Destinations · Latin America
Peru
Peru brings together the Inca heritage of the Andes, Spanish colonial cities and a varied coast and rainforest. It is a strong setting for courses in history, anthropology, education and geography.
Overview
Peru as a classroom
Peru was the center of the Inca Empire, and earlier civilizations such as Caral, Chavin and Nazca left works that are thousands of years old. Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century added colonial cities and Catholic traditions, which mixed with Quechua and Aymara practices that continue today. Students can travel from Lima on the Pacific coast to Cusco and the Sacred Valley at high altitude, seeing how geography shapes farming, trade and community life. Peru's Indigenous languages, cuisine and rural education challenges add further material for study.
ARAMFO has offered a study tour for teachers and professors covering Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Every faculty-led course is customized to the professor's syllabus and travel dates.
Good to know
- Language
- Spanish; Quechua and Aymara are also official in their regions.
- Currency
- Peruvian sol (PEN)
- Best season
- May to September (dry season in the highlands)
- Typical length
- 8-12 days (customizable)
Highlights
What students will see and do
- Machu PicchuThe fifteenth-century Inca citadel above the Urubamba River is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most visited in South America.
- CuscoThe former Inca capital combines Inca stonework with Spanish colonial churches built on top of it.
- Sacred ValleyTerraces and sites such as Ollantaytambo and Pisac show Inca agricultural engineering at altitude.
- Historic Centre of LimaThe colonial core includes the main plaza, cathedral and convents and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
- Lake TiticacaThe high-altitude lake on the border with Bolivia is home to communities such as the Uros on floating reed islands.
- Nazca LinesEnormous geoglyphs in the southern desert, created between roughly 500 BCE and 500 CE, are a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Faculty-led travel courses
Courses that fit Peru
Professors build their own syllabus; ARAMFO arranges the visits that bring it to life.
Art, Architecture & HistoryStudents could study Inca stonework, colonial baroque churches and pre-Inca archaeological sites.
Education & Teacher PreparationA course could examine bilingual intercultural education in Quechua and Spanish and the challenges of rural schooling.
Geography & Environmental StudiesStudents could study how altitude, climate zones and glaciers shape agriculture, settlement and water in the Andes.
Psychology, Sociology & Social WorkA course could study Indigenous identity, rural-urban migration and community development in the Andes.
Programs
ARAMFO programs in Peru
Programs ARAMFO has run or published here. Each can be adapted into a faculty-led travel course for your own students, on your dates.
On the ground
Academic and professional visits
Visits are chosen with the professor to match the course. ARAMFO also arranges flights, housing, meals, local transport, guides and entrance fees.
- Rural and urban school visits
- University lectures with Peruvian faculty
- Archaeological site tours with local archaeologists
- Community and cooperative visits in the Sacred Valley
Get started
Plan a course in Peru
Tell us about your course and we will reply with a draft itinerary and cost.
More destinations
Other destinations
Countries where ARAMFO has run or published faculty-led courses and faculty development programs.
