Just 35km east of Cañete, the pleasant river-based resort of LUNAHUANA is home to several hotels and a wide variety of tour agencies offering trekking, mountain biking, valley tours, whitewater rafting or canoeing. The place varies in feel considerably depending whether it is the busy time (mainly Dec–March, plus one week either side of the national holiday on July 28) – when there are festivals for the grape harvest combined with rafting competitions. Outside these, it’s empty and laidback. Few foreign visitors come here; it mainly sees a young and sporty crowd from Lima.
Lunahuana and the surrounding area can bring a mix of agriculture, archaeology and adventure sports to 12-day Peru trips that include the southern coast. The landscape consists of beautifully sculpted, dusty mountainsides surrounding a narrow, irrigated and fertile green valley floor. As well as abundant vineyards, some of which can be visited on tours, the valley is also dedicated to cultivating maize, cotton, rice, avocados, chillies, limes, papayas and bananas. Lunahuana is also a great base for exploring the local Inca archeological complex of Incahuasi.
On the plaza there’s a fine colonial church with a cool interior and a sky-blue wooden vaulted ceiling. Within easy striking distance there’s a horse dressage, or caballos de paso, centre, a traditional hanging bridge, plus rustic pisco haciendas, such as the Bodega Fidelina Candela, Anexo Jita, at Km 37.
Rough Guides combines destination expertise with tailor-made travel planned by vetted Peru local experts. You can use our city and regional guides as a starting point, then receive up to 3 personalized trip plans created from scratch around your preferred pace, experiences, and route through the country. The final itinerary is refined directly with the local travel agent instead of being selected from a fixed package.
written by
Rough Guides Editors
