Inca & Panama Canal Discovery: Lima Overnight

This large, modern port serves Chile’s capital, Santiago, a city with Spanish colonial charm and a vivacious spirit. Encircled by the Andes and the Coastal Range, Santiago is centered around the Plaza de Armas, with several of the city’s landmarks: the 18th-century Metropolitan Cathedral the Palacio de la Real Audencia from 1808, the City Hall and the National Museum of History. North of San Antonio lie the picturesque old port and university town of Valparaíso and the colorful seaside resort of Viña del Mar. In between the coast and the capital are valleys filled with some of Chile’s most famous wineries, all inviting you to come and taste.

Coquimbo may be relatively small for a capital city (it’s the seat of the Chilean province Elqui), but between its location along the Pan-American Highway and its status as an important port, Coquimbo receives quite a few domestic and international visitors. Many of them use the city as a jumping-off point from which to explore the attractions of the surrounding Elqui Valley. Reached by the Ruta de Estrellas (Route of the Stars), the valley’s vineyards yield to a desert landscape that is home to approximately 70 percent of the world’s astronomical observational infrastructure, including nearly a dozen observatories. Other popular out-of-town destinations include southern beach towns like Guanaqueros and Tongoy. Don’t rush beyond city limits without checking out Coquimbo’s own sights, though; because of its mining and port history, there’s been a fair bit of global influence on local life and culture. One place where this influence is evident is the Coquimbo Mosque; while it’s a recently built structure, inaugurated in 2007, it’s still a testament to the long and fascinating history of this Chilean coastal town.

General San Martin was named for José de San Martín who, nearly 200 years ago, liberated Peru from Spanish rule. This thriving harbor is your gateway to the Nazca Lines geoglyphs, the ancient spires of Macchu Picchu, and the port of Pisco. Visit the Paracas National Reserve, a refuge for seals, penguins, flamingos and more. Sample shore excursions: Ballestas Island Wildlife Sanctuary Cruise; The Route of Pisco; Tambo Colorado & Paracas Museum.

Peru’s bone-dry capital (only Cairo is drier as far as national capitals go), Lima is a booming energetic metropolis built on ancient foundations millennia in the making. At first she is no looker, but scratch that parched surface below the high-rise offices and dust-settled dwellings and Lima’s charms begin to shine: Strikingly preserved pre-Columbian ruins sit defiantly among modern skyscrapers, a cultural potpourri of world-class museums, sun-toasted beaches beautifully illuminated by nightly sunsets and one of the most exciting and dynamic culinary landscapes in the world.

Lima is a tale of two cities. Colonial charms abound in the city’s historic center, where impressive plazas—including the cinematic 16th-century Plaza de Armas, the handiwork of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro—are overseen by Baroque and neoclassical cathedrals, palaces, monasteries and remnants of ancient city walls. But a different Lima emerges in the cliff-hugging seaside barrios of Miraflores and Barranco. Miraflores, Lima’s modern face, is a bustling enclave of chic restaurants, bars and nightlife, and Barranco is a bohemian resort commune flush with grand casonas converted into atmospheric hotels and eateries. One of the city’s allures is navigating between the old and the new.

But the Peruvian capital is at its most extraordinary at mealtimes, where the signature dishes of its world-famous cuisine—ceviche, lomo saltado pisco (beef stir-fried with tomatoes, peppers, onions and fried potatoes), aji de gallina (a pepper-laced chicken stew), causa (avocado and shrimp layered between mashed potato)—are the culinary stuff of legend, further wowing when chased by Peru’s extraordinary national cocktail, the highly addictive pisco sour. ¡Salud!

Peru’s bone-dry capital (only Cairo is drier as far as national capitals go), Lima is a booming energetic metropolis built on ancient foundations millennia in the making. At first she is no looker, but scratch that parched surface below the high-rise offices and dust-settled dwellings and Lima’s charms begin to shine: Strikingly preserved pre-Columbian ruins sit defiantly among modern skyscrapers, a cultural potpourri of world-class museums, sun-toasted beaches beautifully illuminated by nightly sunsets and one of the most exciting and dynamic culinary landscapes in the world.

Lima is a tale of two cities. Colonial charms abound in the city’s historic center, where impressive plazas—including the cinematic 16th-century Plaza de Armas, the handiwork of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro—are overseen by Baroque and neoclassical cathedrals, palaces, monasteries and remnants of ancient city walls. But a different Lima emerges in the cliff-hugging seaside barrios of Miraflores and Barranco. Miraflores, Lima’s modern face, is a bustling enclave of chic restaurants, bars and nightlife, and Barranco is a bohemian resort commune flush with grand casonas converted into atmospheric hotels and eateries. One of the city’s allures is navigating between the old and the new.

But the Peruvian capital is at its most extraordinary at mealtimes, where the signature dishes of its world-famous cuisine—ceviche, lomo saltado pisco (beef stir-fried with tomatoes, peppers, onions and fried potatoes), aji de gallina (a pepper-laced chicken stew), causa (avocado and shrimp layered between mashed potato)—are the culinary stuff of legend, further wowing when chased by Peru’s extraordinary national cocktail, the highly addictive pisco sour. ¡Salud!

To the north is the “Lordiest City” of Trujillo, founded in 1535 and still rich in ornate colonial detail. At its edge, far older and long abandoned by the Chimu Indians, sits the eerie adobe metropolis of Chan Chan. Sample shore excursions: Trujillo and the Temples; Ch n Ch n Citadel/Dragon Huaca/Totora Caballitos.

Just outside this tranquil coast town lie the villages where the famous Panama hats are woven. Farther afield: colonial Quito, so perfectly preserved the entire Old Town has been designated a World Heritage Site. Sample shore excursions: A Day in Quito; Manta & Montecristi.

Located west of Panama City at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, Fuerte Amador is a gateway to exploring the many faces of this unique Central American country. The impressive engineering of the canal itself is a wonder to behold; a quick trip to the Miraflores Locks’ visitor center with its panoramic observation decks offers the chance to watch behemoth barges thread their way through the legendary manmade waterway. Just minutes from the cruise port, the recently opened Biomuseo is a Frank Gehry–designed natural-history museum dedicated to Panama’s ecological marvels. And Fuerte Amador sits within easy taxi distance of Panama City, the bustling, multicultural capital metropolis where visitors can wander a conquistador-era UNESCO World Heritage Site, sip coffee in street cafés and peruse modern malls. For a rural escape, it only takes an hour or two by car to trade the city for the tropical rain forests of Soberanía National Park, where an aerial tram carries passengers through treetops, or to meet Emberá tribespeople in their traditional village along the Chagres River.

Located west of Panama City at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, Fuerte Amador is a gateway to exploring the many faces of this unique Central American country. The impressive engineering of the canal itself is a wonder to behold; a quick trip to the Miraflores Locks’ visitor center with its panoramic observation decks offers the chance to watch behemoth barges thread their way through the legendary manmade waterway. Just minutes from the cruise port, the recently opened Biomuseo is a Frank Gehry–designed natural-history museum dedicated to Panama’s ecological marvels. And Fuerte Amador sits within easy taxi distance of Panama City, the bustling, multicultural capital metropolis where visitors can wander a conquistador-era UNESCO World Heritage Site, sip coffee in street cafés and peruse modern malls. For a rural escape, it only takes an hour or two by car to trade the city for the tropical rain forests of Soberanía National Park, where an aerial tram carries passengers through treetops, or to meet Emberá tribespeople in their traditional village along the Chagres River.

Crystalline waters, snorkeling with tame stingrays, civilian submarines: This duty-free port has it all, plus Seven Mile Beach and a charming turtle farm. Sample shore excursions: Stingray City Cruise & Island Drive; Reef & Wreck Snorkel by Boat; Scuba Adventure; Nautilus One Semi-submarine.

Just outside this tranquil coast town lie the villages where the famous Panama hats are woven. Farther afield: colonial Quito, so perfectly preserved the entire Old Town has been designated a World Heritage Site. Sample shore excursions: A Day in Quito; Manta & Montecristi.