In the third Paddington film (premiering in U.S. theaters Friday, Feb. 14), the beloved bear and London expat travels back to his native Peru to visit his Aunt Lucy, now living in the Home for Retired Bears.
Pretty soon, though, that sentimental journey turns into a rousing adventure that takes Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) and his adopted humans, the Brown family, through a variety of South American settings, from the Amazon rainforest to Andean peaks. The movie stars Hugh Bonneville, Emily Mortimer, Olivia Colman, and Antonio Banderas.
According to Time Out, Paddington in Peru filmmakers used movie magic to combine scenes shot in the English county of Hertfordshire with footage captured on location in Peru and Colombia, too.
Paddington in Peru Filming Locations You Can Visit in Real Life
The Peruvian town of Maras, located northeast of Cusco in the Sacred Valley, stands in as Paddington's hometown onscreen. Up to now, the chief claim to fame of Maras has been its visually striking terraced salt mines.
Perhaps inevitably, Inca ruins play a prominent role in Paddington in Peru. Machu Picchu appears in the movie (though unnamed), and the plot requires scaling the towering Huayna Picchu as part of a treasure hunter's search for the gold-stuffed lost city of El Dorado. (Film buffs may recognize Huayna Picchu from the first scene of Werner Herzog's 1972 epic, Aguirre, the Wrath of God.)
Continuing into northern Peru, the Chaparrí Reserve, though not actually in the movie, is an essential stop for fans: It supplies the chance to see Paddington's fellow spectacled bears in their natural habitat. A "community-owned rewilding sanctuary" that "rehabilitates animals rescued from illegal captivity," per National Geographic, the reserve offers guided tours and an eco-lodge for overnight stays. "Home-cooked Peruvian fare" is served for meals at the lodge, but you will probably have to bring your own marmalade sandwiches.
Beyond Peru, the third Paddington production spent time in Colombia as well—notably in the mountainous town of Prado for a scene involving Antonio Banderas's character and a scary rope bridge.
And back in London, the colorful houses of Chalcot Crescent in Primrose Hill make another appearance as the Brown family's block before the action shifts to South America—though this time around you won't see Paddington station, which gave our hero his name, and where he's immortalized with a bronze statue.
For more information about planning Paddington-related travel in Peru, the country's official tourism board, Promperú, has set up a web page for that very purpose.
