Peru Tourist Guide

You have a choice of gorgeous 19th-century style wooden Amazon River boats that offer all the modern comforts of a floating five-start hotel. Down river cruises operate from Iquitos, Peru to Leticia, Colombia & Tabatinga, Brazil.  A cruise along the Ucayalí and Marañon Rivers navigates through the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, which offers a diverse variety of wildlife and bird species. You can go bird-watching on the Ampiyacu River, visit villages of Bora and Huitoto and stop at Pevas, the oldest Peruvian town on the Amazon.

You can combine a river cruise with a land tour to the renowned Inca ruins of Machu Piccu and city tours of Lima, Cuzco and Iquitos.

The city of Cuzco was the capital of the Inca empire and is the starting point for visits to the remarkable Inca ruins, the best known Machu Picchu and a tour can be combined with a river cruise. Iquitos is the largest town in the Peruvian rain forest region and the starting point for Amazon river cruises that take in visits to Indian villages, jungle hikes and bird-watching opportunities, finishing at Santa Rosa Island close to the cities of Leticia in Colombia and Tabatinga in Brazil.

A visit to Peru by cruise ship is likely to start in Callao, which is Lima's Pacific Ocean port. Alternatively, Peru can be reached by river cruise along the mighty Amazon. The Pacaya-Samiria Nature Reserve has 85 lakes and a rich biodiversity including 250 species of fish and 450 types of birds. In the south, on the border with Bolivia, Lake Tititcaca is the world's highest mountain lake and a boat trip can include a visit to the Indian communities living on Taquile Island.

Peru is a country of South America with a long Pacific coastline. The capital city, Lima, is on the Pacific coast and is the gateway to a country rich in cultural diversity, influenced by ancient civilisations and colonial heritage. Music and dancing and colourful costumes are found everywhere. Peru celebrates 3,000 festivals each year, some related to Christian saints' days and others to more ancient traditions of myth and magic.

Before the Spanish came in the 16th Century, the region was ruled by the Incas whose relics and city ruins are a major draw for visitors. The geography and culture of Peru is dominated by the Andes mountain range which runs down the country like a backbone parallel to the coast.  This divides the country into three regions, the hot coastal plain, the high mountains that are the source of its many rivers, and the Amazon Basin to the east. Peru is a developing country with mineral extraction and textiles the main industries. Tourism is growing in importance to the national economy.

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