Peru and Chile Holidays

Duration:15 Days

Route:Lima to Santiago

Tour Code:HPC

Duration:21 Days

Route:Lima to Santiago

Tour Code:HAC

Duration:32 Days

Route:Lima to Rio de Janeiro

Tour Code:HSH

Cordillera Blanca

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Deemed by many to be the most beautiful region in the whole of Patagonia, once you trek into the wilderness of this national park it is easy to understand why. As the name suggests, towering granite spires dominate the landscape, piercing the aquatic blue of the horizon with their colossal presence as placid lakes rest peacefully at their roots. A trip to this region of the Andes mountain range is sure to inspire a deep adventurous spirit in anyone who sets foot on its rocky slopes.

The Amazon Rainforest, Peru

The ultimate experience for anyone seeking immerse themselves in untamed, untouched wilderness. The Amazon is a dense thicket of tropical greenery that often proves impassable due to the wild vegetation. Home to a mind-blowingly diverse ecosystem and over 400 indigenous tribes, entering the Amazon Rainforest is much like entering a world entirely different to our own.

Atacama Desert, Chile

The world’s driest non-polar desert lies on a plateau at an altitude of over 2,400m above sea level. The combination of arid desert heat and thin, high altitude air makes for utterly unique and potentially enfeebling conditions. The Atacama is home to otherworldly valleys, sapphire toned lagoons and looming volcanoes. There is nothing quite like the image of a towering volcano rising from the copper sands of a desert that sprawls to the horizon.

Colca Canyon, Peru

One of the planet’s largest canyons, the deep gorges of Colca Canyon are perfect for exploring on foot, bicycle or kayak. Visitors to the area soon become mesmerized by the drama of the canyon’s sheer rock faces, grassy slopes and the atmospheric swooping of Andean condors. Resident wild llamas ensure that the Colca Canyon provides a quintessentially Peruvian visit for all.

Cordillera Blanca, Peru

This somewhat undiscovered northern section of the Andes mountain range ensures breathtaking views in every direction. The Cordillera Blanca’s hiking routes pass impossibly blue lakes and snow peaked mountains that dominate the skyline. The region’s highlights include shorter treks to Laguna 69 and Laguna Paron - sapphire waters that meticulously reflect the white slopes beyond. It is an area of genuine natural beauty.

Vicuña, Chile

This small town nestled in the middle of Chile offers natural majesty on a galactic scale. Due to the high altitude and low light pollution levels due to the area’s remoteness, Vicuña is regarded as one of the greatest places on earth to marvel at the stars above. Home to a number of observatories that are open to the public, nighttime tours include an opportunity to see the planets of our solar system in crystal-like clarity.

Santiago

Chiloé Island

Pucón

Just off Santiago’s Plaza de Armas is an excellent collection of pre-Colombian artwork at Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino and a selection of delicious fresh seafood restaurants at the Central Market. Santiago’s other highlights include wandering amongst the grand colonial architecture near Plaza de Constitucion and climbing the Cerro Santa Lucia for birds eye views over the whole of the urban sprawl.

Lima draws crowds in from all over the world to sample the delicious gastronomic treats on offer at any of the numerous luxury restaurants nestled away in the streets of Miraflores and San Isidro. Lima is also home to a number of ancient ruins, colonial buildings, bohemian backstreets and peaceful parks.
Read more about Lima in our city guide.

The second cities of Peru and Chile come in the form of and Valparaiso - both of which typically prove more popular than their respective capitals. Cusco is known as the gateway to Machu Picchu but offers so much more than a simple pitstop. Eye catching architecture, resplendent markets and cobbled side streets give this valley-flanked city a colloquial character unmatched by most other cities in South America.
CuscoRead more about Cusco here.

Valparaiso lies on the coast two hours to the west of Santiago and still operates as one of Chile’s major seaports. The appeal of this seaside city lies in the vibrant streets that snake up the sides of the cliffs on which it lies. Home to some of Chile’s most notorious artists, almost every building boasts some form of graffiti mastery that brings the diminutive alleyways and side streets to life. The city’s artsy scene has lead to the opening of multiple cafes and restaurants that wouldn't be out of place in the planet’s most avant-garde neighbourhoods. The perfect place to sip a beer as the setting sun dips below the sea and sets this artistic canvas of a city ablaze with yet more colour.

Highlights of Peru

Panamericana

Best of South America

Arguments have raged for over a century between Chile and Peru regarding the origins of this humble grape brandy to such an extent that locals in each nation will not tolerate any suggestion that their neighbouring rival invented the drink. The debate started after the War of the Pacific at the tailend of the 19th century, a conflict that resulted in victory for Chile over the allied nations of Peru and Bolivia. Post-war tensions and passionate Latin spirit found an outlet in the form of a fiery debate over the true origins of pisco - a debate which remains simmering to this very day.

Peruvians argue that history is on their side, given that the eponymous port of Pisco pre-dates the continent’s Hispanic era and records strongly suggest that pisco production in Chile didn't begin until after the War of the Pacific. Conversely, Chileans argue that their superior production quantities are a surefire symbol of their claim to the pisco throne, with Peruvians countering this by suggesting that their more meticulous production process proves otherwise.

The argument has led to drastic action from Chile, including a ban on any imported Peruvian spirits carrying the word “pisco” on the bottle and changing the name of Andean village Valle de Elqui to Pisco Elqui in 1936. These actions have done nothing other than stoke the flames of the debate.

The two nations can’t even agree on the ingredients required for the spirit’s famous cocktail, the pisco sour - travellers are sure to have a difficult time locating a pisco sour containing any egg white whilst in Chile. We suggest that you avoid the debate altogether, relax and simply sip away on what is one of South America’s most delicious creations. Enquire with our Tailor-made Team about including a pisco sour making course on your trip to Peru and Chile.

Both Peru and Chile have a rather strange significance in that they are home to some of the most notable mummies ever found on the planet - each for different reasons.

Having been discovered on the slopes of Mt Ampato in 1995, Juanita (or “The Ice Maiden”) is located in the Museum of Andean Sanctuaries in Arequipa, Peru. The significance of Juanita lies in the quality of her preservation thanks to the freezing conditions at her burial site. Her discovery helped uncover a number of mysteries surrounding Incan culture and her somewhat harrowing mummified remains can be seen on display in a temperature-controlled case at the museum between May and December.

Arica, on the Chilean side of the Chile-Peru border, is home to the Chinchorro mummies which hold the record for the oldest known case of artificially mummified humans - predating the Egyptian mummies by over 2,000 years. The somewhat sinister looking masked remains, which had all organs removed and replaced with sticks and dirt prior to burial, can be seen at Museo Arqueologico San Miguel de Azapa just to the east of Arica.