Peru

Discover Peru with our helpful travel guide, which is perfect for planning your next adventure. Learn about Peru's weather patterns and the best times to visit for ideal conditions. Find practical tips on transportation options to navigate this diverse country with ease. Explore Peru's top cities and destinations, from ancient ruins to vibrant urban centers. Enjoy recommendations on delicious local cuisine to sample and uncover hidden gems that most tourists miss.

Weather and Best Time to Visit

Lima (Coastal Region): January to March for the warmest temperatures and sunshine. The coastal fog (garúa) is minimal during these months, making it ideal for beach activities and exploring the capital.

Cusco & Machu Picchu (Andean Highlands): May to September offers dry, sunny days with blue skies, perfect for hiking the Inca Trail and exploring archaeological sites. This coincides with the peak tourist season.

Amazon Rainforest (Iquitos, Puerto Maldonado): June to September brings slightly less rainfall, making wildlife viewing optimal with more accessible trails. December to May is the rainy season with higher water levels, excellent for river cruises.

Arequipa & Colca Canyon: April to November provides clear skies and ideal conditions for trekking and spotting condors in flight.

Northern Beaches (Máncora): December to March delivers consistent sunshine and warm waters for surfing and beach activities.

How to Get to Peru

Peru's airports connect travelers to the country's archaeological sites, mountain regions, and coastal areas. Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima serves as Peru's main transportation hub, where many travelers stay overnight before continuing to Cusco, Arequipa, or international destinations.

Most visitors heading to Machu Picchu fly into Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport in Cusco, which is located at high altitude. In southern Peru, Rodríguez Ballón International Airport provides access to Arequipa, known for its distinctive white stone architecture and surrounding volcanoes.

Travelers interested in exploring the Amazon rainforest typically arrive at Padre Aldamiz International Airport in Puerto Maldonado, an entry point to the jungle. 

In northern Peru, Captain FAP José Abelardo Quiñones González International Airport serves Chiclayo, while Captain FAP Carlos Martínez de Pinillos International Airport connects to Trujillo. Both northern airports provide access to important pre-Incan archaeological sites and coastal destinations.

Each airport serves as an entry point to different regions and experiences across Peru.

How to Get Around

Peru connects travelers through a network of practical transportation methods that suit different needs and budgets. 

Buses link cities like Lima, Cusco, and Arequipa, with many offering reclining seats and onboard meals for long journeys. When time matters more than money, domestic flights cut hours or even days off travel between distant points, especially when heading to or from the Amazon region.

The train journey to Machu Picchu isn't just transportation, it's part of the experience, as the tracks wind through mountain valleys and alongside rushing rivers. 

In cities, locals and visitors alike squeeze into "combis," the small vans that zip through traffic, calling out destinations as they go. 

Taxis wait at corners for anyone needing a quick ride across town, while collectivos fill up with passengers heading in the same direction, creating impromptu conversations between strangers.

Deep in the Amazon, boats become the vehicles, carrying people and supplies along waterways bordered by towering trees and the sounds of hidden wildlife. Walking remains the simplest way to discover places most tourists never see, the family-run restaurants, the neighborhood markets, the unexpected viewpoints that don't appear in any guidebook.

For longer journeys with reliable schedules, companies like Transzela or Cruz del Sur maintain fleets of vehicles that connect the country's diverse regions.

Local Food Scene

Peruvians tell their history through food—each dish carries stories from the Andes mountains to Pacific coastlines. 

In Lima's seaside neighborhoods, cooks prepare ceviche by hand, letting lime juice transform fresh fish caught that morning. Families gather at weekend tables where steaming plates of lomo saltado appear, beef sizzling with onions and tomatoes in a dish that shows how Chinese immigrants shaped Peru's food story generations ago.

Essential Markets & Street Food:

• -Mercado San Pedro (Cusco): Farmers arrive at dawn with strange fruits you've never seen. Stop for a cup of coca tea that helps with altitude as you walk through aisles of produce.
• -Surquillo Market (Lima): Fishermen's catches arrive early. Women in aprons call out to customers, holding up silver fish that might become your lunch.
• -Barranco district (Lima): As night falls, smoke rises from small grills where anticuchos—beef heart skewers that taste better than they sound—cook slowly.
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Regional Specialties:

• -Arequipa: The rocoto relleno looks like a regular stuffed pepper until you take a bite and feel the heat.
• -Cusco: Guinea pig (cuy) roasts whole over wood fires, alongside pots of thick corn soup that warms you at 11,000 feet elevation.
• -Amazon: Juane unwraps like a present—banana leaves reveal rice and chicken steamed with jungle herbs.
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High-End Dining:

• -Central (Lima): Virgilio Martínez serves potatoes grown at different altitudes, telling Peru's story through elevation zones.
• -Maido (Lima): Mitsuharu Tsumura shows what happens when Japanese techniques meet Peruvian ingredients.
• -Chicha (Cusco): Gastón Acurio cooks what local farmers bring him, turning ordinary Andean crops into dishes worth traveling for.
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Hidden Gems to Visit

1. Gocta Waterfall, Amazonas

Water crashes down 771 meters in two distinct drops at Gocta Waterfall, a place so tucked away that the wider world didn't know about it until 2005. While tourists pack the paths at Machu Picchu, here you might find yourself alone with the sound of water and forest birds. 

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Between May and September, the trails stay drier and firmer underfoot, and you can see the falls clearly without mist or rain blocking your view. To get there, drive 45 minutes from Chachapoyas to the small village of Cocachimba, lace up your boots, and walk about 2 hours through forest paths where monkeys sometimes watch from the branches.

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2. Kuelap, Amazonas

Stone walls rise up to 20 meters high around the mountaintop settlement of Kuelap, built long before the Incas arrived. Inside, more than 400 round buildings once housed a thriving community, now open for you to explore. Clouds often drift through the site, coming and going throughout the day. The clearest views come between April and October. 

Since 2017, you don't need to tackle the steep 4-hour climb anymore. A cable car from Nuevo Tingo village carries you up the mountain, giving your legs a break and offering valley views along the way.

3. Huacachina Oasis, Ica

Huacachina Oasis features a pool of green water surrounded by mountains of sand that shift and change shape with the wind. People come here to slide down the dunes on boards and ride in open buggies that climb and drop over the ridges like roller coasters.

The best time comes at sunset, when the low light turns the sand gold and orange. Plan your visit between March and November, when the sand won't burn your feet. From Ica city, it's just a 10-minute taxi ride to reach this desert surprise.

Scenic Routes

Peru's land tells stories through its paths. Mountains rise from jungle floors, ancient stones whisper histories, and roads wind between worlds that seem centuries and ecosystems apart.

• Cusco to Aguas Calientes: The train follows the Urubamba River as it cuts through valleys where Incas once walked. Passengers press their noses to the glass as the world outside transforms. Farmland gives way to cloud forest, and mountains frame every view. The windows steam up when everyone rushes to one side to photograph a sudden waterfall. Between May and September, morning mist burns away to reveal clear skies over the tracks.

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• Arequipa to Colca Canyon: The road climbs past sleeping volcanoes into thin air where vicuñas dart between tufts of grass. Then suddenly, the earth splits open. Twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, condors use the thermals to rise on wings that span three meters. Farmers still tend thousand-year-old terraces that stair-step down impossibly steep slopes. The April to November window brings blue skies that make the early morning bus worth every yawn.

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• Cusco to Sacred Valley: Every curve reveals another wonder—stone walls built without mortar, ancient agricultural laboratories, markets where Quechua words float through air scented with herbs and potatoes. June through August, the light turns golden in late afternoon, casting long shadows across ruins that make photographers' fingers itch for their cameras. Buses stop often, giving everyone time to wander.

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• Nazca to Arequipa: The journey reads like a geography lesson. Desert plains where ancient people drew lines only seen from above give way to foothills that climb ever higher. The bus windows frame the changing story—sand, then scrub, then stone. Between April and October, the harsh midday sun softens to something gentler. The seats upstairs offer the best views as the world transforms outside.

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• Lima to Paracas: The capital's concrete softens to coastal curves as the road hugs the Pacific. Sea spray sometimes reaches the highway when waves crash against cliffs. The peninsula shelters beaches where red sand meets blue water, and birds gather in noisy colonies. Summer months from December through March bring warm breezes through open windows. Even regular commuters look up from their books when sea lions appear on distant rocks.

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Events, Festivals and Local Markets

On June 24th, during the Inti Raymi Festival in Cusco, the old Incan capital transforms. Men in feathered headdresses and women in hand-woven cloaks recreate ceremonies from 500 years ago. The procession winds through stone streets to Sacsayhuamán Fortress, where the sun's rays hit giant walls just as they did for ancient Incan rulers.

In August, the Feria Gastronómica in Arequipa brings together grandmothers who've never written down their recipes. They cook over open fires in clay pots, preparing rocoto relleno (stuffed peppers) and ocopa (potato dishes) that taste different from any other city's version. 

When Señor de los Milagros begins in Lima in late October, the streets fill with a purple river of people. Incense hangs in the air as barefoot devotees carry a massive painting of Christ through downtown. Some walk on their knees, fulfilling promises made when prayers were answered during the year.

Best Places to Visit

1. Cusco

At 3,400 meters high in the Peruvian Andes sits Cusco, the former heart of the Inca Empire and now the jumping-off point for Machu Picchu adventures. Walking through its streets reveals a fascinating clash of worlds, massive Inca stone foundations support Spanish colonial buildings above, telling the story of conquest and cultural resilience with every corner you turn.

Between May and October, the skies stay mostly clear over Cusco. The dry weather makes climbing stone steps and wandering ancient sites much easier, and the mountains stand sharp against blue skies rather than hiding behind rain clouds.

Life continues much as it has for generations here. On Sundays, locals gather to watch the changing of the guard at Plaza de Armas, a tradition worth witnessing. At the Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo, dancers perform weekly, their colorful costumes and practiced movements showing stories passed down through centuries.

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• How to get to Cusco
• -Daily flights from Lima to Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport
• -Luxury train services from Puno or Arequipa via PeruRail or Inca Rail
• -Overnight buses from Lima (20+ hours) or Arequipa (10 hours)

2. Puno

The town of Puno sits alongside Lake Titicaca, where water stretches toward the horizon at 3,812 meters above sea level, making it the highest lake big enough for large boats to navigate. Here, people have adapted to life between mountains and water, creating fascinating floating islands made entirely of reeds.

June through August brings reliable sunshine to Puno, though nights get cold. The weather creates perfect conditions for boat trips across waters so clear you can see fish darting below the surface, with Bolivia's mountains forming a distant backdrop.

Every morning, boats depart from the harbor carrying curious travelers to the lake's islands. Local guides, often born and raised on these islands, show visitors how their communities have maintained ancient practices, from building reed boats to creating intricate textiles with patterns that tell stories of their history.

How to get to Puno

• -Daily flights from Lima to Juliaca Airport (45 minutes from Puno)
• -Train service from Cusco via the scenic Andean Explorer route
• -Tourist buses from Cusco via the "Route of the Sun" with archaeological stops
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3. Arequipa

They call Arequipa the "White City" because its historic buildings glow pale in the sunlight. They were built from sillar stone created by ancient volcanic eruptions. The massive El Misti volcano looms in the background, reminding everyone of the powerful forces that shaped this UNESCO World Heritage Site and provided the materials that built it.

From April through November, sunshine bathes Arequipa almost daily. The clear weather reveals details in the carved stone buildings downtown and provides unobstructed views of the three volcanoes watching over the city.

Music often fills Arequipa's Teatro Municipal as the symphony orchestra performs regular concerts. Meanwhile, craftspeople spread their wares at weekly markets in San Francisco Plaza—textiles with impossibly small stitches, metalwork, and leather goods made using techniques passed from parent to child for generations.

How to get to Arequipa

• -Direct flights from Lima to Rodríguez Ballón International Airport
• -Luxury bus services from Lima (16 hours) or Cusco (10 hours)
• -Private shuttle services from nearby coastal cities like Nazca
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Tips for Traveling in Peru

VISA & ENTRY

• Most tourists get a 30-90 day visa-free entry with a valid passport
• Keep entry card (TAM) until departure
• Return/onward ticket may be required

CULTURAL ETIQUETTE

• Greet with a handshake or cheek kiss
• "Gracias" goes a long way
• Dress modestly at religious sites
• Ask before photographing locals

MONEY MATTERS

• Currency: Peruvian Sol (S/)
• Major cities accept credit cards; carry cash elsewhere
• ATMs are widely available in cities
• Tipping: 10% at restaurants

HEALTH & SAFETY

• Emergency: 105 (police), 117 (ambulance)
• Vaccines: Hepatitis A/B, Typhoid recommended
• Travel insurance essential
• Altitude sickness is common; acclimatize slowly

TRANSPORTATION

• Buses for intercity travel
• Taxis/Uber in cities (negotiate fare before riding)
• Collectivos for local routes
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