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Iglesia de La Compañía
If Arequipa’s cathedral seems too big, an interesting antidote (proving that small can be beautiful) is this diminutive Jesuit church on the southeast corner of the Plaza de Armas. The facade is an intricately carved masterpiece of the churrigueresque style (think baroque and then
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Museo Santuarios Andinos
There’s an escalating drama to this theatrically presented museum, dedicated to the preserved body of a frozen ‘mummy,’ and its compulsory guided tour (free, but a tip is expected at the end). Spoiler: the climax is the vaguely macabre sight of poor Juanita, the 12-year-old Inca gi
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Abra Patricia
The 2960-hectare Abra Patricia-Alto Nieva Private Conservation Area, about 40 minutes east of Pedro Ruíz on the road to Moyobamba is a birdwatcher’s paradise managed by the Association of Andean Ecosystems (ECOAN). More than 300 species call this area home, 23 of which are consider
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Cantallo Aqueducts
About 4km southeast of town are the 30-plus underground Cantallo Aqueducts, which are still in working order and essential in irrigating the surrounding fields. Though once possible to enter the aqueducts through the spiraling ventanas (windows), which local people use to clean the
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Paso de Patopampa
The highest point on the road between Arequipa and Chivay is this almost lifeless pass which, at 4910m, is significantly higher than Europe’s Mt Blanc and anywhere in North America’s Rocky Mountains. If your red blood cells are up to it, disembark into the rarefied air at the Mirad
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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, though descriptions classify certain pieces
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Templo y Convento de La Merced
Cuzco’s third most important colonial church, La Merced was destroyed in the 1650 earthquake, but was quickly rebuilt. To the left of the church, at the back of a small courtyard, is the entrance to the monastery and museum. Paintings based on the life of San Pedro Nolasco, who fo
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La Congona
The most captivating of the many ancient ruins strewn around Leimebamba, La Congona is definitely worth the three-hour hike needed to get here. The flora-covered site contains several well-preserved circular houses, one of which, oddly for Chachapoya culture, sits on a square base.
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Museo Nacional Sicán
This splendid museum displays replicas of the 12m-deep tombs found at the Sicán site at Batán Grande, among the largest tombs found in South America. Enigmatic burials were discovered within – the Lord of Sicán was buried upside down, in a fetal position with his head separated fr
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Museo Regional de Ica
In the suburban neighborhood of San Isidro, Ica pulls out its trump card: a museum befitting a city three times the size. While it might not be the Smithsonian in terms of layout and design, this understated gem catalogs the two key pre-Inca civilizations on Peru’s southern coast,
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Cañón del Pato
If you continue north from Caraz along the Callejón de Huaylas, you will wind your way through the outstanding Cañón del Pato. It’s here that the Cordillera Blanca and the Cordillera Negra come to within kissing distance for a battle of bedrock wills, separated in parts by only 15m
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Iglesia de La Compañía de Jesús
Built upon the palace of Huayna Cápac, the last Inca to rule an undivided, unconquered empire, the church was built by the Jesuits in 1571 and reconstructed after the 1650 earthquake. Two large canvases near the main door show early marriages in Cuzco in wonderful period detail. Lo
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Plaza de Armas
In Inca times, the plaza, called Huacaypata or Aucaypata, was the heart of the capital. Today it’s the nerve center of the modern city. Two flags usually fly here – the red-and-white Peruvian flag and the rainbow-colored flag of Tahuantinsuyo. Easily mistaken for an international g
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Monumento Nacional Wilkahuaín
This small Wari ruin about 8km north of Huaraz is remarkably well preserved, dating from about AD 600 to 900. It’s an imitation of the temple at Chavín done in the Tiwanaku style. Wilkahuaín means ‘grandson’s house’ in Quechua. The three-story temple has seven rooms on each floor,
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Santa Rosa de Ocopa
From Concepción, a village halfway between Jauja and Huancayo on the izquierda side of the valley, you can travel to charming Ocopa, home to the famous Santa Rosa de Ocopa convent. Admission is by 45-minute guided tour (hourly or once large-enough groups have congregated (seven per
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Mirador
It’s a five-minute walk from the main plaza up to a scenic mirador (lookout) with great views of the town and its surrounding greenery.
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Salinas
Salinas is among the most spectacular sights in the whole Cuzco area, with thousands of salt pans that have been used for salt extraction since Inca times. A hot spring at the top of the valley discharges a small stream of heavily salt-laden water, which is diverted into salt pans
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Cutimbo
Just over 20km from Puno, this dramatic site has an extraordinary position atop a table-topped volcanic hill surrounded by a fertile plain. Its modest number of well-preserved chullpas, built by the Colla, Lupaca and Inca cultures, come in both square and cylindrical shapes. You ca
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Parque de la Muralla
During the 17th century, the heart of Lima was ringed by a muralla (city wall), much of which was torn down in the 1870s as the city expanded. However, you can view a set of excavated remains at the Parque de la Muralla, where, in addition to the wall, a small on-site museum (with
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Laguna de los Cóndores
This part of Peru hit the spotlight in 1996 when a group of farmers found six chullpas (ancient Andean funerary towers) on a ledge 100m above a cloud-forest lake. This burial site was a windfall for archaeologists, and its 219 mummies and more than 2000 artifacts have given researc
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