Country: Peru
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Sandboarding the Dunes of Huacachina
After the flight, the day turns to Huacachina, the desert oasis ringed by rolling sand dunes. On a sandboard, the larger dunes give the afternoon a physical, playful counterpoint to the morning's archaeology.
Read MoreNazca Lines Overflight from Pisco
A 90-minute flight in a 12-passenger Cessna Grand Caravan passes over the sprawling Nazca Lines, where the figures of a hummingbird, a dog, a tree, a whale and a lizard appear among the geometric lines. The longest figures measure about 1,200 ft (370 m); they were made by removing the top layer of iron-oxide-coated pebbles to reveal the lighter clay underneath, and the stable desert environment has preserved them remarkably well.
Read MoreSunset at Love Park in Miraflores
In the evening, the eclectic Love Park in upscale Miraflores pairs a huge kissing statue with beautiful mosaic walls on the cliffs of Chorrillos. It is a calm place to watch the sun go down over the Pacific, with a nightcap at an open-air cafe in Miraflores as the suggested close of the day.
Read MoreVisit the Larco Museum in Pueblo Libre
The Larco Museum is a privately owned museum of pre-Columbian art housed in a restored viceregal mansion built over a 7th-century pre-Columbian pyramid. Its collection holds a vast array of pre-Colonial gold and silver artifacts alongside pieces of erotic art.
Read MoreVisit Casa Aliaga
Casa Aliaga is a colonial mansion granted in 1535 by conquistador Francisco Pizarro to his captain Jerónimo de Aliaga. It is described as the only house of that era still belonging to the same family, which makes it a rare, lived-in window onto Lima's colonial center.
Read MoreExplore the Historic Center of Lima
Lima's historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with Spanish colonial architecture, best explored on foot in the city's breezy Pacific air. The suggested route radiates from the Plaza Mayor through the colonial downtown to the 16th-century Cathedral, which took eighty years to build in the grandiose style of the Spanish Empire. It is a suggestion for free time rather than a fixed booking — mingling with locals and eating in award-winning restaurants are part of the day's framing.
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