Peru

Machu Picchu draws the headline attention in this category, but the articles work to push past it. The Sacred Valley gets pieces on Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and the smaller villages along the Urubamba. Cusco gets a full treatment of acclimatization, food, and the colonial-Inca layering of its central streets. Lima culinary scene gets serious attention, since the city has earned it.

Coverage extends to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca Uros and Taquile islands, the Amazon basin around Iquitos and Puerto Maldonado, and the desert oases of Huacachina. Practical material handles altitude planning, the alternative trek question for travelers who cannot get a Classic Inca Trail permit, and the bus network that connects most of it more cheaply than flights.