Who has not ever heard about Machu Picchu? A famous and ancient city of the South American country Peru, is one of the popular tourist spots of the world. Famous for its culture, history, mountains, landscapes and jungles, Peru has all the reasons for a traveller to plan a trip to this place. Peru will not only entice you its tourism gems but also fulfill your taste buds with its widespread gastronomic delights because Peru has more than 4,000 varieties of potatoes, 300 varieties of chilies and 55 varieties of corn. Sounds tempting? Isn’t?

The choice of food is so widespread in Peru that you might get confused what to eat or not in Peru. Lets take a look at gastronomic journey of Peru –

  • To begin with, Ceviche is the must try dish of Peru. If you visit Peru and don’t have this, your trip is incomplete. Made up of raw fish with lemon, spiced up with chilies and served with mashed potatoes or corn; Ceviche dish was invented about 2,000 years ago in Peru. One can try good Ceviche at famed restaurant in Lima – amaZ.
  • Another popular dish of Peru which you will find in every restaurant is Lomo Saltado, made of sliced fried beef with red onions, Peruvian tomatoes, chilies, soy sauce and vinegar. It is basically a fusion of Asian and Peruvian flavours.
  • Cuy which means Guinea pig, is one of the delicacies of Peru. In Peru, people have this like people have chicken in rest of the world. Once roasted, it is also served with mashed potatoes. It has been said that just forget for once that it is a pig and relish its taste! Would you like to try it atleast once?
  • As mentioned, there is a huge variety of potatoes and so the dishes made with potatoes. One of the famous potato dishes is potato casserole. It is named as Causa, do you know why? It has an interesting associated to it. Causa word has come from the word ‘cause’, there was a reason to invent this dish. About 100 years ago, when Peru had war with Chile, they left with no food but only potatoes and that time, wives of the soldiers made this dish (mashed potatoes with mixed ingredients). And today, it is one of the must-have dishes on the food menus.
  • To try the street food, one must go for anticuchos. Made of meat marinated in red wine vinegar and spices, one will find anticuchos at every street cart/food stall.
  • And for your sweet tooth, Peruvians have their own style of rice pudding called as Arroz Con Leche, made of rice, condensed milk, milk and sugar (sounds like our kheer!).
  • Want to relish your food with some cocktails? Well, Peru has something in store for you called Pisco Sour, made of base liquor Pisco, lime, egg white. If you go Peru, don’t forget to buy a bottle of Pisco upon your return.

Hope this gastronomic journey to Peru has tempted enough you to plan your trip to this beautiful South American country, which has all the varieties from non-veg to potatoes to sweets and cocktails. If you want to know more details about Peru – how to travel, about places, accommodation, costing of travel – GTK Travels can help you with a customized package.