- I will share my experience and some tips of my trip to Peru and a bit of Bolivia in 2015
- I am writing this post in 2017 so I will not remember some details
- It was my first proper solo trip and I fell in love with South America
- I took a flight from Lima to Cuzco and for the rest I took cheap buses for long distances and tuk-tuk
Main places visited:
- Lima
- Cuzco - Machu Picchu
- La Paz - Death Route
- Sun Island
- Arequipa
- Colca Canyon
- Nazca
- Huacachina - Ballestas Island
- I would not recommend staying in Lima for long as in my opinion Peru has much more to offer
- However, if you spend some time in Lima there are still places to visit or activities to do
- I enjoyed the area of Miraflores where I met a friend who moved back to Peru and I practised some surf and paraglading
- I flew from Lima to Cuzco on the second day early morning and I planned to visit the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu during the following days
- I spent a day in Cuzco, the historical capital of Peru and ancient Inca Empire capital, where all visitors start their tour towards Machu Picchu
- The city is situated at 3,400 m above sea level so some people take some pills or medicin for altitude sickness. I did not feel anything wrong but I took some king of chewing pill to avoid problems
- Cuzco, full of lovely streets, churches and markets, is worth a full day visit. There are free tours offered every day which help understanding a bit more of the importance of Cuzco
- Also, for people with a large budget, there is a wonderful "hanging" hotel by Urubamba area which really looks amazing (I invite you to have a look: Skylodge Adventure Suites)
- From Cuzco you can take several transports, tours or tuk-tuk to start exploring the Sacred Valley
- One of the most impressive places I visited was Ollantaytambo, where similar ruins to Machu Picchu can be visited, as well as the cute small town
- Before Ollantaytambo there are several other ruins that can be visited if you have time. All this area is impressive
- After visiting Ollantaytambo I continued my route towards Aguas Calientes, the last village before Machu Picchu
- Several ways to reach Machu Picchu:
- Train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes: expensive (more than €100 roundtrip) but fast (1h)
- Inca Trail: 3-4 day trekking through the mountains through organized tours (very expensive, several hundreds but could be a lovely experience)
- Walk from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes: around 30km through the railway track (forbidden but full of aventure and cost-free) - Chosen alternative
- Driving: towards Santa Teresa by small public vans and taxi later towards the closest train station from Aguas Calientes (takes approximately 5-6 hours but it is quite cheap and entails a bit of adventure as the drive is beautiful through amazing cliffs and you need to walk almost 2 hours from where the taxi drops you till Aguas Calientes) - Chosen alternative for my return
- I had read in a blog online how to reach Machu Picchu for $1 and looked exciting. Not only that but I dislike extremely expensive touristic attractions where they profit from being the only provider (in this case Perurail)
- Following the railway track is very easy as it goes right next to the river and you have signals for every km. However there are signals saying that walking through railway track is forbidden. Also you find a few dogs on your way that might bark at you; they do not do anything but can be scary if you are alone as I was
- I recommend this adventure 100%, I really loved the feeling and I will remember that day all my life
- However, take care and pay attention when the train comes so you stay aside as sadly very few people in the past did not notice the train and obviously died. This should not happen as the train is very noisy and goes pretty slow, around 40km/h, so there should not be reason for people not to notice the train coming. As a general info, there are trains almost every half an hour in both directions
- Once in Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu, everything is about this incredible place
- Aguas Calientes is a cute village in between the mountains with a huge football pitch right in the center full of locals at all times
- Also there are hot springs where you can enjoy some relaxing time
- There are plenty of buses in Aguas Calientes departing at all times towards the entrance of Machu Picchu. If not in just a 2hour walk you reach the entrance as well
- I was so tired of the previous day 30km walk that I decided to take the bus this time (approx €10 roundtrip)
- Once in Machu Picchu tickets for foreigners are quite expensive (I booked my ticket the day before in Aguas Calientes) but totally worth it
- After visiting Machu Picchu I had to come back to Cuzco. I continued walking the railway track for approximately 2 hours (9km) and I met 3 Argentinians to share a taxi later on towards Santa Teresa
- In Santa Teresa I took a 4h public van towards Cuzco. This drive is very cheap, quite scary and beautiful
- Once in Cuzco I took a bus towards Puno, in the South. I met a guy in the bus who recommended me to go to La Paz in Bolivia to try the "Death Route" by bicycle... I could not say no
- La Paz, capital of Bolivia, is one of the highest cities in the world (average above 3,500m). The city itself is a mess, not too tourist friendly but Bolivia has beautiful attractions. I could only experience the Death Route and Sun Island so I missed Uyuni Salt Flats (Salar de Uyuni) and many others that I hope to visit some day
- From La Paz there are several tour operators who offer a full morning bicyle tour through the Death Route. They include a t-shirt, food, bicyle rental, transport and tour for less than €50 and it is a nice experience, but anyway it is good to negotiate the price a bit
- The tour starts on top of the mountains and for almost 2 hours you descend through beautiful paths
- At the end of the tour the views are completely different and still beautiful
- Totally recommended and I wished I had had more time in Bolivia but my priority was Peru this time and my time was limited
Sun Island:
- I still had time for another Bolivian experience, Sun Island by Titicaca Lake, right in the border with Peru
- I visited some Inca ruins and spent a day and night there, quite a lovely place
- Next stop was Arequipa, second most populated city in Peru, where buses towards Colca Canyon depart
- Arequipa is a cute town with nice nightlife and worth a visit as well. I did not spend much time here but at least I could meet a friend who moved back to Peru
- I took a bus from Arequipa to Colca Canyon, the place I liked the most in Peru after the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu
- First stop was Condor Cross viewpoint and these birds give a lovely natural "show" flying all over
- After a quick stop the bus took us to Cabanaconde where most trekkings through Colca Canyon start
- There is always time for some touristic photos if you feel like
- Once in the valley itself I enjoyed walking for hours and hours. I even remember a cute black dog who accompanied me during several hours. This is Bobbie
- The views are great no matter which way you take
- Once at the bottom you can enjoy the river and the views and there are several guesthouses to spend the night
- This day and a half was really demanding phisically but I loved it. If you do not feel like walking that much or going alone, there are different organized guided tours which I do not like but you might fancy
- Also, I was told that there is a very cool zipline which crosses the Canyon with excellent views. I did not know so I dod not do it but sounds pretty cool
- My next stop was Nazca Lines, popular in one of Indiana Jones movies
- When you reach Nazca Aerodrome you can negotiate a bit the helicopter price with several agencies, unless you travel during high season. If that is your case, better to book beforehand
- I did the tour with other 3 girls who have booked beforehand and who paid a bit more. There was room for 4 people and becuase of that I was offered a good price (around €65)
- Once in the helicopter, the pilot gives you a short briefing and headsets, and starts explaining what you can see. Here you are a few examples
- The Lines are mentioned in a book by Pedro Cieza de Leon in the 16th century, but it was only in early 20th century when archaeologists started studying them
- The purpose of Nazca Lines is still a mistery today... some specialists talk about an ancient calendar, or representation of gods, or many other interesting explanations. It is nice to imagine who and how this could have been created
- Almost reaching the end of my tour, I still had time to visit a few places in the west coast of Peru
- In Huacachina I visited a popular Oasis (later I was told the Oasis is not natural but fake) and I did a tour in the desert where I tried sandboarding for the first time
- Hostels in this area are very popular among young people looking for party
- From Huacachina there are several agencies offering a ride to Paracas and a visit to Ballestas Island where you can enjoy the view of thousands of lion seals and birds. Rock formations are also pretty
Conclusion:
- If I were short in time I would recommend The Sacred Valley with Machu Picchu and Colca Canyon the most. In Bolivia, the Death Route is very safe and very nice, and I would try to visit Uyuni Salt Falts which I missed
- In both capitals Lima and La Paz I would only transit but I do not recommend wasting days
- I loved Peru for the sighseeing, the history, the food, the combination of beach, desert, and mountains, the prices and its people so I recommend this trip 100%
- Hope this post can help or at least give good ideas, feel free to ask :)
