Chavín de Huántar: Built more than 2,000 years before the Incas, this center of the Chavín culture includes underground tunnels that lead to the Lanzón, a carved rock pillar that was the focal point of the culture, which eventually spread across the Andes.

Lagunas Llanganuco: These turquoise blue, high-altitude lakes glow in the midday sun beneath the Cordillera Blanca snow pyramids.

Trekking the Andes

Cordillera Blanca: Two days is enough time for a quick jaunt through the mountain range and its corresponding Parque Nacional Huascarán, which includes Peru’s tallest peak.

Cordillera Huayhuash: Spend two weeks circumnavigating this stunning range, with some of the finest mountain scenery on earth.

Cordillera Negra: This often-overlooked range, just west of the Cordillera Blanca, offers challenging mountain bike routes with panoramas of glaciers and snow peaks.