Thinking of going to Peru....

TripleAce

Hello,

I was thinking of going for a couple of weeks holidays to Peru with my wife this winter... just wondering if any of you has been there and how is it like in terms of safety and what the main attractions and places to visit are? We are in our early thirties....
We were thinking of going around February time frame....

Thank you

rcarroll

I spent about six/seven weeks in Peru and had it not been the end of my travels, I would have spent a lot longer.

Peru is quite poor, and muggings/pick pocketings are probably the biggest security threat you'd have to worry about, as with any country. I've found however, that the richer the country, the more problems with theft I've encountered!

That said, keep an eye on belongings and don't be foolish with flashing cash. Taxi's ripping you off are your biggest problem, and with 2/3 dollars a fare, it's not much.

Winter is a great time to go as it's summer/dry season. Peru is so large and varied there really is a huge amount to do.

Take a flight over the Nazca lines - should be about 30dollars, and well worth it but don't bother staying the night in Nazca, a bit run down.

Cusco of course -give yourself a week or so here if you can as the city and surrounding ruins, regardless of Machu Pichu are well worth seeing.

Machu Pichu - there are many ways to see the ruins, you can take a four/five day hike either the trad or alternative route, take an extreme bike ride there, or do it in a day/two. We were broke, and booked a tour - minivan to the train, train to the nearest village to machu pichu and walked the hour/two to the ruins. It's tough - the drive takes hours on winding cliff hugging roads but the cheapest. You can buy the train tickets yourself seperately but it's a lot of hassle to try get to the station alone. that said, in the town there are hot springs and we would have loved more time to chill there as it's up in the mountains and beautiful. The ruins are stunning and well worth a guide. Book the tour in Cusco - there are many operators, and it's worth spending a day or two finding one and haggling down.

Arequipa - very pretty colonial type town, great horseriding in the area (local Paso horses are available, most horses are this breed even if not advertised to cope with the land), Condor valley (see condors flying), natural hot springs, and great traditional restaurants that serve Cuy (hamster - dont knock it till you try - here is where it originated, so forget eating it in cusco which will be overpriced).

Lima - main city, stay out in Miraflores a nice suburban town by the beach, but don't linger too long. Has a few nice galleries with Dali work. Best place to eat their version of roast chicken - very tasty. there's a great little outdoor sushi bar in Miraflores and many locals claim lima is best for ceviche.

Huacachino - sandboarding in the desert - get ur adrenaline pumping, but be careful, there've been many accidents doing this, great 4X4 ride tho to get to teh dunes.

Huanchaco/Mancora - pretty beach towns, nice to chill here, eat FANTASTIC fish and ceviche on the beach, then drink in tiki bars till late. Mancora is slightly smaller, more resto's on the actual beach and a great spot for windsurfing and surfiing, though Mancora is the best for surfing - its where I learned. There's also amazing ruins near Mancora - one of my favourite trips in Peru (think they're called sun/moon).

Huaraz - the foothills of the Andes and the main starting point for many treks, choose from a few hours meander, visits to the clear blue lake of Llaganuco, glacier walking, five day extreme peak climbs or good horse trails. I'd highly recommend staying at The Way Inn. It's already outside the village (quite run down from a recent earthquake), you just have to walk outside the door and keep walking till your satisfied - perfect for both serious hikers and those who just fancy a walk. It serves fantastic fresh meals at high standards at reasonable prices and a selection of beers and wines - as we all sat at the main table, it had quite a collective family feel. The lodge itself is private as the rooms are seperate from teh main 'house', romantic, comfy and amazing views, all for about 25/30 dollars a night! I also stayed in one or two hostels in the town and I really, really would recommend the Way Inn, even for the sheer beauty of the area.

Ask the hostel for a map, or any hostel you stay at will have maps of various walks and pick any - there are lots of local buses crisscrossing the area so don't worry, you can always hail one. I really enjoyed my trip from the town to the Chan Chan ruins - pass through local small villages where the locals only speak Que chua and watch the farmers as they work. i had the ruins completely to myself - not very impressive or large, but still special.

Just outside Ica there is a small island where walruses and penguins have their colonies - well worth the trip as they are cute!


I never made it to the North/North east of Peru where the jungles start, but heard it's great up there. Also, if you have the time there are many trips into Ecuador you could do that will bring you to jungles/beach towns/adventure adrenaline trips.

For sports - there's always good horseriding around Peru, rafting in Cusco, dune-surfing or sand surfing in Huacachino, gliding in Lima, surfing anywhere on the coast - peru has world famous spots, and a host of other things.

I hope that helps - and definitely, no matter what, try take as many local buses and talk to the people - they are a fantastic, fun, warm and kind people and even with a limited amount of spanish they will happily talk for hours with you. I've never met a nicer, more helpful group. Just avoid pisco sours - they're a foul drink! and eat as much seafood as you can - it's so much fresher and tastier than back home, ceviche is a true delight

TripleAce

Thank you soooooo much for all the info and for taking the time to write all this!!! So much appreciated!!!

rcarroll

no probs, I LOVED Peru, my favourite country after Guatemala, great food, great variety and amazing people. how long you going for? I can give you a bit more guidance in relation to where to go.

By the way - if you have teh cash, I'd suggest flying Lima to Cusco rather than taking the bus as it takes a day or somethin from what I remember.

Also, many bus companies have very different prices for buses so check it out, and it's well worth getting a semi-cama (recliner seat) for long journeys, but if it's just a few hrs save teh cash and get a normal bus.

I got the names mixed up - mancora is teh small beach town with resto's on the beach and good windsurfin u can try, would also like to ad it has a great sushi bar

huanchaco is the surf town - there's also local fishing boats, look like weird canoes u can take and surf the waves. there's also a nice very basic looking restaurant just past the guys renting boats - has amazing crab!

Huaraz is defo not to be missed very beautful

Sr. Pirotecnic

not much meat on a poor hamster! he means guinea pig.

spent 3 weeks in the south, i imagine cuzco is even more touristy now but still you've got to go there. arequipa was the nicest town for me.

galwaybabe

If you get the chance head to the north. Chiclayo, Cajamarca and Celandin are gems of places to visit and are not over-touristed. Mancora is superb for surfing if you're into that.
Peru is my favourite country I have ever visited. You will have your heart touched there.
Another tip, try to get someone in Peru to book your internal flights. It will save you a fortune.

Daroxtar

I spent 6 weeks there and it was amazing. I have to agree with pretty much everything said by rcarroll. I'd just add in a trip to Puno and the Lake Titicaca area. Colca Canyon and the town of Chivay is another one to do. And spend a few days in Aguas Caliente,the village beside Machu Pichu, there are plenty of tracks and trails to take in around the place. Well worth it especially if you do the Inca Trail and haven't slept properly for a few nights in the mountain camps. The hot spring will take away your aches and pains

You definately do have to keep an eye about yourself in Peru, i had an attempted mugging in Arequipa, someone sprayed soapy water in my eyes as we were about to cross the street at traffic lights their mate tried to grab my wifes bag but we just stood our ground and they disappeared into the crowd. Over in 2 seconds but a shock to the system. Arequipa is beautiful though and that didnt spoil it.

Colca Canyon and the town of Chivay is another one to do.

Lima is not a nice city, there are a lot of very poor areas but as already mentioned, Miraflores is nice and so is Barranca.

Having said all that Peru is probably my favourite country (I'm a huge fan of Guatemala too). The scenery is just breathtaking and the culture matches that.

dereko1969

agree with everything that's been said, however i think going for just 2 weeks won't give you a chance to really experience it especially if you decide to go to cusco as acclimatising there takes a few days in itself. try and go for at least 3 weeks if you can swing it.

Amonsol

Going for go for a few weeks myself this year as well....in terms of getting there whats the best route/flight company to use in terms of cost and connection flights? Any help much appreciated.

H2G2

I went to Lima for 6 days for a business trip and having read the websites [in advance] was very worried about personal safety in Lima... I should not have been. I let the websites scare me and I shouldn't. Sorry I didn't get more time to really see the place. It seemed safe to me!

Amonsol wrote: »

Going for go for a few weeks myself this year as well....in terms of getting there whats the best route/flight company to use in terms of cost and connection flights? Any help much appreciated.

I did Dublin-Amsterdam-Lima with KLM. Prices were good and klm.ie sold me a thru ticket

bleary

Never travelled in a country I hated as much as Peru. Maybe it was because I was a female travelling alone but I found it awful and stressful. Arequipa was probably my favourite though. It's always the people you meet who make a country though and unfortunately I had bad experiences and the people I met did too. Besides the major problems such as friends being mugged etc I just found for a month every trasasction was stressful wondering how I was going to be screwed. Even when police got involved they were worse than the standard con men. I knew I crossed the border when I was asked to pay a bill that matched the prices that were on the menu. Go to Bolivia a wonderful country with the most amazing sites and friendly people

Glowing

I spent a few weeks travelling through Peru and thoroughly enjoyed it!! Of course you get the chancers and scam artists, but it's not worth worrying about!

I found the locals to be very friendly, of course a few words of Spanish will make the experience all the better.

Macchu Piccu is a must-do in my opinion, I really enjoyed the 4 day hike and would recommend it to anyone with a reasonable level of fitness.

Go for it, you'll have a ball