| Cuzco | | | | Arequipa |
| Often the starting point for South America tours | | | | Some say this is the prettiest city in Peru. Arequipa is |
| because of its proximity to Machu Picchu, the city of | | | | home to many temples, elegant houses and palaces, |
| Cuzco consists of Inca roots combined with colonial | | | | which earn it the name "Ciudad Blanca" meaning |
| Spanish influences. Before the Spanish arrived, this city | | | | "White City". The architecture in its historic centre |
| was the capital of the Inca Empire for over three | | | | integrates European and native characteristics, and |
| hundred years, and has now been named this the | | | | has been designated as a World Heritage Site by |
| Historical Capital of Peru. What this means for tourists | | | | UNESCO. Coming here as part of your South |
| is a flood of culture to absorb from the two | | | | America Holidays will mean a tour of Santa Catalina, a |
| complementary architectural styles: cathedrals, temples | | | | convent that was closed to the world for 400 years. It |
| museums, markets, and the nearby ruins of the | | | | was built in 1579 and was once a place of quiet |
| Sacsayhuamán fortress, are all worth | | | | seclusion and prayer; now the convent serves as an |
| investigating. | | | | art gallery, with only about twenty nuns remaining on |
| Machu Picchu | | | | the complex. A tour of the galleries and refurbished |
| Not far from Cuzco is the essential destination for all | | | | buildings is like a step back in time, and takes only a |
| South America holidays. The ruined city of Machu | | | | little more than an hour. |
| Picchu was recently voted one of the new wonders | | | | Nazca |
| of the world and one of the most visited tourist sights | | | | In the Nazca desert, towards the south of Peru, are a |
| in South America. Tourshere will lead you up carved | | | | series of astonishing engravings in the desert floor. |
| steps and terraced hillside to a once secret city | | | | These engravings (known as 'geoglyphs') take the |
| cradled in the Machu Picchu Mountain. Here, you can | | | | form of geometric patterns and animals, some up to |
| look down on the valley 2350 meters below and | | | | two hundred metres across. They were constructed |
| imagine the isolation of the people who lived here | | | | by an ancient culture that exposed the pale bedrock |
| before its discovery. There's the option to make a day | | | | of the desert by carefully moving and removing |
| trip here by train, or even by helicopter, whereas the | | | | stones. Many good South America Holidayswill have |
| more energetic tourists might choose to walk the Inca | | | | the option of taking a flight over these patterns, |
| trail for a few days through the Andes and arrive at | | | | enabling passengers to get a sense of the scale and |
| the Lost City under their own power. | | | | artistry of these signals to the sky. |