Peru

Lima

Lima, the capital of Peru, is a great metropolis with multiple layers, which has majestically preserved the evidence of its glorious past despite the passage of time. It is an effervescent city in constant transformation, where the different expressions of the country’s cultural diversity coexist perfectly.
Founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro, in colonial times it was considered the City of Kings, and UNESCO recently designated it as a World Heritage Site.
Located on the Pacific Ocean, it is the country’s main port of entry and boasts a very significant travel, hotel and restaurant industry.
Among Lima’s highlights are its beautiful historic center with its buildings that house treasures of colonial art, such as the Convent of San Francisco, which is home to a beautiful library that owns an enviable collection of old books, as well as a network of catacombs that is open to visitors; or the Casa Aliaga, a beautiful property that is currently the oldest continuously inhabited private dwelling in the Southern Hemisphere; among others.
Visit Lima’s prestigious museums and private collections, such as the Rafael Larco Herrera Archaeological Museum, home to over 3,000 years of pre-Columbian Peruvian history, or the Amano museum, with its exquisite collection of ceramics and textiles.
Outside the city, Lima also offers many options for those who love the sea, nature, or adventure.

Cusco and the sacred valley

Nestled in the Andes, Cusco is one of the most fascinating places in the Americas, which never fails to surprise visitors with its mystery-filled history. With its excellent hotels and restaurants, this city is full of amazing places to see.
A product of the fusion of Inca and Hispanic culture, Cusco has been declared a World Heritage Site. Feel the magic of the impressive legacy of Inca culture, as you walk through its streets and fascinating stone passages, and visit its colonial mansions built over the remains of Inca structures.
An extraordinary city, with more than its fair share of places brimming with mysticism and grandeur, such as the Koricancha or Templo del Sol, which is said to have featured entire walls covered in gold, or the Twelve Angle Stone, or the fortress of Sacsahuaman, which all showcase Inca ingenuity used to build structures with enormous carved rocks joined together with the utmost precision; or the Cathedral, the La Merced church, and the famous San Blas pulpit, legacies of colonial religious art and architecture. The surrounding area also features Inca remains such as Tipon, Pikillacta (south of the city), Tambomachay, Quenqo and Puca Pucara.
Cusco is also the gateway to the Sacred Valley, which was the Inca’s favorite spot. It is a vast area with picturesque towns and dream landscapes, featuring the Urubamba or Vilcanota River flowing through from the town of Pisac to Ollantaytambo. It is a fertile valley with a maze of platforms devoted to agriculture, and which is still in use today, for the cultivation of products such as potatoes and large-grain corn, the main source of sustenance for the Andean population and the only one of its kind. The Sacred Valley also features the Moray complex, an ingenious system of circular platforms used as an agricultural laboratory for the climate adaptation of species from other ecological areas. The Valley now has an exceptional travel infrastructure that attracts visitors from all over the world, and in addition to the archaeological attractions, it is also possible to go canoeing, mountain biking, hiking, among other adventure sports.
The Sacred Valley of the Incas is a place where you can enjoy the landscape, learn about the customs of the indigenous people, and have the experience of a lifetime.

Machu Picchu

One of the Seven Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu, has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and is also Peru’s main travel destination.

Introduced to the world a century ago as the Lost City of the Incas by the American Hiram Bingham, the city still guards the secret of the reasons why the Inca Pachacutec had it built. Was it a retreat for the royal family? Or was it intended to be a sacred place devoted to Sun worship, inhabited by acllas or Sun virgins? Or was it a defense fortress built to impede the possible advance of the Amazon jungle dwellers that threatened the empire? Beyond these reasons, what intrigues all visitors and researchers is the fact that the great Inca ordered that this marvel of architectural and engineering marvel be built in such an inaccessible spot, surrounded by untamed nature.

To visit Machu Picchu is to enter into a different dimension, in which the Andean world view clearly unfolds before your eyes and flows forth to fill you with its energy. The citadel was built in complete harmony with nature, on the summit of Machu Picchu hill, crowning the Urubamba River which flows mightily at its feet. Standing in front of Machu Picchu as a careful guardian is Huayna Picchu, a hill where we find the remains of what was considered to be the Temple of the Moon.

The Intihuatana or the sun clock, located on the peak of a small hill, is one of the main attractions of the citadel. During your visit, do not miss the Royal Tomb, the Temple of the Three Windows, the House of the Priest, the Temple of the Sun, the Central Temple, and the Tower (Torreón), the only circular structure in the entire complex.

To reach Machu Picchu, you can travel by train to the town of Aguas Calientes and then ascend up the mountain via public transportation, or by foot up the Inca Trail.

Puerto Maldonado – Peruvian Amazon

Puerto Maldonado, the capital of the Madre de Dios Department, is located on the Madre de Dios River.

Located in southeastern Peru, it is one of the main commercial centers in the Amazon and the Gateway to one of the richest and most impressive areas of the planet, home to the Manu Biosphere Reserve, the Tambopata National Reserve and the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park. Thanks to the efforts of Peruvian conservationists and scientists from all over the world, this has been declared an intangible zone.

The biodiversity of the area is one of the highest per square meter on Earth: two thousand species of vascular plants, over a hundred types of mammals, thousands of bird and butterfly species, including a large number of endemic species and insects, as well as fish and amphibians. Here you can also appreciate one of the best-preserved forests in the planet, with enormous trees and breathtaking flora as it existed thousands of years ago.

The growing interest in the area by scientists and travelers has led to the development of different types of lodges which, in addition to offering comfortable facilities to their guests, also look out for the preservation of their natural surroundings

Iquitos and the Amazonas River

Iquitos is located in northwestern Peru, on the banks of the Amazon River, recently declared one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Iquitos is the largest city in the Peruvian Amazon, serving as the gateway to countless excursions into the jungle and to ecological reserves.

A city well known for the friendliness of its people, Iquitos became relevant for the modern world during the Golden Age of rubber (1890-1911), when it became a great city. The excessive luxury and opulence of the period is evident in what remains of the Art Nouveau mansions existing in the city, and in the Casa de Fierro (Iron House), which was originally built by the Frenchman Gustave Eiffel for an exhibition in Paris in 1889.

Sailing down the mighty Amazon River has become a dream of travelers and researchers, thanks to the French marine biologist Jacques Cousteau, who revealed the Amazon’s rich natural history to the world on board the Calypso at the end of the 20th Century. Currently there are several cruise lines that sail the Amazon and enter the jungle, offering their guests an unforgettable journey with five-star hotel service.

The hanging bridges located around the hundreds of lodges in the area are another option to reach the heart of the Amazon. These are small paths located among the treetops, with safe platforms from where you can observe the diversity of the local flora and fauna from up close