Anddddd I’m back, this time with an actual guide to travelling various towns/cities in Peru. If you haven’t seen it already, check out my other blog on My thoughts on Peru. for a holistic overview of my opinion on Peru.
1. Mancora
Because what’s at least 1-2 days chilling on a beach and waking up for a morning surf? Peru is known for its beautiful Andes treks, natural lakes & rich history but the coastline cannot be ignored. Prior to my trip, I didn’t realise beach towns like this existed and I’m so glad I crossed the boarder and took a chance on the unknown.
So what is there to do I’m sure you’re asking. Other than the beach days and surf lesions, there are plenty of other things to keep you busy during your visit. One of my top recommendations is the sunset spot on top of the hill overlooking the town. A local family own the bar and have built a lovely area for you to sit and watch sunset. Aside from this, I also did a boat trip with snorkelling and water activities, went to a local spot where you can see turtles in their natural environment & stumbled through the beach town vendors.
2. Trujillo and Nazca
We stayed in a tiny town which had great brunch spots, a small desert for sand-boarding and some great Karaoke bars! It was a nice few days to catch up on writing and socialising without too much crazy activity! From here, you can do trips to view the nazca lines and local beaches!
3. Huacachina
Accesible by bus routes, this is a location you cannot miss. I guess there’s not a great deal to do but staying a couple nights by a desert oasis dune bugging, sand-boarding and sunbathing is such an experience. It’s not something everyone can say they’ve done – I had a great time!
4. Cusco (including Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain)
The beautiful town of Cusco is filled with an abundance of coffee shops, culinary experiences for all budgets and beautiful stone built streets to get lost in. My recommendation is to spend at least a few days in here exploring the food, drinks and history riddled along each new path you stumble across.
Alongside this, people often use Cusco as their base for the Rainbow Mountain hike, trips to Machu Picchu and lake humanity. I chose to do the Lares Trek which is slightly less popular than the Inca trail and I think it was the best decision. All though it’s a little tougher and you don’t finish hiking up to Machu Picchu, you get to trek and camp in what feels like deserted territory instead of seeing floods of tourists.
Rainbow mountain was always a huge dream of mine, it was on my ‘things to achieve before 25’ so it was indeed a special day. Of course, images you see on Instagram are very edited but the mountains as shown below are called rainbow mountain for a reason. It was busy and tough but an all round manageable and beautiful trip!
5. Colca Canyon
Nestled 5500m above sea level is colca canoyon. A canyon that provides beautiful landscapes, hikes and view points. It’s not a location you can stay, but stay in a neighbouring town and take a day trip up. I did struggle with the altitude on this one but luckily the tour guides provided some stuff that helped which I later relied on for future hikes!
6. Lake Titicaca
Last but not least on the list of main attentions is doing a homestay at lake Titicaca (after staying a few nights in the small town of Puno). The local families are super welcoming and kind & teach you their daily work tasks.
The one thing I will say is it’s very sad to see how much tourism impacts their lives. Although it has brought them money, it’s now become normal to showcase their lives for money.
This isn’t everything I did in Peru but it’s the highlights! As always, I’m more than happy to answer any questions you may have!
Lucy’s Travel Diary 