7 of the best cities and towns to visit in Peru

Once the Incan heartland, Peru has combined this fascinating ancient history with remnants of colonial times and modern influences to become one of South America’s big hitters

Tuesday 17 September 2024 07:04 EDT

Lima is the only South American capital situated on the Pacific Coast (iStock / Getty)

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Peru is as enchanting a destination as any in South America, offering visitors an impressively rich blend of historic landmarks, colonial-era cities and amazing natural sites, from the stirring beauty of Machu Picchu to the lush landscapes of the Amazon.

Cities such as Arequipa and the sprawling capital, Lima, are the centre of artistic, cultural and culinary scenes that help Peru more than match its larger neighbours.

Much like Brazil or Colombia, Peru also benefits from an abundance of natural beauty around towns like Puerto Maldonado and Chachapoyas, so there is even more beyond exceptional food and landmarks, from trips to the Amazon rainforest, to hikes in the Andes and sand boarding in the desert.

Peru’s size and the spread of its population hubs means it requires some research to make the most of a trip here. To help you plan, here are the best cities and towns to visit during your stay.

Lima

We recommend: Meandering along the malecón, a smooth six-mile coastal path

Peru’s capital showcases a sprinkle of all the things that make the country a great destination. Starting on the Pacific coastline beside the Miraflores neighbourhood, the city spreads inland towards the historical centre, Lima Centro, where a slew of colonial buildings lead to the Plaza de Armas (these plazas served as the heart of New World cities, with all construction taking place in grids stemming from them).

Many visitors will choose to stay near the coast in Miraflores, where the malecón, Lima’s six-mile promenade, is the star of the show (along with beaches such as Costa Verde, where swimming, paddle boarding, surfing and even paragliding are popular). Alternatively, trendy Barranco is the city’s bohemian nightlife capital, while San Isidro is a glitzier, more affluent area and the city’s safest neighbourhood.

Visitors can stroll through the Art Gallery of Lima and museums such as the Larco (which exhibits artefacts from ancient Peru), but this is a city where culture and history are embedded in the streets, plazas and parks. Aside from the architecture, nowhere is this more relevant than in the city’s culinary scene. Here, some of the world’s best restaurants, like Central (named the top restaurant in the 2023 World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking) sit alongside amazing street food stalls, which serve Peruvian and Creole specialties, including ceviche, chicken and chilli stew, or barbecued beef heart.

Read more: 48 hours in Lima

Cusco

We recommend: Hiking the Inca trail to see Macchu Picchu

Cusco, known as a gateway to Machu Picchu, is the centre of a region that contains a dazzling mix of ancient ruins, colonial architecture and natural beauty. The city is located high in the Andes, with an old town that’s a picture-perfect sea of russet-roofed buildings hiding a wide array of museums, from the Museo Inka, dedicated to Incan history, to the Museo Machu Picchu, which showcases 360 artefacts taken from the original expeditions to the citadel.

The centre of the city is the Plaza de Armas, while its most notable site is the Qorikancha (or Coricancha), once an Incan temple and now a church, is an eclectic blend of Incan and Christian architectural styles. Most visitors to Cusco use it as a base for exploring the Sacred Valley of the Incas and its archaeological sites, including Pisac (akin to a mini Machu Picchu) and Chinchero.

Machu Picchu can be reached via a journey to either Aguas Calientes or Ollantaytambo (with a 90-minute hike from the former and a two-hour train from the latter). Alternatively, take on the four-day Inca Trail for one of South America’s bucket-list travel experiences. This ancient route takes you across the river, valleys and mountains of the Andes in a winding, 24-mile trail.

Arequipa

We recommend: Booking a tour of the Colca Canyon, which is twice as deep as Arizona’s Grand Canyon

Peru’s second city is overlooked by snow-capped volcanoes and blessed with much of the finest colonial architecture in the country. The city centre is surrounded by areas filled with religious buildings, such as the Santa Catalina Monastery or the city’s cathedral, and beautiful white-washed streets.

For something thoroughly Peruvian, start at the Museo Santuario Indios, where you’ll discover the mummied remains of an Incan sacrifice; visit the cathedral’s museum or the Museum of Contemporary Art for something less unsettling. Break for lunch, or a souvenir, at San Camilo market, home to fresh produce, local handicrafts and street food (including traditional stuffed hot peppers and stir-fried salted beef). Continue on to neighbourhoods such as trendy San Lazaro, the oldest area of the city known for its buildings made from a volcanic stone called ashlar, or quieter Yanahuara, where there are several well-preserved colonial churches.

For the more adventurous, beyond hikes up the imposing Misti volcano, there’s the opportunity for trekking and climbing in the nearby Colca Canyon, the second deepest canyon in the world.

Puerto Maldonado

We recommend: Spotting macaws, parrots and parakeets in the Tambopata-Candamo National Reserve

Puerto Maldonado is the gateway to the Peruvian Amazon. It sits deep in the jungle, surrounded by nature but still accessible from Cusco on a one-hour flight. The city has benefitted from increasing infrastructure to link it to the rest of the country, and it is now a true jungle city, surrounded by Amazonian hills and with low-rise buildings scattered among the dense greenery.

The Tambopata-Candamo National Reserve is home to hundreds of species of birds and insects, while inside the Manu Biosphere Reserve you can find around 20,000 plant species. Alternatively, the Pampas de Heath National Sanctuary provides a different environment, consisting of vast plains and tropical wet grasslands that look like something out of the Serengeti (and are home to rare animals, including jaguars, tapirs and maned wolves).

For those looking to explore further into the wilderness, many eco-lodges – such as Inkaterra Reserva or Posada Amazonas – offer accommodation as well as activities, inclding walking tours, boat trips and wildlife spotting.

Ica

We recommend: Visiting the Tacama vineyard and sampling some pisco

Ica is best reached via bus – the journey takes around four hours from Lima (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A city surrounded by towering sand dunes (some as high as 400m), Ica lies in the south of the country in the Atacama Desert, around 30 miles from the Pacific coast. It is home to few notable attractions, though this part of the country is known for producing wine and pisco, Peru’s national spirit (made from distilling fermented grape juice), so there are a number of highly regarded vineyards, such as Tacama and Caravedo.

The area immediately surrounding Ica is an adventurer’s paradise, however. The only mountains you’ll find are those made of sand, and so activities like dune buggying and dune boarding are popular, while further exploration of the desert takes the form of trekking through areas like the Lost Canyon, a two-kilometre canyon that was discovered as recently as 2011.

In the desert, just a few miles from Ica, lies Huacachina, an oasis village that appears so idyllic that you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a mirage. It’s a place to relax, where streets are lined with palm trees and contain dozens of bars, restaurants and places to swim – and it’s a popular destination with those wanting to blend desert tranquility alongside the high-adrenaline activities.

Chachapoyas

We recommend: Seeing the hundreds of circular stone structures in the ruins of Kuélap

A region settled prior to the Incans arrival, Chachapoyas was the centre for the civilisation of the same name. Translated from Quecha (one of Peru’s indigenous languages) as “cloud forest”, the name is said to derive from the natural landscapes around Chachapoyas, where a blanket of mist and cloud covers the slopes of the Andes.

The town can be reached by a 90-minute flight from Lima and is a charming base for exploring the surrounding area, with accommodation and restaurants cheaper than in tourist centres. The heart of town is unsurprisingly the Plaza de Armas, but don’t skip the walk to the Virgen de la Natividad viewpoint for panoramic views over the valley and the town below.

Chachapoyas is most famed for being home to Kuélap, the ruins of a walled Chachapoyan citadel. Little is known about the civilisation, with the site filled by hundreds of circular stone structures spread throughout, but the views from 3,000m above sea level are amazing. The dramatic Gocta and Yumbilla waterfalls, as well as the Sonche Canyon, are popular natural attractions nearby.

Oxapampa

We recommend: Donning some hiking boots and exploring Tsho’llet Forest

Oxapampa, a town in the Peruvian Amazon, is a truly eclectic place and real ‘off-the-beaten-path’ Peru. The quickest way to reach it is via a 30-minute flight combined with a three-hour bus ride – it isn’t somewhere you just happen upon.

Architecture from the Tyrolean Alps lies among the mountains of the Andes and the jungle of the Amazon basin, with Alpine-style guest houses and plenty of opportunities for ecotourism, including exploring the nearby Tsho’llet Forest or sitting by a waterfall while sampling the coffee of the Villa Rica.

Natural highlights include the El Tigre waterfall, where visitors can take a dip into the pool below, and the Yanachaga-Chemillén National Park, where full-day treks through the misty cloud forest are offered alongside hundreds of opportunities to spot rare wildlife, such as the spectacled bear. The highlight of the year in Oxapampa is Selvamonos, a week or so of cultural activities and music that takes place in June. And fifty miles away in Pozuzo, every September sees Pozuzofest, a local take on Oktoberfest that still provides the same beer and lederhosen that you’d expect.

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