Imaan Abroad

This post is an introduction to my 2022 trip to Peru. I went a bit overboard planning this trip. I’ve never made such a detailed itinerary or booked so many things in advance. I really only had two unplanned days on this trip (and could not make a decision on what to do with those two days until the very last second- the options were all too good!) 

I think my obsessive planning came from the fact I had been working full time and only had a finite amount of vacation and lots of time to plan it. Or because I hadn’t been traveling in 3.5 years and was just so excited. I was also traveling with a partner and I wanted everything to be absolutely perfect for our time there. And it basically was, this trip to Peru was magical. I’ll speak about my experiences there in more detailed, separate posts, but here is an overview. 

Peru is a country rich in history and stunning nature. It has a wide variety of landscapes and there are endless things to do. The harsh terrain and high altitudes make it a very special and unique place. You can get it all in one trip- mountains, beaches, desert, adventure, history. 

Peru has a long, pre-Spanish history and was home to the Inca Empire. The archeological sites are absolutely incredible. The most famous is of course Machu Picchu, but the stone buildings at Pisac, agricultural terraces at Moray, and what is left at the Saqsaywaman site are fascinating evidence of how these people lived. The city of Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire and remained a major city after the Spanish conquest. It was easy to learn about the Inca history when we were there, the guides at the archaeological sites were knowledgeable, enthusiastic and full of fun facts. The sacred animals of the Inca, the puma, the condor and the snake, as well as the llama were built into their buildings using large stones and it was fun to try and spot the different animals at the sites we visited. 

If you’re into podcasts, I would recommend listening to Unexplained Mysteries episodes on Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines. I love a good history podcast and this one is a fun way to get a little info before you visit these sites!

Food

This country is also well known for its food. Thankfully I was traveling with someone who appreciated this as much as I did so we could fully explore all of Peruvian cuisine. A friend we met there put it well, he said that it isn’t so much the food as the gastronomy. It isn’t so much what they’re cooking as how they are specially preparing every dish in an extremely unique way. Nikkei cuisine is a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cooking, basically Japanese style food but enhanced with Peruvian spices and local ingredients. The most famous example of this is of course ceviche which you’ll find on nearly every menu. Another popular dish is Tiradito, raw sliced fish in aji pepper sauce or with leche de tigre. We also had a lot of traditional Peruvian food, such as Lomo Soltado, a beef stir fry. We tried cuy (guinea pig), which is traditional in Andean cuisine and has been eaten there since the Inca times. I believe it is currently only eaten on special occasions and by tourists- we passed through a town in the sacred valley that had dozens of restaurants serving this delicacy and some pretty funny images of guinea pigs on their signs, and even a giant guinea pig statue outside one of the restaurants (a little off putting if you come from a country where we keep them as pets). Eating in Peru was an absolute joy, our evening dinners were a fun part of the day where we would try new things and were constantly delighted by this wonderful cuisine. 

Travel Route

Deciding where to go in Peru was challenging. There was so much we didn’t get to see on this trip such as Iquitos and the Amazon Rainforest in the north or Arequipa and Lake Titicaca in the south.

Our planned route was Lima (1 night) – Huacachina (1 night) – Cusco (6 nights) – Mancora (5 nights) – Lima (3 nights) with a layover in Mexico city for a night each way.

This isn’t a usual route to travel around Peru, however we wanted to explore Cusco and the Sacred Valley, as well as spend some time at a beach town surfing while we worked remote for a week. (You’ll find our itinerary at the end of this post).

Accommodation

Lima: We stayed at two different Airbnbs, both in Barranco. The first one had a rooftop hot tub and was so much fun, we spent an evening here drinking wine with another local couple who gave us lots of tips at the start of our trip. The neighbourhood was fantastic and we were close to lots of colourful buildings, cute restaurants and a few blocks away was a stunning view of the ocean. 

Our second accommodation in Lima was also in Barranco but we only ended up having one night here. It was really easy to find lots of beautiful Airbnbs in Lima, I researched the different neighbourhoods and it seemed like Miraflores or Barranco were the most tourist friendly, artsy, bohemian parts of the city and seemed to fit the vibe I was after. 

Huacachina: Wild Rover Hostel. I thought it would be a fun experience to stay in a private room of a hostel for one night and I kept reading everywhere online that Wild Rover was a super fun spot in Huacachina and thought a night of partying wouldn’t hurt. I thought wrong. We were so exhausted from our excursions in the day and this was where our stomach bug started so we were definitely not in the mood for partying. Unfortunately, once the music from the hostel stopped at 1 or 2 am, we found out that our room backed onto a nightclub which started playing music so loud the whole room was shaking until about 6 in the morning. Ear plugs were no use this night, it was awful. I would recommend staying somewhere more peaceful and heading over to the hostel if you feel like checking out the party. We did enjoy the pool the next day and it was a fun place to meet some other travellers, but I think I am officially too old for a party hostel. 

Cusco: We ended up staying in Cusco for 6 nights rather than 4. I couldn’t decide on an accommodation in Cusco so I chose two and booked them each for two nights. We ended up staying at a third one for our last two nights as well. In Cusco we chose to stay at hotels as there were tons of great, quite reasonable options. The three we stayed at were: Antigua Casona San Blas, Rumi Wasi, and Andean Wings. 

I would have stayed the whole time at Antigua Casona San Blas. It was one of the most beautiful hotels I’ve stayed in. It was a gorgeous stone building and everything felt effortlessly trendy. There were so many cute touches, each night we came home to hot tea in our room waiting for us and hot water bottles in our bed. The included breakfast was a full restaurant menu, not just a breakfast buffet- they even packed us togo breakfast when we went to Machu Picchu. And the bed was the most comfortable place I’ve ever slept, which you’ll want with all the adventuring you’ll be doing when in Cusco! 

The other two accommodations were both lovely and quaint. I chose the Rumi Wasi partially because my brother’s name is Rumi (which it turns out means Stone in Quechua, the ancient language of the Incan people). Andean Wings was also a great choice. 

Mancora: We booked five days at the Selina Mancora in one of their beach huts. It was an awesome place to stay! The hostel had a beautiful pool, was right on the beach, great food and a pool bar. Our room was comfortable and spacious and you walked out the door right onto the sand of the beach. The only unfortunate part was that there was constant construction happening all day so a midday nap or taking meetings in the room was not really an option. They did have lots of spaces to work remotely, the main cafe area was great for this, as well as the little library. Or my personal favourite, sitting right by the pool with my laptop. 

Itinerary

I’ll end this post with a detailed itinerary of what we did each day. Thanks for reading!

Nov 3: Travel day- Mexico City overnight

Nov 4: Arrived in Lima, Peru. Evening in Barranco.

Nov 5: Overnight trip to Huacachina. Stop at Paracas National Park on the way, boat tour of Ballestas islands (penguins, sea lions, millions of birds). Sandboarding in Huacachina and sand dune buggy adventure.

Nov 6: Psico Tour in Ica. Spent the day at the hostel pool. Bus back to Lima. 

Nov 7: Flight to Cusco. Explored, acclimatized to altitude, shopped around, had dinner in town. 

Nov 8: Machu Picchu!!!

Nov 9: Day in Cusco- Saqsaywaman archaeological site. San Cristobal Church. San Pedro Market. Dinner in town. 

Nov 10: Visit Sacred Valley on a Motorcycle. Drove to Pisaq, Maras salt ponds, Moray, discovered Mountain View Maras. Back to Cusco 

Nov 11: Day 2 on the motorcycle. Adventure to Lares hot springs- this was my favourite day of the trip!

Nov 12: Day trip to the Rainbow Mountain by ATV. Spent the evening back in Cusco- visited the museum of popular art and went to the spa.

Nov 13- Friday Nov 18: Mancora remote work week. Worked, surfed, ate delicious food, hung out by the pool, enjoyed the beach!

Nov 18- Nov 21: We were supposed to be in Lima for the weekend, however due to a crash at the Lima airport we got stuck in Mancora until late on Sunday the 20th and only had a half day on the 21st to explore Lima. The things I had planned for us in Lima included paragliding, visiting museums, eating delicious food, taking a cooking class, and day trips from Lima to other surf spots or nearby sites. 

Nov 21: Day in Lima, left in the evening.

Nov 22: Mexico City for the day, watched the Mexico world cup soccer game at the Fifa fan area, ate lots of street tacos, visited an art gallery, walked all around the city.