Peru is a beautiful country with so many interesting things to see and do.

However, you need to do a little bit of planning to see this country with so many top sites at high altitude, especially if, like me, you prefer to travel independently and not book a tour.

I wandered around Peru in November and December 2014 and loved it (except for the cold I caught in Cusco, which curtailed my exploration of the coast and the Nazca Lines). I was back again in spring 2022 to see Lima in more depth.

Want to go to Peru? Here are some stories to tempt your travels and to help you plan.

• About several destinations for walking holidays, including Machu Picchu, for Living Luxe magazine:  Walk this Way (PDF) and Walk this Way (direct link to p. 104) (note the section on Jordan’s Petra was written by someone else).
• For Forbes:
  • UNESCO names Peru’s ceviche as intangible cultural heritage, including some of my favourite places in Lima to eat the limey fish dish, including at an eco-hotel that ensures all its seafood is sustainable
  • Machu Picchu reopens after month-long closure,
  • Peru drops all covid travel restrictions and this sustainable Lima hotel is ready to welcome you,
  • Skipping this might be the biggest mistake of your Peru vacation, about the Sacred Valley and how visiting it can help minimize altitude sickness.
  • Taste Peru As You Plan Your Peru Travels.
  • Taste for Travel: Street Foods for Travel Dreaming.
• Featured in this piece simultaneously published by MSN and Reader’s Digest:
  • • I’ve been to 60 countries but these 6 changed me forever (MSN version, a slideshow).
    • I’ve been to 60 countries but these 6 changed me forever (Reader’s Digest version, all on one page).

• For USA Today’s:
  • 10Best: Lima: It is and isn’t about the limes.
  • Travel Tips: What to know when traveling to Peru.

• Four crucial things no one tells you about visiting Machu Picchu, for Flung Magazine.

• How to see Machu Picchu without booking a tour: step-by-step instructions and costs to get from Lima to Machu Picchu (and out) independently, and at minimal cost. Plus tips on what to bring, and not bring, with you to Machu Picchu and how to avoid the nasty no-see-um bites.

• How to save cash in Cusco (for Canadian Traveller, winter 2015-16) for directions to an almost unknown (and free!) labyrinth-like ruin, where to get photos of llamas and alpacas without needing to pay, and why it can be good for the local economy when you spend wisely.

• Avoiding altitude sickness:
  • How to avoid altitude sickness in Peru (for Passport Health).
  • How to see Peru without getting altitude sickness (for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com).

• Seizing sideline charms in Peru’s Sacred Valley (for the Kiwi Collection).

• Two awesome markets — in Cusco and in Lima — featured in Favourite food markets around the world on TravelWithKat.com.

• How altitude affects your eating and chefs’ cooking: Dining challenges in Cusco, Peru (for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com).

• Looking for a place to stay? Hotel reviews:
  • Luxury hotels near Machu Picchu: Sumaq Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientés) and Tambo del Inka (Urubamba in the Sacred Valley)
  • Boutique hotels in Cusco: El Mercado Tunqui, Andean Wings, Encantada Boutique Spa
  • Taypikala Lago, at Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world
  • A boutique hotel in Lima: Casa Inca Boutique Hotel

Have you been to Peru? Do you have advice to share?

Are you going to Peru? Happy to answer any questions you may have.

• Four crucial things no one tells you about visiting Machu Picchu, for Flung Magazine.

• How to see Machu Picchu without booking a tour: step-by-step instructions and costs to get from Lima to Machu Picchu (and out) independently, and at minimal cost. Plus tips on what to bring, and not bring, with you to Machu Picchu and how to avoid the nasty no-see-um bites.

• How to save cash in Cusco (for Canadian Traveller, winter 2015-16) for directions to an almost unknown (and free!) labyrinth-like ruin, where to get photos of llamas and alpacas without needing to pay, and why it can be good for the local economy when you spend wisely.

• Avoiding altitude sickness:
  • How to avoid altitude sickness in Peru (for Passport Health).
  • How to see Peru without getting altitude sickness (for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com).

• Seizing sideline charms in Peru’s Sacred Valley (for the Kiwi Collection).

• Two awesome markets — in Cuzco and in Lima — featured in Favourite food markets around the world on TravelWithKat.com.

• How altitude affects your eating and chefs’ cooking: Dining challenges in Cusco, Peru (for LuxuryAndBoutiqueHotels.com).

• To come: Must eats and drinks in Lima, and Making Peru’s national dishes: pisco sours and ceviché.

• Looking for a place to stay? Hotel reviews:
  • Luxury hotels near Machu Picchu: Sumaq Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientés) and Tambo del Inka (Urubamba in the Sacred Valley)
  • Boutique hotels in Cusco: El Mercado Tunqui, Andean Wings, Encantada Boutique Spa
  • Taypikala Lago, at Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world
  • A boutique hotel in Lima: Casa Inca Boutique Hotel

Have you been to Peru? Do you have advice to share?

Are you going to Peru? Happy to answer any questions you may have.