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Essential
Peru BY kevin chaffee
Machu Picchu
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eru has it all — a mostly temperate climate and diverse geography that ranges from the Andes Mountains and Amazon River Basin to highland plains and beautiful Pacific Ocean beaches. Ideally you’ll need at least ten days to see a satisfying selection of the Land of the Inca’s most amazing sights. After a 12-hour flight, that’s how long I spent as a guest of the Ministry of Trade to explore the colonial architecture and major museums of Lima followed by Cusco, the Sacred Valley, the incredible national monument of Machu Picchu and the north coast ciy of Trujillo. Make sure to spend as much time as possible on breakfast, lunch and dinner because the delicious national cuisine is among the world’s finest. Peru has some truly great hotels and it’s also safe, fun, stimulating, not too expensive and the people are friendly and kind.Who could ask for more? >>
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SETTLING IN The Westin Lima Hotel’s futuristic vibe extends upwards from its sleek lobby and zenlike spa and pool to all 30 floors of spacious rooms and suites, each boasting eye-popping views of the city through walls of floor-toceiling windows. The famed “Heavenly Beds,” comfortable furnishings and absence of street noise are a major plus along with enormous bathrooms featuring separate showers and tubs. Service was top notch and included a staff huddle to get my cell phone working at 1 a.m. Start the day with a breakfast buffet featuring an amazing selection of gluten-free items. From $225. (Calle Las Begonias, 450, San Isidro, 51-(1)-201-5000. www.starwoodhotels.com). EXPLORING LIMA Most of the capital’s olonial-era monuments
and churches are in the El Centro district near the Plaza de Armas, a vast square that has served as the city center since 1535. Start at the Palacio de Gobierno, the neo-baroque presidential palace where a spectacularly choreographed changing of the guard takes place at noon. Nearby attractions include the Iglesia de San Pedro , noted for its many beautiful altars and hand-painted tiles, the Convento de San Francisco (whose catacombs contain the bones of 75,000 people) and the Plaza San Martin, dominated by a massive statue of Simon Bolivar. Reserve in advance to visit the art- and antique-filled Casa Solariega de Aliaga, where the Aliga family has resided since 1536. (Jiron de la Union 224, casadealiaga.com). Museums are worth a visit, especially the Museo Pedro de Osma (Av. Pedro de Osma 423), a 19th-
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Changing of the Guard at the Presidential Palace
century mansion with impressive paintings and silver, and the Museo Larco (Av. Bolivar 1515), which boasts the world’s largest private collection of pre-Columbian art as well as the famous Sala Erotica, proof positive that ancient Peru’s inhabitants were no prudes. DINING HOTSPOTS Virgilio Martinez, who trained at Lutèce in Par is, offers wondrous “feasts for the eyes as well as the stomach” on each and every plate at Central Restaurante . The Scallops, lettuce and eight and 18-course granadilla at Central menus celebrate native ingredients sourced from the sea, mountains, jungle and desert and might include airampo (a rare cactus) and cushiro (a caviar-like bacteria) along with suckling pig or kid stewed overnight. $35-$120 per person. (Calle Santa Isabella 376, Miraflores, centralrestaurante.com.pe). Maido is where you’ll want to try chef Mitsuharu Tsumura’s inventive Japanese-Peruvian fusion cuisine: sashimi and nigiri-style sushi with sauces featuring Amazonian ingredients followed by whimsical chocolate seaweed or rice strawberry cream for dessert. $35-$70. (Calle San Martin 399, Miraflores, maido.pe.)
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CUSCO Cusco is a breathtaking (literally) 10,825 feet above sea level and requires advanced care to visit properly. Drink the local coca tea and take it easy the first day and you’ll be ready to explore the capital of the old Inca empire at a steady pace. After checking in at the exquisite, art-filled Hotel Palacio del Inka, which offers comfortable and quiet rooms but is close to the action (from $230, libertador.com.pe), you’ll want to stroll to the grand colonial era Plaza de Armas to see the mammoth Catedral replete with Baroque carvings, gold and silver altars and giant oil paintings (don’t miss the extraordinary “Last Supper” by an indigenous artist who had the temerity to depict the conqueror Pizzaro as Judas). Major Tip: If you dine at MAP Cafe ($50, Plazoleta Nazarenas 231) you’ll savor top notch nouvelle Peruvian cuisine and also get to tour the extraordinary Museo de Arte Precolumbino, which is just upstairs and closes at 10 p.m. Excursions to the Sacred Valley of the Inca are an absolute must. Hire a driver to see the unusual ruins at Moray where enormous circular terraced depressions were used by the agriculturally savvy Incas to study the effects of 12 microclimates on 3,000 species of various crops. Take time on the way to see the salt evaporation ponds at Maras, in continuous use since Inca times. Individual families tend each of the 5,000 plots and you can buy excellent salt and salt-based cosmetic products at the nearby gift shop.
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Westin Lima Hotel lobby
THE HIRAM BINGHAM TRAIN Named after the famed early 20th century American explorer, the Hiram Bingham is the fastest and most luxurious way to get from Cusco to Macu Pecchu. It’s well worth the $795 round-trip ticket price to ride the rails on this plushly elegant train that evokes memories
Guests dine in splendor on the Hiram Bingham train
of the classic Orient Express. Brunch on the way is included along with hassle-free private transport to the ruins, admission fees, guide services, afternoon tea at the exclusive Machu Piccu Sanctuary Lodge and a four-course dinner with live entertainment on the way back. (Perurail.com) LOST CITY OF THE INCAS The Incas built Machu Picchu to be close to the gods and modern visitors will likely share those mystical sentiments upon first sight of the incredible mid-15th-century stone citadel high atop a mountain ridge overlooking the Sacred Valley. You’ll need plenty of stamina to climb the hundreds of ancient steps connecting the ruins of South America’s
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lifestyles | LUXURY travel
The Plaza de Armas at Cusco
Terraced depressions at Moray
Pre-Columbian treasures at Lima’s Museo Larco
AGRICULTURAL EXPLORATION
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t’s well worth the effort to see one of the great farms on Peru’s northern coast where high quality agricultural products are cultivated. A temperate climate makes this area a “virtual greenhouse,” ideal for avocados that have a firmer texture and cooler taste than those grown in the U.S. and Mexico. Fine asparagus, blueberries, tangerines, grapes, mangoes and peppers are also grown, mostly for the principal markets of North America, Europe and Asia. Peru’s agribusiness sector has taken the lead in protecting the environment with massive efforts to deal with pest and waste management, air and water quality, reforestation and the preservation of wildlife. (The companies also have an enviable record providing housing, schools and medical care for employees and their families.) Check with local tourist authorities to inquire about a visit
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premier archeological site. Be sure to buy a guidebook because there are no directions or signs to explain what you are seeing as you explore the remains of 200 buildings, including three primary treasures: the Temple of the Sun, a marvel of Inca stonework; the Room of the Three Windows (hewn from a singe rock); and the Intihuatana, or “Hitching Post of the Sun,” a stone column that was the object of pagan worship. Be sure to climb to the upper part of the ruins before you start exploring. Be sure to arrive as early in the morning as you can because the sun gets very hot. After all the hiking you’ll have time to enjoy a late lunch and shopping in the town of Aguas Calientes before heading back to Cusco. TRUJILLO The north coast city of Trujillo is noted for its quiet colonial atmosphere, well-preserved
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SHOPPING Alpaca clothing is sold everywhere but the Kuna chain’s fashionable but reasonably priced shawls, sweaters and blankets are among the very best. Many shops also feature items made from vicuna, the world’s finest and most expensive wool. (Main store at Av. Larco 671, Miraflores, kuna.com.pe.) Dédalo, housed in a historic mansion, is worth a visit for a wide range of original items, ranging from T-shirts to jewelry, by independent artists and craftsmen. (Av. Saenz Pena 295, Barranco. dedalomarket. com.) Don’t miss Artesanias Las Pallas, the shop-cum-residence of the delightful Maria Solari, a Welsh-born Peruvian who has been selling a wide range of works by Andean and Amazon Basin artists for decades. Chat her up and she might show you her own astonishing collection of intricate retablos (tiny altars), tapestries and pottery. (Cajamarca 212, Barranco. laspallas.com). The casual and welcoming Maras, helmed by Italian-trained chef Rafael Pigueras, specializes in modern as well as “rediscovered classic” Peruvian fare. Standouts include orzo in black squid ink and lomo saltado (stir fried marinated sirloin). $40-$60. (Amador Merino Reyna 551, San Isidro, marasrestaurante@libertador.com.pe).
Maras, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, is famed for its salt evaporation ponds, which have been in continuous use since Inca times.
Ambassador of Peru Luis Miguel Castilla’s Favorite Places The first thing I do when I return to Lima is to visit the almost hidden “secret” restaurants offering highly original cuisine. At Grimanesa Vargas in Miraflores, I’ll order some authentic anticuchos (beef kebabs). I know that Salon Capon, a restaurant known as a chifa, will always have the best mix of both Peruvian and Chinese cuisines. I also set aside time to visit some museums, which I never finish exploring completely. The recently renovated Museum of Art of Lima’s collection includes valuable works of contemporary art. Mario Testino’s museum, MATE, specializing in contemporary photography, is another must-see. If I have some extra time I like to travel to the National Reserve of Paracas, near to Lima, a sandy, family-friendly beach where you can observe sea lions, flamingos and other birds. One of my favorite hotels on the Bay of Paracas is La Hacienda Bahia Paracas. For my morning run I’ll go to the Costa Verde, a circuit of beaches bordering the Pacific Ocean.
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Chan Chan, a UNESCO World Heritage site that was built between 850 and 1470, was home to the Chimu, the second largest pre-Columbian society of South America.
architecture and proximity to the world’s largest pre-Columbian archeological sites. A short drive from town, the ancient adobe brick capital of Chan Chan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains the ruins of nine royal compounds of the Moche and Chimu peoples but only one of them, Tschudi, has been excavated to allow visitors to see ancient walls with carved renderings of birds, mammals and fish. At the nearby 3,000-yearold Huaca de la Luna (Pyramid of the Moon) you’ll see anthropomorphis and zoomorphic
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reliefs depicting the Moche god Ai-Apaec amid whimsical dragons. After checking in at the charming Hotel Libertador (libertador. com.pe) on the grand Plaza de Armas, stroll through the maze of nearby streets to admire the 1840s-era colonial architecture of the Palacio Iturregui (Pizzaro 688), now a private gentleman’s club. Definitely try to catch one of the free early evening concerts of Peruvian orchestral classics at the Casa de la Emancipacion (Pizzaro 610), now a branch of the Banco Continental.
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