A sculpture of a giant hand reaches for the stars in the middle of the Atacama desert.

A full-size replica of this well-preserved temple lets you take a walk through the Mayan age.

This staircase full of Mayan hieroglyphics is perhaps the largest single text in the world.

Haunted by its violent past, this colonial bastion was the largest Spanish military installation in the Americas.

This 16th-century monastery was founded to cloister the daughters of wealthy local families.

A Christian monastery stands on what was once a holy Incan temple.

These ruined Incan mausoleum towers still bear carvings of sacred animals on their blocks.

The outside of this exposed Moche pyramid is covered with striking colorful adobe friezes.

Mystic Incan rock piles three miles above sea level.

It took 82 years and four different plaques to finally get the story right.

On this tiny spot of land in the middle of Lake Titicaca the only ones who do the knitting are the men.

Built on the remains of one the Incas’ most important gathering spots, this square keeps the spirit of a fallen empire alive.

An Inca spa, military outpost or maybe… both?

The sophisticated hydraulic system of the Nazca civilization.

Situated on a sacred Inca site, this 16th-century cathedral took nearly 100 years to build.

This geometric feat is a testament to the Incas' mesmerizing architectural abilities.

Now containing the bones of the actual conquistador, instead of someone else.

A fascinating little museum all about the rich history of Peru’s famous plant.

A backdoor to Machu Picchu that only the most foolhardy infiltrator would attempt to breach.

Death rituals and sacrifice inside a Peruvian megalith.

The Uros people live on floating reed islands in lake Titicaca.

This Peruvian canyon is filled with geometric salt pools that have been being harvested since the Incan empire.

The stones of this Incan wall complex fit together so well you couldn't fit a piece of paper between some of them.

Nazca pilgrimage site covering 370 acres is a popular stop for archeologists and looters.