Peru is world known among travelers as a country offering stunning natural beauty as well as cultural richness. This year was named the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the UN and sustainable destinations are growing in popularity. Tourism-review.com brings the top 7 natural heritage sites in Peru compiled by the Peruvian National Service of Protected Natural Areas.
The main attraction of the Reserve is the turquoise blue sea and the dreamy beaches like La Mina y Raspón, Lagunillas, Yumaque and Karhuaz, where some family campsites have been installed.
Travelers can also find various natural lookout points like La Catedral. In the Reserve, visitors can engage in activities like canoeing, cycling, hiking and wind-water sports.
Located near the town of Paracas, just 4 hours away from Lima, visitors can explore this natural heritage site. To enjoy the area, tourists take a boat from the docks of El Chaco or the Tourist Marina. During the tour, visitors can watch a wide variety of marine birds, like pikemen, penguins and pelicans and, of course, the great colony of sea lions. In Ballestas Islands visitors can also engage in some sport fishing, but always in the company of a tour operator.
Beautiful natural landscape where forest, river and sea collide. Local canoe trips show the visitors one of the most unique destinations in the world, located just 30 minutes away from the city of Tumbes. In the protected area visitors find large turtles and dreamy birds such as the pink spatula, the white ibis, and the blue heron.
Located just 3 hours away from Lima the reserve is an excellent natural heritage site for those who like camping or enjoy barbecue. The main activity visitors come to engage in is hiking the 3 different trails suitable for every age. They are: The Trail of the Fox (40 minutes), The Trail of the Tara (1 hour 30 minutes) and the Trail of the Partridge (2 hours 30 minutes). Cave explorers can get ready for various cave paintings (witnesses of the ancient human relationship with the coastal hills), always in the company of a tour operator.
For those who love the thicket of the jungle this Reserve is a great option. The captivating protected area boasts a wealth of animal species such as the giant otter, the river wolf, the jaguar, and the macaws, among others. Tambopata offers 8 touristic routes to its visitors, where they also have the opportunity to let the adrenaline run in activities such as boating or sport fishing. In the reserve there is a wide variety of accommodation options, as well as an opportunity for interpretive trails, observation towers, and the iconic hanging bridges suspended among trees that allow the visitors to watch the animals from 30 meters high (100 ft).
One of the popular natural heritage sites is also this Sanctuary which conserves about 6.000 hectares (14.800 acres) of carob groves. It was also the place where the Sicán culture flourished. The Sicán Archaeological Complex and its well-known Hueca Las Ventanas (a 10-meter-high pyramid) remains as a vestige of their culture. Located just 45 minutes away from the city of Chiclayo, visitors enjoy long walks, horseback riding, biking tours, campsites in the middle of nature, and shopping bee products, regional crafts, and great gastronomy services. The highlight is the Millennial Tree, a carob tree that is almost 500 years old, of great mystical religious value and a must stop for visitors.
Surrounded by a beautiful mountain range known as Sleeping Beauty, the National Park Tingo María houses a complex system of underground caverns. The “Cave of the Owls” is the most famous one, inhabited by guacharos, a kind of bird that is consider prehistoric, who are the main attraction of these caverns. In the Tres de Mayo area visitors can also take a refreshing dip in the Gloriapata waterfall and camp in its Control Post that holds firewood kitchens.
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