Road to Cusco

The Road to Cuzco

  San Luis bus company was only 45 minutes late getting started. We left Puno and started climbing. The beginning of the route took us through a number of small,…

Taquile

Our next stop was the island of Taquile.  It was a rainy, steep climb, but we were rewarded with views to Bolivia from the main square.  We spent some time…

Exploring Amantani Island, Peru

Amantani Island Amantani Island is in the big part of Lake Titicaca, about three hours by boat from Puno. We organized our trip with a local operator recommended by our…

Uros

Floating Islands of the Uro

Las Islas Flotantes de los Uro are one of the must-sees near Puno.  The story we heard was that when the aggressive Colla and Inka started pushing the indigenous communities…

Colca Canyon

Colca Canyon, Peru

Bright and early, we set off on a two-day excursion into the mountains.  Located about 100 miles from Arequipa, Colca Canyon is one of the deepest in the world, about twice as…

Santa Catalina Convent

The convent of Santa Catalina is like a city within a city.  It takes up around five acres.  It was built in 1580 and later expanded.  Nuns lived in the…

Plaza de Armas, Arequipa

Visiting the White City: Arequipa, Peru

Arequipa, the White City Arequipa is called the white city, as many of its buildings are built from a kind of white volcanic stone, sillar (ignimbrite). There are many churches and…

Nazca Lines

The world famous Nazca Lines are said to have been created by the Nazca and maybe by the earlier Paracas people between 200 BC and 700 AD.  No one knows…

Verano Negro

We arrived in Chincha just in time for Verano Negro (Black Summer), an annual eventsort of like carnaval, celebrating Afro Peruvian culture, history and traditions.  Here and nearby Carmen are the cradle…

Chiclayo y El Señor de Sipán

Exploring Chiclayo Chiclayo is about three hours north of Trujillo in northwest Peru, not far from the coast. It was founded near the Northern Wari ruins, an important archaeological site….