Located virtually at the center of Peru’s 1,610-mile (2600km) coastline, Lima is usually the starting point for any trip to the country, but it also offers excellent opportunities in its own right to explore and discover.

Built by the Spanish on the foundations of plundered and razed Inca temples and palaces, Cusco is an enticing destination worthy of several days exploration. Conquistador Francisco Pizarro reached Cusco in November 1533 and was astonished by the city’s beauty. The stonework was better than any in Spain and precious metals were used in temples throughout the city.

This mountain-ringed Inca sanctuary, never found by the Spanish conquistadors, was "discovered" for the outside world in 1911 by American explorer Hiram Bingham. Remote and legendary, the labyrinthine hilltop complex is the most spectacular archaeological site in South America.