On 16 April, the international ‘Machu Picchu et les trésors du Pérou’ (‘Machu Picchu and the Treasures of Peru’) exhibition kicked off its European tour at the Cité d’Architecture et du Patrimoine (Palais de Chaillot) in Paris, France.

Produced by CityNeon and World Heritage Exhibitions (the creators of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of Pharaohs) in partnership with Inkaterra Asociación, this unprecedented event is the largest exhibition ever to showcase Peru's cultural legacy and extraordinary biodiversity.

'Machu Picchu et les trésors du Pérou' is a fascinating journey through time to discover a culture that coexisted with a mystical world. This impressive display spans 3,000 years through Peru's ancient cultures, rivalled only by Ancient Egypt in longevity and by the Roman Empire in engineering.

“50 years after co-producing Werner Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) to promote Peru through cinema (the cult classic was shown in Parisian theatres for almost three years), we now bring you Machu Picchu et les trésors du Pérou as the most innovative way to welcome travellers from all over the world to explore all the cultural and natural wonders found in Peru”, emphasised the co-organiser of the exhibition, the Skålleague from Lima, José Koechlin, at the press conference.

A new immersive experience will transport visitors from the cradle of civilisation in the southern hemisphere to the jewel of the Inca empire, the citadel of Machu Picchu. The exhibit comprises an impeccable selection of 192 original artefacts from the Larco Museum, one of the largest gold collections to ever travel the world.

Likewise, visitors will marvel at the first virtual reality tour of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, designed with cutting-edge technologies, an experience that recently won the prestigious Lumière Award in the Best Use of VR category. In the exhibition store, visitors will also find promotions for a dream trip through Peru, with stays at Inkaterra hotels.

For several consecutive days, the exhibition has remained the most popular cultural event in France, according to the Ticketmaster website. France 24 News called Machu Picchu et les trésors du Pérou “an event like no other,” while the New York Times had previously deemed the exhibition the “crème de la crème… with the kind of objects that all museums around the world try to display in their display cases”.