A to Z Travel Blog - Peru

One of my favourite travel destinations in South America is Peru. It is a travel photographer's paradise! With its patchwork terraces, delicious food such as Cerviche and its beautiful people. I love the culture and its colourful outlook through textiles, food, and much more! From watching the animated cartoon series Mysteries Cities of Gold in my younger years, I dreamed of visiting the lost cities of the Incas. You may know about the lost wonder of the world Machu Picchu but have you heard about Ollantaytambo and the pre-Inca site - Huaca Pucllana?

Wild Vicuna at 5,000 feet in the Andes ©MDHarding

A to Z Travel Blog - Peru

Traveling To Peru

We flew from Edinburgh via Amsterdam and onto Lima with KLM. The flights were smooth with great service. Internal flights with Lan Airlines were really comfortable too.

Both the flights and the 16 days/14 night Incas & Conquistadors + Condors & Convents + Lake Titicaca were booked with Llama Travel based in the UK with the travel company Condor providing it in Peru.

There are pros and cons when traveling with a pre-booked tour. We had limited time and this tour ticked all the boxes for us with a lot of the elements being adaptable, small groups, and giving us plenty of time to explore areas on our own.

Lima

The social and economic centre of Peru - Lima has interesting museums and several pre-Inca sites in and around the city including Huaca Pucllana. We thoroughly enjoyed walking this site and discovering its historic past, as well as visiting the Larco Museum.

If visiting and wondering what do to in the evening don't miss The Magic Water Circuit in Lima. The historic 19-acre park is home to 13 illuminated fountains. The main fountain has a musical choreographed performance at 7.15 pm, 8.15 pm, and again at 9.15 pm.

We stayed at the modern Casa Andina Select, Lima

Lima, Peru ©MDHarding

Arequipa

Arequipa is Peru's second-largest city with must-see and do's including Santa Catalina Convent, probably the most interesting colonial building in Peru. Also don't miss the excellent Andean Sanctuary Museum containing the remains of a mummified Inca child that was sacrificed, found close to the summit of nearby volcanoes.