THERE ARE different ways to reach Machu Picchu, the single biggest tourist attraction in South America, and one of them involves campsites and four days of serious trekking. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, even though the citadel’s mist-shrouded appearance at sunrise must be a sensation.
Arriving there on a luxury train while sipping a hot beverage in a real cup has its own merits. Scenes of agricultural life – alpacas and fields of corn amidst surrounding mountains – glide past through the windows of your chugging train and, on the return journey, music from a three-piece live band and a cocktail or two constitute ludic relaxation after a long’s day’s sightseeing.
Superb accommodation at Rainforest Experditions
Seventy kilometres from Machu Picchu lies El Valle Sagrado (Sacred Valley) and – this is a minority opinion – its scenery and sites were for me a more evocative introduction to Inca civilisation than Machu Picchu itself. Lunch in the valley at Unu Restaurant, an isolated spot by an ancient church and enwrapped by the Andes, comes close to the sublime – and then there is Cusco, over 300m above sea level and once the capital of the Inca empire.
The place to stay in Cusco is Monasterio. Spanish colonial architecture is central to the city’s appeal and Monasterio, occupying a 16th-century monastery, has a gorgeous share of this with its archways, cloistered courtyard and escutcheons. Breakfast at a table in one of the cloisters is a tranquil and memorable start to a new day.
Near to the hotel is a restaurant, Morena, delightfully overlooking Cusco’s main square and the cathedral, and the authentic Peruvian cuisine is superior to most eateries in Cusco.
Relaxing under a datura at Atemporal
Far more than half of Peru is covered by tropical forests, part of the Amazon rainforest, and it can be experienced in enviable comfort with Rainforest Expeditions. Their deluxe suites, complete with a private terrace and outdoor tub and shower, add cosiness and class to a stay deep in the rainforest.
The excellent guided walks introduce you to howler and squirrel monkeys, poison dart frogs and much more. The amazing birdlife includes hearing hysterical wolf whistles from the screaming phia. Plus, wait for it, walking trees (Socratea exorrhiza): palm trees that move from shade to sunlight by growing roots in a preferred direction and replacing the old roots that lift into the air and wither away.
Lima, Peru’s capital, is best left for your final days in the country. The road there from the airport is uninspiring and the city looks a sprawling mess until you settle down at a table in Cala and take in the spectacular location. You are seated on a terrace above a large beach where waves of the Pacific Ocean are ridden by surfers.
The restaurant’s signature appetizer is a tower of cold seafood – ceviche, prawn, razorshells, crab legs and octopus – to be relished as part of a lazy lunch or, come evening time, while watching the sunset and listening to the pounding of waves on the stony beach.
Chic stays at Fausto in Miraflores
Peruvian cuisine is rightly rated one of the best in the world and Lima is its crucible where chefs are making a reputation for themselves by creatively utilising a wealth of indigenous ingredients. The country has food from coastal, mountain and jungle ecosystems, allowing very different regional specialities to be combined with four centuries of mostly Spanish food influences from Europe. The results are exciting and, in some of the top restaurants, simply fabulous.
Dancing before boarding a train to Machu Picchu
Central is the restaurant in Lima widely regarded as one of the very best in the world, with three Michelin stars and ranked as number one in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. This could mean reserving a table before even booking a flight to Peru. Upstairs is Kjolle, where chef Pía León, the wife of Central’s chef, and a visit here should prove to be a gastronomical highlight of time in the country.
The setting is as minimalist and earthy, the only decorations being framed plant leaves behind the sleek counter that runs the length of the dining space. What you sit on and eat from is crafted from Amazon rainforest wood and everything you eat is 100% Peruvian, though a concession to neighbouring countries is made with the wines (good luck with finding an exceptionally good wine from Peru).
The tasting menu will bring ingredients to your table which you’ve never heard of – some are extraordinary – and the beef rib is peripheral to what is essentially one of the most ingeniously refined non-meat menus anywhere in the world.
A Squirrel Monkey. Photo by Paul Bertner
Some consideration needs to be given to where you stay in Lima. The district called Miraflores is popular and convenient for nightlife, shopping and parks while Barranca is gaining attention as a more laid-back neighbourhood where neglected colonial-era mansions lend an air of faded elegance.
Many of the bars and restaurants have a bohemian appeal but good hotels in Barranca are thin on the ground while Miraflores has the charming Fausto. Situated in a quiet, tree-lined residential area within walking distance of the city centre. The five differently-sized rooms (pequeña, mediana, grande) are all stylishly decorated – go for the grande for the extra space – and the courtyard is a lovely spot for breakfast where, being partly open, humming birds fly in for their own morning repast courtesy of the potted plants.
A small open kitchen and a honesty bar add to the appeal and comfort of enjoying some quiet luxury in the heart of a capital city. Fausto’s sister hotel, Atemporal, is just as lovely and in the same neighbourhood.
View of ancient Cusco from a window at the Monasterio hotel
A short walk from Fausto takes you to La Gloria, a bar and restaurant which would surely become your local if living in Miraflores. The cosy bar, like the one that gave its name to the television series Cheers, is where everyone would know your name – people come to La Gloria just for drinks, tapas and (open until 2am) maybe a dance or two.
The restaurant, with work by the important Peruvian photographer Ferando La Rose on the walls, is a gem of a place for fish dishes like tuna fish tataki with ajo blanca and Chorrillane fish stew.
by Sean Sheehan
La Gloria is one small part of Peru’s rich heritage and for more information on this wondrous country see the tourist board’s website, the new June 2024 Rough Guide or Insight Guide to Peru; for trips to the Amazonian rainforest and the mountains, see the Larger Mammals of South America and the excellent Helm Field Guide to the Birds of Peru.