Peru

Machu Picchu tickets sell out months ahead. Book before you fly

Peru splits into three bands that could be separate countries: a desert coastal strip where Lima sits under permanent grey cloud for half the year, the Andes running down the middle at serious altitude, and Amazon rainforest covering the eastern sixty percent that almost nobody visits.

Machu Picchu is the reason most people come and it requires planning. Entry tickets are capped daily and sell out months ahead in high season, Inca Trail permits sell out further ahead still, and there are now timed circuits rather than free wandering. Alternatives like the Salkantay and Lares treks are less regulated and arguably better walking.

Cusco sits at 3,400 metres and altitude sickness is a real and common problem. Give yourself two days there before doing anything strenuous. Beyond the Inca circuit, Lima has one of the best restaurant scenes in the world, Arequipa and the Colca Canyon have condors, and the Nazca Lines still have no fully agreed explanation.

Annual events and festivals

• Inti Raymi, Cusco (24 Jun) — the Inca festival of the sun, re-enacted at Sacsayhuaman. The biggest event in the Andean calendar.
• Semana Santa, Ayacucho (Mar-Apr) — the most elaborate Holy Week in South America.
• Virgen de la Candelaria, Puno (Feb) — UNESCO listed, with tens of thousands of dancers and musicians over two weeks.
• Qoyllur Riti (May-Jun) — a pilgrimage to a glacier at 4,800 metres, blending Catholic and pre-Columbian belief.
• Independence Day, Fiestas Patrias (28-29 Jul) — two days of national celebration.
• Mistura food festival, Lima (varies) — the biggest gastronomic event in Latin America when it runs.
• Senor de los Milagros (Oct) — a purple-clad procession in Lima drawing hundreds of thousands.
• Corpus Christi, Cusco (Jun) — fifteen saints carried through the city, followed by chiriuchu feasting.
• Puno Week (Nov) — commemorating the legendary founding of the Inca empire at Lake Titicaca.
• Marinera Festival, Trujillo (Jan) — the national dance competition.