Late dinners in Buenos Aires, the kitchens of Lima, and the road to Machu Picchu.
Two capitals that take their food and their evenings seriously, then the climb into the Andes — the Sacred Valley first, so the altitude is met gently, and Machu Picchu at the end.
WhenBest in May, or from September to November: Buenos Aires is mild in both, and the Andes are dry in May and September, green and quieter in October and November.
01 — Argentina
Buenos Aires
Wide boulevards, old cafés and a city that dines late.
Buenos Aires is the grand capital of Argentina on the wide Río de la Plata, laid out with Parisian avenues, Italian cafés and a Spanish grid, and lived in with its own passion for football, tango, late dinners and long conversations. San Telmo, La Boca, Palermo and Recoleta are its famous quarters; the pampas and the delta are at its edges.
The Obelisco and the Avenida 9 de Julio
San Telmo
La Boca and the Caminito
Recoleta
02 — Peru
Lima
A capital on the cliffs above the Pacific, known for its kitchens.
Lima sits on cliffs above the grey Pacific, a colonial capital with a baroque centre, the ruins of earlier cultures inside its suburbs and the restaurants that have made it a destination on its own. Most visitors pass through on the way to Cusco and Machu Picchu; a couple of days here are well spent.
The Plaza de Armas and the historic centre
The Larco Museum
Miraflores and the malecón
Barranco
03 — Peru
Cusco
The Inca capital in the Andes, and the road through the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu.
Cusco was the capital of the Inca empire, and the Spanish built their churches and mansions on its stone foundations, so the walls of the old streets are Inca below and colonial above. It sits high in the Andes at the head of the Sacred Valley, whose villages, terraces and ruins lead to Machu Picchu.
