Visiting Peru: when to go, what to do and itineraries

Almost an unavoidable entry point, Lima is worth two nights for the Larco Museum, the listed historic centre and the clifftop districts of Miraflores and Barranco. It is the country's culinary capital, with restaurants ranked among the world's best and, at the other end, neighbourhood markets and cevicherias. The city sits under the garua, a grey mist, from June to September. It is also the main air gateway to South America on this side of the continent. To the south, the coast runs to Paracas in three hours by bus.

The former imperial capital, Cusco is best explored on foot: Qorikancha, the San Blas quarter and the Sacsayhuaman ruins above town. The Sacred Valley, 500 m lower, helps acclimatisation and lines up Pisac, Maras, Moray and Ollantaytambo, where the train to Aguas Calientes departs. Allow at least four days in the area, more to walk the Inca Trail, whose permits are booked six months ahead and which closes for all of February for maintenance.

At 3,800 m, Puno gives access to the highest navigable lake in the world. A day on the water covers the Uros floating islands, built from totora reed, and Taquile, where lunch is served with a local family. A night on Amantani island extends the trip. The Sillustani funerary towers, 45 minutes away by road, round out the visit. The Puno-Cusco tourist bus takes about seven hours with stops at Inca and colonial sites such as Raqchi and Andahuaylillas.

The country's second city, Arequipa stands out for its sillar architecture, a white volcanic stone, and the Santa Catalina Monastery, a walled town that takes about two hours to visit. At 2,300 m it works as a step before the heights. The Colca Canyon, one of the deepest in the world, is four hours away by road over a 4,910 m pass; Cruz del Condor offers the flight of Andean condors in the early morning. Plan a night in Yanque or Chivay.

Reached by bus from Lima, the south coast strings together the Paracas reserve and its cliffs, the Ballestas Islands with their sea lion colony, then the Huacachina oasis ringed by dunes where you can sandboard. Further south, the Nazca geoglyphs are seen from a light aircraft on a flight of about thirty minutes. Two to three days cover the lot, often on the way to Arequipa. The Pan-American Highway then continues towards Chile.

More than half the territory is forest. Two entry points: Puerto Maldonado in the south, a 45-minute flight from Cusco, for the Tambopata reserve and Lake Sandoval; Iquitos in the north, a road-less city reachable only by plane or boat, for the Pacaya-Samiria reserve. Allow at least three days at a lodge to have a chance of seeing caimans, macaws and monkeys. The basin runs east all the way to Brazil.

Less visited, the north holds the Cordillera Blanca around Huaraz, with the Lake 69 day hike at 4,600 m and the four-day Santa Cruz trek. Further northeast, Chachapoyas gives access to the pre-Inca fortress of Kuelap, served by a cable car. On the coast, Trujillo and Chiclayo concentrate the Moche and Chimu sites, including the earthen city of Chan Chan. The border with Colombia is reached along the northern coast.

Food is a reason to travel here in itself. On the coast, ceviche of raw fish cured in lime is eaten at midday, when the fish is fresh. In the Andes you try trucha, cuy and hundreds of potato varieties. Lima fields restaurants at the top of global rankings, to be booked weeks ahead, yet a full menu del dia costs a few euros in any neighbourhood.