“I would like to go to Peru next summer … what itinerary did you do? Do you have advice on what to see absolutely and what can be avoided instead? ”.
Lately I have been having to answer these seemingly simple questions but in reality not easy at all!
Here, then, to tidy up my head and be able to give you good suggestions, some of the experiences to which I only remember my heart is filled with peace and which, absolutely, you must not miss.
Content index
- Trekking on the Vinicunca Mountain
- The visit to Machu Picchu
Some practical info
- The night on Lake Titicaca guests from local families
-
Trekking on the Vinicunca Mountain
Judging from what you read around, it seems a very difficult undertaking and for which you need a preparation by climbers. In reality, I am 29 years old and I am an absolutely normal girl, sporty yes, but nothing excessive, and I have not suffered from this trekking at all. However, they say it is a subjective question therefore, counting that you are at 5000 meters above sea level if you feel safer taking the Diamox, the famous medicine against altitude sickness, nobody forbids it and it will surely make you feel more relaxed.
Read also: Rainbow Mountain hike 2 days
I didn’t take anything, I had a good breakfast rich in carbohydrates, green manzanille and mate de coca and I went up quietly. My engine was undoubtedly the enthusiasm: I love the mountain immensely in all its forms and the idea of walking at that altitude and in such magical places has given me the necessary energy to get to the top! Two hours scarce and, with the possibility of taking the horse at any point of the climb if someone does not feel like doing it relying only on their own legs, cold climate although very variable depending on the day, surreal panorama. Woe to those who miss it!
- The visit to Machu Picchu
I could say nothing more but it would be an understatement. Machu Picchu is not as expected. I too thought to see something I already knew, to find myself inside the usual postcard and, in fact, my photos show that. But in reality it is not so, it is much more. Seeing believes, going is believing. The advice is to arrive before dawn and wait for the sun to rise while sitting on the edge of the ruins.
Take the bus from Aguas Caliente (the first part at 5.30 but I advise you not to queue after 3.00 at night) or go up on foot (it’s long, evaluate well according to your training!) And then enjoy all that awaits you!
Some practical info
Within the site there is a veto to eat, drink, go to the bathroom, jump, use self sticks, sit with your legs dangling, take off your shoes … in short, you will often hear the sound of the whistles because the security officers are scattered everywhere! Don’t worry about the amount of people … the site is so huge that you won’t even notice that there will be 2500 other people to visit with you!
-
The night on Lake Titicaca guests from local families
those are now touristy and very overrated. I speak of Taquile , or Amantani, where I have been. There you can breathe the air of Peru, the real one. Where the places that host you in their home have nothing else to give you but a bed. No electricity, no heating, a bathroom in the garden if you like, and a sheet metal door that barely closes. They don’t speak your language or Spanish, just Quechua dialect. They are vegetarians (in Amantani), eat unknown tubers and quinoa soups and always wear hats and heavy tights for the cutting cold. But their smiles are something that remains etched.
Read also: Inca Quarry Trek to Machu Picchu 4 days / 3 nights
Their welcome and their totally free generosity are qualities that we, educated and respectable, are not used to. It is tradition, culture, faith in the land and in nature. If you are in Amantani you cannot not go up the Pachamama, the top of the island (they are only 400 meters in altitude, but count that you are always over 4000 meters above sea level!), Hold a stone in your hands and make three laps around the their ‘temple’, and then ask Pachamama what you feel in your heart. You and nobody else. Until you wait for the sunset from up there and then return to the village in the impenetrable darkness of a star-studded sky.
The night in the cold, where their thick alpaca blankets and all your clothes are not enough to keep you warm, the sunrise on the highest lake in the world, the wind that ruffles your hair, the unmatched starry … an experience only. Go, go and go. You won’t be disappointed.
There are still many experiences I would tell. The Huacachina oasis , for example, or the Colca Canyon , places where, in addition to seeing something unique, you can give free rein to your desire for sport (which is necessary if you are like me!): Trekking or zip-line in the canyon, baths in thermal springs, sandboarding on the desert dunes, sunset in front of the oasis. In turn magical and unique experiences.
