Despite the deserved international fame of Machu Picchu, Cusco and Lake Titicaca, Peru offers much, much more to visitors than those three renowned destinations. Other highlights include - but are certainly not limited to - the celebrated dining scene of Lima, the capital; the extraordinary desert coast (including Nasca and the wildlife outposts Paracas and San Fernando, a little-known desert oasis); and Colca Canyon. To get to know a significant portion of this vibrant and diverse country, a minimum of two weeks’ travel time is ideal.

Peru possesses three dominant attractions, which set it apart from any other country: its illustrious history, comprising some of the oldest and most sophisticated cultures in the Americas; its vibrant indigenous cultures, which even today retain their unique traditions; and its phenomenal natural beauty, which includes 3,079 km/1,908 mi of Pacific coastline, towering Andes mountains, Amazon rainforest and mesmerizing coastal desert, one of the most arid places on earth. Few countries offer anything close to Peru’s unique variety of attributes.

Just below the equator, halfway down the coast of South America and facing the Pacific Ocean, Peru shares borders with Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil and Bolivia to the east, and Chile to the south. Larger than both France and Spain combined, Peru is the 3rd largest country in South America (after Brazil and Argentina).

Peru is a multifaceted country, hugely diverse in its geography, climate, landscapes, and, above all, mix of peoples, cultures and even nationalities. Native Andean inhabitants of Puno and Lake Titicaca have much in common with Bolivians, while natives of the Amazon share much with their Brazilian counterparts. Likewise, a fisherman from the northern coast of Peru has plenty in common with an Ecuadoran fisherman, and a resident of the cosmopolitan capital, Lima, may appear to be much like a native of Santiago, Buenos Aires or Caracas - a reality that makes Peru the most multicultural of nations.

As a developing nation, Peru has overcome great odds, and a complicated recent political and economic history, to see real progress over the last few years. The country’s annual growth rate has averaged 8% since 2005, with a stable exchange rate and vastly improved public safety. Economic growth has been matched by skyrocketing interest in Peru as a tourism destination, with a steadily increasing influx of international visitors exploring its Inca and colonial legacies, its great outdoor and its remarkable, tradition-based but forward-looking gastronomy.