Peru

Peru packs three completely different trips into one country. Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley are the headline act, and they earn it. Lima has become South America's serious food destination. Add the Amazon, the high desert at Arequipa and Colca Canyon, or the rainbow mountain trekking — the variety is unusual.

The standard route works: a couple of days eating in Lima — ceviche in Barranco, a splurge tasting menu if you book far ahead — then fly to Cusco and drop straight down to the Sacred Valley to acclimatize. Ollantaytambo makes a calmer base than Cusco itself. Machu Picchu comes by train or the four-day Inca Trail, and then you branch: Arequipa and Colca Canyon, or a flight into the Amazon. Permits, trains, and entry tickets are where the money goes.

The honest part: Cusco sits at 3,400 meters and the altitude flattens most arrivals for a day or two — plan for it. Machu Picchu runs on timed tickets and feels like it, and Inca Trail permits sell out months ahead. Lima is grey and traffic-choked, worth visiting mostly for the food. December through March means rain in the highlands. None of it dims the payoff: ruins, mountains, and a food scene this good rarely share a border.