Your Peru Guide

Not more than ten hours drive from Lima and I was in a different world to the busy and grimy city I had left behind me. With the thin mountain air demanding deep breaths and the 1am cold working its way through several layers of clothing I stepped out of our hired combi and onto the cobbled streets of Huancaya.

Still within the Lima region, Huancaya is a tiny settlement tucked away in the central Andes. A land of puna grasslands, stark valleys and, its most famous attraction, stunning cascades of thundering water as the Río Cañete pours its way from the snowcapped mountains towards the Pacific Ocean several hundred kilometres downstream.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

The falls outside of Huancaya are particularly impressive. The river broadens out and forms a series of steps, ordered almost as though they’d been deliberately carved by the forces of erosion over the millennia. A long and ancient stone bridge crosses the falls and leads towards an ancient trail that follows the valley upstream and into the mountains.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

As the valley levels off the river begins to flow more calmly, occasionally welling up to form lagoons and lakes of various sizes. Some no more than small pools, others as large as vast man-made reservoirs.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

The river picks up pace again as the trail leads to another small settlement that dates to pre-Inca times, Vilca.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

Even up in the mountains, the upcoming elections are never far from sight. This young campaigner uses her horse to reach voters living away from paved roads.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

The falls at Vilca are as impressive as those at Huancaya, drawing crowds of bathers from the surrounding communities and travellers come to spend a weekend away from Lima. This local woman in traditional headwear watches day trippers enjoying the ice cold waters on a sun-baked day.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

Locals compare election fliers. It’s not yet clear who the horses are voting for.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

Following the trail back down to Huancaya, the river is peppered with occasional falls hidden by the steep valley. The falls are spectacular enough to warrant clambering down the hillsides to get a closer look.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

In Huancaya, the village’s sole evening entertainment is the nightly community bonfire. Youngsters strum old Andean songs on modern guitars and their sisters sing along. The crowd passes around bottles of a warm cocktail, Calientito; a potent mix of pisco, syrup and honey.

Photograph: Your Peru Guide 2010

The people of Tupe speak a unique language, distantly connected to Aymara, and no relation to either Quechua or Spanish. The existence of this foreign language (mostly spoken in Bolivia) is an ancient throwback to the Inca system of moving populations around their empire to prevent any ethnic group becoming settled and powerful.

Getting to Huancaya requires a 10 hour drive from Lima, either booked with a local tour operator or on public transport. Buses leave every Saturday from the San Juan de Yauyos terminal in San Luis (4pm) or the Bus Reyes terminal in La Victoria (6:30pm).

There are plenty of basic hostels and hospedajes in Huancaya, cold water and large shared rooms are the norm, but all will serve good, hot food and are guaranteed to offer friendly, local service.

Peruvians, like most Latin Americans, have an inflated reputation for dishonesty and a propensity for ripping off unwitting travellers. The reality is that for every dishonest con artists, there is a genuine Peruvian who wouldn’t dream of taking advantage of a visitor to their country.

The problem is, it’s almost impossible to tell who is who – until it’s too late.

But rather than viewing everyone through suspicious eyes (unfortunately common among travellers in Peru), there are some simple steps you can take to avoid paying “Gringo Price,” with the spare change going straight into some shyster’s pocket. The following points are worth bearing in mind when planning an overland journey in Peru.

Ask Around

Before handing over any cash, ask a local what the going rate should be. This works well for taxis, but also with bus companies – even those that appear reputable can inflate prices for unsuspecting passengers. Transporte Molina is guilty of this, and based on personal experience, they’re best avoided. Oltursa is a good, well priced alternative company.

Check your Ticket

Double check transport tickets before paying up – especially if you’re buying tickets for a future journey. Ensure the company name, travel dates and departure/arrival destinations are correct. It’s not unheard of for unscrupulous companies to sell tickets for non-existent buses but with a valid ticket you can at least insist on a refund. Threatening to bring a cop with you should encourage them to give you your cash back.

Get Receipts

Despite the misplaced warnings of most guidebooks, it’s fine to put baggage below in the trunk and expect it to still be there at your destination, but always make sure you get a ticket to reclaim your bag. Stuff going missing is a rare occurrence, but without a receipt you won’t be able to claim for anything when you get there.

The bustling town of Chincha, just a few hours drive south of Lima, is the perfect embodiment of one of Peru’s most attractive traits: a vibrant and (increasingly) harmonious multiculturalism that would challenge even the most diverse of Britain’s towns.

Centuries ago, this stretch of coastal desert was home to the small Chincha Empire, which eventually gave way to the ascendant Incas, mixing the indigenous civilizations of the coast with those of the Andes. The next arrival into the gene pool was a large dose of Spanish blood, followed finally by the conquistadors’ slaves: descendants of Africans brought to the New World to support the European conquest.

The many faces of Chincha. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2010

And it was in Chincha that this black community became most established, creating a vibrant Afro-Peruvian community that remains strong to this day, with both Peruvians and foreigners eager to visit the town and experience its unique culture.

It is during the country’s numerous national festivals that Chincha really shines. Carnival, which is celebrated throughout the continent, receives its own Afro-Peruvian twist – El Verano Negro, as it is known is possibly the most flamboyant Carnival event outside of Rio, with a fortnight-long orgy of drinking, eating and dancing much of which is filmed and broadcast live on national television.

Equally riotous are the town’s Fiestas Patrias (Independence Day) celebrations and, especially important to the local people, the fiesta of the Virgin of Chincha.

The many faces of Chincha. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2010

Locals and visitors during these festivals tend to split their time between the town itself and the nearby Carmen district, the country’s beating Afro-Peruvian heart. Carmen is a short bus or taxi ride away from Chincha, set around a large and attractive main plaza which sets the scene for the most enthusiastic partying.

Around the plaza’s edge you’ll find lines of people drinking and eating (the town is famous for carapulcra, a rich, thick stew of dried potatoes, chillies and pork), while in the centre and in front of a large temporary stage will be hundreds, maybe thousands, of people of all ages and colour, dancing with a speed and agility that is physically impossible for an inebriated Englishman.

Reaching Chincha from Lima is an easy task. Visitors can either make their way to one of the city’s Soyuz bus terminals and pay around 20 soles for a comfortable bus ride, or head to the Pan American highway and flag down a bus heading south for a cheaper, but possibly less convenient or comfortable, journey.

Once in Chincha there are numerous hostals and cheap hotels, although they’re certain to fill up during fiestas. A tried and tested option is Hotel Oasis, on Santo Domingo, just a few blocks away from the main Plaza de Armas. Tel: +5134 262709.

With its vast collection of indigenous cultures and long history of immigration, Peru is well known for its ethnic diversity, but there is one Peruvian community that most visitors do not expect to find: the Germanic people of Oxapampa and Pozuzo.

Here, in the high jungle on the edge of the Amazon rainforest itself, blond haired and blue eyed children play in the fields, Alpine-style buildings line the streets and during fiestas, the lederhosen comes out for a good old German knees up.

Lederhosen and German dancing in Oxapampa. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

Part of the European exodus of the 19th century, these folks found themselves in this isolated region of Peru almost entirely by accident, having trekked for two years across the coastal desert followed by the Andes mountains before eventually reaching this habitable land, ideal for dairy farming and cattle ranching.

Once they arrived, they established farms and created a largely self-sufficient, thriving community.

Oxapampa's Alpine-style church. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

Oxapampa and the older town of Pozuzo are quiet, friendly settlements in the heart of the rolling, green hills that represent the end of the Andes and the beginnings of the Amazon. Both towns have several decent hostels, services and restaurants, including all sorts of central European food, and more than a couple of beer-cellar inspired bars (although only Peruvian lager is available).

Getting to the region from Lima is relatively easy. Transporte Junin runs frequent services from Lima to the town of La Merced (go overnight and you’ll wake up in La Merced by 7am), from where you can catch a bus or collectivo taxi to Oxapampa (2-3 hours) or onwards to Pozuzo (another couple of hours).

Aside from the cultural experience of seeing German life in the Peruvian jungle (especially in Pozuzo where the Germanic traditions remain especially strong) the area is also fine for day hikes through the pleasant landscapes, and a great place to stock up on the locally made cheeses and coffee. Ask around and locals will be happy to point you towards a decent footpath.

One last personal recommendation: the juice bar on the corner of Oxapampa’s main square opposite the wooden Alpine church serves up the best fresh juice imaginable. If you’ve got the stomach for it go for a surtido especial atomico, and she’ll add a beer and raw egg to your juice – a perfect hangover drink.

Peruvian cuisine has taken a turn for the classy in recent years – in Lima at least, where ongoing economic growth brings ever more wealth to the city’s prosperous and fortunate few. The city’s business and commercial districts are packed with world class restaurants, while Peru’s self-styled Diplomat of national cuisine , the popular (and incredibly rich) celebrity chef Gastón Acurio, has pledged to bring top-end Peruvian cuisine to the world.

Of course, none of this is actually kidding anyone. As everyone here knows, the country’s cuisine has always been grounded in the gritty heritage of city streets and rural fields, in the proudly mongrel criollo culture; a fusion of indigenous Peru with the Hispanic colonists, plus with the descendants of Afro-Caribbean slaves, along with all the other waves of immigration that have landed on these shores over the centuries.

View Comida Popular in a larger map

So with this in mind, and while every other Peru guide bangs on about where to get the finest Peruvian meal, how about a few recommendations of where to go (and where not to go) for the best of comida popular – common food with an authentic experience.

Don Caesars: might not look it, but it's the friendliest anticuchos in town. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

Beef Heart Kebabs Anyone?

What might not sound too appetising is actually one of the best highlights of Lima’s popular cuisine. Anticuchos – literally kebab skewers of sliced beef heart, served with sliced potato and half a cob of juicy corn – are one of the tastiest meals in town.

You can pick these things up almost anywhere, you can find people grilling the skewers on street corners or in the finest restaurants. My personal favourite though is Don Caesars, tucked away on a quiet back street in Barranco.

This place specialises in all sorts of offal cuts, most of which are beyond my timid Western stomach – I’ve never managed a whole plate of tripe (mondongo) – but the anticuchos and chicken kebabs are delicious.

The owner, Pancho, explained the history of anticuchos to me: “Originally in Peru, the rich would get the best of the meat and the black slaves would end up with the scraps. But actually, with the heart, they got the best bit! Eventually everyone learned how tasty the heart is.”

Don Caesars can be found on the corner of Enrique Baron and El Sol Este, not far from Barranco’s main road, Avenida Grau, and is open every day until around 11pm. See the map for further details.

A full plate of ceviche mixto. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

How About Some Raw Fish?

Although not technically raw, ceviche, another contender for Peru’s national dish, is diced fish that has been “cooked” in the acid of lime juice and served with chopped chilis, onions, camote (sweet potato) and corn.

This is a delicious meal and is traditionally eaten for breakfast or an early lunch. It has its origins with early Peruvian fishermen who discovered this method of preparing fish to eat during their long voyages. Since then it has become a sophisticated national staple, and one that brings considerable pride – especially for fish loving Limeños.

It’s said that the marinate of lime juice and chilis, called leche de tigre (tiger’s milk), is a potent hangover cure, although that’s something I’m yet to verify.

Ceviche is as ubiquitous in Lima as anticuchos and although generally speaking I’d advise first timers with weak stomachs to avoid the markets and go for a reasonable looking restaurant, my personal favourite cevicheria happens to be tucked away in the back of Barranco market.

The Canta Rana is actually a well established restaurant, also in Barranco, but this place is their little market offshoot that specialises in ceviche. Get there early to avoid the crowds, by midday it is overrun with surfers returning from the beach.

The Canta Rana market stand is just round the corner from Barranco’s main plaza. Check the map for the exact location.

Hungry? Ask For The Menú

You’ll probably see signs saying menú all over town, but this doesn’t mean ‘the menu’, like it does at home, here they’re talking about the set menu: a limited number of set meals on offer for next to nothing – usually between 4 and 10 soles.

Menú places offer all sorts of variety, usually versions of popular national dishes and often served up with a filling serving of potatoes, rice, beans and salad. This is how virtually every Peruvian eats at least once a day and is an unbelievably cheap way to fill up on a nutritious meal – perfect for budget travellers.

You don’t need to be in the outlying districts to find a good deal. Even the fancy streets of central Miraflores have their fair share of good menú places. The biggest concentration can be found on the streets to the east of Parque Kennedy, see the map for exact locations.

And One Place To Avoid

Every guide to Lima that I’ve seen insists that El Cordano in Central Lima is a must-visit restaurant. I can’t vouch for the food, because every single time I’ve sat down in the place, the same miserable, sour-faced waiter has made a point of not serving our table. Not just us though – every table.

And anyone who says “I’m busy” when people attempt to make an order doesn’t deserve any custom at all. Steer clear: there are plenty of friendlier places nearby.

For centuries, the Peruvian Andes have been a magnet for adventure seekers and have-a-go explorers. Ever since the Spanish arrived and began their greedy search for the fabled treasures of Peru’s indigenous civilisations, the Andes have become an adventurer’s dream: a place of myth and legend, lost cities, hidden gold and forgotten ruins, all waiting to be discovered in the unforgiving mountains and high jungle.

These days of course, any wannabe Indiana Jones has to contend with several thousand like minded peers, with the well known sites all at saturation point. Machu Picchu, Cusco, Saqsaywaman, the ruins at Pisac and Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley; they’re all host to a constant stream of visitors, at times making them seem more like Disneyland than El Dorado.

Fortunately, and perhaps surprisingly, there remain a great number of places that are largely unexplored and not yet fully understood by the archaeologists. One such site is the Inca citadel of Choquequirao (sometimes spelled Choqek’iraw).

Mist over the terraces at Choquequirao. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

Tucked away atop the jungle-lined mountains between the Vilcabamba and Salcantay ranges, and towering above the Apurimac River, Choquequirao, which means “Cradle of Gold” in the native Quechua language, is a city of significant historical importance, set in a breathtakingly isolated region and built using stunning architectural ingenuity.

Lines of terraces at Choquequirao. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

Experts assume that Choquequirao served as the administrative and political hub of the Vilcabamba region, and acted as the gateway to this isolated area. It was in this direction that Inca fled as they abandoned their former strongholds in Cusco and the Sacred Valley, desperately resisting the Spanish conquest.

Often compared to Machu Picchu in its setting and style, Choquequirao is actually thought to have been much more important to the Inca Empire, and dwarves the more commonly known site in size and in historical significance. Despite this, Choquequirao receives a fraction of the visitors, not least because it requires a two day, long and arduous trek just to reach the gates. When I visited the ruins at the start of the rainy season in November, there was not another soul at the entire site.

Most treks to Choquequirao leave from the village of San Pedro de Cachora, approximately 20 miles from the site itself. From here, the winding trail leads into the valley, through farm land and occasional forests. The landscape becomes increasingly severe and the trail rises up away from the valley floor. Before long the path is winding a perilous route along the edge of a deep gorge, and a series of miradors, or look out points, offer stunning views up and down the valley.

The Apurimac River from Choquequirao. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

Eventually the trail begins a long, steady descent to the Apurimac River, which is wide and fast flowing and only crossable by bridges. Most treks spend the first night on the banks of the river, where the valley is warm and humid and a small shop sells water, snacks and the ubiquitous but barely palatable chicha beer.

The trail on day two takes you over the river itself and on a long, relentless climb all the way to Choquequirao itself. The climb is around 5000 feet and takes all day, virtually from sunrise to sunset. If you’re able to look up from the ground you’ll see spectacular mountain views and the occasional farm, some of which sell food and water. This is a difficult, demanding hike and should only be attempted by people who are fit, active and healthy.

Eventually the trail will bring you right up into Choquequirao. The campsite is a short walk from the ticket booth (37 soles) and the citadel’s entrance is a short climb uphill.

Exploring Choquequirao fully takes at least a day. The site is only partially excavated and restored, the vast majority of the ruins remain hidden under dense, impenetrable forest. The central plaza has been well restored and bears a striking similarity to Machu Picchu. Sacred ceremonial sites look down from two hills and dropping away from the centre in all directions are vast lines of agricultural terraces that resemble giant stairways, reaching deep into the valley.

Of particular note are the unique decorations recently discovered on one set of terraces, where the Inca engineers decided to embed the profiles of llamas and a shepherd into the rock using brilliant white stones.

Llama decorations in the terraces at Choquequirao. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

From Choquequirao, visitors have two options. You can either walk back to Cachora the way you came, or you can continue towards Huanipaca via San Ignacio. Both routes require another night of camping. I took the Huanipaca route and spent the night in an old hacienda at San Ignacio and took road transport back to Cusco from Huanipaca, and I’d recommend others to do the same. It’s a longer route and the transport will add to your costs but the landscapes and scenery are stunning, and give much more variety than on the original trail to Choquequirao.

I’ve Heard Enough – How Do I Get There?

There are two main options for trekking to Choquequirao: going solo or joining an organised trek.

Solo trekking is rewarding but can be very challenging. Firstly you need to get your hands on some kit. Tents, sleeping bags, cookware, everything you need can be hired in Cusco. Secondly you need to arrange transport from Cusco to Cachora (which could cost up to $20). Ask around, there may be a colectivo going there from Cusco.

Once in Cachora, you’ll need to find a mule and a handler. I did see people carrying all their equipment on their own backs, but they must have been ironmen or superhuman. Mortals will need a mule. This will cost around $10 a day. Check on the animal’s welfare and confirm whether or not the handler will be feeding himself.

Next you need to get provisions. Basics can be found in Cachora, but it may be a good idea to stock up in Cusco first. You need plenty of high energy food. Water can be found and boiled for drinking en-route.

For those among us (myself included) who don’t fancy the idea of solo trekking, there are a number of operators who can take you to Choquequirao, to a variety of degrees of luxury. Be warned: trek operators are not all created equally. Book a tour in advance through an international agency and chances are you’re just paying a fat mark up to a middleman. Book a tour on the day at one of the many shop fronts in Cusco and once again, you’re probably just buying a pre-sold ticket on someone else’s tour.

To get the best deal – and the best quality – make sure the person selling your ticket is the person actually operating your tour. My recommendation based on personal experience is PachatusanTrek, a husband and wife team who really know their stuff, are as friendly and entertaining as it gets and provide the very best equipment, food and all round experience.

A typical street scene in the ancient city of Cusco. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

The city of Cusco is one of Peru’s most important – and most visited – travel destinations, and for good reason: this was the heart of the Inca Empire, a place where all the myth and legend of ancient Andean societies found their most visible and enduring expressions. And that legacy is everywhere; in the city’s great ruins and the enormous stone walls that remain standing to this day, in the surrounding villages that have been continuously inhabited for countless centuries and in the faces of the Quechua-speaking locals – people who have seen empires come and go, while their culture and traditions remain as vibrant as ever.

But what what you won’t read in most of the guides is that all is not necessarily well in this most popular of popular tourist hotspots. Cusco is a city inundated by visiting outsiders, flocking to experience the city’s stunning architecture and its proximity to Peru’s other major draw cards, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley.

Cusco is struggling under the strain of its own popularity and it is hugely important that visitors are mindful of their impact on the city, environment and culture that they are visiting. This covers the obvious: try to limit your environmental impact and not worsen the city’s congestion problem by zipping around in taxis or small tour buses, ask before taking anyone’s photograph and don’t be surprised if your subject expects a Sol or two in return.

But also try to learn a little about the culture you’re visiting before you arrive. Understand that indigenous Andean communities are often more conservative than Hispanic Peruvians and Westerners, and that for them, many of the must see tourist sights are actually deeply sacred places.

Your Peru Guide: Cusco Highlights In Pictures

Cusco's Plaza de Armas. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

The Plaza de Armas is Cusco’s old colonial centre, dominated by the Cathedral and several churches. The Cathedral and the Church of the Companion of Jesus are well worth a visit, especially the Cathedral’s collection of art from the Cusco School, a blending of indigenous and European influences that represents the cultural assimilation that took place here following the conquest.

The hilltop ruins of Saqsaywaman tower above the city of Cusco. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

The ruins of Saqsaywaman sit on a hilltop looking down over the city and are constructed of enormous stone blocks and impressive fortifications, making everyone assume the place was originally a military fortress. But recent discoveries have suggested the site was at least as important as a spiritual centre. Despite this, the jagged pattern of the walls are still recognisable as the fearsome jaguar teeth they were first intended to replicate.

The neighbourhood of San Blas at night, Cusco. Photograph, Your Peru Guide 2009

The neighbourhood of San Blas rises up away from the centre on a steep hillside, and his home to a warren of winding cobbled streets, small squares and original colonial architecture. San Blas gets even more atmospheric at night when the area’s bars come alive. Live music and drinks offers can be found in virtually any of the bars around the popular KM 0. They’re all tried, tested and recommended.

Your Peru Guide: Visiting Tips

Cusco is a high altitude city. Over 3,300 meters high. And that means very thin air for us sea-level dwellers, which can take several days getting used to. In fact, it’s advisable to work your way up to this altitude and visit some of Peru’s slightly lower sights first – Arequipa and the Sacred Valley are ideal. If you fly straight to Cusco from Lima, expect at least a tinge of soroche (altitude sickness) which can cause lethargy,  headaches and vomiting. Don’t overexert yourself, don’t overindulge (especially with the booze), and feel free to try a mouthful of coca leaves, or at least some coca leaf tea, which really does help.

Most visitors to Cusco feel obliged to invest in the boleto turistico (tourist ticket) which is required for most of the city’s museums and other sights. The ticket is expensive though, and although it is valid for ten days, most visitors staying in Cusco for a few days don’t end up getting its full value. Only buy it if you want to visit all the sights that are included, and bear in mind that some of the city’s best museums and other attractions (the ruins of Qorikancha, the Cathedral, the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art and the Inca Museum) are not included.

Saying that, the nearby ruins of Saqsaywaman and most sights in the Sacred Valley are all pretty much must-see places, and they’re all included in the ticket, so the choice is yours…

Have some more questions? Need additional information? Visit the Your Peru Guide Peru Travel Clinic for free, independent and customised advice!