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The
list of wonders Peru has to offer is endless, the more time you
spend there the more you will realize how wrong you were when you
thought, if you ever did, Machu Picchu was all Peru was about. Of
course, a visit to this amazing king of the Andean countries would
not be complete without including the lost city of the Inca’s in it.
Machu Picchu was chosen one of te new seven wonders of the world in
2007 in more than controversial election fuelled by local
governments and consisting in mostly local people voting online or
using the toll free phones their local phone companies had provided.
Yet, whether the election was fair or not is absolutely redundant
for Machu Picchu might as well be one of the most beautiful and
fascinating places on earth, even without the Inca city on it.
Walking the Inca trail is the most rewarding, if tough, way of
getting there. After such an effort the little village of Aguas
Calientes will provide you with hot springs to relax your muscles
before getting on the train back to Cusco. Lima might not be the
nicest capital in Latin America, yet it has so many colonial
buildings to boast, and neighborhoods where life is so calm,
pleasant ad relaxed that you will almost forget you are in one of
the biggest more polluted metropolis there are. Spend a few days in
Barranco or Miraflores, go to Chorrillos or La Herradura for a
superb ceviche, and enjoy life and sea food along the Costa Verde.
From Cusco, the old capital of the Incas, you can go all the way
down to the Amazon jungle, right where the Amazon River begins its
fascinating journey through the continent. Or travel atop the
mountains to Puno, enjoying superb views of the Andes before
arriving on the shores of the Titicaca Lake, the highest navigable
lake in the world. In the south Arequipa is said to be the prettiest
city in Peru, and it might as well be. And the Colca Canyon is said
to be deeper than the Colorado itself. But who cares about figures
here when you can sit down, your feet hanging off a cliff hundreds
of meters high and see the mighty Condor throw itself off the rock
to rise again and soar so gracefully and majestic on the raising
thermals. Nazca is home to the lines that have captivated the
world’s imagination ever since they were accidentally discovered
from an airplane in 1927. Paracas is a paradise for bird watches and
so is Ica for wine lovers. North of Lima, Cajamarca is the best
place to hear once more the tragedy of Atahualpa, and how the last
of the Incas and his powerful army were betrayed and defeated here
by wicked Spanish conqueror Pizarro and his little handful of
Spanish Trujillo is a good place to say goodbye to the Humboldt
Current before it leaves the coast of South America as you enter
Ecuador. In Trujillo the archaeological sites of Chan-Chan are worth
visiting and so are the excavations on the site of Sipan and the
museum where the treasures unearthed from the Royal Tombs of the so
called Señor de Sipan have been showcased. The tomb of the Lord of
Sipan, known as the King Tutankhamen of the Americas, is the most
important and rich tomb uncovered in the western hemisphere. When
you are done with all this sightseeing and much more I have no time
nor space to fully cover here do not forget to indulge yourself with
some of the most delicious food I have ever tasted. Peruvian cuisine
is so rich, varied, diverse, imaginative and healthy that it is in
itself a reason, believe me, and it could easily be the first and
main one, to travel in or to Peru. Ceviche, papas a la
huancaina, tamales, anticuchos, arroces tapados y chaufa,
carapulcra, causa rellena, conchas negras, cuy, chupe de camarones,
parihuelas... Sorry, I can’t go on. I am already
mouth-watering and so, I am sure, are you. Thank you, Perú, for all
the good things you gave me. |
