Cuzco & the Inca Heartland, 4th: Tread Your Own Path (Footprint - Travel Guides)

If you are staying more than several days, or if you want to travel off the beaten path in the Sacred Valley area, you need this book, not just one that covers all of Peru. This book goes into more much more detail than any Peru guidebook (including Footprint's Peru Handbook, Lonely Planet Peru, Moon Peru, etc). For example, it has 10 pages on the Quillabamba/Vilcabamba area (vs. a page & a half in Lonely Planet) and three pages on the Piquillacta Archaelogical Park (vs. 8 sentences in the Lonely Planet). Good write-ups on several day hikes you can do outside of Ollantaytambo too.

The book breaks up the Cuzco & Sacred Valley into 5 chapters by geographic area. Plus, it contains chapters on the Southern jungle (Manu + Puerto Maldonado) and Lima. My group spent 10 days in Cuzco/Sacred Valley/Machu Picchu and then 4 days in Lima, so it was perfect for us. In the front of each chapter there is a map showing 5 or 6 highlights of the area - I found these to be good...Read more

This ws a gift to a teenager who wants to know everything about the Inca People. She has her wish and will travel to Peru as soon as she gets the financing.