PERU

Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings

Border crossing into Peru just out of Macara: Check in Macara before hand as to whether you get the Ecuador departure stamp at the actual border crossing, or back up the road in Macara. We got to the border only to be told we had to go back to Macara to get stamped out of the country, and Peru wouldn't let us in without a departure stamp from Ecuador. Apparently they keep changing their mind, some weeks you get it at the border, other times at Macara.
David Dolan - Australia (Aug 98)

The mosquitos up in Machu Picchu seem to have gotten worse. This is my second time there and they did me and everyone in my group in. A word of advice: Buy repellent with DEET or you're history and wear pants. Even reprellent does nothing for these killer bugs that leave your legs and arms bleeding when they're done with you. I call it Atahyalpa's Revenge.
Carolina Miranda - US (Oct 98)

Travellers cheques are a nightmare to change in Peru and there are often very high charges for paying with credit cards - be sure to ask before having a meal, buying souvenirs etc. The best way is to withdraw cash from ATMs with VISA - quick, easy, no hassle.
Tessa Katesmark - UK (Oct 98)

Banco de Credito cashed Visa traveller's cheques at no commission (can you believe it?) in Pisco, Nazca, Puno and Cusco. In Lima and Iquitos they refused point-blank to cash them at all, which means either resorting to Banco Continental, at 15 soles commission ($5), its the only bank which will honour them, or the money-changers in the streeet. They charge 6 soles ($2) commission (but you take the risk of being given duff notes). I find it strange that the money-changers can cash traveller's cheques, but the majority of banks can't. What's going on?
Eliose Liles - UK (Oct 98)

A little hint for when you are in the Andes trekking at hight altitudes. TAKE DIAMOX. It really helps with altitude sickness, but the secret is to take only half the pill. Nepalese doctors found that taking a whole pill often made you feel worse than before, but if you break it in two, take one in the moring and one before you go to sleep, you'll be just fine.
Roisin - US (Oct 98)

Remember to buy your Cusco Visitor Ticket ($10 or 30 soles) which gives access to several museums and cathedrals as well as to all the sites around Cusco. I just about walked the whole town of Cusco to find it! The only place you can get it from nowadays is the OFEC office (Oficina Boleto Turistico) which is located in Casa de Garcilaso on Esquina Garcilaso just around the corner from the Museo Historico Regional. The opening hours are Monday to Friday from 7.45 am till 6 pm and Saturday from 8.30 am til 1 pm. They put a stamp on it with the date until which the ticket is valid. Be sure to ask specifically for 10 days validation, because otherwise they just give you 5 days. It is no longer possible to enter the listed buildings without the ticket. Separate entrance fees are not allowed anymore.
Sabrina & Frank Van Dierendonck - Belgium (Sept 98)

Cuzco Visitor Ticket -- as of earlier in 1998, the ticket no longer includes Santa Domingo/Coricancha. One must pay for that separately. There was a handwritten sign up at Santa Domingo that addressed this issue. I forgot what the entrance fee was, but it was relatively nominal.
Ken - (August 98)

We had Thomas Cook Mastercard Traveller's Cheques, and regretted it.... you say that these and American Express are the most accepted, but we found that American Express were much better. We could not get Thomas Cook accepted anywhere until about 2 weeks after we got into Peru, whereas some guys on the street would even consider American Express.
David Dolan - Australia (Aug 98)

Nazca: Maria Reiche is dead as of June this year and there is now a good museum at the house where she lived. Entrance is less than $1. It's approximately 20 minutes north of Nazca on the Panamericana. Obviously she doesn't give talks anymore at the Hotel Nazca Lines. Flights also tend to be cheaper approximately $40.
Recently a group of tourists were robbed out at the Chauchilla cemetery so most of the agents now hire private guards to do an organised tour with you. Another incnetive not to use an unlicensed guide.

Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu Due to the fire in Sept. 97, Huayna Picchu is still not able to be climbed. Rumour has it that it will be OK again by the end of this year.

If you take a collectivo out to Tambo Machay to walk back to Cuzco by way of the four Inca ruins, Tambo Machay, Puca pucara, Qenko and Sacsayhuamán, it is easy to miss Qenko. The road signs are misleading: you actually have to walk past the road turning to Sacsayhuamán before you get to the one that leads to Qenko.
Adam Roberts - UK (March 98)

Moving About

In the guidebook it recommends that you take the train from Cusco to Arequipa, changing at Juliaca - a journey of almost 24 hours. This seems a ridiculous waste of time and money: We took the bus which only took 12 hours and was much cheaper too. Admittedly the road was a bit bumpy but the bus was large and comfortable so we hardly noticed.
Annabel Falk - UK (Oct 98)

There is major road construction being carried out right now for almost 200km - right in between Puquio and Chalhuanca, our stationwagon was no match for the current road conditions. The only cars that can do that trip right now, through breathtakingly beautiful landscape, are pickup trucks. And even then it is a slow going. It's a shame because you see plenty of lamas and alpacas and the landscape is great. But most of the time one has to concentrate solely on the next 15 meters ahead of oneself. Right before getting to Chalhuanca the road is the worst: construction is just beginning, and then there are 5 small rivers to cross. If there had not been some friendly locals in a pickup truck I would still be stuck in the middle of a stream with the stationwagon.
My advice is obvious!! Go by plane one-way and then back via Arequipa seems to be the best, in hindsight. According to construction workers, work on the road will continue until at least next March. Once the highway they are building is done it will be beautiful travelling there. Buses are making the journey, but only overnight, so it's bound to be a rough ride without seeing much.
Stefan Ott - Austria (Sept 98)

At Lima Airport you have to pay 25$ (instead of 17$ in the book) when you are leaving the country; about 3$ is the tax for domestic flights.
Andreas Rehberg & Laura Bassotti - Italy (Aug 98)

If making changes to international plane tickets, try not to do so in Peru. All transactions and fees for changing the ticket also incurs a 18% tax-a fee I would not have had to pay if I changed my ticket in Chile.
Katrina Schneider - US (Apr 98)

Air travel in Peru: maybe I had a bad experience but I don't think the guide emphasizes just how unreliable this is. 3 particular points: A) buy from a reputable company, avoid using a credit card and push for multi-flight reductions else you'll be ripped off. B) always reconfirm flights as times often change. C) vegetarian food is rarely available.
Katherine Pike - UK (Jan 98)

An English speaking scam artist gets on the train in Juilaca and spends the trip to Puno advertising a most attractive hostal neal the railroad in Puno. The hostal does not exist according to locals who we met on the train.
Betsy Muldrow - (Dec 98)

I advice everyone against going to the Chan Chan ruins in Peru. My boyfrined and I were wondering around as anybody else would in a ruin and 4 men attacked us. They stole our camera, shoes, shirts and worst of all they raped me. The police did nothing. There were no warnings about the danger of attack or violation. Please, don' t let this happen to you.
Nina - Chile (Nov 98)

We were attacked and robbed at the lookout in Puno, Peru on Oct 15 and would like you to include a warning that travellers DO NOT go to this lookout. We were attacked by 5 men so unless you're in a huge group it is not worth it. The lookout is the highest point near Puno and is reached by following Jr Cornejo to the end then following the path with crosses to the top where there is a large cross (obviously God wasn't watching despite all the bloody crosses!). The tourist police said that they would accompany people who wanted to go, personally I wouldn't recommend going with them either. Apparently tourists have also been attacked on the Inca, a lookout with a statue of an Inca on a rocky outcrop in Puno.
Penny Creswell - UK (Oct 98)

Puno: Beware of a friendly, English-speaking Peruvian guy meeting long-distance buses (dunno whether he meets trains as well). He claims to work for one of the reputable tour agencies in Puno and will try to sell you an excursion (he says for a substantial discount, but its actually the same price as you can get in the agencies). He tried to sell us a trip to Sillustani as we got off the night-bus from Arequipa, and even followed us to the hotel, but would not leave a card when we said we'd like to speak to him later that day as we were too tired to discuss it right then. It transpires that he does this a lot, and has duped several tourists into handing over cash for tours that never materialize. He doesn't work for an agency, he has no business cards and doesn't give receipts, just disappears with the money. so please warn people to always book tours through a proper agency.
Eliose Liles - UK (Oct 98)

Bungee-Jumping from a balloon: The new hip thing to do.
Close to Sacsayhuaman, about a kilometer to the east behind the white Christ Statue, a hot air balloon takes those daring enough up about a hundred meters, then one jumps, bumps up and down and then the balloon, which is at all times anchored to the ground, is lowered again. Jumps are only in the morning, from about 7 to 10 before the wind gets too strong. There is a travel agency on Plaza des Armas opposite of the Cathedral which sells the jumps, but you can just as well go there by yourself-you cannot possibly miss it, the balloon can be seen easily from the Plaza des Armas. One jump (if you go there directly) costs about USD 40.
Stefan Ott - Austria (Sept 98)

Ollantaytambo I almost missed this town, intending to take the train directly from Cusco to Machu Picchu, but a landslide closed the tracks between Cusco and Ollantaytambo, forcing all Machu Picchu visitors through this small town. I consider it a stroke of good fortune. The town is like a living Machu Picchu. The same Inca canchas (city blocks) that you see at the more famous ruin you find in the narrow alleys off the main plaza, but here people are living in the stone houses, keeping donkeys in the yard, smoking meats in the lofts, piling corn and straw on the cactus-studded walls. If you stay overnight here, you can visit the impressive Ollantaytambo ruins in the morning, before the tour buses arrive. Or you can wander up the valley in back of town, through farm fields.
Jerry Azevedo - US (June 98)

I spent 3 months in the jungle near Puerto Maldonada as part of Project Tambopata, an offshoot of Trees. We spent time at 4 eco-tourist lodges: Cuzco Amazonica, EcoAmazonica, Tambopata Jungle Lodge and Sachavakoyoc. Of these the newly opened EcoAmazonia -30 km down the Madre de Dios from PM - was the best in terms of friendliness, wildlife and facilities to explore the jungle. It is run by the people from the now closed Tambo lodge, a very jovial and fun-loving gang. There are many new jungle walks, two canopy viewing platforms with a spiral stairway ascending around enormous Lapuna trunks (unique in this area). There are also small lakes which can be viewed by boat. Isla Mono, or Monkey Island, is normally part of the first day's activity, and provides the rare opportunity to see monkeys within the natural surroundings of a forest. This river island has been "populated" by the lodge with all of the locally occurring species of monkey. The ethics of this are certainly dubious but it is difficult to see monkeys in the jungle and for this reason it appeals to most tourists. The main guide Victor provided a good level of knowledge and is better than all the young gringo guides I met at other lodges.

The lodge offers some good deals to young backpackers, and has a flexible itinerary. Both Cuzco Amazonico and Tambopata jungle Lodge seem to be having difficulties with animal sightings. This was not the case with EA which was by far the best place for spotting monkeys, anteaters, cats (April->June 98). Sachavacayoc is in the process of changing from a study-based lodge to a tourist lodge it will then use many of the walks currently used by TJL. Bill Kemball - UK (April 98)