Peru, the country where history lives.
Day one Lima to Paracas, the road leads us to the archaeological site of Pachacamac. This was a great introduction into the history of Peru where we explored the most important pyramids on the holy site. From the top of the north pyramid we got amazing views of the nearby Lurin Valley, the Pacific Ocean and the large plazas the Incas built to receive hundreds of pilgrims and give their gifts to the Pachacamac God.
Day two Paracas-Nazca, our day started off with a visit to Ballestas Island a national park which contains the highest concentration of marine birds in the world we had spent the previous night in Paracas which is only a short drive from the Islands. This is a bird watcher paradise with approx. 30 species of birds, sealions and penguins. One tip when visiting the islands make sure you wear a poncho as the birds take no prisoners but the beauty of the craggy islands and the closeness to the sealions is worth it. Onwards to Nazca where we reached just before sunset and climbed the viewing platform and get a glimpse of the Nazca lines which are enormous patterns and figures etched into the desert sand. It is hard to grasp the magnitude of the Nazca lines, it would be better to take an airplane ride over the site to see it in all its glory which was an option on the tour.
Day 3 Nazca to Arequipa, this was one of the days that I was dreading the most as it was a 10-hour bus ride however it turned out to be an amazing day. We stopped at Huacachina, Peru’s desert oasis. I have never seen sand dunes as awesome and the bluest of skies as they were here. It was an adventure filled couple of hours sand boarding and dune buggying. After lunch we set off again enjoying stunning scenery, heading into the mountains and passing little communities along the way, the view never got old as there was a vastness to it that I have never experienced before at times if felt like a different planet.
Day 4 Arequipa has to go down as one of the most beautiful cities I have been to. Not sure what it is but when I think of Arequipa it instantly makes me happy, I read somewhere about the “feel” of Arequipa and I definitely got the feel. It is a beautiful colonial town with a backdrop of the majestic volcanic mountains Misti, Chachani and Pichu Picchu. It is a foodie heaven and many artisan shops; we lost the run of ourselves here buying beautiful Peruvian Alpaca clothing. This is a town where you could easily spend a couple of days exploring.
Day 5 Arequipa to Puno. Here we pass La Region Puno Les Desea Feliz Viaje which is the highest point in elevation we will reach at 4335m. We stopped here for a picnic and you can feel the coolness and lightness in the air. The landscape was changing from desert to highland with more greenery, lakes and mountains. Before Puno we visited the archaeological site of Sillustani a pre-Incan burial ground on the shores of Lake Umaya.
Day 6 Puno & Lake Titicaca. Puna was the place where we all felt the high altitude the most, Cocoa tea helped and this was freely available at the hotel lobby along with some oxygen tanks thankfully none of us needed these. Our day was spent on Lake Titicaca and our first stop was Taquile Island which was simply stunning, the community here live a simple quiet life. There are no motorised cars on the island, and they all live by the old barter system. Here the men are known as the knitting men, when they want to marry, they must show their work to the future in laws and if it isn’t of the highest quality there won’t be a wedding. I could easily spend a couple of days on this wonderful peaceful island where the air is so clean. It is possible to do a homestay and I think a definite must for at least a night. Our second island visit was the Uros Island, this is quite a contrast as this community of people live on reed islands, they harvest the reeds from the lake, bundled them together tightly and built floating island platforms with reed houses and canoes. The families gave us the best welcome and opened their homes to show us how they live. This day is quite an amazing experience and one of my highlights.
Day 7 Puno to Cusco 10 hours bus ride. A good stopover was La Raya Pass at 4315m (coming down very slowly) the nicest mint and cocoa tea. Next stop was Racchi another wonderful archaeological site and finishing off our sightseeing in Andahuaylillas before our arrival in Cusco.
Day 8 – Cusco, Sacred Valley & Ollantaytambo The excitement is really starting to build as we are getting closer to Machu Picchu and we are all acclimatised. Our first site visit is Saqsaywaman (pronounced sexy woman) this site is one not to be missed the constructions are amazing and great views over the city. We continued our trip to Sacred Valley and stopping at El Mirador, a point where you can see the whole valley, great photo stop with vast terraces sculpted by the Incas. For lunch we stopped in the town of Pisac which has a huge local market and a great spot to pick up some souvenirs. Our final stop of the day was Ollantaytambo where we visited the ruins of Ollantaytambo and the amazing rock formation representing the Inca god Wiracocha. Here is really the start of the Inca trail and a ticket is needed to walk the huge terraces to the top of the fortress.
Day 9 Ollantaytambo – Machu Picchu We got the morning train to Aguas Calientas. The expedition train takes approx. 2 hours, it is a beautiful train with big viewing windows. On arrival at Aguas Calientas train station you could feel the excitement in the air, it was so busy but very well organised to accommodate the thousands of tourists passing through. Short bus ride to the entrance of Machu Picchu, through the tropical mountain forest before the beauty and complete wonder of Machu Picchu shows itself. The Lost City of the Incas is truly an amazing site in an extraordinary beautiful setting. Our bed for the night was in Cusco, this town deserves a couple of nights in the itinerary to relax and just amble through the town. The night life wasn’t bad either to celebrate an amazing tour.
Peru has been such an incredible journey and one of the most diverse countries I have ever experienced. Everything was organised so well by Exodus Travel and our experience was enhanced by their guides on the ground who were simply amazing.