Peru – Our three Weeks Adventure

Travelling in Peru did feel like a great adventure for us, and although not the easiest of countries to explore, the rewards are certainly exceptional.

Getting there from the UK is getting easier since I believe British Airways has just started flying directly from London to Lima. But no such luck for us though since our flight from London with Avianca had a quick stopover in Bogota. (Where we found ourselves strangely out of breath just walking through the airport, before realising that Bogota itself is a long way above our usual sea level. A taste of things to come!)

Altogether we spent three weeks exploring Peru, from the 3rd to 24th of June 2018 and we managed to put together quite a good itinerary, seeing most of the sights on our wish list. There are of course somethings that now with hindsight we would do differently, but not a huge amount, and I will talk about this a little more at the end of the post.

We travelled for the first two weeks with my sister Angelita (Lita) and her husband Juliano (Ju). It was back last year when Angelita told me she wanted to visit Machu Picchu in June/2018. Coinciding well with our recent retirement plans, Brian and I jumped at the chance of joining them and so plans started to take shape.

Our itinerary took us from Lima >Cusco > Machu Picchu > Puno > Lake Titicaca > Arequipa > Colca Canyon and Huaraz in The Cordilleras. Although I will be writing a more detailed blog post about some of the destinations we visited, here is just a quick glance at few of the things we got up to during this wonderful and memorable three weeks.

Lima

The Capital of Peru is the arrival hub of most people coming into the country. We started our adventure with three days allocated to this Peruvian coastal city. We stayed in Miraflores, most travellers tend to choose this area, or hippy Barranco, or upscale San Isidro. In my opinion, Miraflores is the perfect place to stay, I would also recommend accommodation as close as possible to the very scenic Malecon.

We made good use of the “El Metropolitano”, the new trans-Lima electric express bus system. A fast and cheap way to get into the city centre from Miraflores, Barranco and San Isidro. We bought a card at a cost of S 4.50 (called Tarjeta Intelligente) which can be credited for use ( a bit like the Oyster card in London). The average bus fare from Miraflores cost about S2.50.

Some of the highlights of our Lima stay:

The free walking tour of Lima’s city centre and colonial heart, we met our lovely guide at Plaza de Armas who conducted the tour in very clear and good English as well as Spanish. We spent a good 2 – 3 hours with him getting the lowdown on the local history and some other very interesting tidbits. (Eye-openers such as why the same building can look to be built in two different styles, the result of rebuilding following catastrophic earthquakes which are a regular occurrence in this seismically tumultuous region of our planet). Afterwards, we also had to do the obligatory visit to the Museo del Pisco….just for research purposes of course. Pisco sour is a delicious alcoholic cocktail of Peruvian origin, although both Chile and Peru argue over pisco sour as their national drink.

The Cycling tour from Miraflores – The tour started at their base in Miraflores, from where we stayed mostly on a cycling path; visiting Love Park on the cliffs of Chorrillos overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Here a monumental statue of two lovers embracing each other is surrounded by a mosaic tiled wall depicting romantic quotations. We also cycled up to Barranco to visit the Bridge of Sighs and some beautiful graffiti art. Summing up all our energy we then cycled up a steep hill overlooking Lima where the monument Cristo del Pacifico/ Christ of the Pacific has been watching over the city since 2011 when it was unveiled by the then President of Peru, Alan Garcia among a lot of criticism and controversy.

The memorable dinner at Hualca Puclana, a gorgeous restaurant that serves contemporary Peruvian food with amazing views of the centuries-old adobe pyramid of Hualca Puclana (dates between AD200 and 500) which is illuminated at night. Arriving at the restaurant felt odd, since the Ancient site is nestled in a residential area of high rise buildings and some high-end homes in a posh neighbourhood area of Miraflores.

A meal here will set you back few Peruvian Soles, but it is definitely worth the splash….in our opinion. It is popular, so book to reserve a table beforehand if you are planning to visit, we actually asked the reception at our hotel to book it for us.

Cusco

We flew from Lima to Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire. We allocated 3 days to acclimatize to the higher altitude of 3, 400 metres before our trek to Machu Picchu. We stayed at a colonial style hostel that had a charming interior courtyard near Mercado San Pedro, a short walking distance from Cusco’s Historic Centre.

With laboured breaths and fuzzy heads, we pounded the charming cobbled streets, admiring the ornate Baroque Cathedrals, Inca Architecture and enjoyed huge warm bowls of soup and other local specialities sitting high up on one of the restaurant balconies overlooking the stunning Plaza de Armas. It was our first experience of a high altitude stay.

Using Cusco as our base, we took a one-day bus tour to the Sacred Valley at a cost of S40 to visit Chincheros, Moray and the Salinas de Maras, all at an elevation of about 3, 300 metres in the Urubamba Valley. Tours can be easily booked once you arrive in Cusco, there is no need to book in advance.

Chincheros – A small village where we stopped for a demonstration of how wool is washed and dried using native plants and minerals. We got to sample some coca tea and a chance to buy some of their art crafts. I bought an alpaca wool jumper here since Peru was proving to be colder than I expected. There were beautiful views of the Sacred Valley. The village houses are mostly adobe homes, there are narrow cobbled streets, and like many of the other cities and villages we visited in Peru, we saw many people in traditional Peruvian dress.

Moray or in the Quechua language Muray – The entrance ticket to the site is S70 (not usually included in the cost of the tour).

It is an archaeological site about 31miles/50 km from Cusco. The site consists mostly of several terraced circular depressions which are believed, according to our guide to have been used for agricultural experiments, planting seeds and a very clever drainage system, although historians are not certain. It is interesting that there is a difference in temperature of as much as 15 degrees C from the bottom to the top of the circles.

Salinas de Maras – The entrance ticket to the site is S10 and it was not included in the price of our tour.

As our tour bus descended down the valley we caught glimpses of the steep terraces with the crystalline white salt pans perched on the side of the valley. Our tour guide explained that the salt has been collected here since the Pre-Incan times, although no one really knows for sure since the Incas did not have a written language to put the facts down on paper or whatever else people used for keeping records in those days. The natural hypersaline spring water is sent throughout the pans by a network of channels where the water slowly evaporates leaving the salt behind. Local families hand harvest this salt mine that has a complex network of about 3,000 salt pans. The harvest is done during the dry season from May to November.

Machu Picchu – Inca Trail

A visit to the Inca city of Machu Picchu has forever been high on mine and my sister Lita’s wish list. Hiking the ancient Inca Trail and walking on the footpath laid down by the Incas was also high on our wish list. Unfortunately, even though we contacted tour agencies in Cusco six months before our June trip, all guided tours to join the four days classic Inca Trail were fully booked for our dates. Researching other options we came across the two-day Inca Trail tour. It turned out to be fantastic, and the best decision we took.

The 10 km trail passes through some of the best scenery of the classic 4-day trek including some impressive Inca ruins such as WanaWiñay,  but without some of the hardship of the longer trail such as sleeping in a tent and enduring the awful squat toilet facilities. It was a big thumbs up from us.

We were picked up from our hotel in Cusco at about 5 am and taken on a two hours journey by taxi to Ollantaytambo where the train to Machu Picchu Pueblo (former Aguas Calientes) was getting ready to take hundreds of tourists on their way to visit Machu Picchu.

Once on board the train, we made ourselves comfortable to enjoy the panoramic views along the margins of the Urubamba River and glimpses of snow-capped mountains from the large train windows above our heads. But feeling a bit like outlaws we were chucked out of the train at Km 104, and it was here that we met our guide who would be accompanying us for the next 2 days of exploring. We were feeling very excited and slightly apprehensive at the prospect of the long uphill journey ahead.

After crossing the above bridge over the Urubamba River our guide took us to the first checkpoint where we had to show our passes for the Inca trail and our passports. There was a little panic when both Lita and I were questioned by the checkpoint guards about our passport numbers not matching with the ones on our passes. We had recently renewed our passports and since we had booked the trail using our old passport, the numbers did not match. Luckily Lita and I had scans of our old passports saved to our phones to show and so all was well.

We soon came across our first archaeological site of the day, Chachabamba. It sits at 2,170 meters, it is thought that the site was used as a shelter for the Incas on the way to Machu Picchu, also it might have been used as a religious and administrative centre. But the truth is that no one really knows since the Incas did not have a written language a lot of what our guide told us during the two days of exploring is educated theories and guessing.

The trail started off quite steep, we walked over some very uneven rock paths, it felt surreal to think here we are following in the footsteps of the Incas and trying to imagine how it must have been like for them. The altitude was not as high as Cusco and therefore we felt we had a bit more air to breathe, but it was hard work nevertheless and we made slow progress over the next few hours until we reached WanaWiñay where we stopped to have lunch.

Lunch was sitting among this most incredible site with llamas wandering around, altogether an experience that none of us will forget in a hurry. There are no words to describe this place, the ruins are impressive and certainly give Machu Picchu a run for its money. It was fantastic that we practically had the place to ourselves, it was an absolute highlight of our Inca Trek.

After visiting Wiñay Wayna we got back on the trail and dragged our tired bodies towards the next checkpoint. Just before the checkpoint, we got a glimpse into the type of accommodation we would have to endure if we had trekked the four days classic Inca Trail. We arrived at the campsite used for trekkers on day 3 of the classic trail and got to check out the small tents and use the smelly, squat toilet facilities. It was at this point that I felt grateful for not having to spend the night here… maybe I am getting too old for this kind of arrangement, but I do salute you trekkers who can endure a hard trek, sleep in this little tents and take it all in your stride. It is certainly a great adventure, and perhaps it gives you an even better appreciation of the final prize.

Our next landmark on the trail was Intipunku, also known as the Sun Gate. One last push via some very steep rocky steps and we were finally there, our first glimpse into a hidden world.

Maybe it was the tough trek, the struggle over the steep steps and a feeling that we earned our view over the Machu Picchu citadel, but Lita and I just burst into tears of pure joy. Certainly, a sight that none of us will ever forget.

I will write a longer and more detailed post about our two day Inca Trail tour so watch this space.

Puno and Lake Titicaca

We chose to travel by bus from Cusco to Puno with Cruz Del Sur bus company and could not have been happier with our choice. We decided to travel during the day so we could enjoy the very scenic route and it proved a very comfortable six hours journey, with big reclining seats, and an onboard entertainment system (your own screen tv with a good choice of films, although all dubbed in Spanish). A small meal and drinks were included in the price and served at lunchtime. We paid about S70.

We spent two nights in Puno where we took a day tour to visit the Uros people and Isla Taquile on Lake Titicaca.

Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world, it borders both Peru and Bolivia, but the most intriguing thing we learned during our visit to Lake Titicaca is the way of life of the Uros people who live here on floating Islands made of layers of dried Tortora reeds that are woven together so they can float. Our guide told us that there are about 4,000 people living this traditional way of life here on this floating islands in the middle of the lake.  When the reeds at the bottom rot from the water, new layers of reeds have to be added, and an island can last up to 30 years if well maintained. Stepping into and walking around the floating island felt soft and squishy as the ground moves in gentle waves beneath your feet.

After visiting the Uros people our boat speeded up towards Isla Taquile where we learned about the daily life of the Taquileños known for having created an innovative, community-controlled sustainable tourism model that has allowed them to keep their old traditions and hang out with us tourists who come here to gawp at their lifestyle. They are known for their high quality, colourful handwoven textiles which are sold to tourists.  We saw many of the local women spinning the wool, but we found it interesting that knitting is mostly performed by males, who begin learning in early boyhood.

We had a nice locally cooked simple meal, served on a long table at a pleasant high up position on the other side of the Island from where we first arrived, complete with sea views. The walk up and through the Island was very hard since we were above 4,000 metres and gasping for air on even the gentlest incline. We did struggle with the altitude here and later back in Puno I felt unwell with a migraine. The others were not feeling much better either and so we had a quiet night in, just barely making it downstairs from our hotel room to eat at the onsite pizza restaurant.

Arequipa and Colca Canyon

We travelled for just over 5 hours from Puno to Arequipa, again with Cruz Del Sur paying S55 for another very scenic trip through the Peruvian countryside. The second largest city in Peru Arequipa sits at 2,380m. Also called the “White City” because of its buildings grafted out of the local white volcanic rock also known as “Sillar”.

Some of the highlights of our stay in Arequipa:

A visit to the frozen mummy of “Juanita” at the Museo Santuarios Andinos, which happened to be across the road from our hotel. The visit starts with a 20 minutes film about how Juanita, also called “Ice Maiden” was discovered high up on the Peruvian Mountain of Ampato at 6,309m/20,700ft  in 1995 by  Anthropologist Johan Reinhard and his Peruvian climbing partner Zárate. The film speculates on the life and death of Juanita who was believed to have been killed as an offering to the Inca gods sometime between 1450 and 1480 when she was approximately 12–15 years old. Our guide took us on a guided tour of the various exhibits such as textiles and other artefacts found with her and also others found at a later date at other mountain burial sites. The visit culminates with us all staring open-mouthed at her little-frozen body, kept refrigerated in a dark room of the Museum with a spotlight on her. It was fascinating if a little macabre visit that left us all in need of refreshments and a quiet chat to get our heads around it all.

We also took a look around the fascinating Monasterio de Santa Catalina, constructed from Sillar, a white volcanic stone quarried locally (like many of the other buildings in Arequipa) it is a very impressive colonial structure.

But even more interesting was to learn about the lives of the nuns that entered the convent at a young age to never return to their families again. I would definitely recommend a guided visit that lasts for about one hour since you do learn a lot about the nun’s lives inside these walls.

According to our English speaking guide,  the nuns, all from wealthy Spanish families, entered the convent having taken vows of poverty but they actually lived in relative luxury, having paid a dowry to live this religious life they were allowed to bring with them some of their own servants and many of their own belongings including some great art collections. The Monastery had well-equipped kitchens and meals were prepared for them by their many servants.

This 16th-century convent was open to tourists in the early 1970’s and today there are only about 20 nuns living here but they live in the more modern part of this complex, away from the gawping tourists.

The convent walls are painted in bright colours like orange, dark blue, and red, there are many small cells where about 200 sequestered nuns once lived. Inside Santa Catalina, we were grateful for a guide to take us around the labyrinth of narrow cobblestone streets, hidden passageways, quiet chapels, a cemetery and lovely plazas with small fountains. There is a terrace with great views over towards the moody volcano “El Misti”.

El Misti Mirador/ lookout– Climbing El Misti is one of the most popular climbs in the area but it was not for us, certainly not this time. But one can look from afar and so we did take a taxi ride to the viewpoint to take a good look and a photo opportunity of this beautiful volcano looming at 5,822m/19,101ft overlooking Arequipa. But in fact, we found the viewpoint a bit disappointing since it was a very hazy day and El Misti was a bit….well enveloped in grey mist. But in any case, one can see El Misti from many parts of the city,  our favourite spot was from Yanahuara, a short walk from Arequipa’s Historic Centre.

Colca Canyon – Overnight tour 15th and 16th of June, we booked the tour from the tour agency inside our hotel in Arequipa. It turned out to be a good choice. We were picked up by a small tour bus at around 7:30 am from our hotel in Arequipa and taken to the small town of Chivay to spend the night at a simple but comfortable guesthouse.

To access sites in the Colca Canyon we were instructed to buy a “Boleto Turistico” upon arrival at the entrance of the National Park, not included on the cost of the tour. It was S70 paid in cash by most tourists unless you are from any of the South American countries such as for example Brazil who pay S40.

To reach the canyon we travelled through an area of outstanding natural beauty, a protected area called Reserva Nacional Salinas Y Aguada Blanca -, a vast Andean expanse surrounded by eight snow capped volcanos all seen from the highest point called “Mirador de Los Volcanos” at 4910m.  We disembarked here to appreciate the incredible view over to Sambacaya Volcano spitting out its plumes of grey smoke and ash. We had never seen an active volcano in action before, so definitely a mesmerizing sight for us.

On the second day, the drive through the canyon was again stunning with vistas of tiered agricultural terraces, snowcapped mountains and very peculiar rock formations.

After the above stopover, we continued along the scenic road towards the Mirador Cruz Del Condor to see these incredible birds glide over the canyon. These amazing birds are so huge and heavy they prefer to take an easy ride by catching the warm air currents rising from the canyon, and usually make their appearance between 8 am and 10 am as the sun warms the rocky canyon walls. We got there at about 9:30ish, but at first, we were disappointed. Only one or two condors made an appearance at a faraway distance down the Canyon, so we had to wait a bit until the sun started warming up those air currents. All of a sudden there were condors coming from every direction, it was a mesmerizing scene. They put on a great show for us, there were lots of them flying above our heads sometimes at a distance that felt like one could reach out and touch them.

After the overnight tour, we returned to Arequipa for another two days of exploring before catching our flight to Lima.

In Lima, it was a sad goodbye to Lita and Ju our wonderful travel buddies who returned home to Brazil, the end of their two weeks holiday.

With another week left in Peru, Brian and I caught an Oltursa bus from a terminal near the Airport called Terminal Norte and travelled for about 8 hours up and up to the highlands of Peru to the city of Huaraz in the Cordilheira Blanca. An at times scary journey via a winding narrow road by the side of a mountain on a series of switchbacks which the bus driver did navigate super carefully. As night fell I was grateful for the darkness and to be blissfully unaware of how close we were to the edge.

Cordilheira Blanca – Huaraz

We came to Huaraz to do some trekking in the Cordillera Blanca; it is the perfect base for some amazing one-day treks. Although most people come here to do the world-famous multi-day Santa Cruz trek, it was not for us. We did meet two French girls in our hotel who had just finished doing the Santa Cruz trek independently, carrying all their own gear on their backs. They looked so petite and fragile, but looks are deceiving…  they were tough girls, and we were in awe of them!

Many also come here to climb some of the Mountains, particularly Huarascan the highest in Peru. I take my hat off to them, I could hardly put one foot in front of the other in between gasping for breath, never mind climbing a mountain.

We stayed at Hotel Churup perfectly located within walking distance of the town centre. We had our hearts set on completing 3 one day treks that we wanted to tick off our wish list.

The Pastoruri Glacier – Sits at 5,250 meters (17,225 feet) above sea level in Huascarán National Park. It was the highest altitude Brian and I had ever experienced, but luckily for us, we did not need to hike up all those thousands of metres to get close to the glacier. We hired a taxi to take us up to the first 5000 metres at a cost of S150, not the cheapest way to get there since a group tour would probably cost only about S45, but it was worth it for us since we wanted to arrive early and have the glacier to ourselves, free from the usual selfie stick branding tourists. On the day we visited we were alone there.

The actual hike from where our driver parked the car was just under a mile and a half/2.4 km, with a paved stone pathway that slopes up gently. Nothing too strenuous, but the altitude makes it hard.

The glacier is a rapidly receding/melting and likely to disappear in the very near future due to global warming. There was a time when tourists could walk on the glacier, but not anymore, it is now protected. It is situated in quite a remote location with no public transport to get there, so a tour or a taxi there is your best option.

Laguna Churup– Sits at 14, 600ft/4,450m above sea level it is a high altitude hike. You start the hike from Pitec at 3,850m and quickly gain elevation as you climb up via a well-marked route, we hiked there independently without a guide. We hired the same driver again from the day before and he drove for about 2 hours to get us to Pitec at the start of the trek.

As we hiked up the path, in the distance we could see a beautiful waterfall with a steep path next to it, a group of hikers ahead of us were making their way up the mountain. As we come closer we realized that we would need to scramble up those rocks. There were cables bolted into the cliff face to help us along, but there was a small segment missing the cable which totally freaked me out. I found myself frozen and about to burst into tears… but luckily for me, Brian was climbing just behind me and lifted up my foot with his hand so I got enough elevation to reach a crack on the rock and pull myself up.

I heard people saying this is an easy acclimatizing hike, but I could not disagree more. It would have been easy if the altitude was not an issue, but I found it to be very tough for me and the scrambling bit very scary. Not something I would want to repeat if I can help.

Laguna 69 – Sits at 4,600m/15,000ft, possibly the most beautiful and toughest hike of our lives so far.

This hike was top of our wish list when deciding to come to Huaraz and we were certainly not disappointed when after a very tough hike we arrived at the most dazzling blue lake we have ever seen in our lives. The huge glacier above it just added to the splendour of this incredible place. We hiked independently without a guide, in fact, there is no need for a guide since the trail is clearly marked.

 

We absolutely loved Huaraz and it was the perfect place to end our three weeks of exploring Peru. We experienced high altitude hiking for the first time in our lives, and it took our breath away…both literally and figuratively. Nothing can prepare you for that, we were grateful for the weeks of running and exercising we managed to do before our travel to Peru. But altitude affects even the fittest of hikers. Taking our time, persevering and sheer determination from my part helped to get to the finishing line and reap the rewards. Diamox became our best friend.

Our three weeks exploring Peru was not without its challenges, certainly, the altitude and how it affected us was not something we could have predicted. So perhaps if instead of heading straight to Cusco after visiting Lima we instead went over to Arequipa first, might have helped us to acclimatise better.

The majority of people in Peru don’t speak English, so don’t expect that they will communicate with you in English even in the most touristic of places. It helped us a lot that Lita, Ju and I were able to understand and speak a good amount of Spanish. Although speaking Spanish is not a must to enjoy a trip like this it will go a long way to ensure a more enjoyable time.

Coming from the UK, Peru is cheap for accommodation, food, and transport in between cities; particularly if you don’t mind spending many hours on a bus to get from A to B. Buses are very comfortable and the scenery we encountered on our trips outstanding. There is no need to book your travel much in advance – we booked most of our bus travel via the bus companies’ websites.

If you are keen to trek the four days classic Inca Trail, book at least 8 months in advance. We booked our two days Inca Trek directly by emailing them, sending our passport details and paying a deposit of half of the total tour cost. All other tours and hikes we booked once we arrived in that particular area.

We never had any problems with exchanging money or taking money out via ATM machines, but do watch out for fees charged by ATM machines and shop around for best exchange rates at the “casa de cambios”.

Overall we felt safe in Peru, we recommend taking the same precautions you would take in travelling to most places.

Travelling in Peru was an incredible experience, from its diverse landscapes, culture-rich ancient sites, friendly people, challenging high altitude sites. It made us feel more like explorers than just tourists. It was a trip of a lifetime with experiences to match. A special thank you to our travel buddies Juliano and Angelita for inviting us along on their trip, keeping us entertained with their fantastic sense of humour and sharing so many incredible moments with us. No doubt we will be travelling together again in the very near future.