The Inca Trail is arguably the most famous hiking trail in the world. The combination of hiking along a trail through the Andes Mountains, the largest mountain chain in South America and stunningly beautiful, and discovering ruins built with intricate, highly skilled stonework, is too special of an experience to pass up. This trail is hiked by people from all over the world, young and old, who are fit and ready to retrace Inca footsteps.

Many people have heard of the famous Inca Trail, most known for the famous ruins found at the end. Like a pot at the end of a rainbow, Machu Picchu is a sweeter discovery if you arrive through the Sun Gate in the same manner the Inca arrived at this famous mountain-top citadel. The Inca Trail was actually a part of an intricate road system that was so highly advanced it is considered the most advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America.

Peruvian food is one of the most enduring memories of a Peru vacation, which comes as little surprise given the astonishing range of flavors and ingredients to be found in the country's long and well established culinary traditions. Peruvian food is the very definition of fusion cooking, mixing influences as diverse as Spain and Europe, Afro-Caribbean and Creole, plus the wide range of local traditions, including a coastal love affair with fish and seafood, the hearty potato and corn dishes of the highlands and the steamy tropical traditions of the jungle.

The Sacred Valley is one of the most important destinations during most people's Peru vacations. This dramatic landscape of snowcapped mountains, green valleys, gushing rivers and countless tiny rural villages and settlements is often the pinnacle to a Peru travel experience. Sacred Valley tours are offered by all international Peru vacation package providers but the adventurous can easily set out alone and see the best of the Sacred Valley on a two day loop.

The defining memory of most Peru vacations is the moment upon reaching the lookout point known as the Watchman's Hut, the starting point of all Machu Picchu tours, where the staggering beauty of this world-famous citadel is finally revealed in its glorious setting, hidden within the clouds atop a jungle-clad mountain. By far the most convenient way to visit Machu Picchu is with a provider of Peru vacation packages, but for the most adventurous and those with a decent grasp of Spanish, it's possible to find your own way there and track down a guide on the day.

A highlight of any Peru travel experience is getting the chance to delight in Peru's increasingly famous cuisine heritage. A Peru vacation is incomplete without a taste of the country's finest offerings; of which raw fish ceviche, guinea pig and llama steaks are just the beginning. Arequipa, Peru's second city, is the country's culinary leader as this guide, written by a Peru travel expert, demonstrates.

Many people in the world that know of Peru will have heard of the ancient civilization of the Incas, made so famous through the defeat of the Incas by the colonizing Spanish and the 'discovery' of Machu Picchu by the western world. However what most people to the region are unaware of is that actually the Incas were only one of the many complex civilizations that lived in the Andean region of what is now Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.

The snowcapped mountains to the north and east of Huaraz make it easy to see why it is one of South America's foremost hiking and climbing destinations. The Cordillera Negra and the Cordillera Blanca are one of the most impressive ranges in the Andes. Hidden in the glaciated mountains are sparkling lakes with unusual shades of jade, emerald, and turquoise.

Given the vast number of must-see destinations to fit in to a single Peru Vacation, it is hardly surprising that Peru's capital city of Lima is often overlooked by visitors who are keen to get started on their Machu Picchu Tour, Sacred Valley excursions and Amazon adventures. Yet, as it is home to around one third of the country's entire population, more persistent visitors will find that Lima offers a taste of all the popular Peru vacation destinations in one vast city.

If you want an awesome two week trip for your Peru vacation, try this route: Puerto Maldonado, Cusco / Sacred Valley of the Incas, Machu Picchu, Puno / Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Nazca, Ballesta Islands ending in Lima. With this route you can experience the vast biodiversity of Peru's flora and fauna, wander the ruins of the Pre - Columbian civilizations and enjoy the best of the major cities. To start, you will probably need to fly to Lima and Lima to Puerto Maldonado.

The city of Cusco is one of Peru's most important - and most visited - travel destinations, and for good reason: this was the heart of the Inca Empire, a place where all the myth and legend of ancient Andean societies found their most visible and enduring expressions. And that legacy is everywhere; in the city's great ruins and the enormous stone walls that remain standing to this day, in the surrounding villages that have been continuously inhabited for countless centuries and in the faces of the Quechua-speaking locals - people who have seen empires come and go, while their culture and traditions remain as vibrant as ever.