NEW TO SOUTH AMERICA! THINKING OF GOING TO PERU,ANY ADVICE?

HI ALL,DONE SE ASIA LAST YEAR WITH MY GIRLFRIEND,NEXT YEAR WE WANT TO GO VISIT MACHU PICCHU AS I HEARD IT'S BREATHTAKING.WE HAVE 3 WEEKS IN TOTAL.NEVER BEEN TO SOUTH AMERICA,SO IF YOU'VE BEEN TO PERU AND OTHER SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHICH ONE YOU RECOMMEND AND WHY!THANKS A MILL!

[ Edit: Edited on Sep 30, 2008, at 8:50 AM by dar egan ]

I would definately recommend Bolivia over most countries, and it can be combined with Machu Picchu if you have three weeks.
Fly into Lima and out of La Paz or Santa Cruz or vv. (or maybe Santiago de Chile).
The southwestern corner (salt flats of uyuni, volcanoes, coloured lakes etc.) are really breathtaking. Lake Titicaca is nice as well and on the route between La paz and Cuzco.

Great trip for three weeks!

Some points to consider..

With 3 weeks in this vast continent probably best not to sperad yourself too thinly or you will spend all your time travelling.

Local airlines such as TACA have budget flight prices for getting around once you are there.

The inca trail has a limited number of permits issued daily (500) you will need to check availability for the month you are going. This can be done on the web. Trail is closed in Feb for cleaning.

Fussy

If you visit Machu Picchu can take the train from the clouds, which was the traditional route of the ancient indigenous INCAS, and come to northern Argentina.

In Buenos Aires Argentina can meet and cross by ferry to Colonia, Uruguay, is located on the Rio de la Plata, the small colonial city, was declared by UNESCO Heritage of Humanity.

From there you can get to Uruguay's capital Montevideo, and traveling to the beaches of the east or transmitted in the rural north, valleys and rivers, for example, make riding ...

Welcome to South America!