10 daysPeru for Food Lovers
Lima's tables, Sacred Valley farms, Cusco's markets and Arequipa's picanterías.
From US$4,800 pp
A food map
Peru by altitude
In Peru, the menu changes with the altitude. So does the view. Move from the Pacific up through Andean valleys to the high plains, then down the cloud forest into the Amazon, and see what's eaten at each level.
Interactive food map
Use the markers (or the arrow keys once one is focused) to move between altitude zones. A full list follows the map.
Pacific ← west · east → Amazon
The Pacific · Sea level (verify)
The cold Humboldt Current makes Peru's sea one of the richest on Earth. That's why ceviche here tastes like nowhere else.
Choose a dish, ingredient or drink to see where to try it and which journeys include it.
Everything on the map
From coast to jungle, as a list
The Pacific (Sea level, verify)
- Ceviche (dish): Raw white fish 'cooked' in lime juice with red onion, chilli and salt, served with sweet potato and corn. Lunch food: Peruvians rarely eat it at night. First Peru, Done Right
- Tiradito (dish): Ceviche's Japanese-influenced cousin: thin slices of fish, no onion, a smooth chilli sauce poured over the top. Peru for Food Lovers
- Leche de tigre (dish): The citrusy, spicy marinade left over from ceviche, served in a glass. Said to cure hangovers. Peru for Food Lovers
- Conchas negras (ingredient): Black clams from the mangroves of the far north, eaten raw in an inky, punchy ceviche. The Wild North
The desert coast (0–600 m, verify)
- Causa limeña (dish): Layers of yellow potato mashed with lime and ají amarillo, filled with chicken, tuna or crab. Cold, bright and very Lima. First Peru, Done Right
- Lomo saltado (dish): Beef, tomato and onion stir-fried in a wok with soy sauce, served with chips and rice. Chinese-Peruvian cooking at its most loved. First Peru, Done Right
- Ají de gallina (dish): Shredded chicken in a creamy yellow-chilli and walnut sauce. Comfort food, mild enough for most children. Peru with Kids
- Anticuchos (dish): Skewers of marinated beef heart grilled over charcoal, with an Afro-Peruvian history going back centuries. Street food at dusk. Peru for Food Lovers
- Pisco (drink): Grape brandy from the valleys south of Lima. Drink it in a pisco sour, or neat to taste the grape. Peru for Food Lovers
- Picarones (dish): Squash and sweet-potato doughnuts fried to order and drizzled with fig-leaf syrup. Peru with Kids
- Lima's restaurant scene (experience): From tasting menus that map Peru by altitude to cevicherías that close at 5pm, Lima is the place to book a table months ahead. Peru for Food Lovers
- Pisco tasting (experience): Visit a bodega near Ica or a Lima bar to taste pisco from different grapes, side by side. Peru for Food Lovers
Andean valleys (2,300–3,400 m, verify)
- Choclo con queso (dish): Giant-kernel white corn from the Sacred Valley, eaten on the cob with a slab of fresh cheese. First Peru, Done Right
- Maras salt (ingredient): Pink-tinged salt from thousands of terraced pans fed by a salty spring, harvested by local families. First Peru, Done Right
- Pachamanca (dish): Meat, potatoes, beans and herbs cooked under hot stones in an earth oven. A feast for a group. Peru for Food Lovers
- Chicha morada (drink): A sweet, spiced drink made from purple corn, pineapple and cinnamon. Non-alcoholic and very popular with kids. Peru with Kids
- Rocoto relleno (dish): Arequipa's stuffed red chilli: spiced beef and raisins inside a rocoto, baked under cheese. Hotter than it looks. Peru for Food Lovers
- Chupe de camarones (dish): A rich soup of river prawns, milk, potatoes and egg. An Arequipa picantería classic, best on a Friday. Titicaca & the High Plains
- Cooking class (experience): Cook with Andean ingredients in a farm kitchen or a Cusco home, then eat the results. Peru for Food Lovers
The high Andes & altiplano (3,400–4,500 m, verify)
- Native potatoes (ingredient): Peru grows thousands of potato varieties: purple, yellow, knobbly, striped. Ask for papas nativas and see how many you can tell apart. First Peru, Done Right
- Chuño (ingredient): Potatoes freeze-dried by frost and sun on the altiplano, a technique far older than the Incas. Keeps for years. Titicaca & the High Plains
- Quinoa (ingredient): Grown around Lake Titicaca for thousands of years. Try it in a soup, or puffed as a breakfast cereal. Titicaca & the High Plains
- Lake trout (dish): Trout from Titicaca and the mountain lakes, fried whole or cooked as a ceviche. Titicaca & the High Plains
- Alpaca (dish): Lean and mild, often grilled as a steak. On the altiplano, alpaca herds are a family's savings. Titicaca & the High Plains
- Cuy (dish): Guinea pig, roasted or fried. A festive dish in Andean homes, and the star of a famous Cusco cathedral painting of the Last Supper. Peru for Food Lovers
- Mate de coca (drink): Coca-leaf tea, offered on arrival at many Andean hotels. A traditional mild remedy for the altitude, though not a substitute for acclimatising. The Classic Inca Trail
- Market tour (experience): San Pedro market in Cusco: fruit juice stalls, cheese, bread from Oropesa, and more potatoes than you thought possible. Peru for Food Lovers
Cloud forest (1,000–2,500 m, verify)
- Coffee (drink): Grown on the misty eastern slopes. Salkantay trekkers pass coffee farms on the way down to Machu Picchu. Salkantay to Machu Picchu
- Cacao (ingredient): Peru grows fine-flavour cacao, much of it from native varieties. The beans taste fruity long before they become chocolate. Andes & Amazon
- Chocolate workshop (experience): Roast, crack, grind and temper your own bar from bean to chocolate. Good for a rainy afternoon in Cusco. Peru for Food Lovers
The Amazon (100–500 m, verify)
- Juane (dish): Rice, chicken, olives and egg wrapped in a bijao leaf and boiled. Traditionally eaten for the San Juan festival in June. Andes & Amazon
- Paiche (dish): One of the world's largest freshwater fish, now farmed sustainably. Firm and mild, often grilled in leaves. Andes & Amazon
- Camu camu (ingredient): A small, very sour river fruit packed with vitamin C, usually drunk as juice. Andes & Amazon
- Tacacho con cecina (dish): Mashed green plantain with pork fat, served with smoked dried pork. The jungle breakfast. Andes & Amazon
Taste it
Food experiences on our journeys
- Lima's restaurant scene: the tables that need booking months ahead, and the cevicherías that close at 5pm.
- Cooking classes: in a Sacred Valley farm kitchen or a Cusco home.
- Market tours: Surquillo in Lima, San Pedro in Cusco, Belén in Iquitos.
- Chocolate workshop: bean to bar on a rainy Cusco afternoon.
- Pisco tasting: in a bodega near Ica or a Lima bar.
10 days
Plan a trip around lunch
Tell us when you'd like to go and what you'd love to see. Your Peru Specialist will come back with ideas, honest advice on altitude and timing, and a clear price.