Peru

Peru was everything I wanted it to be. The relative increase of tourists (predominantly North American) was a welcome change after Bolivia and it had a great mixture of food and culture with so many interesting things to see. We opted to do Peru Hop, a hop on hop off bus service which runs through Peru. It was so nice for us to not have to think about planning for awhile and I really enjoyed just going with the flow. Cusco was perhaps more expensive than I would have liked: but all the food and service we received was undoubtedly exceptional.

My blog posts:

  • Capital: Lima
  • Population: 33 million
  • Currency: Sol
  • Language: Spanish, as well as Quechua and Aymara
  • Highlights:
    • Machu Piccu: Well, obviously. The main reason I think that anyone that is not from Peru would have heard of the country. One of seven wonders of the world, it’s basically non-negotiable as a stop.
    • Nascar lines: it’s necessary to take a flight to appreciate their full beauty, but they continue to be one of the world’s largest archaeological mysteries.
    • Lake Titicaca: under the lake’s surface lies an ancient city, ripe for exploring.
    • Huacachina: cute little oasis town with some epic sand boarding.
    • The  North of Peru makes for good surfing.
  • Did you know?
    • Sechura Desert is the world’s largest desert! Stay at Huacachina.
    • There are over 3000 different kinds of potato grown in Peru – personally, I didn’t even know that many existed!
    • The world’s largest flying bird, the Giant Andean Condor, is native to Peru.
    • The Amazon river is the longest in the world and it starts in Peru.
  • Useful tips:
    •  If you want to hike the original Machu Pichu, plan ahead to save disappointment – guided tours to hike the Inca Trail sell out months in advance. However, if you don’t mind doing a different hike or just catching a train, the stress is less!