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FOR A TRIP TO PERU, YOU'LL NEED TO PACK 

 your bags with plenty of room for adventure and prepare 

 to encounter some of history's greatest legends and 

 mysteries. You'll find portals there to some of the world s 

 most astonishing natural and cultural wonders. Imagine 

 exploring the lost world of the Incas in the Andean highlands and 

 then venturing to a refuge deep in the Amazon jungle. Or walking the 

 ancient cobbled streets of a colonial city, then traversing a fabled lake 

 in the clouds. 



Even Peru's place names evoke a sense of mystery and adventure. 

 The glorious ruins of Machu Picchu, set high above the Urubamba 

 River, seem to hold the clues to the secrets of the Inca empire. A 

 center of worship as well as astronomic observation, Machu Picchu 

 was the private retreat of the Inca ruler Pachacutec. Its perfectlv 

 fitted stones and layered terraces are still a marvel of engineering and 

 craftsmanship. And you can get there the way the Incas did, hiking 

 the Inca Trail. Or you can take in the breathtaking scenery bv train, 

 alighting at the entrance of the Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary, 

 also home to more than 300 bird species. 



The city of Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca, was already old 

 when the Spanish conquistadors arrived there in 1533. The name of 

 the city comes from the Inca word meaning "navel" or center, and 

 Cusco makes an ideal center for exploring the lost Inca world as well 

 as the beautiful colonial structures built over the ruins of the city's 

 older civilizations. Cusco's Inca roots and colonial buildings landed it 

 on UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List more than two decades 

 ago. Just yards from the main square is the Koricancha, the sacred Sun 

 Temple built in honor of the sun god Inti. 



SOUTHEAST OF CUSCO IS LAKE TITICACA, the world's 

 highest navigable lake. The train ride to Puno, on the edge of the lake, 

 traverses the Andes to an elevation of more than 14,000 feet. From 

 Puno you can visit several islands in the lake, including the Floating 

 Islands, actually enormous floating reed mats that support villages 

 of reed huts. And for a completely different experience, you can 

 travel northeast of Cusco to reach Manu National Park, which main' 

 travelers have found to be the most worthwhile jungle adventure in 

 all of South America. The park is a World Natural Heritage Site and 

 Biosphere Reserve of 445 acres of mostly virgin rain forest and nam e 

 Indian villages lying within the largest protected tract (more than 

 8,500 square miles) of tropical rain forest in the world. 



Adventurous souls may also want to trv hiking, horseback riding 

 or biking in the Cordillera Blanca, the highest tropical mountain 

 chain in the world. Located in central Peru, the Cordillera are almost 

 wholly contained within protected I luascaran National Park. There 

 are opportunities for experienced and less experienced hikers alike to 

 explore the scenery of snowcapped peaks, glaciers, lakes and rivers. 



Visit www.peru.info for more information. 



