Peru

Peru is the heart of the Inca world, high in the Andes. Cusco, the old Inca capital, keeps its colonial churches built straight onto Inca stone walls. The Sacred Valley of the Incas, with its terraces, markets and villages strung along the Urubamba River, leads on to Machu Picchu, the citadel hidden in the cloud forest. Altitude is part of the journey: many itineraries begin in the Sacred Valley, which lies lower than Cusco, so the body can acclimatise.

High on the Altiplano, Lake Titicaca is home to the floating Uros islands, woven from reeds. Arequipa, the “white city” built of volcanic sillar stone, sits beneath the El Misti volcano, and nearby in the Colca Canyon Andean condors soar above the gorge. Lima, on cliffs above the Pacific, is one of the world’s great food capitals: ceviche, Nikkei cooking and Andean ingredients reinvented by its chefs.

The Andes have a dry season, roughly May to September, with sunny days and cold nights, and a rainy season, roughly November to March. Lima is mild in its winter, though often overcast. Peru suits culture and history lovers, food lovers, hikers and photographers, as well as honeymooners looking for a sense of adventure.