Top 10 Things To Do In Peru

Last Updated on August 31, 2022 by James Bustamante

Peru encompasses several unique destinations with many fun activities. As a result, finding fun things to do in Peru is not very difficult. Most travelers have quite the opposite issue, finding enough time to head to as many destinations and participate in as many activities as possible. Below I’ve made a list of the top 10 things to do in Peru to add to your bucket list.

Explore As Much of Machu Picchu As Possible

Quite possibly, the most popular activity in Peru and one of the most recognizable in the world is the Machu Picchu tour. Thousands of travelers visit the Inca citadel daily by taking the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, then taking the bus up the mountain to the main gates.

This Incan structure still holds many mysteries regarding its purpose. Some scholars believe it was mainly used as a place for rest or a type of summer home for Incan royalty, while others argue that Machu Picchu served as an astronomy hub. 

Among the temples in Machu Picchu, you’ll be able to visit the temple of the sun, the temple of the three windows, the temple of the condor, the Incan water mirrors, and several other landmarks. 

Visiting Machu Picchu is among Peru’s most popular and anticipated things to do in Peru. When planning your trip, remember that in the Peruvian highlands, we have both dry and wet periods.

The high season coincides with the dry period in Machu Picchu. It extends from late April to late August, and it is the time of the year when you’ll get the best highland weather possible.

September and October see an increase in precipitation, and November – February are part of the rainy season in the region. The rainy season also coincides with smaller crowds, an advantage for some travelers.

Take The Wayna Picchu or Mount Machu Picchu Hikes

You’ll find that taking the Huayna Picchu (Wayna Picchu) or Machu Picchu mountain hikes is the most popular activity among the top things to do in the Inca complex. 

Travelers arrive in Cusco every day hoping to secure a ticket to Machu Picchu and the hiking permits for either of the additional hikes in the citadel. 

The Hayna Picchu (or Wayna Picchu) hike is commonly referred to as the stairs of death. The reason for its interesting alias is that the walk is a vertical climb up an ancient flight of cobblestone stairs.

Travelers brave enough to reach the top are rewarded with inspiring views of the mountains and Machu Picchu below. Adding to the list of top things to do in Peru is a visit to the moon temple. Once travelers get past the midway point on the climb, they’ll have access to the moon temple, which was hidden from people for several years. 

The Machu Picchu mountain hike is also one of the other climbs within the Machu Picchu complex. However, it is not as vertical as the climb at Huayna Picchu. Instead, it is a path that runs around the mountain and leads to the very top. The result is reaching a point even higher than Huayna Picchu with equally, and some might say more impressive views of Machu Picchu below. 

I would recommend taking the Huayna Picchu hike during the dry period. The cobblestone steps can be slippery on rainy days.

Explore The Mysterious Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon rainforest covers large portions of Peru, and it’s astounding that only a few locations are accessible to travelers. However, there are two main destinations in the Peruvian Amazon oriented toward tourism: Puerto Maldonado and Iquitos. 

Iquitos is the second largest Amazonian city in South America; the incredible thing is that it is not accessible by road. The only way travelers can reach Iquitos is by boat from other points in the Amazon or by plane. Activities in Iquitos include:

• Amazon rainforest riverboat cruises
• Nature walks
• Visits to Belen Market
• Canopy tree top tours

Puerto Maldonado is considrered a towm so it is much smaller than Iquitos by comparison. To reach Puerto Maldonado we can taka a plane fromn Lima or Cusco. Most travelers don’t stay in town for long as the point of coming to Puerto Maldonado is to take a boat to the Tambopata Amazon rainforest nature reserve. Activities at the reservation include:

• Birdwatching
• Canopy bridge walks
• Canoeing
• Rainforest excursions
• Nature photography

Navigate Across Lake Titicaca

The highest navigable lake in the world is known as Lake Titicaca. Travelers can hop on a boat tour and visit the floating Uros Islands and the Island of Taquile on the same day. 

The Uros islands are a group of over 20 islands made from a local species of reed. The people of “Uros” will dry the reeds and layer them over each other. Construction of the floating island continues with a thick layer of various types of mud and then more dry reeds.

The result is a floating island where the locals can continue to live for 20 to 26 years. Tourists flock to the islands to take pictures with the people of Uros, and some even stay in lodges built on the island. 

You will also get the chance to purchase items made by native tribes, like Alpaca carpets, wool garments, and pottery. 

The other popular thing to do on the Lake Titicaca tour is to visit the Island of Taquile. The boat tour will typically head to Taquile after the morning around the Uros Islands. Taquile is a traditional Island where you can walk around and explore for a couple of hours.

The local tribe of Quechua people will also present their local culture, clothing, and design. In fact, several important clothing brands send designers to learn about patterns from the famous Taquile weavers and purchase unique garments for runway shows. 

Taquile has some of the most amazing views of the lake, the surrounding islands, and impressive landscapes; you can even see as far as the Bolivian mountains. 

The best time of the year to visit Lake Titicaca is during the dry season, from April to August, if you want clear skies every day. 

Take Any Hike Leading To Machu Picchu

Suppose you’re an adventurous traveler who enjoys camping out in the wilderness. When searching for things to do in Peru, why not take a multi-day hike across the Andes to Machu Picchu?

Among the several treks which accomplish the objective of reaching Machu Picchu, we have the Classic Inca Trail, The 2-Day Inca Trail, and The Salkantay Inca Trek. Each hike will take travelers through at least one full day to 5 days of hiking and camping. 

The classic Inca trail is a four-day journey that starts around an hour and a half from Cusco at “Piscakucho.” Travelers will then hike and camp throughout the most important traditional trail used by the Incas to get to Machu Picchu. On the final day of the classic Inca Trail, hikers will enter Machu Picchu via the sun gate. 

The Salkantay trek is a trail that runs almost parallel to the classic Inca Trail but with several key differences. For starters, the Salkantay trek is more oriented toward viewing nature, while the traditional will show more Incan ruins along its route.

The Salkantay trek is also a bit more complicated since it runs along a path that is located at a higher elevation. The result is an “off the beaten path” adventure where the hiker is more likely to spot indigenous wildlife. On day four, the hiking party reaches the small town of “Aguas Calientes,” where they will spend a night before heading to Machu Picchu the following morning.

The final Machu Picchu hiking option is the two-day Inca Trail, also known as the express Inca Trail. This faster version of the trek focuses on travelers who want to do a bit of hiking but don’t necessarily want to camp out for several nights.

Trekkers walk through a route on the traditional trail for about 8 hours before finally reaching Aguas Calientes and spending the night in a hotel. The following morning the group heads to Machu Picchu for the guided tour. 

Try Peruvian Food and Visit The Best Restaurants in The World

Peru receives all types of travelers every day. Some are more adventurous than others, which isn’t just about hiking trips. Being an adventurous traveler can also mean trying local dishes. 

There are various local dishes travelers can try, like Ceviche (fish marinated in lime juice and hot peppers) or Lomo Saltado (stir-fried beef sirloin). After the initial taste of the local cuisine, most travelers will try dishes like Aji de Gallina (chicken stew in yellow pepper sauce), Cau-Cau (beef tripe stew in turmeric sauce), Cabrito a la Nortena (goat stew made northern style), among others. 

Lastly, once a traveler has just flat out admitted that Peruvian food is among the best in the world, they’ll move on to the more regional dishes. Among some of the more regional cuisines, travelers will find Cuy Chactado (fried guinea pig in a panka sauce), Lomo de Alpaca ( Alpaca steaks with various side dishes), Sopa de Cabeza de Cordero (sheep heads soup).  

Peru also has some of the best restaurants in the world according to “The 50 Best Ranking”. Central and Maido rank in the top 10 and offer gourmet experiences using local produce and applying exciting concepts on traditional dishes.

Full List of 50 Best Restaurants in the world: https://www.theworlds50best.com/list/1-50

Peru also won the world travel awards under the category of best culinary destination several years in a row. Beating countries like Italy, Japan, Spain, and France in the contest. 

My personal experience with Peruvian food is to start with something simple and then move on to the more regional dishes and restaurants. 

Go Sandboarding In Ica

Just a few hours from Lima, there is an adventure seeker’s paradise. The city of Ica is famous for the Huacachina Oasis and the massive sand dunes surrounding it. 

One of the more popular things to do while visiting Ica is to go on a dune buggy tour of the desert. The transport will take you on a fun-filled ride over the mountains of sand and then park while you explore the landscape. The guides will bring out sandboards for you and give you a short lesson on how to sandboard correctly. After the short class, you are ready to go off and own the dunes. 

Travelers will also get the chance to visit a real oasis in the middle of the desert. Huacachina lagoon is surrounded by restaurants and hotels where travelers can spend the day exploring. Visitors can also board the paddle boats and hang out on the water. 

Ica, the Huacachina oasis, and the dunes are just three and a half hours from Lima. Travelers can leave Lima early in the morning and return that evening after a full day of exploring the desert. 

Visitors can also spend the night in Ica at one of the many hotels and head to our next activity on the top 10 things to do in Peru list. After that, it’s time to experience the flight over the Nazca lines!

Fly Over The Nazca Lines

The Nazca lines are a group of geoglyphs spread across the vast Nazca desert. The Nazca lines take on geometric forms as well as a monkey, birds, and even humanoids. 

The making and use of the Nazca lines are still, for the most part, a mystery to specialists on the matter. However, the Nazca lines’ origins date anywhere from 200BC to 700BC and were discovered by Maria Reiche in the 1940s.

The only way to appreciate the glyphs is on a fly-over tour. Travelers in Ica can head to the local airport and board one of the departing small engine plane tours to cover most, if not all, of the Nazca lines territory.

The total flight over the lines is a 30 -45 minute tour depending on how much travelers want to see and how far into the desert they want to go. 

Photograph Andean Condors

After visiting Cusco, travelers can head to the Arequipa region to visit the famous Colca Canyon. Once thought to be the deepest canyon in the world, hiking the Colca is now on travelers’ list of things to do in Peru. The Colca Canyon is also one of the destinations where you are almost assured of seeing giant Andean Condors in their natural habitat. 

There is a point called “La Cruz del Condor” in the Colca Canyon, where visitors get the best chance to photograph these massive birds. Travelers typically see them circling above, catching hot thermal winds to swoosh past tourists. 

The Cruz del Condor is an excellent spot to see condors because travelers are slightly higher than the condors’ nesting areas. Travelers can also opt to hike the Colca Canyon trail to see some of the other local wildlife.

Celebrate With Locals The Inti Raymi Festival

Inti Raymi is a significant celebration that takes place at the Sacred Valley. The locals take the celebration of the sun and winter solstice festival very seriously and hold festivals, parties, and a lot of dancing throughout Cusco and the Sacred Valley.

The day that signals the start of Inti Raymi falls on June 21st and culminates on June 24th. Still, the celebrations are already going on several days before and a few days after the official festivity date.

Visitors can join in on the festivities along with local dances, eating local food, and drinking “Chicha de Jora,” an alcoholic drink made from fermented corn.  

Conclusion

Visitors can plan their entire trip around some of the top 10 things to do in Peru and still won’t cover all the great stuff to see. From touring colonial Lima and trying the famous Peruvian Ceviche, sandboarding down the Ica dunes, and climbing the highest peak in the Machu Picchu tour. There is no shortage of fun activities and exciting destinations to add to their itinerary! 

For more information on things to do in Peru, destinations, tours, day hikes, or anything related to Peru travel, don’t hesitate to contact our expert travel advisors.