Visitor Information

Before You Go

Peru doesn't maintain national tourism offices abroad, so your best official source of information before you go is www.peru.info, the website of PromPerú (Commission for the Promotion of Peru). Peruvian embassies and consulates usually offer some brochures and other information on traveling to Peru, but it's probably best not to expect too much.

Other helpful trip-planning websites include www.peruvianembassy.us, the Peruvian embassy in Washington, D.C.; www.traficoperu.com/english, the site for Traficoperu, a travel agency with information about flights, hotels, and special deals; www.enjoyperu.com, a similar site with good background information on specific areas; www.perurail.com, the official PeruRail website with route and service information; and www.saexplorers.org, the South American Explorers website, which is especially good for trekking and adventure travel information. Sites with good information on specific places include www.huaylas.com and www.andeanexplorer.com, for trekking and other information on Huaraz and the Callejón de Huaylas; and www.machupicchu.org, for more information on the celebrated Inca ruins and other sights in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

In Peru

Visitor information is not handled by a single, centralized government agency across Peru. PromPerú, the main national organization responsible for tourism promotion and information, works alongside the Ministry of Industry, Tourism & International Business Negotiation (MITINCI) and several private entities. The result is that tourism information is confusingly dispersed among sometimes poorly equipped, small municipal offices and is often limited to regional or, worse, local information. Occasionally, private travel agencies are more adept at dispensing information, although their goal is, of course, to hawk their services.

PromPerú maintains a large bureaucratic office in Lima at Edificio Mitinci, 14th floor, Uno Oeste 50, Urbanización Córpac, San Isidro (tel. 01/224-9355); however, it is not convenient for tourists seeking basic information about the country. PromPerú also operates a 24-hour information booth (tel. 01/574-8000) in the international terminal of Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport.

The Tourist Protection Bureau (Servicio de Protección al Turista), which handles complaints and questions about consumer rights, operates a 24-hour traveler's assistance line at tel. 0800/42-579, or 01/224-7888 in Lima. The Tourist Protection Bureau office is at La Prosa 138, San Borja, Lima (tel. 01/224-7888) or toll-free from cities other than Lima (tel. 0800/42-579).

South American Explorers (www.samexplo.org), with clubhouses in Lima and Cusco, is an excellent source of information, particularly on trekking and mountaineering in Peru. It stocks a good selection of guides, maps, and dossiers on travel and trails, which is available to members. Yearly membership is $40 (£20). You can contact the group in the United States at tel. 800/274-0568 or 607/277-0488; otherwise, visit its Lima office at Piura 135, Miraflores (tel. 01/445-3306), or the Cusco office at Choquechaca 188, no. 4 (tel. 084/245-484).

For domestic and international flight information, call tel. 01/575-1712 or visit www.lap.com.pe.