Peru
Peruvian
Three countries in one: a desert coast on the Pacific, an Andean highland holding the heart of the Inca empire, and an Amazon that covers more than half the territory.
- Capital
- Lima
- Population
- 35 millones
- Currency
- PEN · Peruvian sol
- Languages
- Aymara, Quechua, Spanish
- Plugs
- Types A and C · 220 V · 60 Hz
- Time zone
- America/Lima
Before you go
When to go
May to September: it is the dry season in the Andes, the best window for Machu Picchu and trekking.
A dry, overcast coast; a cold highland that turns sunny by day; and a hot, humid jungle all year round.
What it costs ●●○○○
Low. A local set lunch runs 3–5 USD and a hostel bed about 15 USD a night.
Safety ●●●○○
Middling. Tourist areas are calm by day; in Lima, skip street taxis and use ride apps instead.
Visa
No visa for South Americans (up to 183 days with just an ID card for Andean Community countries) and 90 days for most Europeans.
Quechua and Aymara are official languages too.
What you can't miss
- 01Machu PicchuCusco
The 15th-century Inca citadel in the clouds. Reach it by train from Ollantaytambo, or walk the four-day Inca Trail.
- 02Cusco and the Sacred ValleyCusco
Capital of the Inca empire: flawless stone walls under colonial churches. The place to acclimatise at 3,400 m.
- 03Nazca LinesIca
Geoglyphs up to 300 metres long, drawn 2,000 years ago and visible only from the air.
- 04Colca CanyonArequipa
One of the deepest canyons on Earth, where Andean condors ride the morning thermals.
- 05Lake TiticacaPuno
The highest navigable lake in the world, with the Uros floating islands woven from reeds.
- 06The Amazon around IquitosLoreto
The largest city on the planet with no road access — you arrive by plane or by boat.
The culture, at the table and on the street
What to eat
- Ceviche of raw fish cured in leche de tigre
- Lomo saltado, a legacy of Chinese-Peruvian cooking
- Ají de gallina
- Causa limeña
- Pisco sour
- Anticuchos, grilled beef heart skewers
Customs
- People greet each other with a kiss on the cheek
- Punctuality is loose: 'Peruvian time' means half an hour late
- Lunch is the big meal, eaten between 1 and 3 pm
- Pachamanca is cooked underground with hot stones
Festivals
- Inti Raymi, the Inca sun festival in Cusco (24 June)
- Independence Days (28 and 29 July)
- Señor de los Milagros, the purple procession in Lima (October)
- Cajamarca Carnival (February)
Mostly Catholic (≈ 76 %), deeply blended with Andean belief.
Facts for the dinner table
- There are more than 3,000 varieties of potato, and nearly every potato on Earth descends from Peruvian stock.
- Caral, on the coast, is 5,000 years old: the oldest civilisation in the Americas, contemporary with Egypt.
- The Amazon river rises on a Peruvian snowcap, Mount Mismi, in Arequipa.
- Lima is the second-largest capital in the world built on a desert, after Cairo.
- The pisco sour has its own national day: the first Saturday of February.
Data from Banco Mundial, GeoNames and Open-Meteo. Photo from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). The editorial content is our own.