Latour Travel Guide to PERU

Travel Highlights

• Lima - Historic capital with incredible ancient, colonial and modern attractions
  
• Cuzco/Machu Picchu - America's oldest capital and Lost City of the Incas
  
• Nazca - South America's most perplexing archaeological riddle
  
• Arequipa - The White City's cloistered convent now open after 400 years
  
• Iquitos - Peru's amazing Amazon jungle port 2,300 mi. upriver from the Atlantic
  
• Kuélap - Ancient mountaintop citadel now called the second Machu Picchu

Overview
Few travel destinations in the world equal Peru. Nowhere else, for example, may one better appreciate the beauty, grandeur and mystery of lost civilizations than at ancient Machu Picchu. There is no more intriguing archaeological riddle than the great ground drawings on the desert floor at Nazca. In Peru one may cruise the Amazon at Iquitos, surf the Pacific off capital Lima, and visit the ancient Inca capital Cuzco in the high Andes. Dining can be very exotic throughout Peru and shopping equally so at a wide range of Indian markets and modern malls in major cities.

Country Facts
Size: Peru is South America's third-largest country, and with 496,224 sq. mi. it is over twice the size of France. Peru shares borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile.

Population: 22 million

Capital: Lima (pop. 5 million, alt. 500 ft.).

Language: Spanish and many native languages including Quechua and Aymara.

Electricity: Both 110 volts, 60 cycles and 220 volts, 50 cycles. Often a voltage converter and a two-prong plug adapter are necessary for U.S. appliances.

Religion: Roman Catholic

Time: Lima is the same as U.S. Eastern Standard Time.

Public Holidays:
January 1: New Year's Day
Good Friday & Easter Sunday
May 1: Labor Day
June 29: St. Peter & St. Paul Day
July 28 & 29: Santa Rosa
November 1: All Saints Day
December 8: Immaculate Conception
December 25: Christmas

Festivals and Fiestas:
April: Colorful Holy Week processions and festivities are celebrated throughout the country The annual June 24 Inti-Raymi Sun Festival in Cuzco is a most spectacular ancient Inca celebration.

How to get there
American Airlines offers daily non-stop service between Dallas-Ft. Worth and Miami to Lima. Scheduled low-cost air and motor coach service links Peru with neighboring Ecuador, Chile and Bolivia.

City Codes
LIM: Lima
AQP: Arequipa
CUZ: Cuzco
IQT: Iquitos
TRU: Trujillo

Entry Requirements

Valid U.S. passport. No visa required.

Currency
Currency: Peru nuevo sol. Credit cards widely accepted, ATMs in major cities. Banking hours: April - December 9:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.; January - March 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.).

TAXES & TIPPING

Taxes/Surcharges: International departure tax: $25.

Machu Picchu Park Entrance Fee: $10

Hotel taxes & service charges: Most tour packages already include 13% hotel taxes and service charges.

Tipping: Restaurants include a 10% surcharge: for exceptional service 5-10% extra. Taxi drivers are not tipped.

Shopping

Peru offers an irresistible selection of hand-woven textiles, rugs, and sweaters made from alpaca. Popular purchases include dolls, gold and silver filigree jewelry, hand-painted mirrors and very popular llama fur rugs. Iquitos has an intriguing array of jungle handicrafts And weapons including necklaces, blowguns, and spears. Cuzco excels in all things made from llama and alpaca. There are also chic boutiques in Lima's fashionable Miraflores area and in suburban San Isidro's modern Centro Camino Real shopping center. Lima shopping hours: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Monday - Saturday.

Food and Drink
Peru has extraordinary, exotic food plus international favorites. In Peru try the many excellent restaurants that specialize in traditional foods like anticuchos (marinated beef heart grilled over charcoal), chupe (savory gruel usually made with shrimp or fish), papas a la huancaina (spicy cream sauce served over potatoes), ceviche de corvina (raw sea bass marinated in lemon). The list is endless. Aji is spicy Peruvian hot sauce, and many dishes are prepared or served with it. Also Peru's chifas are considered the best Chinese Restaurants outside the Orient. In the Iquitos and Amazon areas the specialties are unusual regional fruits and outstanding river fish. In Cuzco, seemingly endless varieties of corn and potatoes (over 100 varieties) make every meal an adventure. Peru's traditional drink is pisco sour made from grape brandy with egg white, lemon juice and sugar. Good Peruvian wine (Tacama) is available and the national beer is excellent. Peru's big soft drink is Inca Cola.

Telephone

Country code: (51); Lima (14), Arequipa (54), Iquitos (94), Trujillo(44) and Cuzco (84)

Weather
Because Peru's topography is so varied the weather is also. Jungles, an arid coastal strip and the high Andes all have distinctly different weather. Coastal Lima's climate is mild: June-September can be cloudy and unexpectedly cool. The jungle areas are always hot and humid, with the rainy season between November and May. In Cuzco's high altitude (11,444 ft.), average daily temperature is around 50°F degrees, nights are cold; the rainy season is December through April. Arequipa enjoys an average temperature around 70°F degrees with rain mostly between January and March.

Getting Around
Major international gateway city is Lima. Nonstop flying time to Lima is just under six hours from Miami. From Lima one can visit major cities and most attractions by air. Frequent daily flights connects Lima with Cuzco (1 hr.), Iquitos (1 hr. 30 min.), Arequipa (1 hr. 10 min.) and Trujillo(50 min). Between Cuzco and Machu Picchu transportation is by train.

The Machu Picchu train departs early in the morning prior to the arrival of most flights from Lima, requiring an overnight in Cuzco before continuing on. From Cuzco one can also take the 14-hour train ride through the Andes south to Puno on Lake Titicaca, where a crossing may be made into Bolivia. Reliable, scheduled motorcoach service links all Peru and neighboring countries; however, the mountainous terrain makes surface transport to many areas a very long trip (Lima - Cuzco, for example, can take up to 36 hrs. one way). In Lima and major cities taxis are plentiful and inexpensive.

MAJOR DESTINATIONS

The Desert Coast:
The long desert coastal strip from north to south varies from 10 to 100 miles in width. Along this narrow ribbon are some of Peru's most fascinating areas starting with:

Lima Capital of Peru founded in 1535 by the Conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Lima was the center of the Vice-Royalty of Spain in South America until the early 19th century. Built on both sides of the Rimac River, Lima is a combination of colonial buildings sprinkled with modern skyscrapers. The Plaza de Armas retains its colonial grandeur, and there are excellent museums, including the famed private gold collection of the Mujica Gallo family. Equally famous is the extensive collection of pre-Inca ceramics (including erotic masterpieces) at the Larco Herrera Museum. Lima has excellent hotels, restaurants and shops both downtown and in the modern suburbs of Miraflores and San Isidro. Nearby on the coast are the ruins of Pachacamac, the largest Inca coastal citadel when the Conquistadors arrived.

Trujillo Eight hours by road or one hour by air from Lima, Trujillo is located in a green oasis with a background of Andean foothills and peaks. Founded by Pizarro in 1536 (and named after his birthplace in Spain), the city has many graceful old churches, colonial balconies and windows overhanging its modern streets. Nearby is Chan Chan, the imperial city of the Chimu civilization. Also near Trujillo is Huanchaco, where fisherman surf and fish the Pacific using the traditional, long narrow boats called caballitos (little horses) made of totora reeds.

Sipán and Tucumé Newest major archaeological discoveries in Peru are located in the northern desert near the city of Chiclayo. At Sipán one may peer down into graves now being uncovered by archaeologists where the richest tomb of Inca gold ever excavated in modern times was uncovered. The nearby museum at Lambayeque displays a great deal of the treasure uncovered at Sipán. Also nearby is Tucumé, a vast adobe complex of pyramids, where the explorer Thor Heyerdahl maintains his home Casa Kon Tiki.

Paracas Three hours south of Lima on the Pan American highway, Paracas Peninsula has a National Park and marine preserve with the world's highest concentration of marine life. A small resort-style hotel serves as a base to visit the area, which also includes a museum with mummies and ceramics. From Paracas Bay one can see the mysterious Candelabra ground drawing etched into the northern face of a mountain overlooking the sea.

IcaThirty minutes inland by car from Paracas one reaches the vineyards of Ica, home of Peru's pisco, the popular grape brandy. Ica is a lush oasis in the midst of huge rolling sand dunes along the desert coast. Ica has accommodations and a local museum with artifacts from civilizations between the early Paracas and Inca period. The surroundings feature olive and jojoba groves, plus ranches where Peru's famed paso horses are bred.

The e asiest way to overfly the Nazca lines is from the small airstrip in Ica located adjacent to the oasis-style Las Dunas hotel.

Nazca An eight-hour drive south of Lima, the small town of Nazca is beside the famous lines that are one of the world's great enigmas. With several hotels, Nazca serves as the base from which to overfly the lines. Mystery ground drawings cover the desert floor in a collection of gigantic designs and figures, some dating before Christ. Often made of one continuous line, drawings are as large as two football fields and some lines are 40 miles long! From the air one can make out the figures of a whale, dog, monkey, iguana, spider, flowers, lizards, and many birds (one with a wing span of 300 ft.). There are also intriguing spirals and geometric shapes. Full-day air excursions highlighted by Nazca overflights are also available directly from Lima.

The High Andes:
The Andes range from North to South along Peru like a backbone covering 26% of the country. Their soaring peaks and green valleys provide spectacular scenery. Nestled within are some of Peru's most popular and legendary destinations:

Cuzco Ancient capital of the Inca, Cuzco is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Western Hemisphere. At 11,444 ft., it's best to rest upon arrival. Cuzco offers a wide variety of hotels from tourist to deluxe, quality restaurants, and several nightclubs with folklore shows. The city tour of Cuzco includes the nearby ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Kenko and Tambo Machay. Cuzco is also the starting point for excursions into the Sacred Valley of the Incas to visit towns like Pisac - famed for its Sunday morning Indian market, the mountainside city of Ollantaytambo, and highland Chincheros.

Machu Picchu The fabled "Lost City of the Incas." Set atop a mountain peak three hours by train from Cuzco, Machu Picchu is one of South America's most outstanding excursions and requires a minimum of a full day. Here are the remains of a city never discovered by the Spanish Conquistadors - ancient staircases, terraces, temples, palaces, towers, fountains, and the famous Temple of the Sun. A small hotel at the ruins provides hot lunches for day visitors and comfortable overnight accommodations. Advance reservations are required. An overnight here is an unforgettable experience

Kuélap and ChachapoyasIn Northern Peru, near the town of Chachapoyas (capital of the State of Amazonas), a great many pre-Inca ruins and sites are now accessible to visitors. The most imposing of all is Kuélap, a titanic citadel, or fortress, that is being called the "second" Machu Picchu. Here there are far more questions than answers. A new road now links the vast complex with Chachapoyas, and a trip to the site can be made in a full day. Also near the neighboring small town of Lamud, treks are now offered to view Easter Island-like statues containing mummies that amazingly stand imbedded in towering canyon walls.

Puno At 12,500 ft., Puno stands upon the shore of the world's highest navigable lake - Titicaca. Legends say the first Inca arose from its depths and went on to found his empire. Most travelers reach Puno by train from Cuzco. Hotels provide comfortable overnight accommodations while travelers explore the area. Boat excursions visit the floating islands of the Uros Indians, the ancient mystery towers of Sillustani and the legendary Island of the Sun. From here one can continue across the lake via scheduled hydrofoil service to Bolivia.

Arequipa Called the "White City" because of many striking colonial buildings made from pearly white volcanic sillar. Arequipa sits at the base of towering El Misti volcano's snow-capped, nearly perfect cone that reaches 19,000 ft. Highlight is the Convent of Santa Catalina, which was closed to outsiders for over 400 years. The walled convent is now open as a museum that exposes the once cloistered world.

Huaraz Eight hours by car from Lima, Huaraz is located in the mountainous heart of the Callejon de Huaylas region. Here a spectacularly beautiful valley runs between the snow-less Cordillera Negra (rising to 13,000 ft.) and the snow-covered Cordillera Blanca, whose highest peak soars to 22,205 ft. Many colorful villages dot the valley. With no less than 23 peaks visible on clear days, Huaraz is the gateway to some of Peru's most scenic and inspiring trekking. From here one may visit the Chavin de Huantar ruins, a fortress temple built around 600 B.C. One may still see marvelous carved stone heads, designs in relief on symbolic stone figures and the famed dagger-shaped monolith.

Huancayo In the Andes east of Lima, Huancayo is reached by one of South America's great train rides. Reaching an altitude of 15,800 ft., the train traverses 66 tunnels, 59 bridges, makes 22 zigzag switch backs and passes the highest standard-gauge rail station on earth at Galera! A Sunday Indian market specializes in food, fresh produce, textiles and handicrafts including carved gourds, ponchos and alpaca goods.

The Peruvian Amazon The selva or Peruvian jungle covers nearly 60% of the country and is sparsely populated with only 5% of the country's inhabitants.

Pucallpa Five hundred thirty three nautical miles from Iquitos (there is no road), Pucallpa is a rapidly expanding jungle town and capital of the Department of Ucayali. Accessible by plane from Lima (1 hr.) and Iquitos (20 min.), there are several well-run jungle lodges nearby which offer a close up look at life in the Amazon. Most popular excursion is to Lake Yarinacocha and the Moroti-Shobo Indian market.

Iquitos Located on the Amazon 2,300 miles from the Atlantic, Iquitos is Peru's second-largest port. Several hotels in town provide accommodations while a variety of jungle lodges are one to four hours downriver. The jungle accommodations range from cabanas with private bath to more rustic shelters offering camping-style facilities for one or more nights. Camping treks can be arranged and expedition-style boats for 4-12 persons provide multi-day in-depth visits to many Amazon tributaries. Visitors may easily reach the Yagua Indian tribe who lives near Iquitos. Deeper in the jungle excursions can contact the Huitotos and Shipibos.

Puerto Maldonado On the Andes eastern slopes, Puerto Maldonado is reached by plane from Lima via Cuzco. Puerto Maldonado is the gateway to three superb jungle preserves - Manu National Park, Tambopata Wildlife Reserve and Rio Heath Pampas Sanctuary. Within the Tambopata Wildlife Reserve two jungle lodges provide an opportunity to view the 547 species of birds, 1,100 species of butterflies, 150 species of dragonflies and mammals including the giant otter. Yellow Fever Vaccination is required.

• 1 rain suit (jacket & pants) or poncho.
  
• 1 jacket/windbreaker (rainjacket) can double for this) and/or sweater/sweatshirt.
  
• 2 long cotton or other lighter pants.
  
• 2 long sleeve, tight-weave cotton shirts.
  
• 1 pair of shorts or bathing suit.
  
• 1 wide brim hat for sun and rain.
  
• 2 bandanas.
  
• 1 pair of lightweight hiking boots.
  
• 2 pair of tennis shoes or similar. Bring at least 1 old pair that can get dirty.
  
• Underwear, socks.
  
• Use subdued colors in the jungle, as bright colors may scare wildlife. Long sleeves and long pants are very important for protection from sun and insects.
  
• Binoculars - a must.
  
• Plastic water bottle (1 qt.)
  
• 1 towel (thin, quick drying)
  
• Toilet kit.
  
• Personal first aid kit.
  
• 6 large plastic bags or stuff sacks (to compartmentalize clothes, laundry, wet items within your duffel).
  
• Flashlight with spare batteries.
  
• Pocket knife.
  
• Sunglasses.

OPTIONAL

• Camera gear and film
  
• Hand lens.
  
• Make sure that you pack several plastic bags to protect camera equipment from sudden downpours during outings or canoe trips.
  
• Reading material, journal.
  
• Tape recorder for recording jungle sounds.
  
• Cord (clothesline, repairs, shoelaces, etc.)
  
• Drying agent or silica gel to pack inside your camera case

Special Interest Travel

Archaeology Peru offers outstanding opportunities including: Cuzco/Machu Picchu, Trujillo (Chan Chan), Chiclayo (Lambayeque, Tucumé, Sipán) and Nazca.

Mountain Climbing and Trekking Besides trekking the Inca Trail between Cuzco and Machu Picchu, excellent mountain climbing and trekking programs are available in the Callejón de Huaylas and the Cordillerra Blanca area.

Nature Peru's wildlife preserves contains some of the rarest, most exotic species on earth. In the Paracas Peninsula and Colca Canyon one can see condor. In the Manu National Park and Tambopata Wildlife Preserve new species of birds are still being discovered!

FolklorePeru has many festivals. The Inti-Raymi Festival of the Sun God (June 24/solstice) in Cuzco is the largest, best known and most dramatic.