Category Archives: Peru

Cordillera Blanca…Lakes, Glaciers, High Altitude Hikes.

2 Replies

August 19, 2018 – August 24, 2018

The Cordillera Blanca (White Mountain Range) of Peru, according to our guide book, is,

“the world’s highest tropical mountain range and encompasses some of South America’s highest mountains”

As we drove, snow and ice capped peaks began to appear behind the nearer mountains that lined the valleys. The steep valley slopes were terraced and green evidencing centuries of farming knowledge. We drove through rural town centres, filled with fruit and produce markets, traditionally dressed indigenous locals, and backpacking tourists readying themselves for long treks in the Andes of Peru.

Continue reading →

El Canon del Pato

Leave a Reply

August 17, 2018 – August 19, 2018

Canon del Pato (Duck Canyon) lies between the Cordillera Blanca and the Cordillera Negra (White Mountain Range and Black Mountain Range), and it is a spectacular drive. The canyon is at times as narrow as 15 metres and the gorge can be as deep at 1,000 metres. Top that off with about 35 single lane tunnels carved out of the rock, and you get a beautiful, exciting drive.

Continue reading →

Huanchaco, Huacas del Luna y Sol and Holy Water

2 Replies

August 15, 2018 – August 17, 2018

We headed back to the coast.  We would have preferred to stay in the mountains, but after seeing what the main highways could be like in the mountains, and seeing that the alternative mountain route to our next planned destination would take us onto secondary and tertiary roads, we decided to stick to some more developed highways even though it was a longer route.

Continue reading →

Precarious Roads, Sleeping at Altitude, and Cajamarca.

2 Replies

August 12, 2018 – August 15, 2018

We started mid afternoon on a 296 kilometre drive that Google Maps estimated would take us 6 hours and 41 minutes.  We knew we would not make it all the way, but we wanted to get some kilometres under our belts.  The maps showed the road as a main highway in Peru, so while we knew it would be slow going in the mountains, we were not concerned with road conditions.  What we ended up on was one of the most beautiful drives of our trip so far, but also one of the most stressful.

Continue reading →

Kuelap, the Most Important Ruins You’ve Maybe Never Heard of…..

Leave a Reply

August 12, 2018 – August 15, 2018

The Chachapoyas (Cloud People) began building the fortified city of Kuelap in the 6th century AD, 600 to 900 years before Machu Picchu.  The walls surround an area of 584 metres by 110 metres, and reach heights of up to 20 metres.  Inside are the ruins of circular homesteads and temples.  The setting for this is the top of a remote mountain, 3,100 metres above sea level (about 700 metres higher than Machu Picchu), in northern Peru, providing incredible views of the surrounding valleys.  So why have you maybe never heard of Kuelap?  Well, until recently it was very difficult to get to, but a recent investment in a cable car has opened up the site, which some claim to be as important as the more famous Machu Picchu.

Continue reading →

Gold, a Lake, Some Hummingbirds and a Very Tall Waterfall

Leave a Reply

August 9, 2018 – August 12, 2018

We drove south along the sandy desert of the northern Peru coast.  It was desolate, dreary and depressing.  The small towns we drove through were littered with garbage, as was the countryside.  We saw people hanging their wet laundry outside of their adobe brick homes, just meters from the highway, and wondered how it could ever be clean when it was dry, because of all the dust in the air.

Continue reading →