Terra & Tide
Peru
Most trips to Peru build toward the same destination — the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, reached by train or a multi-day trek through the Sacred Valley — but the country holds plenty beyond it. Cusco's colonial streets sit on Inca foundations, the Amazon basin spreads out to the east, and the desert coastline holds its own mysteries at Nazca.
Altitude shapes the trip more than distance does; most itineraries build in a few slow days in Cusco or the Sacred Valley before heading higher.
Highlights
- Watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate
- Hike a stretch of the Inca Trail or the quieter Salkantay route
- Wander the Inca-walled streets of Cusco's old town
- Explore the terraced villages of the Sacred Valley
- Fly over the mysterious Nazca Lines on the desert coast
