Why
Travel to Peru?
This
country is supremely and exquisitely varied, bizarre, vibrant
and spectacular, not only Latin/South America's most colourful, diverse and fascinating country but maybe the world's most striking tourist destination.
Peru is culture overload world champion and historically fascinating too, with Inca vs. Spanish relics
and stories scattered throughout the Andean areas.
The Sacsuhuayman Inca remnants around Cusco are especially well
built and impressive, with massive, multi-sided 300 ton stones fitted
tightly together without cement, while Machu Picchu is simply stunning in location and sophisticated construction.
Landscapes range from the Amazon jungle through the Nazca desert to the
altiplano [high, bleak plains] and up to the magnificent Andes mountains.
All this and the people are colourful -
Andean women in their bowler hats and their men
in floppy, bright, wooly hats.
For more detail read a couple of Peru
travel stories.
Downside:
- There are plenty of 'rateros' [thieves] around Peru, groups and individuals,
ready to divest tourists of their worldly goods, tho' usually without
violence so observe travel
safety suggestions.
- Altitude sickness can be a problem in some of the better spots,
like Cusco, Puno and Machu Picchu.
Peru
Travel Guide, climate:
Best:
May, June, Sept, Oct.
OK: April, July, Aug [winter]
Worst: Dec-Feb [rains; apart from miserable photo conditions the Inca Trail may be a washout]
Length
of stay:
Minimum worthwhile stay, not incl. flights: 8 days [Lima-Cuzco-Machu
Picchu], but beware of flight delays.
Recommended: 2 weeks - 8 weeks if you want to experience the Amazon
areas, the lowlands, the mid Andes [Arequipa etc], the high Andes
[Puno and Cuzco], and do some serious trekking.
Main attractions:
***Machu Picchu [aka Pichu] is undoubtedly the greatest archeological site in South America and one of the planet's top five,
a strange, superbly built little Inca sactuary on a tabletop mountain
surrounded by towering, tranquil Andean peaks, the Urubamba river and cruising condors. It was never found by the Spanish conquistadors and Machu
Picchu remains awesome ins pite of the visitor numbers. Get there early!
Go by train, or train and walk 22kms, but you should definitely
stay overnight so you can visit the site early and/or late when
the train-travel visitors are still rattling the rails.
There is an expensive but very worthwhile hotel beside the site that allows travellers to get into the site 3 hours before the 1,500+ train tourists arrive; or head for the boomtown
of Aguas Calientes downhill and a few kilometres along the rail track.
You must now walk the Inca Trail with
an official guide or group and trekkers must be registered
for the walk 30 days beforehand - a nightmare for casual arrivals/gap
year travellers [tho' for a few dollars in Cusco they can be had,
unofficially]
Alternative? See Choquequirao, below.
***Cuzco [aka Cusco], a gorgeous little town with lower walls built by the Inca and upper parts
pure Spanish colonial, full of spectacular buildings, colourful locals, foreign restaurants and overlooked by the magnificent fortress of Sacsuhuayman.
***Puno/Lake Titicaca/Altiplano. Puno
is a not very attractive town but has lively markets and local people
and is the port from which to explore Lake
Titicaca, and a transit point between Bolivia and Cuzco.
In the vicinity are:
- The floating village of Uros - the
weirdest habitation?
- The colourful island of Taquile where
men do the knitting.
- The bleak and blasted altiplano with
wandering herds of llamas and alpaca and scattered Inca ruins.
p.s. a certain famous actress believes aliens live in/under Lake Titicaca....
***Arequipa is a lovely colonial city
and good staging point on the way to Machu Picchu to avoid altitude
sickness. The nearish Colca Canyon has spectacular views and condors passing.
**Nazca Desert and those dozens of
strange, mysterious drawings visible only by plane [about $50].
Short flights are available. Also grave robbed mummies lie scattered
around. You gotta see it but it won't take more than a day or two.
*Lima. OK for a couple of days, museums
and cultural events but we don't feel it's vale la pena so take a look at Lima in transit and watch your pockets.
**Ollantaytambo for superb Inca monuments
and peace and quiet, nestled in a lovely Andean valley.
**Amazon. Fly to Iquitos and get boats
to jungle camps from there. A bit grubby and a hot, sticky hassle
to get to, but better than miserable Manaus in Brazil.
Beware that wildlife views are not as common as you might imagine,
but the buzzing, humming, screeching ambience is terrific.
**Beaches! Great beaches, warm water
and lots of sun, but far up north. More information below under activities.
New
Peruvian destination - Choquequirao:
Machu Picchu has become so overrun with tourists recently that authorities,
with financial assistance from France, are working hard to excavate
and improve access to an alternative and even more isolated site.
Choquequirao -'Cradle of Gold' in the Quechua language, is 80kms
[50miles] away from Machu Picchu, hanging on to a mountain ridge
1,800m [6,000ft] above the Apurimac river and 3,000m above sea level,
near the small village of Cachora.
70% of the site is still embedded in jungle and access is a 2 day,
tough but spectacular walk, so this may be a good alternative to
hikers who can't get to MP due to new regulations, or prefer a more
mysterious and evocative, less busy destination. In 2004 100,000
walked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and another 365,000 went by
train, but Choquequirao only got 5,400 visitors!
Activities:
Trekking: 22km [3 days] to Machu Picchu is the best walk
ever; a local guide is now obligatory. Other more strenuous and unusual treks such as Choquequirao are also available.
Huaraz town, with plenty of good-value accommodation, is the favoured
starting point for magnificent Andes mountain walks from May to
September.
Wildlife: Mostly at Amazon camps though don't expect to see too much unless you're ready for night rambles or head for the Paracas
National Reserve for birds and sea lions.
White Water Rafting: If there's sufficient
rain!
Beaches: it's a bit of a hike up north but there are excellent beaches around
the town of Mancora, with fine surfing, horse riding, warm water,
lots of sunshine and plenty of accomodation. 110 kms from Ecuador
so it's a good stopoff en route to Lima.
Peru's best beaches are Punta Sal and Punta Veleros but they are
1,165 kms from Lima, so fly to Piura then do another 130kms on wheels.
Festivals:
Check guide books for precise dates:
Early Feb, Candlemas, Puno mainly +Cuzco, Arequipa, 2 weeks.
March/April, Holy [Easter]Week, esp. Cusco. Puno + All Peru, 1 week.
Mid June, Inti Raymi, Cuzco, 1 week, a wonderfully colourful occasion
in an extraordinarily beautiful town.
July, Paucartambo, 74km from Cusco.
Electricity:
220v, mostly 2 flat pin plugs needed,
occasionally 2 round pins.
Visa
information:
These are granted on arrival for most
nationalities and last for 90 days.
Peru
Cuisine:
Peruvian
specialities can be dodgy: Pisco Sour is made with raw eggs [salmonella!]
and ceviche uses raw fish that can contain dangerous parasites.
However Jeff Calton has an interesting comment about our [now deleted]
remarks:
I
was just reading your website and found it interesting and informative
UNTIL i read your quote about peru cuisine,,,,it is uninspiring
but there are usually good foreign restaurants. What a totally INSANE
thing to say.
Peruvian cuisine is being hailed as one of the world's great cuisines
along with chinese /french /italian. I do not know what you ate
or where you ate it, but that is the most mis informed piece of
information I have ever read. Lima is becoming a "foodie"
destination for travelers who only want to eat and experience the
flavors of Peru.
It's true that the bugcrew were travelling on a very tight
budget at the time. We'll return to experience the foodie delights
when we have a fat wallet.
Some
survival advice:
- never carry a wallet in your back pocket or a shoulder bag/camera
loosely on your shoulder.
-
never put your camera or bag down in a Peruvian café or restaurant
without putting an arm/leg through a strap.
-
people showing you the way somewhere will probably expect a tip,
just like most people you photograph. Check in advance.
- acclimatise to the Andean altitude before setting off on the Inca Trail where some passes go over 4,000m.
South America
Tours | Peru
Tours
Travelling Peru
is a hassle, but worth it!
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