Peru’s Five Most Famous UNESCO Heritage Sites:

1.Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu

• The Citadel of Machu Picchu was built around AD1460 by Inca Pachacuti and abandoned when the Spaniards conquered the Incas in 1532.
• The Citadel was built at an altitude of 2,400 meters or 7,874 feet above sea level.
• Since the Incas did not have a written language the real purpose for the building of Machu Picchu is not clear, it remains a mystery and is open to speculation.
• Machu Picchu has about 200 buildings that are considered architectural wonders. These buildings were made of individually shaped pieces of carved gray granite stone that fitted perfectly together.
• Machu Picchu is divided into two sectors, at the northern part was the urban sector and at the southern the agricultural sector. These sectors were constructed on a natural division due to a geological fault.   
• Machu Picchu was also a sacred center where the Inca and his family could worship natural resources, the Sun and other deities important to Inca religion.

• Machu Picchu was strategically located in the ridge between Mountain Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu in the most inaccessible area of the Urubamba River. It is so hidden that not even the Spaniard conquerors were able to find it.

2.Historic Center of Lima

• With 9.7 million inhabitants Lima, capital of Peru  is the second largest desert city in the world after Cairo. It is a city of contrasts.
• Lima was founded by Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro in 1535 because of its accessibility to the sea.
• Lima is surrounded by shantytowns where poverty is rampant, yet many of its suburbs are rich and prosperous, its business district boasts skyscrapers and its shopping malls are ultramodern.
• Lima is located on a desert strip that runs from the north to the south of Peru, on the banks of the Rimac River overlooking the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean.
• Lima is the richest city in Peru; it is where the government is located and is the financial, cultural and educational center of the country.
• The Historic Center of Lima is known as the “Ciudad de los Reyes” or City of Kings. It was declared a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1988.
• Lima was the economic, social, cultural and political capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and was also the most important city in the Spanish South American colonies.
• During the colonial period magnificent buildings were created in the Historic Center of Lima. The Plaza Mayor was the core of the City of Kings, it is surrounded by the Cathedral of Lima, the Government Palace, the Archbishop’s Palace, the Municipal Palace and the Club de la Union.

3.Chan Chan Archaeological Zone

• The Chan Chan Archaeological Zone was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
• Chan Chan was the capital of the Chimú Civilization located in the north coast of Peru 300 miles (480 km) north of Lima in the city of Trujillo.
• The Chimú absorbed the early civilizations of Wari and Lambayeque and expanded becoming the richest civilization of its time. Its kingdom lasted from around 850 AD to 1470 until they were conquered by the Incas.
• The city of Chan Chan was built around 900 A.D. and reached its pinnacle in the 15th century.
• This vast citadel was built in the mouth of the Moche Valley and relied on wells and canals to divert water from the Moche River.
• Its unique feature is that it was fully built out of adobe that still stands today. However, erosion due to winds and extreme climatic conditions brought by El Niño are constantly risking its integrity.
• The layout of Chan Chan reflects its social, religious and political beliefs based on a hierarchical division.
• The citadel housed the elite and its family and it is divided into nine walled complexes or palaces. Within each complex there are labyrinths of passageways that lead to temples, dwellings, food storage units, funeral platforms all arranged around a courtyard.
• Outside the city walls lived the commoners who were employed in different industries. There are four distinctive industrial sections used for weaving, metal and wood work.
• Chan Chan was looted and destroyed when the Spaniards arrived in South America.

4.Chavin Archaeological Site

• Chavin was designated UNESCO Heritage Site in 1985.
• Chavin de Huantar developed between 1,500 to 500BC in the highlands of the southeast of the Cordillera Blanca in the department of Ancash, 186 miles (300 km) north of Lima.
• Chavin is one of the earliest known pre-Columbian civilizations that developed in the Early Horizon.
• Chavin de Huantar was the economic, social and political center of the region.
• The entire site is about 12 square kilometers and contains the main architectural complex of buildings, plazas, galleries, dwellings and other structures as well as agricultural zones, terraces and irrigation canals.
• The Chavin people built large stone temples and plazas decorated with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic carvings.
• The Chavin built this center as a place of worship that attracted people from far away regions unifying and consolidating its presence in the central Andes. They came so see the Shamans who were priests believed to communicate with the deities. Shamans were at the top of the social hierarchy and used astronomy to predict climate used in deciding which crops to plant. People venerated them and thought they had special powers.

5.City of Cuzco

• The City of Cusco is located at an altitude of 11,150 feet (3,400 meters) above sea level in the Cordillera Blanca of the Andes Mountains, 620 miles (1,000 km) south east of Lima.
• The City of Cusco was the historical capital of the Inca Empire and was founded by Manco Capac around 1200 AD.
• To the Incas, Cusco was the center of the world; it was a religious, social, cultural and economic center of the empire.
• The Inca Empire or Tawantisuyu reached its height between the 15th and 16th centuries.
• In 1534 the Spaniards took over the city building churches, dwellings and their own institutions using Inca structures.  Today it can be observed two distinctive cultures that have progressively assimilated into a multicultural society.
• The most important complex in the City of Cusco was the religious center Coricancha or Temple of the Sun.
• The Spaniards built the Convent of Santo Domingo on its structure.
• Coricancha was dedicated to the most important Gods in Inca culture, Wiracocha, Inti and Quilla.
• Coricancha is the representation of the finest Inca masonry skills and the best in Inca architecture, similar use of masonry can be seen in Machu Picchu.
• Walls were built from large granite blocks, meticulously cut and fitted together without the use of mortar.
• Incas were familiar with anti seismic construction as most walls in Coricancha were built leaning inwards, door frames and windows were trapezoidal. These walls have survived numerous earthquakes.

Other UNESCO World Heritage sites of Peru

• Historical Center of the City of Arequipa
• Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Pampas de Jumana
• QhapaqÑan Andean Road System
• Sacred City of Caral-Supe
• Huascaran National Park
• Manu National Park
• Rio Abiseo National Park