Peru’s history dates back over 5,000 years, making it an intoxicating and addictive destination for history enthusiasts. While Machu Picchu and the ancient Inca Empire may claim most of the attention, there is much more of Peru’s history to discover. As the birthplace of ancient civilizations in the Americas, this South American destination is home to an enviable array of archeological sites, world-class museums, and stunning architecture spanning millennia. History lovers will find innumerable historical treasures to discover. Here are nine of the very best.
1. Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu — the one highlight by which all historical sites in Peru are measured, needs little introduction. The fabled “Lost City” of the ancient Incas is a 15th-century citadel revered for its architectural brilliance. Even 100 years after Hiram Bingham “discovered” it, its intended purpose remains highly debated.
A royal estate or solely a religious site? No one knows for sure. What is known, however, is that Spanish conquistadores never discovered it — and never had a chance to destroy or repurpose it as they did many other Inca citadels. So, there it stands, perched high in the Andes mountains, at a (literal) breathtaking altitude of 7,970 feet. The location is spectacular, the details mind-blowing, and the journey to reach it—on foot along the famous Inca Trail or by train—is part and parcel of the unmissable appeal.
On a visit to Machu Picchu, you will undoubtedly marvel at the meticulously constructed terraces, temples, and palaces. The Incas’ sophisticated masonry skills are most evident in the Temple of the Sun and the Room of the Three Windows. The Intihuatana Stone, thought to be an astronomical clock or calendar, highlights their advanced planetary knowledge.
2. Cusco’s Historic Center
Of all the historical sites in Peru, Cusco is arguably the most significant and certainly among the most surprising. The capital of the Inca Empire for three centuries, Cusco sits on a high-altitude plateau framed by high peaks and boasts a mix of architecture spanning almost 3,000 years. The colonial-era cathedral at its center is impressive, but the Inca-built foundations are even more extraordinary.
Cusco is designed in the shape of a puma, a sacred symbol in Incan mythology. Its layout features the 15th-century Sacsayhuaman complex as the head, Plaza de Armas as the trunk, and the Tullumayo River as the tail. Sacsayhuamán is a colossal Inca fortress known for its megalithic stone walls, some of which weigh over 100 tons.
At its peak, Cusco’s rule extended from Quito, Ecuador, to Santiago, Chile. The Spanish arrival led to the end of its dominion, as they plundered the city and established their capital in Lima. This inadvertently helped to preserve many of the city’s Inca structures. Cusco’s sudden economic decline also sparked a resistance movement lasting generations. Almost 300 years later, Cusco would play a crucial role in Peru’s fight for independence from Spain.
3. Sacred Valley of the Incas
The Sacred Valley of the Incas was the agricultural powerhouse of the Inca Empire. Defined by its incredibly fertile soil, it had been inhabited and farmed for 2,000 years before the Incas rose to fame and prosperity. It is here that the Incas, inspired by the rudimentary terraced farming of the Killke people (900 – 1,000 BCE), developed their own progressive terracing systems, optimizing farming (of potatoes, particularly) at varying altitudes.
From a strategic viewpoint, the Sacred Valley was vital for the Incas due to its proximity to Cusco and the Urubamba River, which provided water for irrigation and transportation of produce. The valley’s main centers, Pisac and Ollantaytambo, feature impressive ruins, imposing stone structures, and centuries-old family estates. The former was a religious and ceremonial hub in Inca times, while the latter was a key administrative, cultural, and military center.
Nowadays, Pisac is just as famous for its Sunday markets, which attract artisans from surrounding Quechuan-speaking villages. They converge here, as they have for centuries, to sell their wares, ranging from traditional Inca textiles and handicrafts to fresh produce and souvenirs.
Did you know? The Incas used a unique form of record-keeping called quipu to document their stories. Quipu involved using colored threads knotted in specific ways. Although the Spanish first recognized the system as a tool of information, the Catholic Church deemed it “the work of the devil” alongside other Incan cultural practices. Many quipus were thus destroyed during the Christianization of the continent.
4. Nazca Lines
In the black desert region of southern Peru, you will stumble upon the mystical Nazca Lines, one of the world’s most intriguing archeological mysteries. They are also about the easiest-to-miss historical sites in Peru. You could be driving right through them on the Panamerican Highway and wouldn’t even know they were there.
The Nazca Lines, an underrated UNESCO-listed historical site in Peru, are a series of ancient geoglyphs carved by the Nazca culture between 500 BCE and 500 CE. These geoglyphs include over 1,000 large-scale designs, such as a massive condor with a wingspan of 426 feet, a monkey, a hummingbird, various geometric shapes, and even a humanoid figure dressed in what appears to be a space suit. The enigmatic designs can only be fully appreciated from the air.
Discovered only in the late 1920s, when aviation first arrived in the region, the Nazca lines are mystifying due to their precision, especially considering the sheer scale of the artwork. Theories abound as to their purpose, ranging from astronomical calendars to religious symbols or even messages to the gods. Regardless of their purpose, creating these lines without modern technology makes them quite a mind-boggling mystery.
5. Arequipa Colonial Architecture
Arequipa, Peru’s “White City,” is a UNESCO-listed historical site known for its stunning colonial-era architecture. The city was founded in 1540 and constructed using a locally sourced white volcanic rock called sillar. The historic center is home to examples of Spanish Baroque architecture, including the spectacular Santa Catalina Monastery. It is a bona fide city with vibrant streets, colorful buildings, cloisters, and plazas.
As with all colonial cities in Latin America, the main focal point is the Plaza de Armas, a magnificent square framed by ornate, blinding-white buildings. The most notable is the imposing Cathedral of Arequipa, with its decorative façade stretching the entire length of the plaza. Join a guided tour, and you can ascend to the top for sensational views across the city and the three volcanoes that frame it.
A significant highlight you shouldn’t miss in Arequipa is the Museo Santuarios Andinos (Museum of Andean Sanctuaries). This museum is renowned for housing “Juanita” the Ice Maiden, a remarkably well-preserved Inca mummy discovered on Mount Ampato in 1995. Juanita was a young girl who was sacrificed over 500 years ago as part of an Inca ritual to appease the gods.
6. Chan Chan
Chan Chan is an ancient adobe city near Trujillo on Peru’s northern coast. Built by the Chimú civilization around 850 CE, it is considered the largest pre-Columbian city in South America. It gained UNESCO recognition in 1986.
The city covers a vast area of around 7.7 square miles. It has a complex layout of nine walled citadels, each with its own royal compound, ceremonial plaza, residential area, and water reservoir. The walls show intricate reliefs depicting geometric shapes, mythical figures, and scenes of daily life.
Chan Chan appears to have thrived as a trade and administration center until the Inca Empire conquered it in the 15th century. The site is so extensive that archeological studies are ongoing. In 2019, headline news reported the discovery of what would become the world’s largest mass child sacrifice site near the mud city. Although human sacrifice by pre-Columbian cultures has been well documented, this was the first discovery of a truly large-scale event.
7. The Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum
Built to resemble the traditional burial pyramids of the ancient Moche people, the Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum is a sight to behold due to its design and contents. Considered South America’s answer to the Mask of Tutankhamun, the museum is entirely dedicated to one of the most significant archeological discoveries in the Americas in the last half-century: the tomb of the Lord of Sipán.
Who was this Lord, you might ask? According to the array of gold and silver jewelry, precious gems, elaborate headdresses, fine pottery, and an abundance of prized ceremonial items in his tomb, anthropologists believe that the Lord of Sipán was a high-ranking Moche warrior priest. The wealth and craftsmanship of the contents discovered in his tomb in 1987 have revealed much about Moche culture, societal structures, and burial practices.
The museum is state-of-the-art, and its exhibits of ancient precious gems are beyond compare — not only in Peru but arguably all of South America. You will find the museum in Lambayeque in northern Peru, right at the heart of what is considered to be the country’s cradle of ancient civilizations.
8. Kuelap
The ancient complex of Kuelap, known as the “Fortress of the Cloud Warriors,” is a massive site that rivals Machu Picchu in historical significance. Stretching over 1,970 feet and with walls up to 62 feet high, this fortress, filled with innumerable houses and temples, is one of northern Peru’s most rewarding historical sites. It was a significant cultural and political center for the Chachapoyas, a pre-Inca civilization, and its architectural and cultural heritage is a testament to their advanced development.
Built in the 6th century CE, Kuelap is perched on a steep Andean slope at 9,842 feet, entrenched in Amazonian cloud forests. It functioned as a fortified city, having been developed and inhabited continuously for hundreds of years. Its golden era, spanning from the 10th to the 14th centuries, was followed by abandonment around the time of the Spanish conquest. Before 2017, you would have had to tackle a strenuous hike to reach it. Today, a modern cable car makes the site much more accessible.
Caveat: a catastrophic landslide destroyed part of an external wall at Kuelap in 2022. Restoration work is ongoing and some sections of the complex may be closed to the public. The site is still very much worth visiting!
9. Lima
Peru’s capital might not seem overly enticing to visit at first glance, yet for history lovers, there are enough incentives to linger. Founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro, Lima quickly became Spain’s South American empire’s political, economic, and cultural center. The city’s strategic coastal location facilitated trade with Spain and her other colonies, contributing to its rapid growth and prosperity during the Colonial Era.
Aside from its colonial significance, Lima is also interesting because it played a pivotal role during the struggle for South American independence in the early 19th century. It hosted important figures like José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar. The city’s Plaza Mayor, with its grand colonial architecture, including the Government Palace and Lima Cathedral, bears witness to this hard-fought history.
Today, Lima is a dynamic and, at times, scruffy metropolis where the past and present coexist. The city’s leading museums, the Larco Museum and the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History, showcase the country’s rich cultural heritage and are phenomenal places to kickstart your historical tour of Peru.
