Peru will amaze you with its breathtaking scenery, rich culture and dramatic history. It’s one of the most amazing overseas holiday destinations in South America. So get packing – don’t forget your travel insurance – and make the most of your holiday overseas with our guide to the top five things to do in Peru. We’ll help you experience the best the world has to offer.

Follow the Inca Trail

One of the world’s great treks, the Inca Trail rewards you with spectacular views across the Andean peaks as you make your way along jungle trails to the dramatic Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. This astonishing city, complete with staircases, terraces, temples and fountains, is remarkably intact and echoes with stories of the former empire.

Visit Cuzco

Incredible Incan stonework, colonial Spanish architecture and a buzzing café scene are among the many reasons to visit this former capital of the Incan empire. Spend your days visiting ruins, churches and convents, and your evenings sampling the city’s huge range of hotels, restaurants and bars.

Fly over the Nasca Lines

Mysterious, eerie and fascinating, the Nasca Lines are a series of geometric figures

etched into the stony desert north of Nasca. Ranging in size up to 300m, the drawings include geometrical figures, a dog, monkey, birds, a spider and a tree – and no-one seems to know for sure how or why they appeared. The only way to truly appreciate the lines is from above, so it’s best to take a light plane flight, which takes around 35 minutes.

Explore Arequipa

Beautifully situated in a valley at the foot of a volcano, Arequipa has some of Peru’s best colonial architecture. Discover how more than 450 nuns lived a life of total seclusion at the Santa Catalina Convent, a picturesque walled town that has been restored to its former glory. And make time to visit the Museo Santuarios Andinos, where you’ll meet ‘Juanita’, the slightly creepy but captivating frozen Incan mummy.

Catch condors in flight

It’s worth getting up early for the spectacular sight of Andean condors floating up on thermal currents at Colca Canyon, about 160 kilometres north of Arequipa. The canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and the massive, majestic birds put on an awesome show as they swoop and glide above you.

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See more things to do in South America.

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