PeruNorth's musings on events & destinations in Northern Peru, Amazonia ... and beyond. Detailed tour reviews.
An adventurous couple from River Falls, Wisconsin spent a month travelling around South America in late 2023.
They organised the first two weeks in Argentina and (briefly) Chile themselves, then asked PeruNorth to arrange six days in Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, followed by five nights on board the Rio Amazonas historical riverboat, joining in biological rainforest research.
Here are their thoughts on their time in Peru.
Rochester, NY native, Margaret Riley, took here niece, Jessica, on holiday to Peru as a graduation present in June 2022. Their 10-day itinerary took in:
The Sacred Valley
2-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Cusco
Palccoyo (an alternative Rainbow Mountain)
Here is what they had to say about the experience:
“Our trip to Peru was remarkable.
Read a review of a 5-day Amazon River cruise on the luxurious Delfin III.
US couple Michelle Leighton & Rodger Dillon, now based in Switzerland.
Travelled in January, 2020 during high-water season in Amazonia.
“We very much enjoyed the Delfin cruise, the sites, the excursions, and the people we met.
At PeruNorth, we certainly see travel as a mind-broadening exercise, and many clients enjoy reading about the region they are visiting before, during and after their trip.
Here is a list of recommended reads that range from scholarly works investigating specific pre-Columbian ruins or Amazon tribes, to fictional books offering a more general feel for the atmosphere of Latin America.
In this age of social media, we were able to keep a close track on the progress of Anglo-Malaysian clients, Andy & Julia Little, as they travelled from Lima to The Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu to Cusco to Lake Titicaca (both Peruvian and Bolivian sides) and back to Lima. Here is a photographic journal of their 'exciting and action-packed' two-week journey.
There is undoubtedly more than just a masochistic pleasure in hiking to a Peruvian archaeological site. Their awe-inspiring, natural settings can be savoured fully at walking pace; and the emotions unleashed by physical exertion seem to heighten an appreciation for the pre-Colombian, pre-wheeled-vehicle way of life.
In the case of Kuelap, to reach the ruins on foot, you will have had to ascend 1,200 m (3,940 ft) on a beautiful, but largely unshaded trail.
I recently blogged about my 2015 trek on the Salkantay trail, which got me thinking about all my Peru hiking experiences. I've had the good fortune to have trekked most of the routes to Machu Picchu, including doing the Classic Inca Trail nine times, over the course of 16 years working and living in the country. However, now with a family and concomitant responsibility, the opportunities to head into the hills and disconnect for a few days, are few and far between.
I have to go back to August 2009 for the previous multi-day trek, Lares. Reassuringly, the photos reveal that I was using the same faded green hoodie then that I used for the Salkantay trek, six years later!
My first multi-day trek was on the Classic Inca Trail way back in 2000 while working as a Tour Leader … and I was immediately hooked. The scenery, the camaraderie, the archaeology and the sense of achievement upon arriving at the Sun Gate of Machu Picchu after four days’ hiking added up to a wonderful experience.
Now no longer a tour leader accompanying groups around Peru, the opportunity to go trekking in the spectacular Andes mountains have been much reduced. But, after years of longing, I finally completed the Salkantay Trek, one of the alternative routes to Machu Picchu, in July 2015.
