Most people go to Peru for Machu Picchu, and they should. It really is one of the wonders of the world. But Peru is also the Amazon rainforest, Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca and one of the best food scenes in the Americas, and if you only see the ruins you leave most of the country on the table.
What is there to do in Peru besides Machu Picchu? Plenty. Eat your way through Lima's tasting menus, sleep in a Sacred Valley hacienda while you get used to the altitude, meet the reed-island families of Lake Titicaca and visit the Afro-Peruvian towns south of Lima. Give Peru a full week and go between April and October.
Key facts
- Best months: roughly April to October, the dry season in the Andes. Lima is good year-round.
- Where to stay: the Sacred Valley (Explora, Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba or Sol y Luna), plus Belmond Sanctuary Lodge at the gates of Machu Picchu.
- Altitude: spend two or three nights in the Sacred Valley first. It sits lower than Cusco.
- Caviar trip:The Peru Experience, seven days through Arequipa, Lake Titicaca and Cusco on the Belmond Andean Explorer, with the Hiram Bingham train to Machu Picchu.
The regions that matter
Lima is for eating, museums and the ocean, and it's good year-round. Cusco gives you colonial streets and Inca stonework. The Sacred Valley is where you sleep well and acclimatize before Machu Picchu. The Amazon, reached through Iquitos or Puerto Maldonado, is for wildlife and lodges on the river. Lake Titicaca is for Indigenous culture and very thin air. In the Andes, the dry season from roughly April to October is the easiest time to go.
Lima: a food capital
Photo: Emmanuel Cassar / Unsplash
A lot of travelers fly into Lima a day early just for the tasting menus. Central was named the world's best restaurant at The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2023, and Maido took the No.1 spot in 2025.
- Central: Virgilio Martínez and Pía León's tasting menu moves through Peru by altitude, from the Pacific to the Andes to the Amazon
- Maido: Mitsuharu Tsumura's Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian) cooking
- Kjolle: Pía León's own restaurant, in the same building as Central
Book these as early as you can, because tables go months ahead. My Lima food guide has the full list, cevicherías included.
The Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu in luxury
A few hotels we love here:
- Explora Valle Sagrado in Urubamba, built around guided hikes and excursions
- Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba, with its own organic farm
- Sol y Luna, known for its horses and gardens
- Belmond Sanctuary Lodge, the only hotel right at the entrance to Machu Picchu
- Palacio Nazarenas, A Belmond Hotel, back in Cusco: a former convent with a heated courtyard pool and a MICHELIN Key
Photo: Courtesy of Belmond
Photo: Courtesy of Belmond
Where we stay on our trip: Palacio del Inka in Cusco, Casa Andina Premium in Arequipa and the Belmond Andean Explorer sleeper train.
My advice is to spend two or three nights in the Sacred Valley before Machu Picchu. The valley sits lower than Cusco, so your body adjusts more gently, the scenery is beautiful, and you can see Inca sites like Ollantaytambo and Moray at an easy pace. When you're ready for the ruins, my Machu Picchu guide covers tickets, circuits and the trains.
What Black travelers should know
Peru has a proud Afro-Peruvian community, with deep roots in El Carmen and Chincha, south of Lima. The music traditions, festejo and landó, are distinctly African-descended, and visiting these communities gives you a diaspora connection most travelers miss.
In smaller towns you may get some curious looks. Lima is a big, mixed city, and most of our travelers find Peru warm and welcoming.
If you'd like someone else to hold the details, The Peru Experience is our seven-day private trip, sleeper train and all. Or book a free consultation and we'll plan your Peru together. You deserve to see more than one wonder.
Destination Guide
Destination Guide
Destination Guide