IMAGES: PROM PERU; BALES WORLDWIDE Why? Visitors interested in immersing themselves in Peru’s ancient civilizations will fi nd plenty of tours designed to explore Inca and pre-Inca cultures. Several packages offer culturally enlightening trips to the tomb of the Lord of Sipan and the amazing Chan Chan ruins, as well as the historically-rich Machu Picchu, Cusco and Lake Titicaca. Those from Lima offer the opportunity to visit the Peruvian Gold Museum, an excellent private collection including pre-Columbian gold, silver and bronze, ceramics, weavings, mummies and an impressive exhibition from Spanish colonial times. Most tours, like that of Booking Peru, run for 13 days and include the highlights of Chiclayo, the Valley of the 26 Pyramids of Tucume and the National Museum Royal Tombs of Sipan. Travelers can also take in the Sun and Moon temples, the city of Trujillo and the adobe settlement of Chan Chan, capital of the Chimu empire. Other highlights include the Fortress of Sacsahuaman and the museums and ruins of Q’enqo. How? The 13-day cultural tour offered by Booking Peru costs from $2,016 per person. www.bookingperu.com What else? Peru Gateway Travel offers a three-day, two-night trip to the small city of Huaráz, the hub of hiking activity, and Chavin de Huantar, center of high Peruvian culture. www.peru-explorer.com Why? After the thrill of a long train ride, the port city of Puno may seem a bit drab at fi rst sight — but travelers shouldn’t be put off. On the banks of legendary Lake Titicaca, Puno is known as the folklore capital of Peru, boasting 300 traditional dances and dozens of street festivals. In early November, the city celebrates the birth of the fi rst Inca, Manco Capac, and his sister, Mama Ocllo, who according to legend rose out of Lake Titicaca in search of a place to establish the Inca empire. Lake Titicaca covers 3,305 square miles of Peru’s southern highlands and is South America’s largest lake at 11,500 feet above sea level. At this altitude, the lake shimmers with an iridescent blue hue illuminated by bright, pure sunlight — a stunning contrast to the red and brown surrounding hills. Many tour companies offer camping trips to the lake.Peru’s Uros people have a community of 300 around the totora reeds that sprout from the shallows of the lake. Families live on more than 40 fl oating islands in reed huts and travel in boats made from the reeds. They also make and sell reed-woven handicrafts. How? South America specialist, A Fine Tour, offers custom-made trips to Lake Titicaca. www.afi netour.com What else? Peru Gateway Travel offers family-themed tailored itineraries, including camping and catamaran trips to some of the 30 islands in Lake Titicaca, from $1,010 per person. www.peru-explorer.comCulture vulture:Peru’s ancient culturesFamily:Train to Lake Titicaca Why? First-time visitors keen to get an overview of Peru’s key attractions should consider a taster tour, covering a lot of ground and packing plenty into a relatively short period of time. One such itinerary is the 16-day Peruvian Explorer tour from Peru for Less, which starts with a three-day visit to the homes of native Ese’eja Indians. On day four, a small plane transports passengers to the lofty city of Cusco for archeological and historic tours, fi ne dining and the comfort of a fi ve-star hotel. Next it’s a drive out to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, where life has remained almost unchanged for 500 years, to visit the impressive ruins of Pisac and Ollantaytambo and the local artisan market in Pisac. On day six, a train takes you to Machu Picchu. Days seven to 13 take in the islands of Uros and Taquile, mythical Lake Titicaca, the Peruvian highlands and Andean villages, home to wildlife including llamas and alpacas. You soak up the atmosphere in colonial Arequipa before a fl ight over the Nazca Lines and a boat journey to the Ballest Islands. How? Peru for Less offers the Peruvian Explorer tour from $1,619 per person. www.peruforless.com What else? Booking Peru has an eight-day Peru Express package visiting Cusco, Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Lake Titicaca, Uros villages and the islands of Taquile from $1,016 per person. www.bookingperu.com First-timer:Peruvian taster ASTAnetwork Autumn 2007 89Short haul: Peru

200kmSOUTHPACIFICOCEANECUADORCOLOMBIABOLIVIA BRAZIL Cusco Puerto Maldonado TaquileIslandLake Titicaca Arequipa Puno Machu Picchu Sacred Valley of the Incas PisacUrubamba Canyon Sayacmarca Ollantaytambo Llullucha Valley Iquitos LIMAUros Chivay Chiclayo Tucume Valley of the 26 pyramids Lambayeque Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum Trujillo Chan Chan Q’enqo Puca PucaraNazca Ica Huaraz Huanuco Pucallpa Moyobamba Moquegua Tumbes CARIBBEANGalapagosMEXICOBRAZILPERUSOUTHAMERICA I decided to trade the exhilarating cocktail of Lima’s noise and traffi c for the squawking parrots, howling monkeys and pounding rain of the jungle. Swathed in vast, impenetrable forest, the Amazon is roughly the size of Germany, spanning 248,000 square miles and covering 40% of South America — the largest lowland in Latin America. Stretching 4,000 miles from Ecuador across Colombia and Brazil to the Bolivian border, the crescent-shaped Peruvian Amazon basin boasts some of the most extraordinary bio-diversity on the planet. I booked a tour to get up close to a huge variety of wildlife and although I would be just an hour’s fl ight time from the hubbub of the capital it was a world away. Iquitos is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest, where boats depart to journey along the Amazon and its tributaries, Nanay and Itaya. I chose an engine-powered cruiser over a wooden dug-out or a battered cargo tug. My backpack contained all the essentials, including water, sunblock, waterproofs and a fi rst-aid kit. I had my binoculars at the ready. The world’s largest watershed is packed with monkeys, reptiles, fi sh, rodents, dolphins and larger mammals including pumas and jaguars. For bird-watchers its ideal as Peru is home to more than 1,800 species — and a thrilling cacophony of screeches and squawks fi ll the Amazon’s treetops and mangrove forests. Giant blue butterfl ies and water lilies the size of dinner trays gave the inky-green water a surreal feel. We cut through vast swarms of hungry mosquitoes and under snakes coiled around ant-clad creepers, passing crocodiles basking on sun-baked mud. I soon felt highly MAP: ANN THOMSONinsiderwhen to goThe mountains and jungle are at their best after the rains, between May and September. January is hot and a good time to visit the coast.getting thereAccess from North America is usually via Miami, with the exception of Continental’s daily non-stop service from Newark and Sprit’s new service from Fort Lauderdale. Average ? ight time from Miami to Lima is 5hr 35min, from New York 7hr 30min.selling tipsBy Alex Fernandez, sales & operations manager, Sun God Peru Peru has a lot to offer a wide and diverse range of visitors, so take the time to learn about what’s available. Although Peru is a big nation, it has an excellent network of domestic ? ights. Getting around is easier than in many Latin American countries — a real boon for travelers with limited time. Peru recognizes the importance of tourism on its developing economy and has worked hard to reduce crime. There is a signi? cant Policia de Turismo (Tourist Police) presence. Natural reserves make up almost 13% of the Peruvian landscape. The Amazon Basin contains more than 400 species of mammals, 1,700 species of birds and over 50,000 species of plants. Peru celebrates 3,000 festivals each year, with a mix of Inca and Spanish cultural and artistic in? uences.privileged to be witnessing this wild, untamed land. My fellow passengers, a handful of Italian tourists, seemed equally awestruck, gasping at dark shadows in the water and mouthing “anaconda” wide-eyed. By nightfall we had reached our resting place, a wood and thatch lodge upriver. After a simple fi sh and rice meal, we swapped tales around an open fi re, sheltered from the rain by a jungle canopy. Our beds, a row of hammocks, were slung between two giant ceiba trees with trunks 30 metres wide.Without a doubt, the Peruvian Amazon is one of the world’s great wonders, a must-do experience for anyone keen to experience wilderness on a truly vast scale. Eyewitnessmarket updateTourism chiefs predict visitor numbers to Peru will top 1.8 million in 2007, a 12.5% increase. During the last ? ve years, Peru has achieved an 80% increase in tourism — the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, the Nazca Lines and the Amazon rank among the country’s big draws. According to the American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru), US tourists stay for an average of 13 nights, with 75% traveling to up to three cities. They also spend more than tourists of other nationalists at $1,241. 90 ASTAnetwork Autumn 2007 Short haul: Peru