Guide XVII
Things to Do in Peru
Start with
The Best Things to Do in Peru: A Complete Guide for 2026
From Machu Picchu and the Amazon to Lake Titicaca and the Nazca Lines, here are the best things to do in Peru in 2026 - the must-sees, the hidden gems, and how to plan it.
- Unique & Offbeat Things to Do in Peru Rainbow Mountain sees over a thousand people a day, so it is not off the beaten path. Here is where in Peru you will genuinely be alone, what each detour costs in travel days and soles, and the one I would skip.
- Free & Cheap Things to Do in Peru Most free-things lists in Peru quietly count the tip-based walking tours and the ruins that need a S/70 ticket. This one separates genuinely free from cheap from marketed-as-free, city by city, with 2026 prices.
- Festivals & Events in Peru (Inti Raymi & More) A month-by-month calendar of Peru's festivals, with Inti Raymi ticket prices, which dates move with Easter and which never do, and the two weeks you should not arrive without a booking.
- Adventure Activities in Peru Peru's adventure scene runs from a two-hour dune buggy ride at Huacachina to glaciated 6,000-metre peaks above Huaraz, and the sector is only loosely policed. Here are the real prices, the right seasons, and the questions worth asking before you hand over cash.
- Wildlife & Nature Experiences in Peru An honest, ecosystem-by-ecosystem look at what you will actually see: realistic sighting odds for every species worth chasing, when the macaw clay licks are busy, and why the Amazon lodge four hours upriver beats the one an hour from town.
- Peru’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites Peru has thirteen World Heritage properties, not twelve, and one of them is closed to tourists altogether. Here is the honest list, with fees, travel times, how long each site needs, and three routes that actually work.
- Inca Ruins in Peru Beyond Machu Picchu Twelve Inca sites that are worth the detour, what each one is actually for, and a straight explanation of the Boleto Turistico - including the Qorikancha trap that catches almost everyone.
- Best Hikes & Treks in Peru Most lists of Peru's best treks stop at the Inca Trail. This one covers the Cordillera Blanca, the Huayhuash, Ausangate and Colca too, with altitudes, permits and real 2026 prices for every route.
- Best Places to Visit in Peru Peru's highlights are scattered across a desert coast, the high Andes and the Amazon. Here is every major destination with the days it really needs, how you get there, and the two famous ones I would cut from a short trip.
- Best Things to Do in Peru for First-Timers Most Peru lists hand you 25 unmissable things and no way to choose between them. This one ranks them into three tiers, with the days and the dollars each one really costs, plus the ones I would skip on a first trip.