1. Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is an Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains in Peru, above the Urubamba River valley. Built in the 15th century and later abandoned, it’s renowned for its sophisticated dry-stone walls that fuse huge blocks without the use of mortar, intriguing buildings that play on astronomical alignments and panoramic views. Its exact former use remains a mystery.

Inca Trail

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is a hiking trail in Peru that terminates at Machu Picchu. It consists of three overlapping trails: Mollepata, Classic, and One Day. Mollepata is the longest of the three routes with the highest mountain pass and intersects with the Classic route before crossing Warmiwañusqa. Daily number of visitors is being restricted to preserve the site, so you need to book some months in advance.

2. Cusco

Cusco, a city in the Peruvian Andes, was once capital of the Inca Empire, and is now known for its archaeological remains and Spanish colonial architecture. Plaza de Armas is the central square in the old city, with arcades, carved wooden balconies and Incan wall ruins. The baroque Santo Domingo Convent was built on top of the Incan Temple of the Sun (Qoricancha), and has archaeological remains of Inca stonework.

3. Colca Canyon

Colca Canyon, a river canyon in southern Peru famed as one of the world's deepest, is a well-known trekking destination. It's a habitat for the giant Andean condor, on view from overlooks like Cruz del Condor. The canyon landscape comprises a green valley and remote traditional villages with terraced agriculture that predates the Incas. Its Colca River is popular for rafting.

4. Uros Islands

The Uru or Uros are an indigenous people of Peru and Bolivia. They live on an approximate and still growing 120 self-fashioned floating islands in Lake Titicaca near Puno. They form three main groups: the Uru-Chipaya, Uru-Murato, and Uru-Iruito.

5. Nazca Lines

The Nazca Lines in southern Peru are a group of pre-Columbian geoglyphs etched into desert sands. Covering an area of nearly 1,000 sq. kilometers, there are about 300 different figures, including animals and plants. Composed of over 10,000 lines, some of which measure 30 meters wide and stretch more than 9 kilometers, the figures are most visible from the air or nearby hilltops.

6. Sacred Valley

The Sacred Valley is a region in Peru's Andean highlands. Along with the nearby town of Cusco and the ancient city of Machu Picchu, it formed the heart of the Inca Empire. Stretching roughly 60 kilometers, it’s an area of fertile farmland and Spanish colonial villages like Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Pisac is known for its Sunday handicraft market and hilltop Incan citadel.

7. Arequipa

Arequipa is the colonial-era capital of Peru’s Arequipa Region. Framed by 3 volcanoes, it's filled with baroque buildings constructed from sillar, a white volcanic stone. Its historic center is anchored by the Plaza de Armas, a stately main square flanked on its north by the 17th-century neoclassical Basilica Cathedral, which houses a museum displaying religious objects and artwork.

8. Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca, straddling the border between Peru and Bolivia in the Andes Mountains, is one of South America's largest lakes and the world’s highest navigable body of water. Said to be the birthplace of the Incas, it’s home to numerous ruins. Its waters are famously still and brightly reflective. Around it is Titicaca National Reserve, sheltering rare aquatic wildlife such as giant frogs.

9. Puerto Maldonado

Puerto Maldonado is the capital city of the Madre de Dios region in southeast Peru. It's also known as a gateway to the southern Amazon jungle. The central Obelisco tower offers views over the city, plus local history exhibits. A busy ferry dock sits on the edge of the Madres de Dios river, close to the Plaza de Armas. Near the city, biodiverse Tambopata National Reserve spans savannah and old-growth rainforest.

10. Lima Region

Lima, the capital of Peru, lies on the country's arid Pacific coast. Though its colonial center is preserved, it's a bustling metropolis and one of South America’s largest cities. It's home to the Museo Larco collection of pre-Columbian art and the Museo de la Nación, tracing the history of Peru’s ancient civilizations. The Plaza de Armas and the 16th-century cathedral are the heart of old Lima Centro.

11. Ica

Ica is a city in southern Peru. On its main square Plaza de Armas, the cathedral has a neoclassical façade. Damaged by a 2007 earthquake, the Lord of Luren Church once held an idol of Ica’s patron saint, now housed in a Carmelite convent. Ica Regional Museum shows ancient pottery. Southwest, Huacachina village is an oasis set amid sand dunes, like the huge Cerro Blanco. Its Huacachina Lagoon is ringed by palm trees.

12. Pisco

Pisco is a port city on Peru's southern coast, known for the grape brandy of the same name. It's a gateway to the uninhabited Ballestas Islands, home to scores of sea lions, pelicans, Peruvian boobies and Humboldt penguins. Nearby is the Paracas National Reserve, which encompasses desert, ocean and the Paracas Peninsula. Also here is the Paracas Candelabra geoglyph, a huge hillside etching of mysterious origins.

13. Islas Ballestas

The Ballestas Islands are a group of small islands near the town of Paracas within the Paracas District of the Pisco Province in the Ica Region, on the south coast of Peru.

14. Máncora District

Máncora is a resort town in the Piura Region, on Peru's northwest coast. It's known for sandy Máncora beach, whose large waves attract surfers. Las Pocitas and Vichayito beaches are calmer. Restaurants and cafes line the main street, Avenida Piura. The town's bars fuel a lively nightlife scene. La Poza de Barro hot springs and mud baths lie southeast of town. Migrating whales visit the waters offshore.

15. Iquitos

Iquitos is a Peruvian port city and gateway to the jungle lodges and tribal villages of the northern Amazon. Its district of Belén is known for its massive open-air street market and rustic stilt houses lining the Itaya River. In the historic center, the Main Square (Plaza de Armas) is surrounded by European-influenced buildings dating to the region's turn-of-the-20th-century boom in rubber production.

16. Santa Catalina Monastery

The Monastery of Santa Catalina de Siena is a monastery of nuns of the Dominican Second Order, located in Arequipa, Peru.

17. Cordillera Blanca

The Cordillera Blanca is a mountain range in Peru that is part of the larger Andes range and extends for 200 kilometres

18. Chan Chan

Chan Chan is a pre-Colombian city and archaeological site near Trujillo on northern Peru's desert coast. It was the seat of the ancient Chimú civilization before it fell to the Incas. The vast adobe complex has citadels, including the partially restored Tschudi Palace. It also encompasses temples, plazas and cemeteries. The Museo de Sitio Chan Chan displays stone artifacts, ceramics and history exhibits.

19. Choquequirao

Choquequirao is an Incan site in south Peru, similar in structure and architecture to Machu Picchu. The ruins are buildings and terraces at levels above and below Sunch'u Pata, the truncated hill top.

20. Sipán

Huaca Rajada, also known as Sipán, is a Moche archaeological site in northern Peru in the Lambayeque Valley, that is famous for the tomb of Lord of Sipán, excavated by Walter Alva and his wife Susana Meneses beginning in 1987