The following list highlights the 12 most popular cities in Peru in terms of foreign visitors. These are the cities that receive the highest number of international tourists, according to figures from the Base de Datos Turísticos del Perú (BADATUR).
Lima
Few foreign visitor falls in love with the Peruvian capital, but nearly all of them pass through it — a whopping 90 percent, in fact. Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport receives the bulk of all incoming international flights, while overland travelers are likely to pass through the capital at some point. But the City of Kings is far more than a just a transport hub. Those who choose to stick around find plenty of things to do in Lima, home to some of the nation’s best restaurants, museums, parks and colonial architecture. According to the MasterCard 2014 Global Destination Cities Index, Lima was the most visited city in Latin America by foreign arrivals in 2014, and the twentieth most visited city in the world.
Cusco
Cusco is Peru’s prime tourist destination, with at least 80 percent of all foreign tourists heading there during their stay. Cusco itself has plenty to offer, bursting as it is with history and tradition. Two words, however, explain the almost hypnotic attraction that the former Inca capital has over foreign visitors: Machu Picchu. The Inca citadel received 1.17 million visitors in 2013, of which 804,000 were foreigners (Peru itself received 3.16 million foreign tourists in 2016).
Puno
In terms of population, Puno only just sneaks onto the list of Peru’s 20 biggest cities. But Puno has two attributes that keep the tourists coming. The city is known as the “Folkloric Capital of Peru” thanks to its rich traditions and frequent festivals, with annual festivities drawing big crowds from across Peru and beyond. The city also sits on the banks of a rather large, very high, and incredibly popular lake. Lake Titicaca is a mystical, romantic and altogether stunning body of water between Peru and Bolivia, and one certainly worthy of a place on the bucket list.
Arequipa
Arequipa – Peru’s second largest city – is another permanent fixture on the classic Peruvian gringo trail. The city itself is brimming with colonial, republican and religious architecture, much of which was built using the distinctive white or pink volcanic ashlar stone of the region. Notable buildings surround Arequipa’s plaza de armas, while the vast Santa Catalina Monastery provides another architectural, historical and cultural highlight within the city. The surrounding area, meanwhile, is home to El Misti, a volcano that looms over the city as a constant reminder of the region’s tectonic past. Further afield is Colca Canyon, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and one of Peru’s most visited attractions.
Ica
Ica is a nice enough place, but the city isn’t typically the main reason for staying in this part of Southern Peru. Ica serves as a base for trips to the surrounding dunes for buggy rides and sandboarding, most famously at the Huacachina oasis. The surrounding area is also part of the pisco route, with some of Peru’s finest pisco distilleries nestled in the region’s river valleys. Fans of history and archaeology — as well as fans of questionable pseudoscience — will find plenty of museums in Ica, some of which are home to the area’s infamous elongated skulls. But the main draw in the Ica region are the Nazca Lines, for which Ica also serves as a base (along with the city of Nazca, of course, which isn’t the most inspiring of places).
Paracas
The small port town of Paracas is big on tourism thanks to the nearby Paracas National Reserve and the Islas Ballestas. As well as being a paradise for nature lovers, Paracas has also turned itself into a major beach resort, with Paracas Bay now home to a range of luxurious hotels.
Iquitos
Known for being the largest city in the world not reachable by road, Iquitos overcomes its geographical isolation by use of river travel and a very handy airport. The city is understandably an important destination and starting point for river cruises of both the luxurious and laborious varieties. Jungle lodges, rainforest excursions, wildlife spotting, unique culture and mystic tourism (think shamans and ayahuasca) have helped to make tourism one of the city’s principal industries, all of which are helped by Iquitos’ location on the banks of the Amazon River.