Top 12 Historical Tours in Peru

1.Guided Tour of Historic and Monumental Trujillo

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 930 reviews · from $13Our pick

Walk from Plaza Mayor through Trujillo’s medieval center with a guide such as Ana, seeing the Alcazaba, palaces, churches, towers, convents, and old gates. The two-hour route adds photo stops and links the town to Isabel la Católica, Carlos V, the Discoverers, and film locations.

“Visita muy amena y completa por parte de nuestra guía Ana. Nos hizo un recorrido por el casco histórico con multitud de comentarios.”

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2.Lima’s Vibrant Heritage: Exploring the City’s Landmarks Half-day

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 581 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $39

Explore Lima with an English-speaking guide, hotel pickup, and air-conditioned transport. Visit Parque del Amor, view Huaca Pucllana, then tour the Cathedral and Santo Domingo Convent in the historic center. Small groups of up to 12 make this a useful first look at Lima.

“Fantastic tour to get a snap shot of the city in a short period of time, as well as learning generally about the city and country. Mayrol the guide was very knowledgeable, easy to talk to and a great guy.”

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3.Historic Center Street Food, Market, and Eateries Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 216 reviews · 4 hours · from $69

Spend four hours walking Lima’s historic center with guides such as Marcos, Aura, Valeria, and Sheyla. Taste anticuchos, churros, picarones, chicharrón sandwiches, market fruit, and chilcanos while visiting Chinatown, Mercado Central, Plaza Mayor, and colonial landmarks.

“Absolutely fantastic! Valeria was amazing! Food was soooo good!”

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4.Walking tour in the Historic Center of Arequipa

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 180 reviews · 2 hours · from $10Best value

Walk Arequipa’s historic center with an English- or Spanish-speaking guide, visiting the Plaza de Armas, Compañía cloisters, Mundo Alpaca, volcano viewpoints, and San Lazaro. Guides such as Edgar, Johan, Beatriz, and Jorge have led recent tours. Plan for two hours plus a voluntary tip.

“The guide was so fantastic, many stories around places and buildings, about history and culture. We tasted cocktails and cheese helada, saw many hidden gems of Arequipa. Great spots for views above the city. Feeding Llamas and Alpacas was another high … who would expect that on a city tour?! Absolutely stunning walk!!!”

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5.Historic Downtown, Miraflores & Catacombs Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 100 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $75

Meet guides such as Maria, Sophia, or Alexandra at your Lima hotel for a private four-hour tour by minivan or SUV. Visit Miraflores, San Isidro, and the historic center, then tour San Francisco Convent and its catacombs. Snacks, a drink, transport, and admission are included.

“Excellent tour. Highly recommend. Appreciate being able to arrange pickup from port as it made things so much easier”

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6.Historical Guided City Tour with 4 Inca Ruins

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 99 reviews · 6 hours · from $23

You’ll visit Qoricancha, Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo, Puka Pukara, and Tambomachay by tourist transport with an accredited English or Spanish guide. Morning and afternoon departures are available, with guides such as Luis, Alfredo, Romulo, and Hyame praised for clear explanations.

“Hyame was excellent as a tour leader. We only had a few hours in Cusco before heading off to do the Macchu Picchu trek. This was a great tour to get a glimpse of some sites that were too far to walk to, especially when needing to adjust to the high altitude. Her English was good and responded to questions well. I was well-pleased with this last minute booking and would have missed out on many Cusco treasures without booking it.”

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7.Walk through the Historic Center of the City

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 87 reviews · 2 hours · from $15

Join Joss, Jose, or Joseph for a two-hour small-group walk through Arequipa’s historic center. Visit the Cathedral, colonial cloisters, ancient tambos, lesser-known corners, and a rooftop lookout facing Misti, Chachani, and Pichu Pichu.

“Excellent guide, he knows so much about the city and the region and share it so so we'll. We lived the tour!”

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8.Machu Picchu Private Archaeological and Historical Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 86 reviews · 3 to 4 hours (approx.)

Explore Machu Picchu for about three hours with a private guide from IncaGo Expeditions. Guides such as Eric, Sophia, Ericson, and Noe explain Inca architecture, temples, farming terraces, and local culture while helping with photos. Pickup is available from your Aguas Calientes hotel or train station.

“Emerson was one of the most knowledgable and friendly guides we've had across all our travels around the world! Everything about the private tour was perfect and made our trip to Machu Pichu magical!”

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9.6-Day Cultural Tour to Machu Picchu

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 76 reviews · from $999

Spend six days exploring Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Sacred Valley with English-speaking guides, five breakfasts, hotels, transport, trains, and entrance fees included. Guides such as Jonathan, Guido, and Frankly have been praised for clear explanations and patient pacing. Huayna Picchu tickets cost extra.

“Super amazing and awesome experience ! Tourist guides Justin, Edy, Joel were outstanding professional, friendly and passionate on all the tours performed.”

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10.Historic Walking Tour with Pisco Sour and Music Show

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 65 reviews · 2 hours · from $10

Walk Cusco’s historic center and San Blas with an English or Spanish-speaking guide, visiting the Cathedral, Qoricancha, Inca stonework, a luthier’s workshop, and the Temple of Manco Capac. Finish with Andean music, city views, and your choice of pisco sour or chicha morada.

“Erick was fun and informative. A great tour of Cusco. Easy way to acclimate to Cusco. Pisco samples were great!”

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11.Lima Peru Sea Lions, History and Palomino Callao Islands

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 56 reviews · from $72

From La Punta in Callao, you’ll speed by boat past San Lorenzo, Frontón, Cavinzas, and Palomino Islands with guides such as Rodrigo or Diego. Expect sea lions, Humboldt penguins, guano birds, rock formations, a wetsuit, snacks, and an optional swim.

“The tour is spectacular and one of the best things in Lima (including dining at Central). The thousands of sea lions are magnificent and it’s also wonderful to see the Humboldt penguins. The landscape is beautiful too. The boat ride is bumpy—a lot of fun if you are not seasick and maybe some pain if you are. The guides are very nice and friendly.”

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12.Lima´s Vibrant Heritage & Larco Museum of Cultures Half Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 48 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $69

Spend four hours exploring Lima’s Historic Center and the Larco Museum with an expert guide such as Susanne, Gabriel, or Daniel. See colonial churches, rare books, saintly history, and ancient Peruvian ceramics, with hotel pickup from Miraflores or San Isidro.

“Booked as a 2.30 (around 5 hrs )30 hrs before message sent moved to 9.00, the tour lasted 4hrs. That said all to plan with Gabriel excellant very clear English. Went to places with a guide that the tourist would not be able to. Even with reduced time good value if you add admissions, taxis. The Larco museum is interesting. So we paid £37.00+ tips”

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