Without a doubt, trekking in the Peruvian Andes will allow you to see some of the most stunning beautiful landscapes in the world, bring you to remote villages with entirely unique cultures…and leave you, literally, breathless. All this beauty surrounding you is roughly somewhere between 9,000 and 16,000ft. above sea level; and chances are you […]
Adventure Travel, Inca Trail Trek, Machu Picchu Travel, Peru Travel, Travel Tips, Trekking in Peru, Trip Reports
Cusco’s Top 10 List: What to Do and What to Avoid
12
Jan
Jan
At the two-month anniversary of my arrival in Peru, I feel ready to offer a little unsolicited advice about what I recommend as do’s and don’ts before and during your trip to Cusco, Peru, and the surrounding area. Listed in no particular order, I’ll begin with my list of do’s. TOP TEN THINGS TO DO […]
Adventure Travel, Peru Travel, Travel Tips, Trip Reports
Lessons from seven months in Peru, and the value of travel
01
Aug
Aug
I’ve been back in Montana for a month now, trying to figure out a new routine in a place I’m grateful to call home for its beauty, the chance to ride or hike for hours from my back door, and a great community of people that extends across an entire state. More importantly, I’m trying […]
After the soul shaking descent from San Antonio pass, a frigid night sleeping in a cow pasture, and a several hour lost backpack search, the rest of the trek was relatively easy. But, what really comes into focus is the simple fact that you don’t really want it to be easy; you’re in the most […]
One really useful tip I can give you if you plan on doing any solo trekking in the Peruvian Andes is if anyone tells you that the trail you’ll be taking isn’t necessarily the most obvious or well-traveled path *STOP* and realize that means: you are going where nobody else wants to, and there’s a […]
In retrospect, days 3-5 could be called the ‘smooth sailing’ section of the Huayahuash Circuit trek. Not to say the trekking itself is especially easy- there are still plenty of ups and downs at high altitudes- but the trail is well-defined and (although never marked…ever) easy to follow. To firm up our confidence that our […]
The morning of our departure for 10 days on the Huayahuash Circuit trail we woke up at the inhuman hour of 4AM to catch the 5AM bus out of Huaraz to Chiquian. It was rough, but there’s always something exciting about being up that early for an adventure, especially an adventure that would be so […]
As almost every one of my posts has mentioned, repeatedly, Peru’s diversity of ecosystems and landscapes is beyond anything I ever imagined when planning my trip and was a constant source of amazement during my time there. To top off seven months of amazing experiences I spent the majority of my last two weeks in […]
Needless to say, we woke up on the morning after our huge day of climbing to and descending from Choquequirao a little behind the eight ball in terms of energy and motivation. Once again we listened to the group next to us awake before dawn for the climb out of the canyon and back to […]
When the only other group camping at Playa Rosalina woke up way before dawn to begin the climb to Choquequirao we had a good indication that this was going to be a big day…and that certainly turned out to be an understatement. Unfortunately for us, neither my friend nor I could muster that same pre-sunrise […]
Technically, Day 1 of my Choquequirao experience was the entire day my friend and I spent negotiating the local bus/taxi connections in order to get to the village of Cachora and the trailhead for Choquequirao that leads out of it. Since Cachora is such a tiny town, located 40 or so minutes by car from […]
30
May
May
I have wanted to get on the Rio Apurimac since reading about the non-stop Class III-V rapids in a gorgeous river that runs through an amazing canyon, so I was more than stoked when I secured a spot for myself and a friend on Amazonas Explorer’s 3-day trip May 15th-16th. The first thing that impressed […]
As smooth and inviting as the elegant city of Arequipa is, I couldn’t resist the nagging urge to get out of the urban chaos and check out what lies beyond the bordering peaks: massive stretches of desert leading up to the Colca Canyon, the world’s second deepest. (Actually, if you keep going you will in […]
After a couple of days back in Cusco it was time for another excursion – this time to a new and unknown area of Peru. I’ve been interested in traveling to Arequipa since I got here due to the inspiring pictures of the palm-treed city with snow-capped volcanoes looming in the distance and the mouth-watering […]
The day after the Inca Downhill we were pretty much toast, and ready for a little R and R in the Sacred Valley. While the main plaza can be all hustle and bustle as the many tourist buses unload and load again, just a few blocks away the peace and quiet allow the true beauty […]
There were rumors circulating for a while when I first arrived in Peru this fall that Peru’s Megavalanche downhill race was a thing of the past. Turns out that’s true, kind of. This year the race was reorganized and renamed the Inca Downhill to differentiate this uniquely Peruvian race course from a larger DH race […]
In keeping with the Andean tradition of vibrant, colorful celebrations to mark religious occasions, Cusco unveils a whole host of processions and specialties in the week leading up to Easter Sunday. Every day last week there was a parade complete with singing choirs of children and ornately sculpted religious figures on floats covered in floral […]
If there aren’t too many splurge nights figured into your travel budget, it’s always good to know where in a town you can get a tasty meal that will fill you up for a day of exploring without costing much. Since you may not want to gamble on eating from the street carts after only […]
The night before we passed out in our tent in the middle of what sounded like a keg party classics reggae marathon the plan was to wake up early for another 7 hours of trekking on the Royal Inca Trail that is used as an alternative route to Machu Picchu. I had the best of […]
I’ll admit I was a smidge disappointed when I woke in my tent on the 2nd day on the Salkantay trail not to a blazing sunbeam crossing my face, but to the sound of a Very. Steady. Rain. Luckily I knew a rain like that wouldn’t last all day long- unfortunately I also knew it […]
After falling asleep to clear skies I woke up on the morning of our first day on the trail to a steady rain that made it seem like some great deity in the sky had turned the faucet on full-blast. Sigh. We’re definitely moving out of rainy season, but this was another reminder that in […]
This past weekend I was lucky enough to tag along with a guide friend for a 3-day trip to Mt. Salkantay to do some route and camp site reconnaissance. Earlier in the week we made a general plan to leave Cusco on Saturday afternoon and make our way to Mollepata, about 2 hours from town, […]
15
Apr
Apr
With so many fantastic choices, it can be difficult to narrow the field down when people ask me for restaurant recommendations for a nice dinner in Cusco. There are, however, three stand-outs from recent memory that I have eaten at when visitors were in town; and the budget was expanded to accommodate this relative luxury. […]
Breakfast as most of us know it isn’t exactly a Peruvian norm; so it’s a great find when you come across a place that serves a morning meal of eggs, bacon, toast, and a ginormous cup of coffee (note: I am yet to come across a place that serves the bottomless cup of coffee I […]
Cusco is a beautiful city, and the people here are generally great. This is is a fantastic place to explore Peru’s intricately layered history, culture, and recreational opportunities. It is also, however, a city whose residents’ primary way of making a living is tourism – not only in the direct sale of tours and treks […]
This weekend heralded my return to really fun, really fast downhill and single track mountain biking in and around Cusco. After two months of being rained out – and a little post-wreck nervousness- I got back on my bike for a few laps on the local Yuncaypata downhill classic. The fact that the ride is […]
31
Mar
Mar
Early morning is definitely the most peaceful time in Cusco; before the multitudes of people, taxis, and buses take to the streets to begin another day in a vibrant and somewhat chaotic city. And now that the rain is letting up I’m reminded by the bright sunlight pouring through the skylight in my room how […]
Ok, so you’re looking at your 15-day itinerary hitting all the highlights of Peru: you’ll be dune surfing and flying over the mysterious massive carvings in Nazca, heading to Cusco and the Sacred Valley with a visit to Machu Picchu included, and spending a few days exploring the lush cloud forest and wildlife in Manu […]
With two weeks to go until Peru’s presidential and congressional elections, the campaigns are throwing out some highly visible banners, billboards, and a constant string of parades in the homestretch. Since I arrived in November the promotions have been omnipresent in Cusco and the Sacred Valley; but in the last few weeks not a day […]
24
Mar
Mar
Our intrepid Peru traveler, Shannon, gives us a first-hand account of the famous climb up Wayna Picchu (or Huayna Picchu) at Machu Picchu. If you are afraid of heights, hiking up the jutting peak in the middle of the Machu Picchu Sanctuary may not be for you. But, if you’re looking for a thrill and […]
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