AllWays Traveller Features
Peruvian art and design
The South America country of Peru embraces part of the Amazon rainforest and Machu Picchu, an ancient Incan city high in the Andes mountains.
The region around Machu Picchu, including the Sacred Valley, Inca Trail and colonial city of Cusco, is rich in archaeological sites.
On Peru's arid Pacific coast is Lima, the capital, with a preserved colonial center and important collections of pre-Columbian art.
The country offers rich design found in its remote eco-lodges and archaeological museums which blend with their landscapes and utilise traditional, natural materials.
A place to stay
Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba
Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba is a hacienda hotel in the Sacred Valley of the Incas between Machu Picchu and Cusco.
Situated in 100 acres and surrounded by mountains, the hotel's design is inspired by the area's cultural history, with colonial furniture, Inca masks and handcrafted woodwork.
With 12 bedrooms and 24 standalone casitas, it has rustic interiors, expansive glass walls, exposed brick, wooden beams, and traditional Andean textiles.
The hotel offers an 'earth-to-table' dining concept from its 10-acre organic plantation.
Crops such as quinoa, Urubamba giant corn and medicinal herbs are farmed with traditional hand tools and oxen.
www.inkaterra.com/inkaterra/inkaterra-hacienda-urubamba
Titicaca
This Relais & Châteaux boutique lodge on Lake Titicaca's south-eastern shore is located on a peninsula shared with the local indigenous Aymara community.
The 18 lake-view bedroom property has interior spaces furnished in a contemporary style complemented by crafts produced by local artisans, alongside locally-picked fresh flowers.
Outside, wrap-around terraces, an overwater deck and two private beaches allow guests to relax completely amidst the lake's landscapes and wildlife.
Committed to supporting the sustainable development of the villages around the lodge, the hotel sources local ingredients as much as possible – from food crops to Andean textiles – and employs three quarters of its staff from local villages.
Hotel B
A summer pavilion dating back to the Belle Époque, th Relais & Châteaux Hotel B is located in the protected historic area of Barranco.
Renovated by sculptors from the Fine Arts Academy and an Italian cabinetmaker, the property features an columned white façade, high ceilings and natural materials such as marble and exotic woods.
The interiors draw inspiration from the surrounding Barranca district and exhibit works by contemporary Peruvian and Latin American artists, with the 20 bedrooms featuring vintage dark wood furniture, standalone bathtubs and shutter-style doors.
A fashionable seaside retreat for the Limeño aristocracy in the 19th century, the bohemian neighbourhood of Barranco is now home to some of Peru's best-known artists, designers, musicians and photographers – including Mario Testino.
The hotel houses a unique art collection, and an in-house Art Concierge offers guests the opportunity to attend private viewings and events at the local galleries and museums.
CIRQA
This Relais & Châteaux hotel at Arequipa is located in a former monastery dating back to 1540.
Blending historic framework with contemporary details, this private hotel has arches and columns of volcanic sillar rock
There are 11 suites featuring high, vaulted ceilings, intricate cast iron windows and antique furniture.
Explora, Machu Picchu
Located between Cusco and Machu Picchu, the hotel Explora Valle Sagrado offers its guests a base from which to explore the Lost City of the Incas.
Designed to blend with the surrounding Andean mountains and ancient corn and quinoa plantations, the stylishly-appointed wooden lodge sits inside a former hacienda with echoes of Sacred Valley design, such as soft furnishings in natural fibres and vibrant Incan textiles.
The hotel restaurant's menu, created by Peruvian chef Virgilio Martínez, uses Andean ingredients such as cushuro (blue algae), ayrampo (cactus) and mashwa (a variety of tuber).
www.explora.com/machu-picchu-sacred-valley-peru
Museums and galleries
Casa de la Literatura Peruana, Lima
The House of Peruvian Literature is housed in what was originally Lima's Desamparados Train Station, which opened in 1912 and was a symbol of the progress of the city at the beginning of the 20th century.
The station closed in 2007 and was repurposed as a library and cultural centre.
The neoclassical façade welcomes visitors with a grand clock sitting above its entrance whilst, inside, original features such as the multi-coloured glass dome roof, wooden ticket booths and a grand staircase provide suitable reminders of its past.
The Museo de Sitio de Paracas
The Museo de Sitio de Paracas is located in the Peruvian coastal desert at Ica.
Built on the site of its predecessor – destroyed by an earthquake in 2006 – the designers of the building integrated the property into its stark landscape, with "cracks and flaws" separating the structure into its exhibition and workshop areas.
Inside, the museum is a hybrid of modern spatiality coupled with the ancient Peruvian style of spiral, winding paths.
The hotel's geometry reflects the patterns of Paracas textiles.
Made entirely with a material called pozzolan cement - resistant to desert salt - the exposed areas of cement have acquired a natural reddish colour, and blend perfectly with the neighbouring hills.
www.museos.cultura.pe/museos/museo-de-sitio-julio-c-tello-de-paracas
Belmond 'art in motion' train
In 2019, Belmond collaborated with Peruvian designers, artists and chefs to give its Hiram Bingham train a stylish makeover, reflecting traditional and contemporary Peruvian culture.
The luxury train, which travels one of the world's most famous journeys - from Cusco, through the Sacred Valley, to Machu Picchu - features a 1920s-style observation car, brought to life by award-winning Peruvian artist Fito Espinosa.
The train's staff wear uniforms from fashion designer José Miguel Valdivia, inspired by the great explorer Hiram Bingham, featuring elegant tailoring with bold Andean patterns and traditional woven detailing.
Aqua Nera
Inspired by the Peruvian Amazon's black water lagoons and the river's tranquillity, the new Aqua Nera cruise boat takes visitors deep into the Peruvian Amazon.
Created by architects Noor Design, the interiors and 20 suites reflect the era of the rubber boom alongside the colourful cultures of Peru, Portugal and Spain, and feature expansive windows to take in the panorama of the Amazon river and rainforest.
Useful links
Location (Map)
About the author
Contact info
ISSN 2634-7032
London, United Kingdom
+44 0 7764 198 286