Peru?

[LookingforPaddington]

Hi all, I’m considering Peru for a holiday (no kids). Anyone who’s been have any recommendations of where/what and equally, anything not to bother with?
Looking at next April.

Currently on my list is:
Sacred Valley/ Machu Picchu (probably 3/4 days, see some of the lesser known sites)
Lake Titicaca
Colca canyon, see the condors hopefully
Fly over Nazca lines
Couple days at end in Paradas to relax (unless anyone has a better suggestion - flying home from Lima so want to be within driving distance of airport, not a flight away)

Not a foodie or into luxury hotels etc, I enjoy scenery, wildlife, history. I’m been to the Amazon/ rainforest before, so not heading there this time.

Anywhere else I should go, or swap the above for? Limited to a fortnight as that’s the most time that I can get away from work.
Any comments as to how you enjoyed your holiday there, also most welcome.

Arequipa and Cuzco both wonderful. Spot on otherwise with your itinerary.

Yes it’s amazing! If you’re going to do the hikes then recommend increasing your blood oxygen /getting fit

We went 18 months ago, a combined tour of Peru, Ecuador & The Galapagos.
Enjoyed it all very much.
Cuzco is lovely, but a word of warning. I had bad altitude sickness there, but the hotel were well-equipped with oxygen cylinders, & kept me supplied with coca tea.

DH was unaffected, & I don't know if there's any way to prevent this.

Just back from Peru. Agree with @Darksideofmercury that Arequipe is worth adding to your list. Cuzco for a few days to acclimatise if you are hiking the full Inca trail (which I’d recommend but definitely train even if currently fit but not used to hiking - up and down).

Look into Peru Hop buses, which we found to be a very efficient way of getting around the main tourist points including those you mention. Also only had two weeks.

Central Lima nothing to write home about but Miraflores a good spot to recover from jet lag before going up to into the Andes.

Yes I suffered badly with altitude sickness too, migraines and throwing up at Lake Titicaca, you never know if it will affect you or not. It's very high there! Take it slowly and acclimatize before you start trekking.

Thanks all. No MP hiking, I’ll be taking the train! We will be going via Cuzco, Arequipa, so will see some of the towns en route. I’d heard of the altitude risk, have read that migraine tablets (and viagra!) can help, and we will work up to the altitude over a few days.
is Paracas suitable for a couple days relaxation before flying home? I’d quite like to do the boat trip to the islands to see the penguins, sea lions etc. Don’t need a beach, just a nice boutique hotel.

Boat trip in Paracas was good but the town itself just ‘ok’. That said we were there Easter weekend and it was ridiculously busy which didn’t help our impression of the place. We had to queue for almost two hours for the boat trip. We also booked fairly last minute so hotel options were poor.