Peru: Investigating Peru's Archaeological Sites

Six hours from Lima, enjoy bird watching on the Ballestas Islands, home to Inca terns, sea lions, cormorants, and penguins. If they’ve intrigued you, you can pay a small fee for a bus ride to Paracas National Reserve, a home for migratory birds that hail from far and wide. Then press on to Mejía, a tranquil beach where about 200 types of birds soar along the ocean, river, and lagoons that comprise the Mejía Lagoons National Sanctuary.

Once you say goodbye to your feathered friends, brush up on ancient Peruvian culture at the Museum of the Nation in Lima before checking out the Chuachilla Cemetery near Nasca on the coast. Here you can see skeletons preserved by mummification and dry air, complete with the clothes and pottery that their families buried with them. This concept of interring people with earthly articles for use in the afterlife spans many cultures, and the most spectacular example of it in Peru is the remains of the Moche civilization that once thrived near modern-day Chiclayo. The ruins of the pre-Incan Chimu civilization also provide a window into ancient life with their ruined palaces, shrines, and houses.

Not all of Peru is devoted to the past, however. In addition to the beaches, there’s also the wildly popular new sport, sandboarding. Based on snowboarding, this daring pastime takes advantage of Peru’s immense dunes, some of which approach 800 feet. Instructors regularly rent boards and take novices to the summit for a lesson in defying gravity. It’s a surefire remedy to shake off the doldrums from investigating all those tombs.