With the years of terrorism now vanished for good, Peru has been transforming itself into one of the worlds most diverse tourist destinations. With equal shares of coast, desert, mountains, and jungle, there is never a shortage of things to do. First there is Lima, the colossal city that’s always evolving and on the cutting edge. Ancient Sights such as Chan Chan, Pachacamac, Kuelap, the Nazca Lines, and of course Macchu Picchu are the most well known ancient ruins outside of Egypt. The Sacred Valley is home to the colonial city of Cusco, once the Incas capital, but also small rural towns with lesser known ruins, markets, and unspoiled Andean life such as Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Chincero, and Urubamba. The azure blue waters of nearby Lake Titicaca provide a stunning backdrop to high mountains, amazing arts and crafts, and isolated peoples. Highland Cities like Ayacucho, Huancayo, Cajamarca, and Huaraz are good for crafts, their surrounding natural beauty, churches, and hearty Andean food. On the north Coast, beaches such as Mancora and Punta Sal are slowly making a name for themselves. The Amazon area, although relatively isolated, is one of the most exciting environments on earth with indigenous peoples and diverse wildlife. The Peruvian Amazon especially is one of the least destroyed and parks such as Manu, Tambopata, Pacaya-Samira and several others are home to many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects found no where else on earth. In the South you can find the world’s two deepest canyons, the Islas Ballestas, a reknowned seabird and seal watching spot, and the wine and Pisco producing region of Ica. Peruvian food is considered one of the world’s ten best ethnic foods, and perhaps the least well known. Dishes such as ceviche, marinated raw seafood dish) and and anticuchos, grilled beef hearts, are now showing up in fine dining restaurants in New York and Paris. Lima is the best fine dining city in Latin America with restaurants like Astrid y Gaston, La Rosa Nautica, and all sorts of world fusion cuisine. Most of the other cities lay claim to more traditional recipes.