Peru travel guide

Arequipa is a great place to chill for a few days after or before trekking to the Colca Canyon. The lower altitude and pleasant climate make it a very enjoyable place.
The city’s scenery is dominated by the beautiful perfectly conical shape of volcano El Misti, which is quite a challenge to climb.
The center and especially the Plaza de Armas has plenty of colonial buildings but the main attraction of the city is the Santa Catalina Monastery with its brightly colored walls and quite atmosphere.
Also an attraction for some is Juanita, also known as the ice maiden. This girl died in the 15th century and was discovered well preserved on a glacier in the 90s.

These islands, which are part of the Paracas National Reserve, are called the Galapagos of the poor. If you already have visited the Galapagos islands you could be disappointed when you go on a boat trip to the Ballestas islands.
If you enjoy boat trips anyhow and you like to observe marine animals and birds you may find the Ballestas islands a well-worth trip. You’ll definitely see tons of sea lions, penguins and birds and most likely at least one person in your boat will be hit by bird poo....
You’ll also see "El Candelabro", a Nazca line style image in one of the dunes when you just sail out, only to be observed from the water.

Maybe not the world’s deepest canyon as they like to believe but definitely a very deep and beautiful one. To fully appreciate the Colca Canyon you should go down into it for preferably 3 or 4 days of trekking. Only this way you can appreciate its depth and the beauty it offers. There are waterfalls, hot springs and baths, condors and plenty of cacti.
If you start the trekking at Cabanaconde you can trek down to Llahuar. The next day head to Fure where there are beautiful waterfalls close-by and the final night sleep in Sangalle, which is generally known as the "Oasis". Here you can enjoy the luxury of swimming pools and cold drinks before starting the steep climb out of the canyon early the next morning. If you haven’t seen any condors yet you can head out to Cruz del Condor where amongst the hundreds of tourists you’ll quite likely see condors too.

When you get a 50 Sol (the Peruvian currency) note in your hand you see the oasis of Huacachina. The Oasis is a (former) natural lake in the desert close to Ica. There are several hotels and restaurants where you can laze for a while. The oasis is surrounded by beautiful sand dunes. The main attractions are to go on thrilling dune buggy rides on which you can also go sandboarding. Experienced drivers take their passengers up and down the dunes and make sure you get plenty of butterflies in your belly.
They drop you off at the top a dune where you can lay down on a sand board and slide down the hill. The real brave can also do it standing!
At the end of the day you get rewarded with beautiful desert sunsets.

The Inca Trail is on many people’s wish list and it is a great trekking if you know what to expect. If you are in for a quiet trekking in nature you’ll be disappointed. Once you realize that the trail can (and will) be very crowded it can be a great experience. The views are beautiful and the Inca sites on route are very interesting and pretty.
The classic Inca trail takes 4 days. On the first day you gradually climb but it isn’t too hard. On the second day you climb the highest pass of the trekking called the "death woman’s pass" of about 4050m. On day three there are two more smaller passes to cross after which a long descent follows to the last camp. Day four means getting up early and hiking the remaining 2 hours to the sun gate of Machu Picchu to watch the sun rise (if the clouds don’t interfere).

If you are in the Cusco area and you would like to have a different trekking experience than the classic Inca Trail, the Lares trekking is a great experience. There won’t be hundreds of other people here doing the same trekking at the same time as you and the mountain views here can be absolutely breathtaking!
Generally the Lares trekking is done in four days. The trail forms a loop starting in the Sacred Valley close to Urubamba at about 3000 meters. On the trekking there are two challenging passes to be crossed with a maximum altitude of about 4650 meters. Especially on the second and third day you get rewarded with beautiful glacier views.

The mighty site of the Incas and Peru’s number one tourist attraction.
When it was first discovered by Hiram Bingham at the beginning of the 20th century the "lost city" was fully overgrown.
Since 2007 Machu Picchu is part of the "new seven wonders of the world list". This event has created even more publicity for the site and even more people are now visiting. It is however still very much worth to visit the site, especially when you have a good guide who can explain you about the meaning of the buildings and stones.
To experience Machu Picchu without too many people you should get there early. Take the first bus up the mountain or start hiking up the mountain even earlier in the night so that you can be there when it opens. This way you’ll even get there before the Inca Trail hikers.
Climbing Huayna Picchu (the mountain behind the site) and climbing Machu Picchu mountain itself give completely different views than known from the classic photos.

When you need a break from the Inca ruins (although you won’t be able to totally avoid them) and you are in for some action, why not go mountain biking?
On most tours you get picked up in Cusco and drive for about a half hour to Chinchero. From here the mountain biking starts. The first part of the ride is quite mellow with wider dirt roads going slightly up and down. Most of the time you are biking on a high plateau from where you have splendid views of the surrounding mountains. On the way you have a chance to visit the Inca terraces of Moray. Later the trail becomes smaller and more challenging. Some downhill mountain biking experience is welcome on the steeper decent to the salt mines of Maras from where you decent further into the Sacred Valley.

Not too far from the Nasca lines, also in the Nazca desert, is the Chauchilla cemetery. The Nascas had the habit of mummifying their deceased before burying them in the desert. Due to the dry desert climate and the mummification of the bodies they are well preserved.
Unfortunately for centuries most of the graves have been opened and robbed off their valuables but there is still plenty to see. It is quite fascinating though slightly morbid so see these mummies of which many of them still are fully clothed and with hair.

In the Nazca desert, about 400 kilometers South of Lima you can find the Nazca lines. They date from the ancient Nazca culture, which is way older than the much more known Inca culture. The area is covered in lines of which some of them represent (animal) figures such as the monkey, hummingbird, spider, a pair of hands and even an image which is called the astronaut. The lines were made by removing the top layer of the earth, showing a layer with a different color.
The images are very large so you have to view them from a small plane. Although many people don’t make it out of the plane without feeling sick (some of the pilots fly rather adventurous and love offering the passengers nice views) it is well worth the ride!