Peru
South America · Lima · PE
Peru contains three distinct worlds stacked vertically along the spine of the Andes. To the west, a narrow coastal desert receives almost no rainfall, yet sustained one of history's most sophisticated pre-Inca civilizations through irrigation systems that still channel water today. The central Andes rise in jagged peaks exceeding twenty thousand feet, where Quechua-speaking communities maintain terraced agriculture patterns established centuries before European contact. To the east, the Amazon basin spills down in a green cascade of cloud forest and lowland jungle toward the world's greatest river system. Machu Picchu, the Inca citadel perched above the Urubamba River gorge, remains the country's most famous site, but Peru's archaeological record contains over twenty thousand registered sites spanning twelve thousand years. The cuisine, increasingly recognized as among the finest on the continent, draws on Pacific seafood, highland tubers, and Amazonian superfruits in combinations that reflect the country's extraordinary ecological diversity.
Overview
Peru is a country in South America. Its capital is Lima and the international dialling code is +51. Languages commonly used in everyday life here include Spanish. Local currency is the Peruvian Sol (PEN). Our guide covers 1 airport, including Jorge Chávez International Airport. We also list 1 city in Peru: Lima.
The Sacred Valley of the Incas
The Sacred Valley stretches between Pisac and Ollantaytambo in the Peruvian Andes, following the Urubamba River through a corridor of terraced hillsides, Inca stone walls, and living Quechua communities. Pisac's ruins climb a mountain ridge in terraces that once served both agricultural and ceremonial purposes, with irrigation channels still functioning after five centuries. Ollantaytambo preserves one of the best examples of Inca town planning, its narrow stone streets following the original grid pattern and its massive fortress wall featuring precisely fitted blocks that resist even a sheet of paper between them. The market at Pisac on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays draws indigenous vendors selling hand-woven textiles, quinoa varieties in every colour, and medicinal herbs gathered from the surrounding mountains. The valley's combination of archaeological grandeur and everyday cultural continuity makes it feel less like a museum and more like a place where history continues to unfold.
Lima's Pacific-Facing Gastronomic Scene
Lima has emerged over the past two decades as one of the world's most celebrated culinary capitals, a reputation built on the convergence of Pacific seafood, Japanese immigration traditions, and centuries of multicultural influence. Restaurants in Miraflores and Barranco serve ceviche — raw fish cured in lime juice with ají amarillo chillies and red onion — within minutes of the catch arriving from the cold Humboldt Current that runs along Peru's coast. Nikkei cuisine, developed by Japanese-Peruvian communities, combines sashimi precision with Peruvian ingredients to create dishes that exist nowhere else. Central, repeatedly ranked among the world's best restaurants, constructs tasting menus organized by altitude, moving from Amazonian ingredients to highland quinoa to coastal sea urchin in a single meal. The food market at Surquillo offers a less formal but equally revealing encounter with Lima's ingredient culture, from towering pyramids of fresh rocoto peppers to stalls selling anticuchos of marinated beef heart grilled over charcoal.
Cusco and the High Andean Plateau
Cusco sits at 11,000 feet in a valley ringed by Andean peaks, and its altitude hits visitors immediately with shortness of breath and a mild euphoria that locals attribute to the thin air. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire, and Spanish colonial churches were built directly atop Inca stone foundations, creating a layered architecture visible throughout the historic centre. The Plaza de Armas, once the Inca ceremonial square of Huanca Pata, is now flanked by arcaded balconies and cathedral spires that cast long shadows across the evening light. Nearby, the neighbourhood of San Blas clings to a steep hillside where artisans work in tiny studios producing silver jewellery, retablos, and hand-painted ceramics. Day trips to the salt terraces of Maras, still harvested by local families using techniques dating to pre-Inca times, and the circular agricultural laboratory of Moray provide context for understanding the sophisticated engineering that sustained high-altitude civilization for centuries.
Lake Titicaca's Floating Islands
Lake Titicaca straddles the Peru-Bolivia border at over 12,500 feet above sea level, making it the highest navigable lake in the world by volume. The Uros people, who maintain their floating islands constructed entirely from totora reeds, represent one of the most remarkable examples of human adaptation to extreme environments. Each island is built by layering fresh reed bundles atop a foundation of rooted totora root blocks, and they require constant maintenance as the lower layers decompose in the water. The islands shift and settle beneath their inhabitants' feet in a way that feels both precarious and strangely solid. On Taquile Island, the local men are renowned for knitting intricate hats whose patterns communicate social status and marital availability — a tradition recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. The lake's deep blue surface, backed by snowcapped Andean peaks, creates a sense of vastness that belies its remote location.
The Amazon from Iquitos and Tambopata
Peru's eastern lowlands contain some of the most accessible and biologically rich Amazonian rainforest, reachable by short flights from Lima to gateway cities like Iquitos and Puerto Maldonado. Iquitos, the world's largest city unreachable by road, sits on the banks of the Amazon River and serves as a launching point for river lodges deep in the surrounding jungle. Tambopata National Reserve, accessible from Puerto Maldonado, protects vast tracts of primary rainforest where macaw clay licks draw hundreds of parrots and macaws each morning in a noisy, colourful spectacle. Night walks through the forest reveal tarantulas, tree boas, and luminous fungi that only become visible after dark. The canopy towers in Tambopata elevate visitors above the forest floor into a world of toucans, howler monkeys, and orchids growing on the uppermost branches, providing a perspective on the rainforest's vertical architecture that ground-level observation cannot replicate.
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- Capital
- Lima
- Currency
- Peruvian Sol (PEN)
- Languages
- Spanish
- Calling code
- +51
- Internet TLD
- pe
Entry requirements
Check who can enter →See which passports travel visa-free or need a visa to enter Peru.
Which nationalities can enter Peru?
Current visa status for tourism for the origins we cover, with links to the detailed requirements.
Airports (1)
All airports →Cities (1)
All cities →Frequently asked questions
Do I need a visa to visit Peru?
For the origins we track, travellers from Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Italy currently enter Peru visa-free for tourism, and 3 more origins are visa-free too. Entry rules depend on your passport and the purpose of your trip, so check the current requirements for your own nationality with our entry requirements tool.
What is the capital of Peru?
Lima is the capital of Peru, and the country sits in South America.
What currency is used in Peru?
You pay with Peruvian Sol (PEN) in Peru. Exchange rates move day to day, so check the current rate before you change money or use your card abroad.
Which languages do people speak in Peru?
The languages we list for Peru are Spanish. A couple of greetings in the local language go a long way when you travel, even in cities where another language is widely used.
What is the international dialling code for Peru?
The dialling code for Peru is +51 — keep the plus sign when you save the number.
Which airports serve Peru?
Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) in Lima is the airport we cover for Peru.
Which cities in Peru do you cover?
Our guide lists 1 city for Peru: Lima (capital).