© Lonely Planet 4 On the Road CAROLINA A MIRANDA Coordinating Author On this assignment, I literally ate my way through Lima. This gobble-fest was with a friend at a popular chifa (Chinese restaurant) in Barranco (p115 ). After carbo-loading on wontons, langostino fried rice and steamy piles of noodles, we were ready to destroy our livers at the neighborhood’s many – and I mean many – bars. AIMÉE DOWL Southern Peru’s archaeological riches get top billing, but northern Peru’s mysterious ruins – mist-shrouded temples, haunting hilltop sarco- phagi and mummies, mummies everywhere! – turned on the amateur archaeologist in me. My guide at Chavín de Huántar (p422 ) explained details about spine-chilling carvings that brought this ancient world to life. KATY SHORTHOUSE Some bears and me in a village between BETH WILLIAMS That claw pro- Cuzco and Puno (p288 ). My truding from the bottom of this intrepid traveling companion photo belongs to the enormous Steve Wilson and I hit the chupe de camarones (shrimp area as the sun went down, chowder) I devoured after a trek stumbling straight into a huge in the Cañón del Colca ( p187 ). fiesta. The only gringos for It was well earned after a night miles around, we ended up spent in a leaky thatched hut at with places of honor at the the base of the canyon – and postparade festivities. they said rainy season was over! LUKE WATERSON I’d been stranded for two days in the remote town of Pevas (p507 ), located on an Amazon tributary. No boats were headed back to civiliza- tion, so I hitched a lift on this raft. The ‘captain’ intended to sail on it all the way to the Atlantic Ocean! For full author biographies see p560. BEST OF PERU Clinging to the Andes, between the parched coastal desert and the drippy expanse of the Amazon rainforest, Peru offers such a wide range of experiences that it can be difficult to choose between them. Solemn pilgrimages honor gods both Christian and indigenous. Neon-lit discos get jam-packed with reveling youth. Ancient ruins regularly divulge bits of prehistory. And then, of course, there is the food – a bounty of sublime concoctions made from ingredients native and contemporary. Welcome to Peru – it’s going to be one tasty trip. RICHARD I’ANSON 6 Essential Peru There’s north, there’s south, desert and jungle. There are museums to visit, lakes to ogle, waves to surf, labyrinthine cities to explore – and enough ancient ruins to keep archaeologists employed for centuries. Where to start? This is our guide to a few essentials. 7 Lake Titicaca Máncora Less a lake than a highland ocean, the This internationally famous surf spot ( p376 ) Titicaca area is home to fantastical sights: has something for everyone – even folks floating islands made of totora reeds (p207), who don’t hang ten. There’s horse riding, pre-Columbian funerary towers ( p206 ) and hot springs and beach combing to fill the fertility temples full of stone phalluses days, while street parties and beachside ( p212 ). Far out. bonfires light up the nights. Parque Nacional Manu Nazca Lines Covering an area the size of Wales, this The meaning behind these mysterious vast Amazon reserve ( p474 ) protects cloud glyphs ( p142 ) continues to elude scholars. forest and rainforest ecosystems – making Not that it matters. Their magnificence and for maximum wildlife-spotting. Not to be breathtaking scale – which can only be ap- missed: the clay licks that draw hundreds preciated from the air – make them a wonder of squawking macaws. to behold. Monasterio de Santa Catalina Kuélap The eternally graceful city of Arequipa is Archaeology buffs refer to the Chachapoyas home to this dazzling, citadel-sized monas- people’s mountaintop fortress ( p448 ) as the tery ( p164 ), which dates back to the 16th ‘other Machu Picchu,’ but its unique stone- century. It even has its own cafe, serving work and proud position overlooking the pastries and espresso. Utcubamba valley make it a special – and incomparable – place to visit. Lima Nightlife Tourism in Peru is devoted to the past, but The Streets of Cuzco Lima is all about the present. Here, discos Once the capital of the Inca empire, tourist- spin international beats (p117 ), lounges thronged Cuzco ( p220 ) – the gateway to serve frothy fusion cocktails ( p115 ) and the mountaintop refuge of Machu Picchu restaurants draw late-night crowds with a ( p267 ) – is lined with extraordinary cobble- bevy of inventive dishes ( p109 ). stone passageways and indigenous struc- tures that have been inhabited continuously since pre-Hispanic times. 1 ERIC WHEATER; 2 DAVID TIPLING; 3 BRENT WINEBRENNER 2 DAVID 1 ERIC WHEATER; 8 Natural Wonders Get ready to send your vision into overdrive. Peru is home to snow-capped mountains, giant sand dunes, flocks of brightly hued tropical birds, postcard- perfect volcanoes and rocky Pacific outcroppings inhabited by argumentative sea lions. Here’s a rundown of some of the most extraordinary. 9 THIS IMAGE IS NOT AVAILABLE DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS Huacachina Puya Raimondii Towering, undulating dunes the size of small If Dr Seuss designed a plant, this would be office towers hug the coastal desert oasis of it: a 10m-tall behemoth (p72) that takes a Huacachina ( p139 ). The craziest part? You century to burst into thousands of lily-white can strap on a board and glide down the flowers, only to die shortly thereafter. Find face of these monstrous, sandy waves. forests of these in the central highlands ( p326 ) and near Huaraz ( p418 ). El Misti The snow-covered, pointy-peaked volcano Cordillera Blanca that presides over Arequipa, El Misti ( p169 ) Camping in these high-altitude valleys can give Japan’s Mt Fuji a run for its money ( p404 ) can make for the coldest nights of when it comes to perfect form. It was ven- your life, but your first step into daylight is erated by the Incas, who sacrificed humans rewarded with soul-warming views of the at its summit. jagged spine of glaciated peaks against an impossibly blue sky. Islas Ballestas Off Peru’s arid southern shore, these rocky Marvelous Spatuletail islands ( p130 ) are home to colonies of sea Hummingbird lions, masses of endangered Humboldt Few birds can compete with this species’ ex- penguins and lots and lots of boobies – travagantly plumed male ( p452 ), now much brown boobies, that is. easier to see thanks to conservation efforts in the highlands. He’s a small bird, but with Amazon Wildlife a tail like that, he might as well be king of Gaggles of cackling macaws, slinky jaguars, the jungle. languid sloths, mighty anacondas, army ants and iridescent morpho butterflies – Puerto Pizarro the Amazon is home to an astonishing array The sound of nothing but a crocodile mov- of extraordinary fauna. See prime examples ing through dark water adds to the magic at the Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria of these ghostly endangered mangroves ( p493 ). ( p386 ). Visit this eerie world of swamp- rooted trees at dusk, when thousands of seabirds come home to roost. 1 MARK DAFFEY; 2 MICHELE FALZONE/JAI/CORBIS; 3 BETH WILLIAMS DAFFEY; 2 MICHELE FALZONE/JAI/CORBIS; 1 MARK 10 Culture & Tradition This is a country where practices run deep – 5000 years, to be exact. Yet, it is a place continuously energized by fresh influences. In Peru, you can groove to African beats, attend solemn Catholic processions and examine indigenous textiles inspired by pre-Columbian tradition. Take your pick. 11 Arts & Crafts Regal ceramics, detailed dioramas, elaborate reproductions of Cuzco School paintings and handwoven indigenous textiles with intri- cate designs are evidence of Peru’s artful soul. Find the best in Lima ( p118 ), Ayacucho ( p324 ), Huancayo ( p312 ) and Cuzco ( p252 ). Inti Raymi An annual ceremony in honor of the Inca sun god, Inti Raymi ( p240 ) was prohibited by the Spanish for centuries. Visitors to Cuzco, however, can see an interpretation of this pomp-filled ceremony (sans animal sacrifice) every June. Lima Holy Week in Ayacucho Narrow streets cluttered with baroque Catholic rites in Peru don’t get more ex- churches. Rambling colonial structures clad travagant or brilliantly illuminated than in with elaborate balconies. Atmospheric eater- the central-highland settlement of Ayacucho ies and museums stuffed with pre-Columbian ( p321 ), where parades and processions mark treasures. The web of streets ( p87 ) laid out by the week before Easter. Francisco Pizarro in 1532 are still full of life. Asháninka Culture Verano Negro An Amazon tribe known for fiercely resisting Celebrating Afro-Peruvian culture, this festival acculturation (even from Sendero Lumin oso’s in the district of El Carmen in Chincha ( p128 ) terrorists) and for their delicate, geometric features food, music and lots of dance – much textiles, the Asháninka people welcome visi- of it set to the distinct thump of the cajón, a tors to villages outside of Puerto Bermúdez wooden box used as a drum. ( p484 ). 1 RALPH HOPKINS; 2 RICHARD I’ANSON; 3 PAUL KENNEDY I’ANSON; 3 PAUL 1 RALPH HOPKINS; 2 RICHARD 12 Taste of Peru To begin to savor the vast selection of delicacies could take weeks – even months. Every little bend in the Andes produces a divine local dish, featuring everything from rare strains of potato to guinea pig to succulent ocean mol- lusks. Here’s our list of the flavors not to miss. CAROLINA MIRANDA Causas Pisco Sour Potato dishes come in all manner of scrump- The national cocktail ( p60 ), crafted from tious forms in Peru, but none as sculptural the local grape brandy with fresh lime as these incredible potato salads (p58 ), con- juice, sugar and a splash of bitters, is lip- structed in a rainbow of colors and stuffed smackingly good. They taste innocuous but full of vegetables, seafood and chicken.