We absolutely LOVED Peru. If South America is a continent of adventure, Peru is the capital. If you are tossing up countries to visit and you’re interested in hiking and the outdoors, this should be at the top of the list.

ITINERARY

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we would like to take this opportunity to again reiterate HOW BIG South America is, and HOW FAR things are. This is particularly relevant to Peru, one of the larger countries. Again – did we follow our own advice? Absolutely not. This was a country filled with 18-hour overnight bus rides, and we loved every minute of it. We’re about to take you through our itinerary, suggestions, highlights (Salkantay trek), and lowlights (see below pooping episode). But we must first draw your attention to a particularly important piece of advice:

DON’T BE A DICK AND THINK YOU’RE ABOVE FOOD AND WATER SAFETY

If you are anything like us, you can sometimes get a little complacent. Maybe, just maybe, you’ve been pretty lax on the water and food safety thus far in your South American travels. For us, we’d been through Argentina, Chile and Ecuador before hitting Peru, and had been absolutely, perfectly, stomach-trouble free. This lead us to be confident in drinking water while we were out (admittedly one desperate day in Argentina called for a suckle on a public street tap, but we don’t talk about that), and also with our eating.

I’m grateful we were, because lots of our great experiences came from the Central Markets in each town we visited, and the local produce we bought there.

We were perhaps, a little arrogant crossing the border into Peru, and our consequent illness was instant. We didn’t recognise the difference in cleanliness, and both ate ceviche (raw fish) without thought. This is a big no-no but also a Peruvian delicacy. If you were to bring ceviche to Nicole, she might vomit on the spot. If you asked me, I could be tempted to try it again, but you would need to be persuasive. We’re not saying don’t eat it, but certainly make sure you’re eating somewhere clean and reliable. Check reviews!

One of us (Nicole) may also have bought some fruit juice off of the street, and lapped it up in the heat. One of us (Nicole) was much sicker than the other.

So, moral of the story, the countries in South America vary significantly in food and water safety and hygiene. Typically, the water in Argentina and Chile is safe to drink. The same is not the case for Peru and Bolivia. This may mean you have to (sadly) buy the bottled water, and stick to fruits and veggies that can be peeled. It’s easy to get into your traveller pants and feel invincible, unlike the rest of the gringos. Trust us, you’re not.

Small (but important) detour. Back to the itinerary.

MANCORA

Mancora was our first stop in Peru, and the scene of the above-described ceviche/juice incident. It’s a very small, cool-vibe beach town. Note that I use the word town, but the tourist area is more like a two-way street on the other side of the beach. This street is lined with tuk-tuks running tourists around for a ridiculously low cost.

I do remember being rather shocked about the disparity between Mancora and the places we’d been through in Argentina, Chile and Ecuador. Poverty was much more recognisable. This is not to dissuade you – but merely to prepare! The people were equally kind and generous, and we felt just as safe.

We were very excited about the prospect of surfing here after reading other backpacker’s blogs. Alas, do not be fooled – the surf is less than ideal. Waves are strong, and break rather violently directly onto the sand. The beach is also not ‘beautiful’ by Australian standards, and though long, is busy and a little dirty. Slightly disappointed, we set aside visions of catching waves in pristine conditions, and instead swam, relaxed and burned on the beach. It was grand.

Mancora may be considered a surf town by day, but it is a party town by night. Most of the party happens at Loki Hostel. We were given advice to stay here, but were very glad we didn’t. We instead stayed at The Point Hostel, which was easier to book, had (we thought) a better, less high-school feeling party scene, and excellent vibes. Our stay revolved around beach volleyball at the hostel’s own court, swims in the pool, group dinners and hammock snoozes. Again, it was grand.

For Mancora, you’ll be surprised to know we don’t have a great deal of food tips. We mostly ate our hostel dinners (one issue with The Point – no kitchen). The thing to try is ceviche (raw fish), which is the delicacy of the area. We would not dissuade you from doing so – but if you read the above poop-section, just read reviews to make sure you’re eating somewhere clean!

Quick Mancora run down
– Stay at The Point, rather than Loki
– We’d recommend 2-3 days here, it’s small!
– Don’t be surprised by the size or run-down feeling, you’ll feel great after an hour here
– Waves are not great, despite the famous surf
– Try ceviche at a researched restaurant
– Going out at night, use the tuk-tuks and don’t walk along the beach*

*surprise surprise, Anna and Nicole were cheap and tried to avoid paying the $2AUD transport home from a night out at Loki and attempted walking home, despite all advice. This got a little sticky (whoops). Don’t do it – pay!

HUARAZ

Sadly, given the ceviche situation in Mancora, we were both unwell in Huaraz and didn’t get to realise our hiking dreams. However, if you are a hiker, this is the spot for you. It’s an excellent place to use as a base for hikes, as most backpackers do. Famous treks include Laguna 69 (1 day) and Santa Cruz (3-4 days), but there are PLENTY to do. If you’re short on time, Laguna 69 is very manageable and only takes a day. We heard amazing things about Santa Cruz, but unfortunately couldn’t go on our organised trek. In fact, this may have been a disguised blessing: we later met a couple who had done the trek at the same time we had planned (February), and said it was horrendous, with non-stop rain and leaking tents. If you’re thinking of doing this trek, perhaps check weather first!

In an unfair turn of events, Anna the less eager hiker was able to do Laguna 69, while Nicole was stuck in bed with a sad case of the ceviches. Sadly, it was discovered too late that in fact Anna had similar ailments, and was definitely not in appropriate shape for a hike at high altitude. For that reason, we won’t go into great detail about the hike, because our experience was definitely skewed. Everyone else on the hike LOVED it, and mostly found it tiring but approachable. Note that it does get to a relatively high altitude of 4500m (14,764 ft).  

As two sick ducklings feeling a little sorry for ourselves, our Huaraz recommendations are slightly lacking. What we CAN do is give you a grand suggestion for a relaxed cafe to spend a day puzzling and eating (note: this was a mistake. Turns out we were not yet ready to consume food – whoops again).

California Cafe has a lovely atmosphere, with a free book exchange and good tunes. Most imporptantly, as alluded to above, there are JIGSAW PUZZLES, and phenomenal carrot cake and falafel wraps. Yum.

Quick Huaraz run down
– Great base for hikes – Santa Cruz for a longer one, Laguna 69 for a shorter one
– EAT AT CALIFORNIA CAFE
– The Central Markets have guinea pig to try (eating, that is), and are cool to check out

LIMA

Still feeling a little sorry for ourselves, off we left to Lima. This is a pretty big hub for travel, and if you’re backpacking around Peru chances are you’ll have to pass through Lima at one point. Emphasis on pass through – we wouldn’t spend any more time here than you have to. Lima is huge, which makes it difficult to walk around. It’s also very city-based, and didn’t feel (to us) like it had the same charm as the rest of Peru. We were also still sickly, so activity was minimal. We CAN however, give two recommendations for Lima:

The Pan De Chola bakery in Miraflores is a glorious bakery, with home-made breads, delectable toasted vegetable sandwiches, good coffee and lip-smacking baked goodies.

The Healing Dog Hostel is a perfect place to stay. Initially chosen by us due to the free breakfast including HOUSE-MADE PEANUT BUTTER, the vibe is relaxed and the travellers are friendly.

Quick Lima run down
– Pretty likely you’ll have to pass through, make the most of your time by lapping up the foodie culture
– If alternatively you can skip Lima, we would