When people begin talking about Peru, it’s never too long before the conversation diverts to the lost city of Machu Picchu. It’s understandable, as this country has quickly become one of the most famous landmarks in the whole world, since its relatively new discovery in 1911. However, Peru has so much more to offer than just this landmark. Here are just a few other things you can experience during your time in the country.

5. Discover the Amazon Rainforest

What people often don’t realize is that the Amazon covers more than 60% of the country, an area with an incredible ecosystem brimming with some of the most incredible wildlife on the planet. Taking a boat tour is the best way to experience this rainforest paradise.

4. Visit lake Titicaca

Another truly incredible sight in this country, Titicaca is established as the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. Towering nearly 4,000 meters above sea level and with a surface area of more than 3,000 square miles, it’s so large it can even be seen from space.

3. View the weird and wonderful Nazca Lines.

In southern Peru, hundreds of individual figures from monkeys, hummingbirds and sharks have been etched into the floor. You will have to get up high to view them, these incredible drawings were created sometime between 400 and 650 AD and are made from removing the upper layer of reddish sediment to unveil whitish ground beneath. These are truly a breathtaking work of ancient art.

2. The Inca’s Sacred Valley.

It appears that Machu Picchu wasn’t the only thing the Incas made; The Sacred Valley might not be quite as spectacular but it is still an incredible sight nonetheless. It’s a must see for history enthusiasts and culture vultures, spanning over the Urubamba River from Pisac all the way to Ollantaytambo.

1. Trekking the Cordillera

If you feel energetic enough, climbing this breathtaking mountain range will be an experience you will keep for the rest of your life. Forming part of the Andes mountain range, the area includes 33 different peaks including Huascarán, the largest mountain of the Andes at 22,000 feet. It also contains Alpamayo, which is considered to be the most beautiful mountain in the world, mainly because of its steep pyramid of ice at the summit.

So there were just five other things you may not have thought about doing when you visit Peru. However I’ve hardly touched the surface on the opportunities of this great country. Why not go sightseeing in Lima? Observe the abundant wildlife of the Ballestas Islands? Or even go surfing in Majorca? Whatever you’re looking to do, Peru is so diverse it can cater for anybody’s taste.…