I was in Peru for roughly two weeks, from 17th to 30th April 2024. This was the leg of the trip that I was most looking forward to as it was very varied: two of my friends were flying out to join me in Lima, which we'd be exploring on our own, before joining a Gadventures tour in Cusco to visit Machu Picchu (among other places), and then a friend and I would travel by PeruHop to Arequipa and Puno, before heading over the border to Bolivia at the end of the month.
Lima
The evening I arrived in Lima, I spotted one of my friends, Becca, in the immigration queue. After getting dropped off at the wrong address (my fault) and walking 10 minutes to our actual Airbnb, I washed all of my clothes from Quito (with shampoo as we didn't have any detergent) and headed to a nearby sushi restaurant for dinner. Here, we met Jordan, a Californian from Eureka, who'd already been in Lima for a week and was happy to chat away and provide us with recommendations for the city. He was a very interesting guy, informing us that back in his home town he'd burn cars for fun and lots of his mates would make meth or inject heroin, which was very different to my own upbringing but fascinating nonetheless.
The next morning, my other friend, Phi, arrived and we decided to visit the Old Town, including the catacombs. We joined a tour and although they were cool and unique, I was definitely creeped out by the sheer volume of bones and skulls everywhere. We then enjoyed ceviche in a restaurant recommended by Jordan (mangoes), which overlooked the sea. It was here that we tried our first Pisco Sour, a Peruvian cocktail, which was delicious (and became a key component throughout the trip). We visited the Old Town, which was pretty and contained some very impressive buildings, although we saw everything we wanted to within a few hours. At this point, we realised that barely anyone smoked in Lima, to the extent that it was noteworthy. We headed to El Parquecito for dinner, where Phi and I shared a selection of local dishes, which were delicious, but also where we made a grave error: we asked for pisco sours again, since we'd enjoyed them greatly at lunch, but when asked whether we wanted single or doubles, we replied with the latter, as given that we'd felt tipsy after just one, we were convinced that those must've been doubles. We were wrong. The cocktails came out and were straight ethanol; we couldn't enjoy the taste at all and eventually had to ask for plain passionfruit juice in order to dilute it (and even then they were only just manageable for us). It's safe to say that we were very humbled and learnt an important lesson that day: Peruvian cocktails are very strong. We then headed to Hidden Experimental Bar for a free drink, courtesy of our Airbnb, which was a nice treat, although the bar was very empty.
The following two days were much more interesting because I was not doing well (read: I became familiar with the godsend that is imodium). We had gone for brunch in the morning, and immediately after I felt unwell. Nonetheless, I trooped on, heading to Museo Larco, a museum featuring pre-Columbine art, which I enjoyed much more than I'd anticipated and was absolutely gorgeous, with colourful flowers in bloom all over. This museum also featured an erotic section, which was very entertaining.
I had seen that the area 'El Callao' was fairly artsy and that the government was investing a lot of money into the area, so I dragged my friends with me in search of some murals. Instead, we were told by the Uber driver to avoid certain streets at all costs, had someone shout 'diablo' in our faces, and felt very sketchy (ha ha, get it?) indeed. It was immediately obvious that the area was rough and even to buy a bottle of water, I had to hand a lady some cash through the grates over window. We lasted about 20 minutes in the area, and at this point I was starting to get cramps, so we headed back to the Airbnb. I quickly realised that the situation was 'no bueno' as the locals would say, and once I realised that a quick-fix wasn't going to be possible, we instead headed to the supermarket to grab bits for a homemade dinner. For me, this consisted of crackers, bananas and oreos (tragic). At some point during the day, I'd also managed to trap my finger in the door, which was very painful on top of the cramps, so I was very much ready for bed. We put a film on and chilled until sleep fell upon us.
The following morning, we all read our books for a bit and chilled, whilst I figured out whether I'd be able to make it out or not. I'd never taken imodium before this trip, but had quickly become well-acquainted with it, and it's safe to say that it saved me. Becca and Phi walked to Barranco for lunch, and after enjoying my dry crackers and banana, I headed over to meet them there. We walked around the area, which unlike El Callao, was actually full of art, and this ended up being one of our favourite areas! We felt very safe and I'd strongly recommend visiting if you're ever in Lima. It was a gorgeous day so we then headed to a nearby beach called 'Los Yuyos'. The water was freezing so I didn't make it fully in, but Becca did and seemed to enjoy it. I felt so relaxed as I lay on the beach reading my book; it was pure bliss. On the way back, we headed to 'La Lucha', which sells sandwiches, as I thought it would be a safe bet, and although the sandwiches were great, the strange man opposite who initially invited us to play chess on the outdoor tables but finished by stating that he wanted Phi's babies was definitely not. We ended the night with dinner and drinks at a rooftop bar called 'La Saha', which was lovely, though full of tourists, and had a club downstairs.
One thing of note in Lima is that Ubers are everywhere and much cheaper than in London, so are a great way to travel around, especially as Lima is a huge city and many areas of interest are far from each other. If we'd had another day in Lima, we would have also seen the fountain light show and visited Bar Eden, as both had been recommended to us by several people.
Gadventures Tour (Cusco/Machu Picchu)
We took a flight from Lima to Cusco, and had to be escorted to the front of the queue (read: cut the queue) to check-in as we were running late. It was in Cusco that we were joining a Gadventures tour so after wandering around the city for a bit, we met the rest of our group. My initial impressions were mixed as some were very lovely, whereas others were quite closed off. We were staying in a female-only hostel room with 12 beds and two bathrooms so I was slightly apprehensive but the hostel itself was great: there were constantly events on, you got unlimited water bottle refills for a one-off payment of 6 Peruvian Soles (just over £1) and breakfast was included!
Cusco
We started in Cusco, where we went on a walking tour with the group and slowly got to know more people individually, which was nice. We went to San Blas, which offered a gorgeous view of the city, and saw both llamas and alpacas (one of whom spat in Phi's face), before visiting San Pedro market, where we tried a 'special' juice (which had many random ingredients, including an egg and beer) and I bought some souvenirs. We had a late lunch, comprising an array of traditional dishes, and it was here that we tried a local delicacy, guinea pig, for the first (and last) time. I had the tiniest bit but wasn't a fan, and I'd also tried alpaca the previous day, which wasn't my cup of tea, tasting similar to beef but sweeter and leaner. We were meant to visit the Sapantiana aqueduct on this day too but didn't end up seeing it for some unclear reason.
Ollantaytambo
The following day we visited some ruins at Killarumiyoq, which was decent and despite the cloudy day, the views were nice. It was here that I first truly felt the effect of the high altitude: a tour guide pointed up to the ruins and said it would take 10-15 minutes to reach them, however I looked up incredulous as the ruins were a maximum of 5 minutes away, if that! I was severely humbled, as every few steps I ascended made me breathless and I was shocked by how often I had to stop and how slow the ascent was. It was also here that I learnt about the significance of Pachamama and the Andean gods, and the locals' offerings to them. We were also told by the tour guide how ayahuasca has been used by his friends to heal cancer and other diseases. We spent the afternoon on a hike with a waterfall at the half way point called 'Catarata Poc Poc'. It was such a beautiful hike and very reminiscent of Madeira, with the mountains and 'levadas' (water streams along the path), and was the perfect difficulty level. We had brought packed lunches and ate by the waterfall, before trying out a new route down in the valley, rather than climbing up to the start point. This was a mistake as it took much longer than anticipated, the tour guides had never done this route before so couldn't find the coach at the end, and a girl got lost for about 30 minutes so one of the tour guides had to run back to find her. I loved it nonetheless and it was one of my favourite memories of the entire trip. We ended the day in Ollantaytambo, a town near Machu Picchu, however we weren't able to explore much as we'd finished the hike much later than anticipated. Instead, we had dinner and then slept in a hotel, which offered twin rooms instead of 12-bed dorms - a nice change (although truth be told, the dorms were actually completely fine as only one person snored and no one was rowdy).
Aguas Calientes
We were visiting Machu Picchu on the Thursday, so got the two-hour train (PeruRail) from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes at around 7am, expecting a very chilled day. And it did start off that way; we woke up at 6am, had some breakfast (which was not filling and since joining the tour I'd spent most mornings starving until lunch), hopped on the train, visited a butterfly sanctuary at Aguas Calientes (not my vibe but it was fine), and then had lunch in the town, with rapids on one side of the restaurant and the train tracks on the other. A few people from the group had gotten off the train at the 104km mark of the Inca Trail, and would be hiking for about eight hours, before reaching Machu Picchu, however this felt pointless to me as surely if you wanted to hike, you'd do the multi-day trail? Regardless, we decided to take the train up as I already had several hikes built into my trip and I knew I wouldn't enjoy the experience so would solely be doing it to say I'd done it. By this point, I also felt that the tour group was too big, meaning that we often weren't given enough information in advance or were given incorrect information, especially compared to the Intrepid tour I'd done in Central America in November 2023, where we always knew what to expect and were given restaurant recommendations in each town.
Post-lunch, Phi and Becs napped, and then we headed to a huge market to buy some souvenirs. We were wanting dinner but it was too early, so we headed to a bar to kill some time until we could eat. It was here that it all went wrong. We knew we had to leave the hotel at 6:15am the following morning for Machu Picchu, so genuinely weren't wanting a big night, but after enjoying some pisco sours, we crossed the bridge to the equivalent of a 'strip' full of bars and restaurants, and ended up having dinner in a restaurant offering free pisco sours and live music. The musician played both the guitar and the panpipes simultanously and was incredible. Unfortunately, the staff then started the karaoke and this got us; they put YouTube on the TV screen and handed mics to one table at a time so that table could sing what they wanted, and obviously after a few drinks, we were more than keen. We sang 'What's Up' by the 4 Non-Blondes and the crowd was loving it, with people even filming us, which went to our heads and so from that point on we kept asking for the mic (we lost the crowd with ABBA but quickly brought them back with some reggaeton), until they eventually turned off the mics and ended the karaoke. We got back in the early hours, despite having an early start, and it's safe to say we were happy as Larry on our return.
Machu Picchu
As you can imagine, we weren't feeling too fresh the following morning, and the five hours of sleep didn't help. I'd been sleeping very poorly and hadn't had my eight hours of rest since Lima as I realised I am very sensitive to snoring. Regardless, we had an early bus to catch to Machu Picchu so left the hotel at 6:15am. The bus only took 15 minutes and climbed up the mountain above the clouds, again reminding me a lot of Madeira, however many people felt uneasy looking out the window as there was an immediate abyss. Machu Picchu has a one-way system to control the large crowds, and as we climbed up, we learnt a lot about the ruins and the civilisations, including how the Spaniards managed to conquer the land and the Incas. We reached the photo spot but couldn't see anything beyond the clouds. We had to practice patience, and eventually the clouds cleared and our photo opportunity presented itself. The views were so much more gorgeous than I'd anticipated, with a river flowing around the main mountain, and many other mountains in the background, sort of reminding me of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. This was my sixth of the New Seven Wonders of the World and may be my favourite thus far. I felt rough but it was honestly gorgeous and totally worth it; I couldn't get over it the entire time. As we left, Becca found out that her boyfriend had passed his final exams and was officially a doctor, so it was an emotional day. We had some lunch and then killed some time before getting our train back to Ollantaytambo and coach to Cusco that same day. I was super sleepy, but we played cards on the train and when we arrived in Cusco, all we wanted to do was grab some dinner, shower, and sleep before our 4am departure the following day. We headed to the hostel restaurant, however there weren't any tables available, so instead headed next door to an empty Italian restaurant. Here, everything went wrong: one friend had a hair in her lasagna to complement the inch-thick layer of grease, the food took forever to arrive, and the waitress charged all of us the wrong amounts but couldn't work out the correct amounts to charge us either. We were exhausted, and very much over it, but eventually we were fed and showered, ready for the following day's adventure.
Rainbow Mountain
Throughout the entire trip, we were very apprehensive about how we'd handle the altitude at Rainbow Mountain, which was almost as high as Base Camp at 5.2km above sea level, and finally the day was upon us to tackle this feat. We left the hotel at 4am in all our hiking gear, and drove for a couple of hours to our breakfast spot (which was actually filling for the first time!) and then to Rainbow Mountain. I learnt that it had only opened to tourists in 2016, as prior to then it had been a glacier however global warming led to the top layer melting, revealing this colourful landmark.
If we weren't worried about the altitude before, we certainly were when we arrived, as the tour guide encouraged us to drink coca tea and take anti-altitude sickness tablets, then gave us oils to inhale and informed us that he was bringing an oxygen tank 'just in case'. They gave us hiking sticks too and told us to take it easy and pace ourselves. There was the option to ride a horse, which Becca did, or take a motorbike, however that hadn't ended well for me the last time and I wanted to challenge myself, especially as I hadn't done the Inca Trail, so Phi and I decided to walk it. We paced ourselves and although it was challenging because of the altitude, it was enjoyable and we felt very proud of ourselves by the end. The colours were also much brighter than I'd expected, as I was under the impression that everyone enhanced the saturation in their pictures, however apparently it had rained the night before, which allows the colours to appear brighter. This was another highlight of the entire trip for me as I was running on a high, the views were stunning (with glaciers in the background and the Red Valley nearby), and I had managed to challenge myself with my best mate despite the altitude and feeling that I couldn't get enough oxygen to my lungs). We took many photos and then on the walk down we each grabbed a flat rock and mounted them, then repeated a phrase and blew on some leaves multiple times, making an offering to Pachamama and wishing health to our loved ones in a traditional Andean fashion. Phi ziplined over a heart-shaped lake and snacks were awaiting us on our return, which was a nice surprise.
We'd spent the entire week fearful of this hike, especially as my boyfriend had been a couple of weeks earlier and struggled a lot with the altitude and cold, despite being an avid hiker, whereas for us it was much better than expected and I'd 100% recommend it. We also got very lucky with the weather, as I hiked it in a running top and the wind only picked up once we'd gotten our breath back on the peak. I loved how supportive everyone was along the way, including multiple strangers, although the tour guides did make a friend of ours get on a horse, despite her hiking frequently, as they said that she was taking too long, which was shocking. I would definitely recommend doing the hike, but pacing it and taking multiple breaks along the way in order to catch your breath, and also bringing layers. We then got a bus back to the restaurant for a well-deserved lunch, and chilled in the hostel before dinner. I was knackered at this point and excited for an early night, but once again, the exact opposite happened...
The last night
The whole group had dinner together at a restaurant called Hanz, where our tour guide gave a speech, and then we all headed back to the hostel, where some people would be getting flash tattoos. I was keen but knew that I'd be white water rafting in a couple of days so didn't want to risk it, but I loved some of the designs and wanted to watch some of the others get theirs, before heading to bed. When we arrived, there was a queue, so we grabbed a drink while we waited and played table football, and then before we knew it, we were being given free shots and a wristband for a club. Next thing I know, I'm in a club with the tour guide, a couple of guys from the hostel, and some of the friends I'd made in the tour group. Oddly, the club didn't sell wine but the drinks were good and they were playing reggaeton, so I was loving life. We stayed out until the early hours, then headed back to the hostel to get some rest. Instead, a couple of us stayed up chatting until 5am. Earlier that evening, two of the girls we'd met had given us handmade friendship bracelets, which was adorable, and at other points that night one of the guys had opened up a lot to me, and it was on this last night that he admitted he'd had a crush on me throughout the trip. It was an eventful (and yet, unexpected) night but I had a lot of fun and it really brought the trip to a nice end.
PeruHop
After heading to bed at 5am, I was awoken only three hours later as we had to pack, say goodbye to everyone, and check out. I was feeling rough but also mainly sad, as I'd gotten to know so many people the previous night over dinner and in the hostel, and these last-minute interactions made saying goodbye very bittersweet. Phi and I bought necklaces for the two girls who had given us bracelets, and then we got on a coach, bound for Arequipa. We used a company called PeruHop, which has buses between most of the main places across Peru and Bolivia that tourists visit and had affiliations with hotels and hostels in each place, making the booking process super easy, and the travel between the countries easier than figuring it out ourselves.
I was very sad this whole day, which also happened to me after my two weeks in Cape Town, and during my time in Lisbon, so I knew it was a case of waiting it out, especially as it clearly meant I'd enjoyed my time a lot. I cried several times on the journey just reflecting on how incredible the trip had been thus far; the stunning views and some of the most beautiful landscapes I'd ever seen, as well as the people we'd met along the way and the fact that after several years of it being a fantasy, I was now really travelling South America with one of my best mates. We took an overnight bus to Arequipa, lasting about 12 hours, and right at the beginning the guide asked (in Spanish) whether anyone solely spoke Spanish and not English; Phi misunderstood and raised her hand, which set me off laughing for a good ten minutes and still makes me laugh now.
Arequipa
We arrived in Arequipa around 6:30am, and I'd actually slept quite well on the overnight coach as there weren't many people so I had two seats to myself and could recline the seat fully. We dumped our bags at Selina hostel, which was one of my favourite hostels, and set about exploring the city as we didn't have much time there. Arequipa is Peru's second largest city, surrounded by volcanoes, and is about one tenth the size of Lima. We started by visiting the main square (Plaza de las Armas), where the military were raising the flags and there was a marching band (one of my favourite things to see abroad). The ceremony was entertaining at first but took forever, to the point that we left in search of breakfast instead. We went to Casona Salen, where we ran into a lady we'd met on the overnight bus: she was middle aged and travelling South America alone with seemingly unlimited time, after quitting her job, which was all very mysterious.
I had an upset stomach at this point but we were going white water rafting for the first time at 11:00am so after wandering about for a bit, we headed back to the hostel to get changed and go. White water rafting had been on my Bucket List for years and it was so much fun. We shared a raft with two locals, so the guide mainly spoke Spanish as we understood enough, however there was a slight misunderstanding where the guide asked if we wanting to do something and we said yes, then before we knew it, we'd pulled up into a hidden alcove (where three heavily tattoed guys were drinking and chilling to loud music), then we got out of the raft and climbed some rocks. I followed the guide to the top of the rocks, and then he shouted 'now jump' - I hadn't realised we were cliff jumping so said 'sorry?!' in disbelief, backed out and let someone else go first (to act as the guinea pig for depth), and after a couple of people went ahead, Phi and I followed suit (it was higher than it appeared initially but was so fun).
The white water rafting here was class 3 (beginner level) but was adrenaline-filled and I absolutely loved it and couldn't stop laughing throughout. That said, Phi was screaming the majority of the time, and another group fell in the water and found the strong currents less fun as they said they kept hitting rocks. We also had beautiful views of the volcanoes and the white canyon and river, and as someone who loves water and watersports, I was in heaven. After a quick snack and returning to the city, we had lunch and then checked into the hostel. I had an everything shower and although we were absolutely exhausted, it was a beautiful day so we visited Santa Catalina Monastery, which is described as 'a city within a city'. It was beautiful but I was truly exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open, so couldn't fully appreciate it but loved the colours of the buildings. We then watched the sunset at a rooftop bar called Le Foyer, had further drinks and dinner at the hostel, before passing out at 9pm.
Puno
Our final destination in Peru was a city called Puno. We woke up at 5:00am to get a PeruHop coach to Puno, stopping at a beautiful lake 4,444m above sea level. The bus was packed so Phi and I ended up sitting next to strangers, and we had an impromptu stop at Cabanillas for ten minutes, when then of the 40+ passengers, only my and Phi's names were called. We were confused and told that we had to leave the bus to identify our luggage as the police wanted to check it. No one told us anything but there were around six customs officers, the driver (who was filming the whole situation), the guide, Phi and I. We identified our luggage and the customs officers (barely) inspected them, before confirming that everything was okay. The officers then elaborated, stating that we'd apparently taken a dangerous route for them and had already been in Peru for a while. After some research, we discovered that Puno is a known destination for drug-traffickers as it is very close to the border with Bolivia, and although we knew that we didn't have anything we weren't allowed, it was still a relief when they let us go. Obviously everyone on the bus was intrigued by this situation too and all of a sudden everyone had questions for us. We then completely coincidentally ran into one of Phi's colleagues whilst transferring onto a small minibus to take us to our hotel in Puno. We had lunch, where we found out that Phi's sister had had her baby, and checked into our hostel. It was the worst hostel by far that we'd had but we were only there for one night so made do.
Puno is by Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at 3.8km above sea level, which is shared by Peru and Bolivia, and we spent our afternoon visiting the Peruvian side of the lake. We visited two islands by boat, and learnt about the locals, Uros, and their lifestyles. We learnt that the islands are man-made and built from reeds, and we were invited into some of their homes, which definitely felt intrusive. PeruHop rotates between the 120 islands for this tour so each island is visited by PeruHop tourists around once every three weeks. It was an interesting tour, and I loved the boat trip, although it was significantly colder than anywhere else we'd been up to this point. Once we arrived back in Puno, we had a lovely dinner at a café next door to the hostel (just a ham and cheese croissant with a hot chocolate), and then headed back to our grim hostel whilst a thunderstorm brewed. The hostel wasn't clean and there was no hot water, but luckily Gadventures had recommended packing a sleeping bag liner, which I'd initially thought was overkill but ended up being a life saver. To top off the night, we had a power cut and so I updated my travel book (in the dark) before drifting off to sleep.
I have never been happier to have an early start, and at 7:00am the following day, we got our final PeruHop bus to the border with Bolivia, which we would be crossing. Phi and I had to ask a German guy to lift our luggage onto the bus as it was too high up and I had a 20kg suitcase, and there were many roadworks and diversions throughout the journey, including a bridge being built, meaning we had to wait for about an hour on a stationary bus. Nonetheless, we did eventually manage to cross the border, which was much easier than expected, and before we knew it, we were in Bolivia!
One thing I would say about PeruHop is that additional information would definitely have been appreciated throughout. Instead, we'd suddenly get thrown off one bus and chucked into another with little warning, at the border crossing some people hadn't been told that they needed to fill in a form in advance, some people were meant to pre-order lunch before a tour but weren't informed of this in time, among other instances, so the communication could definitely have been better. That said, it was an easy way to traverse large distances and was much more comfortable than expected.
Final Thoughts
Peru ended up being my favourite country of the six that I visited on this trip, and may have the most beautiful landscapes of any country I have ever been to. I loved the culture, the people, and the weather. I feel like we got to experience such variety in the short time we were there and I would absolutely love to revisit one day.
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