Northern Peru has plenty more to offer than Machu Pichu, Thrifter gives a list of several other sites to see while visiting.

From Thrifter:

However, if you like a combination of archeology and beach lounging then the coastal town of Huanchaco may be more up your street.  Although it is a little further away from Chan Chan than Trujillo, the beaches are wonderful, as is the surfing, and you will still be able to immerse yourself in Peruvian culture.  The fishermen there still use paddling boats (Caballitos de Totora) built in the same manner for thousands of years.  Some jokily call them the first ever surf boards.

An Ashaninka indigenous woman cooked in the main road linking the central jungle to Lima.

Ashaninkas and Machiguengas, indigenous peoples of Peru, protested against the government’s plans to open large parts of the Amazon for drilling, logging and dam building.

via Neatorama:

A gorgeous 3D film by Clement Crocq, Margaux Durand-Rival and Nicolas Novali for the “Supinfocom Arles” in 2008. It depicts the antics of a young Peruvian boy, his Llama and a Pilot who goes through a psychedelic experience filled with Peruvian iconography and mysticism. Also check out the making of the film on CGSociety as it details the fascinating steps into creating a 3D short film.

Q’orianka Kilcher is half Peruvian Indian on her father’s side, of Quechua/Huachipaeri descent.  Kilcher talks about the Peruvian Indian protests and how she’s helping them.

from the LA Times:

Late last week, Q’orianka and her mother flew to Peru, which in recent days has been the scene of violent clashes between police and Amazon indigenous groups, who are protesting the turning over of tribal lands to oil drilling, logging and mining. The clashes have left more than 30 people dead and brought severe criticism of President Alan García, who is pushing to open the Amazon for commercial development, over his government’s handling of the affair. Under domestic and international pressure, last week Peru’s Congress suspended the pro-development decrees that sparked the protests, but the situation is far from resolved.

Peru’s indigenous people win one round over developers

The Shawi indigenous people in northeastern Peru have many reasons for bitterness, Pizango, who is apu, or chief, of the group, said last week at a roadblock set up a few miles west of Yurimaguas to protest government policies.

“It’s been a long trajectory of abuse,” Pizango said. “We got tired of it.”

He and others had blocked the main road leading to Peru’s interior with tree stumps and rocks and set up makeshift tents with plastic sheeting along the highway shoulders. The surrounding terrain of Loreto province was a rolling green moonscape that long ago had been clear-cut by loggers.

Then, in a development celebrated as a victory for indigenous groups, Peru’s Congress last week voted to revoke two laws enacted last year to further open the Amazon to mining, oil and timber development. The measures had enraged indigenous groups and led to a bloody confrontation June 5 in Bagua that officials said left 10 civilians and 23 police officers dead, with one officer missing and presumed dead.