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

This space-age looking obelisk rises over a city in the rainforest, meant to resemble the local castaña tree.

Thousands of volcanic rocks carved 1,000 years ago.

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

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

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

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

Mystic Incan rock piles three miles above sea level.

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

This high-Andean reserve protects the graceful vicuña that was nearly hunted to extinction for its precious wool.

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.

The large collection of pre-Columbian pottery might make you blush.

A pretty park of over 1,600 olive trees that grew from just three saplings brought over from Spain.

A painting in the historic Cathedral Basilica depicts Jesus and his disciples dining on a traditional Peruvian menu.

This stone complex marks the urban center of a lost civilization.

These steeply terraced ruins are a stop along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.

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

Huge stone depressions which may have acted as an Incan agricultural experiment.

An unexpected desert oasis in South America.

Preserved Inca city and site of the last Inca stronghold against the Spanish conquistadors.

The mortal remains of an estimated 70,000 people lie in the basement of a monastery in Lima, Peru.

The intricate stonework of Machu Picchu serves as a testament to Incan engineers.

This replica medieval European village in the Dominican Republic was built by a Hollywood set designer.