Top tourist attractions in Peru
Here is a list of top tourist attractions in Peru. Only the topmost tourist destinations are presented here. To see other destinations, please check the images from Peru section.
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Machu Picchu
World Heritage Site
Machu Picchu or Machu Pikchu is a 15th-century Inca site located 2,430 metres above sea level. It is located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, Machupicchu District in Peru. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Sacred Valley which is 80 kilometres northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti. Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is perhaps the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. The Incas built the estate around 1450, but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction. Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of what the structures originally looked like. By 1976, thirty percent of Machu Picchu had been restored. The restoration work continues to this day.
Saksaywaman
Tourist attraction
Saksaywaman, Sasawaman, Saksawaman, Sasaywaman, Saqsaywaman or Saksaq Waman is a walled complex on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru, the former capital of the Inca Empire. Like many Inca constructions, the complex is made of large polished dry stone walls, with boulders carefully cut to fit together tightly without mortar. The site, at an altitude of 3,701 m, was added as part of the city of Cusco to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983.
Huayna Picchu
Mountain
Huayna Picchu, Wayna Picchu or Wayna Pikchu is a mountain in Peru around which the Urubamba River bends. It is located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, Machupicchu District. It rises over Machu Picchu, the so-called lost city of the Incas, and divides it into sections. The Incas built a trail up the side of the Huayna Picchu and built temples and terraces on its top. The peak of Huayna Picchu is about 2,720 metres above sea level, or about 360 metres higher than Machu Picchu. According to local guides, the top of the mountain was the residence for the high priest and the local virgins. Every morning before sunrise, the high priest with a small group would walk to Machu Picchu to signal the coming of the new day. The Temple of the Moon, one of the three major temples in the Machu Picchu area, is nestled on the side of the mountain and is situated at an elevation lower than Machu Picchu. Adjacent to the Temple of the Moon is the Great Cavern, another sacred temple with fine masonry. The other major local temples in Machu Picchu are the Temple of the Condor, Temple of Three Windows, Principal Temple, "Unfinished Temple", and the Temple of the Sun, also called the Torreon.
Sacred Valley
Geographical Feature
The Sacred Valley of the Incas or the Urubamba Valley is a valley in the Andes of Peru, close to the Inca capital of Cusco and the ancient city of Machu Picchu. It is located in the present-day Peruvian region of Cusco. In colonial documents it is referred to as the "Valley of Yucay." According to recent researches it encompasses the heartland of the Inca Empire. The valley is generally understood to include everything between Calca and Lamay, Písac, and Ollantaytambo. The valley was formed by the Urubamba River, also known as Willkanuta River or Willkamayu. The latter, in Quechua, the still spoken lingua franca of the Inca Empire, means the sacred river. It is fed by numerous rivers which descend through adjoining valleys and gorges, and contains numerous archaeological remains and villages. The valley was appreciated by the Incas due to its special geographical and climatic qualities. It was one of the empire's main points for the extraction of natural wealth, and one of the most important areas for maize production in Peru northwards from Pisac. The early Incas may have come from Wimpillay, as their mummies had been discovered there. Large scale maize production started around 1400 as Inca urban agriculture based on varieties bred in Moray, either a governmental crop lab or a seedling nursery of the Incas.
Larco Museum
Museum
The Larco Museum is a privately owned museum of pre-Columbian art, located in the Pueblo Libre District of Lima, Peru. The museum is housed in an 18th-century vice-royal building built over a 7th-century pre-Columbian pyramid. It showcases chronological galleries that provide a thorough overview of 4,000 years of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. It is well known for its gallery of pre-Columbian erotic pottery.
Paracas National Reserve
National park
The Paracas National Reserve is located in Ica, Peru and consists of the Paracas Peninsula, coastal areas and tropical desert extending to the south slightly past Punta Caimán, a total of 335,000 ha. It includes Bahía de la Independencia and miles of coastal waters. Its main purpose is to preserve the marine ecosystem and protect the historical cultural heritage related to ancient indigenous peoples, mostly of the Paracas culture. The reserve is home to many species of wildlife, particularly birds
Monastery of San Francisco, Lima
Tourist attraction
Convento de San Francisco is the Spanish name for Saint Francis Monastery located in Lima, Peru at Ancash, south of Parque la Muralla and one block northeast from the Plaza Mayor. The church and convent are part of the Historic Centre of Lima, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991. Aside from a church and monastery it also contains a library and catacombs. In this church, Jude the Apostle is venerated. At the feast of Saint Jude Tadeus a one and a half ton weighing silver stand is carried round in procession by 40 people, starting from the convent.
Torre Tagle Palace
Palace
The Torre Tagle Palace is a Spanish Baroque palace located at Jr. Ucayali 363, in downtown Lima, Peru, a couple blocks east of the Plaza de Armas. The palace currently is home to the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The palace was commissioned in 1715 by Don Jose Bernardo de Tagle y Bracho: 1st Marqués of Torre Tagle, who at the time was treasurer of the Royal Spanish fleet, for his own personal use as his home. The exterior of the palace has a baroque stone doorway. The main facade is made from stone in the first wing and plaster in the second. The style is Sevillian baroque with a strong Mudéjar influence. The materials used in its construction were brought from Spain, Panama and Central America. Apart from carved columns, the palace is distinguished by two finely worked balconies in dark wood. These balconies adapt the European architecture to vernacular Peruvian tradition. The interiors feature Sevillian tiles, plasterwork, wooden columns, lobed Moorish arches and soaring coffered ceilings. It is considered to have a true "Limeño" architectural originality, harmoniously combining Andalusian, Moorish, Criollo and Asian features. The public cannot easily visit the inside, but some visits can be made by appointment only at the office of 'Imagen Institucional del organismo público'.
Tambo Colorado
Tourist attraction
Tambo Colorado is a well-preserved Inca adobe complex near the coast of Peru, also known under the Quechua names Puka Tampu, Pukallaqta or Pukawasi.
Titicaca National Reservation
National park
The Titicaca National Reservation is located in the Puno Region, Peru, in the Puno and Huancané provinces. Its main purpose is to preserve the ecosystems and landscapes of the Titicaca lake and surrounding Central Andean wet puna ecoregion.
Shadows-on-the-Teche
National Register of Historic Places Location
Shadows-on-the-Teche is an historic house and garden owned and operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It was built in 1831-1834 for sugarcane planter David Weeks and his wife Mary C. Weeks. A National Historic Landmark, the house is located in New Iberia, Louisiana.
Pikillaqta
Tourist attraction
Pikillaqta is a large Wari culture archaeological site 20 km east of Cusco in the Quispicanchi Province. Pikillacta is a village of the Wari people. Wari was the center village and other cities like Pikillacta were influenced from it. The Wari also inhabited many other sites around the area. The site was occupied from about 550 to 1100AD. Its main use was for ceremonies and the site was no complete when it was abandoned.
Sanctuary of Las Nazarenas
Building
The Sanctuary of Las Nazarenas is a church in Lima and is the site of the Peruvian catholic procession of the Lord of Miracles, Señor de los Milagros, who is also the patron of the city. It was constructed together with the Monastery of Nazarenas in 1771, after a major earthquake in 1746. From this church begins America's most important religious procession on October 18 and 28.