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:
- Lima (predominantly food)
- Paracas: ‘the poor man’s Galapagos’
- Huacachina: the oasis town
- Peru Hop
- Arequipa: the white city
- Exploring Cusco
- Food in Cusco
- Visiting Machu Picchu
- Video: Peru
- 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!
