Good country, exhausting tourist industry

Peru is a genuinely beautiful and interesting place. Machu Picchu is worth every superlative thrown at it. The ceviche is legitimately excellent. incredible Incan history gave the trip real depth.

What I struggled with: the tourist infrastructure around the headline sites in Arequipa is relentlessly commercial and Inca Trail permits sell out months ahead is a genuine friction point. You can feel the gap between authentic Peru and the packaged version sold to tourists. The authentic version wins, but you have to work to find it.