) are very comfortable: Lima-Cusco runs around 25-55 USD. A domestic Lima-Cusco flight booked in advance can be had for 40-90 USD. The Machu Picchu ticket costs ~163 soles (~48 USD) and the train to Aguas Calientes, between 60 and 130 USD return depending on the service. These are reference figures.
The language is Spanish, so travellers from Latin America get by without any barrier at all; in the highlands many people also speak Quechua or Aymara, and greeting someone with an 'allillanchu' (how are you? in Quechua) always earns a smile. In the tourist areas of Cusco and Lima you will find English, but you do not need it. Peruvians are friendly and courteous; in the Andean world, quiet politeness and patience are valued. Haggling is accepted in craft markets, but in moderation and in good humour.
Power is 220 V with type A (flat, US-style) and C (round, European) sockets, so a universal adapter is handy. For connectivity, get an eSIM or a local SIM from Claro, Movistar or Entel; the signal is good in the cities and surprisingly good in many highland towns, though deep in the Amazon and out on treks you will have none. Two tips from someone who has been there: always carry cash in soles in small notes for combis, markets and tips (cards are barely used outside the main cities), and do not underestimate the cold highland nights or the high-altitude sun, which burns hard even when the air is cool.
Few countries in the world can look as far back as Peru. In its deserts, valleys and high punas one of the planet's six pristine civilizations was born —one that emerged on its own, with no earlier model— and its antiquity is astonishing: in the Supe valley, the sacred city of Caral was raising pyramids around 3000 BC, when the first mastabas were going up in Egypt and Sumer was flourishing in Mesopotamia. From that trunk sprang millennia of cultures —Chavín, Paracas, Nazca, Moche, Wari, Tiwanaku, Chimú— that mastered hydraulic engineering, metallurgy, textiles and stone long before a small lordship of Cusco began, in the 15th century, the expansion that would give rise to the Tahuantinsuyo, the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.
When Francisco Pizarro captured the Inca Atahualpa in Cajamarca, in November 1532, he did not subdue an isolated people but the heart of a five-thousand-year-old world. Out of the clash between the Andes and Spain came the Viceroyalty of Peru, the richest jewel of the crown, with Lima as the 'City of Kings' and with the silver of Potosí —refined with mercury from Huancavelica— financing the Spanish monarchy for centuries. Out of that imperial past, out of the great Indigenous rebellions, of the independence sealed at Ayacucho, of guano and saltpeter, of the War of the Pacific, of the Andean migrations and of the decades of violence and reconstruction of the 20th century, today's Peru emerged.
Read the full history of Peru →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.
