Backpacking Peru: 17 best places to visit
The most rewarding stops for backpackers in Peru, ranked and mapped — and real routes through them, written by travellers who went.
Read Peru stories1
Machu Picchu
Cusco
The lost Inca citadel.
2
Cusco
Cusco
Inca-and-colonial mountain capital.
- 3
Rainbow Mountain
Cusco
Striped high-altitude ridge.
4
Lake Titicaca
Puno
Reed islands on a vast lake.
- 5
Arequipa
Arequipa
White-stone city by volcanoes.
6
Sacred Valley
Cusco
Inca ruins and markets.
7
Huacachina
Ica
Desert oasis and dune buggies.
8
Colca Canyon
Arequipa
Condors over a deep gorge.
9
Lima
Lima
Coastal capital, world food.
10
Nazca Lines
Ica
Giant desert-floor drawings.
11
Huaraz
Ancash
Turquoise lakes and trekking.
12
Ollantaytambo
Cusco
Living Inca town and fortress.
13
Paracas
Ica
Wildlife islands and desert coast.
14
Iquitos
Loreto
Amazon river-city gateway.
15
Mancora
Piura
Sunny northern surf beach.
16
Puerto Maldonado
Madre de Dios
Jungle-lodge Amazon base.
17
Kuelap
Amazonas
Cloud-forest fortress ruins.
Backpacking routes through Peru
Real trips through Peru, drawn on maps by the people who took them.
Peru's South Circuit: Arequipa, Colca Canyon and Lake Titicaca
Peru beyond Machu Picchu: Arequipa's white city, a two-day trek into Colca Canyon among condors, then a Lake Titicaca homestay on Amantaní island.
Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu Without a Tour
How to do Cusco, Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu independently: colectivos, the budget train options, tickets, and acclimatising right.
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