Peru

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Northern Peru does not hold the premier touristic attractions of the country as tourists usually bypass much of the north and head straight down south and of course, to Machu Picchu and Cusco. Although, as I write this at the end of my trip in this stunning country and with my visit to Machu Picchu fresh in my head I still remember how interesting the variety of sites and attractions there were to see in the north. From Loja in Ecuador we made our way by bus to a city called Piura in Northern Peru travelling through the Sechura desert. Tired and sleepy from the bus and not fully understanding the new currency- soles - we ended up paying a stupid amount for a taxi and stayed in possibly the cheapest - and definitely the shittest - place so far. Piura has nothing exciting worth mentioning due it being a large transport hub so we only spent one uncomfortable night there before heading straight down to Chiclayo for the pre-Colombian ruins at Tucume. The ruins were built over 1000 years ago and were occupied by the Lambayeque people until the Chimu culture took over (cultures before the Inca presence.) It was a steep, hot climb to the miradors but totally worth it as we got a panoramic view of the whole area and of the adobe structure that is considered to be the largest in the world. Chiclayo itself was a nice city with a pretty Plaza de Armas so we stayed there for a couple of nights before heading down towards Trujillo, another city with an attractive Plaza and centre.
Basically every town in Peru has a ‘Plaza de Armas’ which is a large Plaza dominated by a colonial cathedral and, in the larger cities, colonial buildings also. It is always the centre point and does not vary too much as the Spanish seemed to have the same idea wherever they built their cities. Trujillo was a good base to visit the nearby ruins of Chan Chan which is an imperial city built by the Chimu king (who had around 90 wives by the way) and is the largest adobe city in the world and is still being excavated. The kingdom itself was huge and stretched 1000 km along the coast before they were taken over by the Inca’s.
After these visits we made our way further south along the coast to the Cordillera Blanca region to Huaraz and Caraz which are towns set in the mountains and popular with trekkers and climbers. We only stayed one night in busy Huaraz before setting off in a collectivo (a van where they fit as many people as possible) to Caraz which was a beautiful drive through the mountains. These towns are around 3000 metres high so it took a while to get acclimatized but we still managed to go for a good walk in the surrounding area and saw some stunning scenery which combined snow capped mountains and deep valleys. I would perhaps describe it as a hotter, less green New Zealand at some points in this region. It was strange walking in the scorching heat looking towards the ice capped mountains in the distance.
The next stage in the trip was to head to Lima which, apparently, is a great city although I didn’t really get to experience much of it beyond my hotel room walls as, on the first day, I ate some chicken and came down with food poisoning for 4 days. I did manage to see the Plaza and walk around to see the colonial buildings on the first day but after that it was hard to be away from a bathroom for 10 minutes. I won’t go into details but it wasn’t pleasant and I am now eating considerably less chicken than I did before. Lima is cloudy for 9 months of the year so the photo’s we have look a little dreary but this actually contrasts to the ambience of Lima’s nightlife in its suburbs, one of which was Miraflores which had an open air shopping mall looking out onto the beach. We also went to the cinema a couple of times as this was all I could manage when I was feeling so dreadful - Poor Fabrice having to look after me, I was probably a nightmare!
After recovering from food poisoning, we made our way to the famous Nazca lines which are a variety of lines cut into the desert, including a variety of different designs including a dog and an enormous monkey. They were thought to be carved by three different groups including the Nazca’s who were in power in this area from 200BC-AD600. They are actually best explored from air but we decided to forego the 50 dollar flight and go to the Mirador and museum for a fraction of the price. With the benefit of hindsight we probably should have done the flight but I was recovering from food poisoning and Fabrice was feeling ill that day so the bumpy flight known to make travelers sick was not the best idea at the time. It still was an amazing sight to see and I recommend anyone who goes to go on the flight as I think you would see a lot more than we did.
The next stop on our non-existent itinerary was Arequipa which was a beautiful colonial city further south of Nazca. It’s a popular gringo hangout as it’s a gateway to Colca canyon west of Arequipa and has also many attractions of its own, one of which is Santa Catalina Convent which is a complete miniature walled colonial town of over 2 hectares in the middle of the city where about 450 nuns still live in total seclusion. It was opened in 1970 after four centuries of mystery and is a collection of plazas, cobbled streets and brightly coloured walls. It really was beautiful and gave a good insight of how the nuns live.
After Arequipa we made our way to Colca canyon and to the town of Chivay where we went for a walk along a small part of the end of the canyon which was really beautiful. The canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA and unspoiled Andean villages lie on both sides sporadically placed on either side of the gorge. In the afternoon we took the bus to Cabanaconde, the final town at the end of the canyon and about a 2 hour drive in a bus. After an uneventful night in the small village, the following morning we made our way to the Cruz del Condor which is where, at around 8am in the morning, you can witness these huge birds, considered sacred by the Inca’s, fly through the canyon which was a really stunning sight. These birds glide through the air and only flap their wings once every hour or something similar. We did take the bus there but decided to take the 3 hour walk back to take in the views of the canyon and get some exercise! After heading back to Chivay and staying one night there we made our way back to Arequipa and got a night bus to the legendary gringo city and the gateway to Machu Picchu - Cusco!
We arrived far too early to get our room so we spent our time just wandering around the city and going to La Merced church and the Cathedral. The latter was really beautiful and grand inside and is often frequented with pilgrims who worship ‘El senor de los Temblores,’ a black statue that is said to guard against earthquakes. Cusco itself was the capital of the Inca Empire and much of the original Inca stonework is still evident as you walk around the narrow colonial streets. The architectural mix of Inca and Spanish alongside the wide variety of shops, markets, bars and restaurants make this place a gringo haven but the real tourist draw card is due to its close proximity to Machu Picchu. Aside from a visit to a museum for pre-Colombian art and going out testing the nightlife, we didn’t do an awful lot apart from booking our tour to Machu Picchu. We decided to go by train, which offered beautiful views as it snaked through the valley to the nearest town called Aguas Calientes and spent one night there before waking up very early the following day to walk to Machu Picchu.
Aguas Calientes is a town surrounded by mountains and with a railtrack cutting through its centre as restaurants line both sides of the track. It’s famous for being the gateway to Machu Picchu but also for its sulphurous hot springs which were crowded but pleasant, especially as you could have a beer or 2 while bathing. The following day we had a very early start (we woke up at 4am) to go to the legendary Machu Picchu. It was a very hard climb up hill, especially at that time in the morning but it was definitely worth it for the views. However, by the time we got there at about 6am there was already a long queue of people to get in. It didn’t take long to enter the sight and to meet our guide and on first witnessing it, it really does take your breath away. Mountains surround the site and the citadel itself rests on its own mountain at 2380m high. For centuries this ancient Inca city was hidden in the jungle before it was discovered in 1911. Huayna Picchu is a mountain that looms over the whole site and it is possible to climb but unfortunately we didn’t get there in time to get a ticket as they only release a certain number per day. However we did go to the Inca Bridge and up towards the guardian house which offered panoramic views of the steep mountain on which the site rests as well as the valley to the side of it and the river Urubamba snaking its way around the mountains on the valley floor.
After the days’ visit we were pretty exhausted but made our way back to Cusco before heading the following morning to Puno on Lake Titicaca. Puno itself is not the most attractive or exciting city but is the gateway to reach the islands of Los Uros which are a series of floating islands inhabited by indigenous people. It was really interesting discovering how they actually make the island float and how they fix it into the bed of the lake so they don’t go drifting off towards Bolivia!! The guide even joked that they didn’t have passports so it wouldn’t be possible! Only ladies are evident on the islands as the men go out fishing all day and the small income selling local handicrafts to tourists combined with a sustainable lifestyle provides them with what they need. The houses are made from a straw material but it’s still possible to find a television in a few of the huts! After a delicious meal of the local speciality, fried trout and rice with coca tea, we made our way back to Puno and spent another night there before catching the bus to Bolivia.
Peru was really beautiful, especially in the South around the Colca Canyon as the landscape is so stunning and diverse. Justifiably the main tourist attractions are around the south part of the country and Machu Picchu make this a popular place to visit but it is deserved as I would say that, alongside the Taj Mahal in India, this was probably one of the most beautiful sites I’ve seen as its set in such a majestic location. The people were more accustomed to tourism compared to Ecuador as they have more visitors but strangely, it was a little cheaper due to Ecuador’s currency being the US dollar. Now onto BOLIVIA....Watch this space!!

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Comments

[Daddy]

Another great blog
Bunch I loved the blog, good pics too. The big bird is a Condor I presume!? What an amazing trip, yet again! Love the one of you and the Llama (we have them here near Thorncombe, how exotic is that!) Love Daddy xxx

[Mandy]

LLamas
If what daddy says is true I'd better pop round and warn the owners in case you drop in for a spot of lunch on your return lol. Great blog.Love M xxxx