A prophet once said “Don’t tell me what a man says, don’t tell me what a man knows. Tell me where he’s traveled” I wonder about that, do we get smarter, more enlightenment as we travel? Does travel bring wisdom? I think there is probably no better place to find out than Peru.

– Anthony Bourdain

In 2001, Kerstin participated in a contest at the Spanish Embassy and won a scholar trip to South America. For 6 weeks, she and 300 other 16 year-old-teenagers around the world hiked, tripped, and trekked through jungles and mountains in Ecuador and Peru. Ever since she came back, I had wanted to visit Peru with her.

In 2018, we finally made it! We spent 3 weeks exploring Peru before heading to Bolivia. And what we experienced in Peru has definitely convinced me that: yes, we do get smarter and more enlightened as we travel. Yes, travel brings wisdom. And yes, there is definitely no better place to find out about that than in Peru.

Here are our Greatest Experiences in Peru

1. Explore Cusco, the archaeological capital of South America

Sitting in the breakfast room of our hotel, we looked out of the window into the heart of Cusco. Amidst the brown tiled roofs white steam rose to mingle with the morning clouds.

Sipping our coffee, I tried to remember everything I had learned about the capital of Tawantinsuyu – or what we call the Inca Empire. At that moment, little did I know how much we were going to learn and see in Cusco during the next 3 days.

In Qurikancha (Temple of the Sun) I finally understood how precious and strong Inca architecture really is. After all, it withstood the 1950 earthquake, whereas the Dominican Priory and Church built by the Conquistadors on top of the Inca Temple were heavily damaged or even destroyed.

2. Eat clay in a traditional Peruvian family’s home

Somewhere between Sillustani and Puno lies a tiny village with no more than 3 houses along a dirt road. We drove past it on our way to a pre-Incan necropolis. On our way back, I told our guide that I had a terrible stomachache. Suddenly, he hit the break and said we’d stop to taste some potatoes. I meant to repeat that I felt sick, but decided to trust him.

We entered the front yard of a traditional house. A lady came out to greet us and exchanged some words in Quechua (or was it Aymara?) with our guide. She disappeared in the house for a minute and came back with several plates. Potatoes and potatoes… lots of colorful potatoes, quinoas, corn and cheese. I was told to eat one specific type of potato, and to dip it in her homemade sauce made of clay. Clay? I asked. Yes, she said! Chaco! Chaco helps treating stomach problems such as gastritis. I didn’t hesitate and plunged my potato deep in the bowl of clay. I guess that in the end, I ate more clay than potatoes…

3. Celebrate Pachamama Day in the floating Uros islands

On August 1st, we were told that it was Pachamama Day, the Mother Earth, the highest divinity of the Aymaras and Quechuas in Latin America.

It was a nice coincidence that on that day, we visited the islands of Uros on Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. While walking on the irregular grounds of the tiny man-made islets, we felt how unstable they really are. It might take the Uros people about a year and a half to build one islet, but these islets have to be abandoned after 30 or 35 years. They are basically just a platform made of layers and layers of totora, a kind of reed harvested on the lake’s banks. The bottom of these islets is nothing but cubes of totora attached together with ropes, which then grow together after a few months. To avoid the islet to float away, the platform is anchored on the bottom of the lake. When water soaks in, they have to add another layer of reeds on the surface of the islet.

When we sat down to watch two little boys play with a bunch of reeds, we suddenly realised that nothing in Lake Titicaca is made to last very long. Not the houses, nor the boats, not even the islets because everything is made of totora reed. This was the perfect place to celebrate Mother Earth…

4. Walk through the 500-year-old Salineras de Maras

It was in the late afternoon when we arrived on the top of Salineras de Maras, located not far from the Urubamba Valley. The sun was shimmering, and the clouds reflected in each of the salt pans. From afar, they looked like solar panels. I had a hard time not falling into the salt pans as we walked on the narrow paths that separate the pools. Probably because of my acrophobia. Or it could be the sky’s reflection that made me dizzy…

We felt so close to heaven… and so close to the Incas, who built these salt terraces over 500 years ago. Today there are over 6000 salt pools, each one mined and harvested by a local family of the Maras community.

5. See well-preserved Inca mummies at the Chauchilla Necropolis in Nazca

Located in the deep Peruvian desert about 30km south of Nazca, the Chauchilla Necropolis holds some of the best-preserved Inca mummies due to the dry climate in the area.

There were only two other couples on the archaeological site when we arrived. Except from a few chatters, we heard nothing but a few occasional gusts. The sun was shining, and despite the cooler temperatures I had to take off my jacket. We were in the desert… on a Nazca burial ground. Finally! The first mummies we saw – clothed in cotton and sitting inside open pit graves – put a smile on my face. Gosh, they’re so beautiful! Kerstin threw me a huge question mark…  We moved from one grave to another, and I kept marveling at the remarkably well-preserved hairs on the skulls. Most of the graves have been ransacked by robbers, not just recently but for centuries already. It was only in 1997 that Peru decided to protect the site under law.

6. Visit archaeological sites in the Sacred Valley with a local archaeologist

When visiting an archaeological site, the quality of your experience often depends on the guide you get… As an archaeologist there’s nothing better than to have a local archaeologist to show you around.

In Cusco we were very lucky to have Mrs. Odilia as a guide, who also made us discover several Inca ruins in the Sacred Valley. Before working as a travel guide in and around Cusco, Mrs. Odilia was an archaeologist and participated in many excavations in Peru. Her scientific researches made her travel in her country, but also to the USA, to Canada and several countries in Europe where she spoke at international conferences and numerous university lectures.

With Mrs. Odilia, we did not have to worry about the scientific and historical accuracy when we explored Moray, Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Sacsayhuaman among other sites. And it felt really good to be able to discuss about both the basic things, but also the more detailed backgrounds of each archaeological site.

7. Sandbuggy through the deserts of Huacachina

Huacachina is a little village located in the rolling sand dunes of Southern Peru, about 300 km south of Lima, and 80km from Pisco.

We traveled all the way to Huacachina from Lima for one thing: do a sand buggy ride in the desert. As we raced, motor struggling, up to the crest of each sand hill, the driver slammed the brakes, let gravity tip us, and blaze the engine again so our heavy bottom wouldn’t send us toppling to our death. We drifted through an amber-golden sea of sand. The sky seemed to melt into the slopes of sand-walls in the distance. As far as the eye could reach, the desert stretched and seemed to absorb us with each drop, only to spit us out again like a lion playing with its prey. Never had we screamed so loudly in our whole life.

8. Stroll through the colorful market of Pisac

When our guide Mrs. Odillia told us that we were going to see a local market, we thought that it would be similar to the ones we saw in Arequipa or Cusco. But the Pisac Market in the Sacred Valley is the largest market and way more authentic than any market we had seen in Peru. It is open every day, but Sunday is the busiest time of the week.

When we arrived, I was immediately struck by the natural color powders sold by several Quechan communities coming from the surrounding highlands. They are usually used to dye textiles, but also as watercolor paint. I had never seen color pigments as bright as these ones. The next time is perhaps when we’ll travel the Silk Road in China…

9. Watch Andean condors at 4100 meters altitude in Colca Canyon

The Andes are majestic. So majestic that at 4000 meters altitude, I was hit by “soroche” and could do nothing else but to rest at our hotel. Fortunately, Kerstin resisted the high-altitude sickness and could therefore watch the Andean condors cruise at Cruz del Condor in the Colca Canyon. She filmed and shot many photos of these black vultures that are in danger of extinction. Look how their wingspan of 3 meters allows them to glide splendidly through the air…

10. Hike through the clouds in Machu Picchu

It was raining cats and dogs when we arrived in Machu Picchu, the highlight of most travelers in Peru. But since the new regulations in 2017, no one is allowed to visit this famous archaeological site without a guide. Unfortunately, ours turned out to be one who wasn’t quite passionate about archaeology, and knew even less about the site than we did… Despite the rain and the bad guide, we had a blissful moment as we walked through the clouds in Machu Picchu.

11. Taste delicious tuna fruits

Tuna fruits have nothing to do with tuna fish. It’s a kind of cactus fruit, also known as prickly pear. Once the spiny peel is removed, you discover a carmine red fruit inside. We were first sceptic when our driver stopped the car in the middle of nowhere and made us follow him into a cactus field, carrying a small machete… Of course, he used it to cut the fruits to let us taste them. Otherwise we wouldn’t still be alive. At our first bite of the tuna fruit, we were surprised of how sweet Peruvian prickly pears taste compared to the ones we get in Southern Europe… Sometimes you have to trust people. And never say no to local fruit.

12. Enjoy a snow-caped mountain view in Arequipa

Surrounded by snow-caped mountains, Arequipa is full of baroque buildings carved with whitish-pink volcanic sillar rocks from the surrounding region.

From the roof terrace of the Palla Boutique Hotel, the views of the surrounding mountains above the White City were literally breathtaking. At 2335 m above sea level, I already started to feel altitude sickness. So, we took it slow, lied down on a couch, breathed in the fresh air, had a delicious Peruvian coffee and even napped for an hour.

13. Learn to differentiate a llama, a vicuña, and an alpaca

It might seem silly, but one of the reasons I wanted to visit Peru was to hug a llama. I never really understood the differences between llamas, alpacas and vicuñas until we arrived in Peru, where these funny-looking camelids can be spotted everywhere.

Domesticated in South America for centuries, llamas are pack animals today, whereas alpacas have been bred specifically to produce wool. The price of alpaca wool depends on the softness and fluffiness of the wool fibres. And baby alpaca wool is the softest and can be exorbitantly expensive. Vicuñas however are wild. They are shy creatures, and we only saw them in the high alpine regions of Peru. My favourite camelid in Peru is the alpaca suri or rasta alpaca.

14. Take time to wander around the village of Ollantaytambo

The town of Ollantaytambo looks like a grid with seven parallel streets. Dating back to the height of the Inca Empire, it has one of the oldest still inhabited houses in South America. When we strolled through the narrow streets made of huge cobble stones that pass between high Inca stonewalls, we felt like time-traveling back to the 15th century.

We came across women dressed in traditional costumes and laughing heartily, children who kept asking where we’re from, and men carrying a huge pot with a steaming content… We roamed randomly, watched the locals do their ordinary things, laughed at silly nonsense with them, and played with the kids.

Taking time to explore the village of Ollantaytambo was as pleasant as visiting the archaeological site in Ollantaytambo. Or perhaps even more.

15. Embrace absolute tranquility at the pre-Incan necropolis of Sillustani

Visiting a “city of the death” is equally as important to me as visiting a “city of the living people” when traveling, and especially when exploring archaeological sites.

As we arrived in Sillustani, the pre-Incan tombs called “chullpas” looked less impressive than what I had expected, but located on the shores of Lake Umayo, this archaeological site was the most peaceful place we experienced in Peru. We sat down, listened to the breeze and embraced the absolute tranquility around us.

Ever since, whenever we need a moment to ponder, we close our eyes and imagine ourselves sitting at the necropolis in Sillustani…

16. Feast on Peruvian gastronomy

Back in 2001, Kerstin got arroz con pollo almost every day during her 6-week Ruta Quetzal expedition in Ecuador and Peru. When she came back, she was traumatised by this dish and couldn’t eat rice and chicken for years. This time, before we traveled to South America, I told her that Peru has won the award for the best culinary destination in the world for the 7th consecutive year. Of course, she wasn’t ready to believe me until we arrived in Peru…

In fact, Peruvian cuisine now reflects the mix of various cultures: Incan, Spanish, but also Chinese since the 19th century, as well as Japanese in the 20th century.

Moreover, Peruvian food is quite healthy, since they cook with local ingredients such as quinoa, yuca and thousands of native potato varieties cultivated in the mountainous area of the country. When traveling along the coast, we also feasted on local fish and seafood, cooked with lemon or lime that are cultivated by the Peruvian coast.

Our favourite dish – which is also known as Peru’s national dish – is ceviche, which is fresh raw fish mixed with citrus juices and spiced with chopped onions and the Peruvian “green” sauce with cilantro, called aji. Choros a la chalaca (fresh mussels with chilli peppers) is another gastronomic dish we loved in Peru.

17. Discover the advanced level of culture of the Inca civilization in Moray

For centuries, the circular stone structures in Moray remained a mystery. When the Spanish arrived in the Incan Empire in the 16th century, they were looking for gold. But Moray did not possess gold. The conquistadors thus spared the site.

Today, archaeologists believe that these circles were built by the Incas to serve as an agricultural laboratory. Hundreds and thousands of types of crops imported from other parts of the region were planted on these terraces, and meticulously classified. Since the difference of temperatures varies a lot between the top and the bottom rings, Moray is like a “test kitchen” which gathers various micro-climates inside a circular structure that goes as deep as 30 meters.

Different tribes in the Incan Empire would travel all the way to Moray to choose particular types of grains for their specific climates and soils, and report back about the grains’ quality.

18. Listen to the wind at La Raya Pass at 4350 m above sea level

4910 m altitude is the highest point we reached in Peru. But since I was hit by soroche in Chivay, I couldn’t quite enjoy the scenic views at such altitude. Luckily, soroche wore off and I got used to the high altitude in the Andes after a few days. As we traveled the Route of the Sun from Puno to Cusco, we stopped at La Raya, which marks the border between the region of Puno and that of Cusco.

Located at 4338 m above sea level, La Raya is actually a quite remote place that offers nothing more than a view of the peaks of the Andes mountains. But standing at the giants’ feet, listening to the howling wind and acknowledging how small we human beings are, made me think of Flaubert’s saying “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world”.

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