Peru

• Pictures
• Videos

The land of the Incas and one of the 7 wonders of the world, Machu Pichu, has diverse natural beauties and as Bolivia is also a region of micro climates. Desert, dunes, mountains, volcanoes, forests, lakes, canyons, snowy peaks, beaches … Here you will find everything and it is a great destination for nature lovers.

But Peru will impress more the trekking lovers. Many of the best experiences will involve walking up and down a lot … The Cordillera Blanca in Huaraz, the Colca Canyon, Arequipa’s volcanoes, the mountains of Machu Pichu and even regions of the Sacred Valley. If you have no experience it will be a good opportunity to try it and be enchanted. And if you’re not a big fan of ruins this is not your place.

The food is a good side. Despite being too greasy, as in Latin America in general, the menu is much more varied and you will discover the wonderful Ceviche, absolutely delicious, much healthier and addictive.

What was worth it: The charming city of Cusco, Machu Picchu, the Colca Canyon trek and the surprising capital Lima (Huaraz would be on that list if we were in the right season).
What was not so paid off: Máncora (unimpressive beach and noisy, there must have something better on the coast), Puno (it is interesting to see how are the floating islands but it is disappointing and it only worth the stop if it is on your way).
What we wanted to do but we didn’t: 4 days trekking in the Cordillera Blanca that did not happen because of bad weather.

A few tips:

• TRANSPORT: Buses are modern and offer bed and semi-bed, food, drink, TV and wi-fi, and that’s why they are not so cheap. The country is very long, so most of the displacements will be during the night. You can even find cheaper options, but we wouldn’t save money on that matter. The more expensive companies are more comfortable and more secure as they do a direct itinerary while the cheap ones will stop along the way and are more exposed to theft. Good companies we used: Cruz del Sur, Oltursa, TEPSA, Línea. To purchase flights you can afford the price of Peruvians, about 50% less than for foreigners. Go to Lan Peru website in Spanish while in Peru, select your flight and choose to pay in any super market (do not to use your international credit card, or it will not work). We did not try but according to our guide book it works. Worth a try!
• CLIMATE: Peru is a country of micro-climates and while it’s sunny and hot on the coast, it rains a lot in the mountains region and it is cold. As the best experiences are associated with hiking we strongly recommend that you do not visit the country during the rainy season, which is between December and March, or you will not get the best out of it. As it happened with us in Huaraz, we missed the trekking in the beautiful Cordillera Blanca because of bad weather.
• ALTITUDE SICKNESS: If you’re coming from sea level your chances of getting sick are certain, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, insomnia and lack of appetite. This should be taken seriously as very severe cases may even cause death from pulmonary or cerebral edema. Let your body adapt calmly, do not do much effort and don’t eat too much. If you feel very bad there are specific medicines for altitude sickness.
• MACHU PICHU: The access to Mach Picchu is a bit complicated. If you are not doing any trekking (about 4 days with different options) the cheapest way to get there from Cuscowill be by minivan to the hydro-electric of Santa Teresa (about 7 hours – many agencies offer, search to see the best price, we paid 45 soles per person each way) and then a flat walk of 2 ½ hours to Aguas Calientes. With this option you will spend about 20 USD each way and if you go by train you will spend 85 USD each way (to/from Cusco) and train (to/from Ollantaytambo) + minivan you will spend 45 USD each way.
• COLCA CANYON: To visit the Canyon there is an expensive tourist ticket to be paid (16 USD for nationals of Latin America and 28 USD for other nationalities), regardless of the time you’ll spend there. But you only really need to pay if you are going with a tour. If you go independently don’t buy in advance and if a guard from Autocolca request your ticket you can buy it with him. We heard most tourists are never checked.

Our itinerary (31 days)

We crossed the border of Bolivia and Peru at Lake Titicaca, making our first stop in Puno. The very next day we went to Cusco where we relaxed for 10 days and during this period we celebrated Christmas, we visited the towns of Pisac on the Sacred Valley, as well as Ollantaytambo and Maras, and we went to Aguas Calientes to visit Machu Pichu wonder. Then we descended into a night bus to Arequipa and from there we did a return trip to the Colca Canyon for 3 days. From Arequipa we took another night bus to Ica, where we visited the Huacachina dunes, and then we went up to Lima for 4 days. We had another night bus to Huaraz, then another night bus to Trujillo and another night bus to Mancora! And we finally departed in a day bus to the border of Ecuador through the coast.

The best of the country