6 stops · 23 days
A much needed resting spot spent relaxing on the beach. With temperatures in the high 20's, the warmest sea temperatures Peru has to offer and Pisco sours aplenty, it was hard to leave. We stayed in a lovely beach hut and listened to the waves crashing right outside our terrace all day every day.
3 days mostly exploring the many great bars, restaurants and coffee shops of Barranco & Miraflores. One of the best cities so far on the continent.
Arequipa is filled with baroque buildings constructed from sillar, a white volcanic stone. It was far more beautiful than we expected, with this stone making up most of the buildings in the large colonial era old town.
The Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru, located about 160 kilometres northwest of Arequipa. With a depth of 3,270 metres, it is the fourth deepest in the world. We took a 3 day trek down into it.
We spent 4 days here waiting for our trek to start and adjusting to the altitude. While obviously a little overrun with tourists coming to and from Machu Picchu, the city still had plenty to offer with excellent museums, restaurants, bars and the sun was shining the whole time we were there.
We did the Lares 2 day trail combined with 2 days of the Classic Inka trek booked through a locally owned and run company called Wayki Trek.
We were so impressed with Cruz del Sur, the bus company we choose for our previous twenty hour journey from Mancora to Lima, that we almost looked forward to this next trip.
The Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru, 160 kilometres northwest of Arequipa. With a depth of 3,270 metres, it is the fourth deepest in the world.
We experienced everything Mancora has a reputation for in our first 24 hours there. A noisy, party beach town popular with gap year students – and a relaxing, beautiful beach…
Booked the Lares 2d with Inca 2d through Wayki Trek.
It’s not just the vastness and depth of the Colca that make it so fantastical, it’s the shifts in its mood. There are more scenery changes along the river canyon's 100km passage than there are in most European countries.
Before we left, the shortlist for Peru looked like this — 23 days planned.
Dashed = we never made it there (this time).