Huaraz: a springboard to National Geographic endorsed hikes in the Peruvian Andes.

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Elevation: ~12,000 feet

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Elevation: ~14,000 feet

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Elevation: 15,092 feet

Color: Brilliant turquoise / aquamarine

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Vibrantly aquamarine & turquoise, Laguna 69 is too surreal to be real.

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Where the ocean meets the desert in a contrast of color

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A tri-color splash along the coast in Peru’s Ica Desert.

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The preferred scene of snoozing sea lions

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Peruvian Pelicans, Red-legged cormorants, Inca terns, Peruvian Boobies, and even a couple Humboldt penguins make these rocky islands their temporary homes. So many birds flock to these islands that farmers regularly harvest their guano (birdshit) for agricultural purposes.

[As seen in Netflix’s Our Planet Episode 1]

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It’s no mirage! Hidden amidst Peru’s Ica Desert dunes is this gorgeous (manmade) oasis where backpackers throng for a taste of dune buggy riding and sandboarding.

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A giant geoglyph of a tree, in the middle of the desert, that has managed to survive hundreds of years of environmental change (thanks to some modern preservation too).

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An ancient adobe and clay pyramid constructed by a pre-Peruvian civilization in what is now the MIraflores District of Lima. Archaeologists estimate this civilization was built between 200 and 700 a.d. by the Lima culture—and obvious namesake for the city.

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Museo Larco houses centuries of ancient treasures and artifacts, from pre-Columbian eras to more recent Andean history. Not all of their tens of thousands of pottery artifacts and sculptures make it to display, and the rest in storage wait for their turn in the light.

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Sunset on the coast of Lima overlooking the Pacific Ocean and San Lorenzo Island.

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A multicolored glacial lagoon tucked into the Vilcabamba mountains of Peru’s Andes at 13,780 feet. For many travelers, Laguna Humantay is a stop along the famed Salkantay Trek to Macchu Pichu.

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The city nights sparkle as light fades from the skies above the Sacred Valley.

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Incan for “labyrinth/zigzag,” Saqsaywaman (pronounced like sexy woman) is an ancient Incan citadel overlooking the city of Cuzco.

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Along the Urubamba River is this terraced ancient Incan hillside fortress.

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Reflections of the Andes in the salt mines of Maras.

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Farmers create water pools which are bursting with salt. The sun and heat eventually evaporate the water leaving the salt to be collected from each pool.

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Farming in the mountains can be made difficult with the lack of flat land, but the Incans ingeniously worked around it by creating these terraced farms for their crops.

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The Pisac Ruins are one of the better preserved Incan archaeological sites in Peru today. Overlooking the Urubamba River and serving as a gateway to the inland jungle, Pisac was a strategic fort for the Incans in Peru’s Sacred Valley.

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A grueling hike through the wild woods surrounding Machu Picchu is made worth it thanks to the view at the summit.

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This ancient Incan civilization is nestled in the Andean mountains of Peru’s Sacred Valley. Built around 1400 a.d., Macchu Pichu is the heart of the Incan Empire and civilization and an undeniable architectural and engineering masterpiece. The ruins are rather well preserved today and the attention to detail in the stonework is astounding.

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An ancient Incan fortress (and citadel of Incan ruler Pachacuteq) hidden in the Peruvian Andes and home to the (formerly) flourishing society of the Incans.

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as seen from the Sacred Plaza

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Incan stonework is truly an architectural marvel to behold, and seeing the natural decay of the stonework as Pachamama takes back her earth juxtaposed next to the clinically precise stone fitting was fascinating.

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Perhaps a nod to the founder of the Incan Empire’s family tree or a symbolic representation of the Incan belief in 3 worlds: upper-world, middle world (earth), and underworld.

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Rainbow Mountain inherits its wide ranging and colorful display due to the erosion and deoxidization of natural minerals in the earth. While beautiful, the hike is not for the faint of heart as the altitude at the summit is 17,060 feet.

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On the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca, quite literally on the water, are the Uros Floating Villages. For centuries the locals here have built their communities from totora—a reed that grows abundantly in the lake—to craft the ground upon their homes will be built.

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Yes, dirty minds date back centuries. The Larco Museum has a special collection of pre-Columbian pottery featuring sex acts and depictions of multiple varieties, even those of a more symbolic spiritual nature. While provocative, these pieces were representative of parts of life for Peruvians centuries ago and still to this day.

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