MACHU PICCHU - The Ultimate Place to See Before You Die

Machu Picchu has been voted the “Ultimate Place to See Before You Die” in a poll conducted by The Huffington Post.

The Huffington Post let readers choose a winner from sixteen destinations collected from "1000 Places to See Before You Die," a travel anthology written by Patricia Schultz. The sixteen destinations were randomly assigned to a bracket that pitted two destinations against each other in each round until a winner was found. The final round of voting saw Machu Picchu competing against the Great Pyramid of Giza. Machu Picchu is “definitely the destination that every human being should visit at least once in their lifetime! I know of no place in the world which can compare with it."

Other South American destinations in the top 16 included Ipanema Beach, Easter Island and the Galapagos Islands.

MACHU PICCHU - Named 'Top Green Destination in South America'.

Machu Picchu has been named South America’s Leading Green Destination, by The World Travel Awards.

Other destinations that were nominated for the award were Abrolhos (Bahia, Brazil), Caracas (Venezuela), Georgetown (Guyana), Pantanal of Mato Grosso (Brazil) and Patagonia (Argentina), among others. The World Travel Awards were rated by The Wall Street Journal as the top prize in the Travel and Tourism industry. Every year since 1993, over 167,000 travel agents - in 160 countries - vote for the winners of The World Travel Awards. This year the award ceremony took place in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

PERU - Named as one of the Top Destinations for 2012 by National Geographic.

Only a few days after Machu Picchu was voted the “Ultimate Place to See Before You Die” in a poll conducted by The Huffington Post, the editors of National Geographic have named Peru as one of 2012’s best trips in the world. The magazine mentions Peru’s ancient ruins, deep canyons and biological diversity as some of the reasons to travel to the country. However, it was Peru’s food that attracted the most praise from the magazine. “Peru is blessed with incredible biodiversity—a bounty that is clearly reflected on its plates,” it said. “Peruvians have long been vocally (and justifiably) proud of their homeland’s cooking, but suddenly, the rest of the world seems to be taking note, too. In 2008, the country’s leading chef, Gastón Acurio, founded Mistura, a Lima-based food festival that has since become the leading annual culinary event in South America.” In October, Frommer’s travel guide also picked Lima, Peru as its Top Food & Drink Destination of 2012.

LIMA - Voted 'Top Food & Drink Destination' of 2012.

Frommer’s Travel Guide picked Lima, Peru as its Top Food & Drink Destination of 2012. In its recommendation Frommer’s wrote: “Lima's cultural miscegenation -- a rich stew of Spanish, African, Chinese and Japanese -- is reflected in its culinary fusion. Limeño cuisine encompasses spicy creole dishes, Nikkei (2nd-generation Japanese), and chifa (a Peruvian twist on Chinese).” Frommer’s pick is no surprise to those who have witnessed Peru’s increasing exposure abroad. Earlier this year, renowned Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio opened his newest venture, La Mar, in New York - adding to his existing 34 restaurants in Latin America and Spain. Porfolio.com hailed Acurio as the next Superchef back in 2008, declaring him as the "most famous chef you've never heard of." Earlier this month a documentary about Peruvian cuisine, ‘Mistura, The Power of Food’, won Best Short Film at this year’s NYC Food and Film Festival. The film has also won Best Short Foreign Documentary at the Hollywood International Family Film Festival and Best Short Documentary at the NYLA International Film Festival this year. The documentary centers on Mistura, a food festival that takes place in Lima every year and features a variety of different foods from across the country. This year 361,700 people attended Mistura, over 9 days.