Sights in Peru
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Museo Rafael Larco Herrera
An 18th-century viceroy mansion built on the site of a pre-Columbian pyramid houses the highly recommended privately-run Museo Rafael Larco Herrera , has one of the largest ceramics collections to be found anywhere.
It is said to include over 50,000 pots, many of which were collected in the 1920s by a former vice president of Peru. The first rooms resemble a storeroom, stacked right to the ceilings with an overwhelming jumble of ceramics. Further into the museum, the best pieces are displayed in the uncluttered manner they deserve. They include a selection of gold and silver pieces, feathered textiles and an astonishing Paracas weaving that contains 398 threads to the…
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The Inca Trail
The most famous hike in South America, the four-day Inca Trail is walked by many thousands of backpackers every year. Although the total distance is only 33km (20.5mi), the ancient trail laid by the Incas from the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu winds its way up and down and around the mountains, snaking over three high Andean passes that have collectively led to the route being dubbed 'the Inca Trial'.
The views of snowy mountain peaks, rural hamlets where llamas graze and cloud forests flush with orchids can be stupendous, and walking from one cliff-hugging pre-Columbian ruin to the next is a mystical and unforgettable experience. Except for the sad fact, of course, that…
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Wayna Picchu
The most famous of several short walks around Machu Picchu, the climb up the steep mountain of Wayna (also spelled Huayna) Picchu is located at the back of the ruins. At first glance, it appears a difficult climb but, despite the steep ascent, it's not technically that hard. The scramble, which takes anything from 45 to 90 minutes, takes you through a short section of Inca tunnel.
The fabulous views from the top are definitely worth the huffing and puffing, even for trekkers just stumbling in off the Inca Trail. Take care in wet weather as the steps get dangerously slippery. Beyond the central plaza between two open-fronted buildings is a registration booth, where you…
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Parque Nacional Manu
This vast national park in the Amazon Basin covers almost 20,000 sq km (12,427 sq mi) and is one of the best places in South America to see a stunning variety of tropical wildlife. Progressive in its emphasis on preservation, Unesco declared Manu a Biosphere Reserve in 1977 and a World Natural Heritage Site in 1987.
One reason the park is so successful in preserving such a large tract of virgin jungle and its wildlife is that it's remote and relatively inaccessible to people, and therefore has not been exploited by rubber tappers, loggers, oil companies or hunters.
At Cocha Salvador, one of the park's largest and most beautiful lakes, you'll find camping and guided hiking…
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Nazca Lines
Spread over 500 sq km (310 sq mi) of arid, rock-strewn plain in the Pampa Colorada (Red Plain), the Nazca Lines are one of the world's great archaeological mysteries. Comprising over 800 straight lines, 300 geometric figures (geoglyphs) and 70 animal and plant drawings (biomorphs), the lines are almost imperceptible on the ground. From above, they form a striking network of stylized figures and channels, many of which radiate from a central axis.
The figures are mostly etched out in single continuous lines, while the encompassing geoglyphs form perfect triangles, rectangles or straight lines running for several kilometers across the desert.
The lines were made by the…
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Museo de Oro del Perú
The now notorious Museo de Oro del Perú, a private museum, was a Lima must-see until 2001, when a study revealed that 85% of the museum’s metallurgical pieces were fakes. It reopened with an assurance that works on display are bona fide – and some vitrines bear cards that classify certain pieces as ‘reproductions’ – but the cluttered, poorly signed exhibits leave something to be desired. Better presented and more convenient is the new annex ( [tel] 620-6222; www.larcomar.com/salamuseo; LarcoMar, Malecón de la Reserva 610, Miraflores; admission S25; [hrs] 10am-10pm), in the seaside shopping mall of LarcoMar.
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Cusco Planetarium
Cusco Planetarium is a nifty way to learn more about the Inca worldview. It was the only culture in the world to define constellations of darkness as well as light, and studied astronomy seriously: some of Cuzco’s main streets are designed to align with the stars at certain times of year. Recommended before you go on a trek – you’ll feel clever pointing out the Black Llama to your fellow hikers. Reservations essential; price varies with group size, and includes pickup and drop-off.
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Chan Chan
Built around AD 1300 and covering 28 sq km (17 sq mi), Chan Chan is the largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas, and the largest adobe city in the world. At the height of the Chimu Empire, it housed an estimated 60,000 inhabitants and contained a vast wealth of gold, silver and ceramics. The wealth remained undisturbed after the city was conquered by the Incas, but once the Spaniards hit the stage the looting began.
Within a few decades, little but gold dust remained. Although Chan Chan must have once been a dazzling sight, El Niño floods and heavy rainfall have severely eroded the mud walls. Today, the most impressive aspect of the site is its sheer size.
The Chimu…
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Mirador Observation Tower
You'll get only a sketchy idea of the lines at the Mirador Observation Tower , on the Panamericana 20km north of Nazca, which has an oblique view of three figures: the lizard, tree and hands (or frog, depending on your point of view). It's also a lesson in the damage to which the lines are vulnerable: the Panamericana runs smack through the tail of the lizard, which from nearby seems all but obliterated. Signs warning of landmines are a reminder that walking on the lines is strictly forbidden.
It irreparably damages them, and besides you can't see anything at ground level anyway. To get to the observation tower from Nazca, catch any bus or colectivo northbound along the…
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Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historía del Perú
The Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historía del Perú traces the history of Peru from the Preceramic Period to the early republic. Displays include the famous Raimondi Stela, a 2.1m rock carving from the Chavín culture, one of the first Andean cultures to have a widespread, recognizable artistic style. The building was once the home of revolutionary heroes San Martín (from 1821 to 1822) and Bolívar (from 1823 to 1826) and the museum contains late-colonial and early republic paintings, including an 18th-century rendering of the Last Supper in which Christ and his disciples feast on cuy (guinea pig).
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Monasterio de San Francisco
This bright yellow Franciscan monastery and church is most famous for its bone-lined catacombs (containing an estimated 70,000 burials) and its remarkable library, where you can take in the sight of 25,000 antique texts, some of them predating the conquest. But this baroque structure has many other things worth seeing: the most spectacular is a geometric Moorish-style cupola, over the main staircase, which was carved in 1625 (restored 1969) out of Nicaraguan cedar. In addition, the refectory contains 13 paintings, of the biblical patriarch Jacob and his 12 sons, attributed to the studio of Spanish master Francisco de Zurbarán.
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Plaza de Armas
Trujillo's spacious and fetching main square hosts an impressive statue dedicated to work, the arts and liberty. The plaza is fronted by the cathedral, begun in 1647, destroyed in 1759, and rebuilt soon afterward. The cathedral has a famous basilica and a museum of religious and colonial art.
At 08:00 on Sunday there is a flag-raising ceremony on the Plaza de Armas, complete with a parade. On some Sundays there are also caballos de paso (pacing horses) and performances of the marinera (a typical coastal Peruvian dance involving much romantic waving of handkerchiefs).
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Chauchilla Cemetery
The most popular excursion from Nazca, the Chauchilla Cemetery , 30km south of Nazca, will satisfy any urges you have to see ancient bones, skulls and mummies. Dating back to the Nazca culture around AD 1000, the mummies were, until recently, scattered haphazardly across the desert, left by ransacking tomb-robbers. Now they are seen carefully rearranged inside a dozen or so tombs, though cloth fragments and pottery and bone shards still litter the ground outside the demarcated trail.
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Monasterio de Santa Catalina
Even if you’ve already overdosed on colonial edifices, this convent shouldn’t be missed. Occupying a whole block and guarded by imposing high walls, it is one of the most fascinating religious buildings in Peru. Nor is it just a religious building – this 20,000-sq-meter complex is almost a citadel within the city. It is a disorienting place with twisting passageways, ascetic living quarters, period furnishings and religious art – a photographer’s paradise.
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Museo Taurino
The Plaza de Acho, Lima’s bullring, has been located on the same site north of the Río Rímac since 1766. Here, some of the world’s most famous toreadors have taken on the bulls, among them the renowned Manolete from Spain. The Museo Taurino documents this history with cluttered displays of weapons, paintings, photographs and the gilded outfits worn by a succession of bullfighters – one of which includes gore holes and blood.
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Intipunku
The Inca Trail ends after its final descent from the notch in the horizon called Intipunku (Sun Gate). Looking at the hill behind you as you enter the ruins, you can see both the trail and Intipunku. This hill, called Machu Picchu, or 'old peak', gives the site its name.
It takes about an hour to reach Intipunku and, if you can spare at least a half-day for the round-trip, it may be possible to continue as far as Wiñay Wayna.
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Casa del Corregidor
The 17th-century Casa del Corregidor, one of Puno’s oldest residences, houses a cultural center where exhibitions, workshops and concerts take place. There’s also an art gallery and a bookshop. Its cafe-bar is a great place to hobnob with local expats and artists over a cappuccino and a pastry.
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Plaza de Armas
Also called Plaza Mayor, the 140-sq-meter Plaza de Armas was once the heart of Lima. Though not one original building remains, the impressive bronze fountain in the center is its oldest feature, erected in 1650, and its oldest building is the cathedral, which was reconstructed after the 1746 earthquake.
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Qorikancha
If you visit only one site in Cuzco, make it these Inca ruins, which form the base of the colonial church and convent of Santo Domingo. Qorikancha was once the richest temple in the Inca empire; all that remains today is the masterful stonework.
In Inca times, Qorikancha (Quechua for ‘Golden Courtyard’) was literally covered with gold. The temple walls were lined with some 700 solid-gold sheets, each weighing about 2kg. There were life-sized gold and silver replicas of corn, which were ceremonially ‘planted’ in agricultural rituals. Also reported were solid-gold treasures such as altars, llamas and babies, as well as a replica of the sun, which was lost. But within months…
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Museo de Historia Natural
One block west of cuadra 12 of Av Arequipa, south of the Parque de la Reserva, the Museo de Historia Natural, run by the Universidád de San Marcos, has a modest taxidermy collection that’s a useful overview of Peruvian fauna.
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Biomuseo
The whimsical Biomuseo explains (only in Spanish, alas!) world bio-diversity through the medium of the potato. Opening hours and admission prices are erratic.
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La Catedral
A squatter on the site of Viracocha Inca’s palace, the cathedral was built using blocks pilfered from the nearby Inca site of Sacsaywamán. Its construction started in 1559 and took almost a century. It is joined by Iglesia del Triunfo (1536) to its right and Iglesia de Jesús María (1733) to the left.
El Triunfo, Cuzco’s oldest church, houses a vault containing the remains of the famous Inca chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega, who was born in Cuzco in 1539 and died in Córdoba, Spain, in 1616. His remains were returned in 1978 by King Juan Carlos of Spain.
The cathedral is one of the city’s greatest repositories of colonial art, especially for works from the escuela…
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Reserva Nacional de Paracas
The vast Reserva Nacional de Paracas is a desert reserve that occupies most of the Península de Paracas. Tour operators offer excursions; alternatively, hire a taxi in Pisco or take a combi into the village of Paracas and then walk - make sure to allow lots of time, and bring food and plenty of water.
Near the entrance to Paracas village, past Playa El Chaco, is an obelisk commemorating the landing of the liberator General José de San Martín. The combi continues further in and, if asked, will drop you in front of Hotel Paracas. Continue on foot either along the tarmac road south of Paracas, or the beach, looking out for seashore life.
About 3km south is a park entry…
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Yavari
The much-loved Yavari is the oldest steamship on Lake Titicaca. In 1862 the Yavari and its sister ship, the Yapura, were built in Birmingham, England, of iron parts - a total of 2766 for the two vessels. These were shipped around Cape Horn to Arica, from where they were moved by train to Tacna, before being hauled by mule over the Andes to Puno - an incredible undertaking that took six years to complete.
The ships were assembled in Puno and the Yavari was launched on Christmas Day 1870. The Yapura was later renamed the BAP Puno and became a Peruvian Navy medical ship; it can still be seen in Puno. Both had coal-powered steam engines, but due to a shortage of coal, the…
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Islas Ballestas
Although grandiosely nicknamed the 'poor man's Galapagos,' the Islas Ballestas make for a memorable excursion. The only way to get there is with a boat tour, offered by many travel agencies. None of the small boats have a cabin, so dress to protect against the wind, spray and sun. The sea can get rough, so sufferers of motion sickness should take medication before boarding.
Wear a hat (cheap ones are sold at the harbor), as it's not unusual to receive a direct hit of guano (droppings) from the seabirds.
On the outward boat journey, which takes about 1½ hours, you can't miss the famous three-pronged Candelabra geoglyph, a giant figure etched into the sandy hills, which is…
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