Peru

One of the biggest challenges of visiting this mountainous and culturally rich country is fitting into one trip all that there is to experience. Internationally-renowned Machu Picchu is the can’t-miss exploration site where humbling reminders of Inca culture come to you through ascending the stone steps or marvelling at the sheer scale and precision of the ancient architecture. Here, the Giant Hummingbird – the world’s largest – may also put in an appearance, as do grazing llamas. The nearby Sacred Valley impresses in its own right with more jaw-dropping Incan architecture, as does Cuzco and its narrow streets bordered by walls of Incan stonework. Fine art, but on an almost unimaginable scale, enchants with the Nazca Lines carved into huge stretches of rock. This southern site also hosts colonies of Humboldt Penguins, South American Sea Lions and the resplendent Inca Tern. Reminders of Chimu culture are had at Chan Chan in the Trujillo region. Tropical wildlife in the damper eastern inland zone delights in many forms, the most impressive being perhaps with the Sword-billed Hummingbird. Peru may be a small country, but it has a big collection of stories to tell.