Machu Picchu, Machupicchu District
Best time to travel: May-Sept
Walk difficulty: Hard
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $$
- Protected area that includes the archaeological site of Machu Picchu and its surrounding environment
- 15th-century Inca citadel located in a cloud forest, founded in 1450 and abandoned in 1572, at the time of the Spanish conquest
Humantay Lake, Machu Picchu

Best time to travel: April-Oct
Walk difficulty: Hard
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $
- Striking glacial lake known for its challenging hiking trail, steep peaks & snow-capped mountains
Huascarán, Huascarán National Park

Best time to travel: April-Oct
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $$
- Mountain in the Peruvian province of Yungay, situated in the western Andes
- The highest southern summit of Huascarán (Huascarán Sur) is the highest point in Peru, and in all of the earth’s Tropics
- Huascarán is the fourth highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere and South America
Mirador from Tres Cruces to Santa Isabel, Manú National Park

Best time to travel: April-Nov
Walk difficulty: Hard
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $$
- National park and biosphere reserve located in the regions of Madre de Dios and Cusco
- It protects a diverse number of ecosystems including lowland rainforests, cloud forests and Andean grasslands
Sacred Valley, Cusco Region

Best time to travel: June-mid Sept
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $
- Valley in the Andes of Peru, located in the present-day region of Cusco
- The Sacred Valley was incorporated slowly into the incipient Inca Empire during the period from 1000 to 1400 CE
- Machu Picchu is its most famous archaeological site
- The Chanapata civilization first utilized this area starting at around 800 BCE because of the rich soil used for agriculture
- The Incan Empire ruled this area until the arrival of the Spanish
Colca Canyon

Best time to travel: March-June
Walk difficulty: Hard
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $
- Canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru,
- With a depth of about 3300 – 6600 ft, it is one of the deepest canyons in the world
- The Colca Valley is a colorful Andean valley with pre-Inca rooted inhabitants, and towns founded in Spanish colonial times, still inhabited by people of the Collagua and the Cabana cultures
- The local people maintain their ancestral traditions and continue to cultivate the pre-Inca stepped terraces, called andenes
Nazca Lines, Nazca Desert

Best time to travel: Jan-March, Dec
Ease of travel: Hard
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $$$
- Group of geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru
- They were created between 500 BC and AD 500 by people making depressions or shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and leaving differently colored dirt exposed
- The width of the lines varies considerably, but over half are slightly over 13 inches wide
- Some of the Nazca lines form shapes that are best seen from the air, though they are also visible from the surrounding foothills and other high places
- Scholars differ in interpreting the purpose of the designs, but in general, they ascribe religious significance to them