4 Ways to Ensure a Unique Peru Vacation

If you want to find out how native Peruvians live and what is important to them, you'll have to look off the beaten track. Here are some suggestions for places and activities for tourists who want to encounter the native or 'indigenous' side of the country on their Peru tour or vacation.

Ollantaytambo, a unique town in the Sacred Valley of Peru
A town in the Sacred Valley of Peru where you may come in contact with indigenous people going about their daily business is Ollantaytambo (called Ollanta by the locals). The town is laid out much the same way as it was during the time of the Incas. You travel for one and a half hours by a min-van which runs between the town and Cusco or you can take a combi from Urubamba’s bus station. Ollantaytambo is one of the rare examples of a well-touristed town which still maintains a focus on its indigenous community. Once there, you can visit the ruins which have great religious significance, as they were the last and largest structures for defense where the Incas defeated the Spaniards in battle. Tours can be led by guide or self-guided with a book that can be purchased in the market below the ruins. The tours concentrate not on the battles but on the architectural significance of the canyon and temple walls and the fountains that still function. You can also hike the hill known as Pinkullyuna which has Inca storehouses and overlooks the main ruins. The views are spectacular and the hike, climbing steeply up the valley sides, will be a workout that you won't regret.

Vicos in the central Andes of Peru
Living in ten neighborhoods in the central Andes of Peru near the city of Huarez in the community of Vicos is a group of 800 Quecha families. These families live along the highest
mountain range in Peru and use its natural reserves for their subsistence. An ecotourism project supported by the Mountain Institute has seven guesthouses next to the farmer’s houses, which were selected for their panoramic views and the diversity of the crops produced. Visitors to the area are rotated among the guesthouses with no more than three days at one site. Other attractions in this area include agro-ecotourism, hot springs and mountain climbing with Quecha guides.

Native villages near Iquitos
Near the town of Iquitos can be found several villages that remain untouched by modern development, including San Andrés, Santo Tomás and Santa Clara. Any of these towns can be reached by taxi from Iquitos. San Andrés is home to a National Park that is mostly forests in the high altitude, with high jungle, caves, rivers, reed beds and swamps. Aside from the local indigenous population, visitors will have no shortage of options to get in touch with nature. The vegetation that is predominant includes palms, cedars, mountain walnut trees, miniatures willows, ishpingos, choloques and quinas while the fauna features armadillos, vampire bats, spectacled bears, turkey hens, mountain tapir, deer, pumas, jaguars and the cavern catfish.

Helping children, a social project
Another way to meet Peruvians is through a social project. One of these is the “Casa Hogar Villa Martha” that is located in the Pacahacamc district of Lima and gives a new home of hope of a new life to physically and emotionally abandoned children. The purpose of the home is to give needy children education, protection, love and spiritual and moral support so that these children can become responsible human beings capable of taking care of themselves in the real world once they leave the home. The Villa Martha open its doors to volunteers and provides food and lodging for those who want to spend some time there helping out with the children. Peru has no shortage of social and development projects in all parts of the country - if you're visiting through a Peru tours company and you'd like to get involved, speak to your Peru tours operator for options.

When considering options for your next Peru vacation, try something different and visit a town more remote than the typical tourist locations or consider getting involved in a social project. Any of these will make your visit more unique than vacationing in the typical tourist spots.

Author: Jon Clarke - Escaped to Peru / Escaped to Latin America

Peru Vacation Horror Stories and How To Avoid Them

To paraphrase, "It Happens". If you are traveling independently things won't always go according to plan on your Peru vacation and often the best you can hope for is that the disaster happens to someone else. However, you can always reduce your chances of being the unwilling star of an unfolding travel nightmare by learning from other people's experiences or by having a Tour Operator take the strain. If you decide to go DIY here are 4 classics horror stories and advice to help you avoid a similar fate.

Please remember that 99% of people never encounter problems but as with any foreign country, forewarned is forearmed!

Horror story #1: Peru moto-taxis - vehicles from hell
If a force of evil was ever represented through vehicles, it would probably look a lot like a moto-taxi. Many people think that the whole experience is thrilling and funny but for others it may not be. Speeding recklessly through traffic and polluting the air as much as four to five real cars, there is very little reason for their existence. To add to the fun, one unlucky traveller fell foul of a scheme where drivers partner up with thieves. A taxi drove past him slowly with two people inside; one hopped out and robbed him, afterwards jumping back into the moto-taxi which sped off.

How to avoid the horror: Tourists can avoid problems like these by traveling in authorized taxis taken from your hotel or the airport, having taxis pre-organised by your restuarants, staying clear of bad neighbourhoods and keeping valuables hidden in transit.

Horror story #2: Peru Border crossings - from the frying pan into the fire
Another classic location for scams is when crossing between countries. In a common example, one couple was scammed crossing the border from Peru to Ecuador. They were told by someone who said he was from the only bus company that could take them across the border. He added that he could help them get the bus and the company was sending people to pick up travellers from the bus stations. Instead they were led on a merry dance to a market, then to a car park. Finally the scammers were 'picked up by the police', after which the couple had to pay the scammers several hundred dollars in order to 'cover fines'.

How to avoid the horror: With the benefit of hindsight, the advice is to never trust or follow a stranger in a border area, and to make all decisions at a border slowly and cautiously, asking for opinions of multiple people. Better still have an organized crossing with a guide and your own transport.

Horror story #3: Peru Hotel Experiences - the fine art of Peruvian customer service
Arriving late one night at the bus station an arranging to stay at a hotel with a double room, private bath and toilet, a couple were treated to a fine example of the dark side of Peruvian service. They arrived at the hotel and there was no room for them. They were forced to sleep on the floor of the common area with no privacy, take showers in the filthy workers room, and use the public restroom that had no mirror, soap, or light. They complained to the management, but it was no use. The owner said she did not speak English but during the conversation hid behind her associate and translated the conversation, saying in English at the end, “You are only two, millions come here.”

How to avoid the horror: Use websites such as tripadvisor.com to check out the real stories behind the glossy hotel brochures or select a travel agent to do the work for you. If you end up having a bad experience, you can take your revenge on the same pages to warn the "millions of others". If you choose to book through a tour company that has well-established relationships with hotels, you will add that extra level of guarantee.

Horror story #4: Climbing mountains the unpleasant way
One couple hired a guide to climb the volcano Chachani near Arequipa along with two other people. The mountain has a height of 6,000 meters and people need to acclimate themselves. The guide claimed to be of an international standard. However, the climb, which should have taken eight hours took them fourteen as the guide climbed extremely slowly and did not pay attention to the two other people who were not trained to climb such a height. He did not listen to the explanation of their struggles, and was very rude. This will definately ruin your holiday!

How to avoid the horror: Ask other travellers for recommendations when selecting guides, or only hire guides from respected agencies. Also try to avoid the temptation to cut costs, especially if you are undertaking a potentially dangerous activity such as mountaineering or remote trekking. A better-paid guide will generally provide a better level of service.

Many of these problems come from independent travel, trying to move around too quickly with little preparation and trying to bring costs down to accommodate a small travel budget. A good alternative if you're short on time is to book through a tour agency with a good level of local knowledge and a strong network of trusted tourism contacts. This way, you'll only be reading Peru vacation horror stories, instead of writing them.

Author: Jon Clarke - Escaped to Peru / Escaped to Latin America

4 Ways To Impress A Peruvian In A Cultural Conversation

With the recent award of a Nobel Prize to Mario Vargas Llosa, a Peruvian writer, the arts and culture of Peru are now getting more attention than ever. If you are going for a vacation in Peru, there's never been a better time to impress the locals with your knowledge of Peru’s modern culture, so here are 4 of Peru’s more well-known photographers, writers and painters to get the conversation flowing.

The celebrity portrait photographer
A famous Peruvian fashion photographer is Mario Testino, who was born in 1954. Testino has done a great variety of photography including fashion narratives for Vogue, Gucci and Vanity Fair as well as celebrity shots of such people as Diana Princess of Wales along with her sons; actresses including Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Platrow; models such as Elizabeth Hurley and Kate Moss and performers including Madonna, Lady Gaga and Janet Jackson. Since 1982, Testino has been living in London and frequently photographs the British Royal Family in addition to his work being exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London as well as in many galleries and museums around the world. Most recently his work is being shown in London at the Phillips de Pury & Co auction house.

The indigenous photographer
Considered the only major indigenous Latin America photographer of his time, Martín Chambi Jiménez lived from 1891 until 1973. His photographs were prolific and covered the towns and countryside of the Peruvian Andes revealing their social complexity and giving his photographs profound historic and ethnic documentary value. He photographed almost anything from weddings and fiestas to the poverty of the poor along with the public events shared by both. He was a major portrait photographer in Cusco as well as a photographer of many Peruvian landscapes which he sold primarily as postcards, a format he pioneered in Peru. The New York Museum of Modern Art held a retrospective of his work in 1979 and it later traveled to other locations around the world and inspired more international exhibitions of his work.

The Nobel Prize winning author
Born in 1936, Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, recent winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, is a Peruvian writer, journalist, essayist and politician. He is one of the leading authors of his generation and one of Latin America’s most significant novelists and essayists. He gained international recognition as a writer in the 1960s with his novels such as “The Time of the Hero”, “The Green House” and “Conversation in the Cathedral”. He not only writes novels but across other literary genres such as journalism and literary criticism. Themes for his novels include comedies, murder mysteries, political thriller and historical novels. Several of his novels have also been made into feature films.

The painter famous for "pin-up" ladies
Famous for his paintings of pin-up girls is Alberto Vargas who lived from 1896 until 1982. He was born in Arequipa, Peru but moved to the United States in 1916, after studying art in Europe before the First World War. Early in his career he worked as an artist for the Ziegfeld Follies as well as many Hollywood studios. His fame as an artist of pin-up girls came during the Second World War when his pictures for Esquire magazine became known as the “Varga Girls”. Many World War II aircraft adapted their nose art from those Esquire pin-ups. The “Varga Girls” reappeared in Playboy magazine in the 1960s, leading to a flourishing career with major exhibitions all over the world. Vargas painted mostly with watercolor and airbrush and is considered as one of the finest artists in his genre.

You're ready! Get out there and let your Peruvian hosts know about your appreciation for their culture. Mario Vargas Llosa's Nobel Prize has created a huge amount of national pride, and your knowledge is bound to make you a few foreign friends.

Author: Jon Clarke - Escaped to Peru / Escaped to Latin America