Tree cover change was examined around three cities in the central Andes of Peru, 1948-2012, using repeat photography, remote sensing, and ethnographic methods. Forest transition theory provided a framework to study the causes of the changes observed. The repeat photography results show that there were more trees on the landscape in 2012 than there were in 1948. There were increases in smaller groupings of trees visible in the photography that were associated with smallholder intensification in the form of new woodlots, field borders and dooryard trees. The remote sensing results show there was a significant increase in larger patches of trees beyond the view of the photographs. Many of these new large patches were associated with government sponsored afforestation programs.