The Central Highlands Feature

Handicrafts: Ayacucho has retablos—three-dimensional scenes of religious and historical events. Quinua has ceramic workshops. The Mantaro Valley has Mates Burilados, silver filigree, and alpaca textiles.

Warm Mugs: Street vendors sell calientitos, a pisco-spiked herbal tea, and ponche, a sweet, frothy blend of milk, sesame, cloves, cinnamon, and walnuts.

Market Day: Villagers trek in with their goods ready to hawk and trade for whatever they can. Head to the Mantaro Valley and there's a market every day.

Ethnotourism: Design silver jewelry, learn to weave, cook papas a la huancaína, or help orphaned children. Huancayo has excellent interactive tourism opportunities.

World's Second-Highest Train: It's no longer number one, but you can still chug your way from Lima to 4,782 meters (15,685 feet) before dropping down to the valleys surrounding Huancayo.