Best Places to Travel in Peru

Besides Machu Picchu

Affordable, wild, traditional, amazing food and sites to last a lifetime.  Visit the many sites scattered around Peru.

Feel the beauty of Lima. Visit the bohemian corner with live music, art, artists, food and ocean.  Take a taxi to Barranco.

Travel south from Lima by bus for about 3 hours to Paracas to see Ballestas Islas by boat. A sanctuary of ocean life; fur seals and sea lions, tropical Humboldt penguins, guanay guano bird, the blue- footed booby, the tendril and many more.

Following south travel to Ica, go sand boarding in the Huacachina oasis and take a wild ride over the largest sand dunes in the world in a makeshift buggy.   Sit back and cross the wildlife lagoon lined with palm trees and believed to have therapeutic properties.

See the infamous Elongated Skulls in the Ica Museum.

Continuing on south 2.5 hours visit Nazca for the famous Nazca Lines seen from a small plane.  Also in the area visit the pyramids of Cahuachi and the museum where they found the mummies with elongated heads.

The Condor Passa song will be humming in your ears as you head from Arequipa to Colca Canyon. See the largest vulture in the world.  Set up your trip in Arequipa or travel on your own to Chivay and wake up early and wait patiently.  In Chivay visit hot springs La Calera and the Puente Inca (Inca Bridge Mountain). Long bus rides full of amazing landscapes of volcanoes, vicunas (llama family), alpacas, viscachas (big rabbits).

From Chivay either go to Puno or Cusco.

Puno, sits next to Lake Titicaca and the closest city to the border of Bolivia.  Lake Titicaca, is one of South America’s largest lakes and the world’s highest navigable body of water. Incas believed to have come out of the lake and started their civilization.

Visit the floating man made Uros Island.  A whole settlement made on water with smushed grasses.  Tvs can still be found inside the huts, and traditional boats sell Coca Cola, oh the contradictory traditional modern Peru.

In the area book a tour to see the visit the Chullpas of Sillustani.  Traditional meal in the area; cheese, potatoes and clay.

Outside of Puno, if heading towards Bolivia, book a tour to the mysterious portal stargate Amaru Muru or the Gate of the Gods. The local townspeople claim to see people walking out of the portal at night.  Kneel in the gateway, place your forehead on the wall, and feel for yourself.

Sit back and enjoy the ride back to Cusco from Puno.

Traveling North from Lima visit Huanchaco.  Known for its strong and tall waves.  Surfing mecca.  Amazing fresh sea food in the mercado.

Chan Chan, in the pre-Columbian era 600 years ago, was the biggest city in the Americas and the largest adobe city on earth. Amazing hydro engineering.

Visit Trujillo, main city 15 minutes taxi ride from Huanchaco, to see the Mochica’s Huaca del Sol y Huaca de La Luna or the Temple of the Luna and Sol.  Largest adobe building, made of 140 million mud bricks.

Take a bus to Chachapoyas and book your visit to Kuélap, a marvel settlement in the southern part of the Amazonias.  Bromeliads sit in trees claiming back the land in this 6th century ruin built by the Chachapoyas culture.

Book a tour combined with a stop over at the Gocta waterfall.  Nature wild and pristine.

Jungle:

Amazonia: Take a cargo boat from Pucallpa to Iquitos along the Amazon river.  4-5 days in and out.  Pack some extra food and a hammock.  You may even be lucky to see some pink dolphins.

Biggest Chipibos settlement in San Francisco Island.

Sarkantay– Another way to get to Machu Picchu.  A long hike up a mountain where you’re at a safe distance to hear avalanches at night.  The following day you descend into the jungle and then pop out onto a road where you can head to hot springs.

Wonderful hot Springs in Santa Teresa.  Languish in huge pools.

Accept the long bus rides to gaze at the countless mountains.  Peru is traditional, chaotic and magical.

We are not responsible for anything you may encounter on your travels.  Take precautions, watch your stuff, pick up some Spanish, enjoy the journey.