The Rough Guide to Peru (Travel Guide eBook)

Todd Obolsky, Steph Dyson, Sara Humphreys

Description

Discover this fascinating South American country with the most incisive and entertaining guidebook on the market. Whether you plan to go wildlife-spotting in the jungle, explore lofty Inca citadels or indulge in a pisco sour (or three), The Rough Guide to Peru will show you the ideal places to sleep, eat, drink, shop and visit along the way.
-Independent, trusted reviews written with Rough Guides' trademark blend of humour, honesty and insight, to help you get the most out of your visit, with options to suit every budget.
-Full-colour chapter maps throughout - to navigate the colonial heart of Lima or wander the ancient streets of Cusco without needing to get online.
-Stunning images - a rich collection of inspiring colour photography.
Things not to miss - Rough Guides' rundown of thebest sights and experiences in Peru.
-Itineraries - carefully planned routes to help you organize your trip.
-Detailed coverage - this travel guide has in-depth practical advice for every step of the way.
Areas covered include: Lima; Trujillo; Cusco; the Sacred Valley;the Peruvian Amazon; Tarma and the Central Sierra; Arequipa and Lake Titicaca;Nazca; Huarez and the cordilleras; the south and Ancash coasts. Attractions include: Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail; theNazca Lines; Huascaran National Park; Kualap; the Ballestas Islands; ReservaNacional Paracas; Sacsay huaman; Pisac market; the Valley of the Pyramids.
Basics - essential pre-departure practical information including getting there, local transport, accommodation, food and drink, festivals and events, sports and outdoor activities, costs and more.
Background information - a Contexts chapter devoted to history, wildlife and literature, plus a language section.
Make the Most of Your Time on Earth with The Rough Guide to Peru.
About Rough Guides : Escape the every day with Rough Guides. We are a leading travel publisher known for our "tell itlike it is" attitude, up-to-date content and great writing. Since 1982, we've published books covering more than 120 destinations around the globe, with an ever-growing series of ebooks, a range of beautiful, inspirational reference titles, and an award-winning website. We pride ourselves on our accurate, honest and informed travel guides

Sujets

• Perú
• América del Sur
• Travel
• South America
• Latin America
• Peru

Informations

• Publié par: Apa Publications
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781789195095
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 15 Mo

Extrait

Susanne Kremer/4Corners Images
Contents
INTRODUCTION
Peru
Where to go
When to go
Author picks
Things not to miss
Itineraries
BASICS
Getting there
Getting around
Accommodation
Food and drink
The media
Festivals and public holidays
Outdoor activities and sports
Travel essentials
THE GUIDE
1 Lima and around
2 Nazca and the south coast
3 Arequipa and Lago Titicaca
4 Cusco and around
5 The Central Sierra
6 Huaraz, the cordilleras and the Ancash coast
7 Trujillo and the north
8 The Amazon Basin
CONTEXTS
History
Inca culture
Peruvian music
Natural Peru
Books
Language
SMALL PRINT
Getty Images
Introduction to
Peru
Trekking through the awe-inspiring Andes to the world-famous Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is the main draw for most travellers to Peru but, truth be told, this takes in only a fraction of the treasures that lie within one of South America s most diverse countries. Peru is home to a staggering array of landscapes - puzzling geoglyphs in the arid plains of Nazca, two of the world s deepest canyons outside the colonial city of Arequipa, the lush Amazon rainforest in the east and excellent surf in the northwest - offering boundless potential for adventure. Peru s Andean cultures are some of the most exciting in the Americas, with tucked-away highland towns that explode into colour on market day, and vibrant local fiestas that have been celebrated with unbridled enthusiasm for centuries - a heady mix of ancient beliefs with colonial Catholic customs.
Peru s immense wealth of sights and experiences has its roots in one of the world s richest heritages, topped by the Inca Empire and its fabulous archeological gems , not to mention the monumental adobe temples and pre-Inca ruins along the desert coast. While Machu Picchu is undoubtedly one of the world s most important archeological sites, Peru is home to a host of other riches - and important new discoveries are constantly being unearthed.
With Peru boasting access to the highest tropical mountain range in the world as well as one of the best-preserved areas of virgin Amazon rainforest, its wildlife is as diverse as you d expect, and sights such as jaguars slinking through the jungle, caimans sunning themselves on riverbanks and dazzling macaws gathering at Amazon clay-licks are all within the visitor s grasp. For those looking for adrenaline-fuelled fun, a host of outdoor activities are on offer, from trekking ancient trails and whitewater rafting to paragliding, bungee-jumping and ziplining above the forest canopy.
Equally, a trip to Peru could focus on more restful pursuits. Widely touted as one of the world s culinary hotspots , the country - and Lima in particular - offers a cornucopia of exotic tastes to appeal to curious palates, as well as a laidback, vibrant dining scene, ranging from backstreet cevicher as to gourmet restaurants. And in the big cities, you can expect buzzing nightlife too.
Despite it all, simple, unaffected pleasures remain in place. The country s prevailing attitude is that there is always enough time for a chat, a ceviche or another drink. Peru is accepting of its visitors - it s a place where the resourceful and open-minded traveller can break through barriers of class, race and language far more easily than most of its inhabitants can. Even the Amazon jungle region - covering nearly two-thirds of the country s landmass, but home to a mere fraction of its population - is accessible for the most part, with countless tour operators or community associations on hand to organize trips to even the furthest-flung corners. Now all you have to do is figure out where to start.
Where to go
You re most likely to arrive in the buzzing and at least fitfully elegant capital, Lima ; a modern city, it manages effortlessly to blend traditional Peruvian heritage with twenty-first-century glitz. Cusco is perhaps the most obvious place to head from here. A beautiful and bustling colonial city, it was once the ancient heart of the Inca Empire, and is surrounded by some of the most spectacular mountain landscapes and palatial ruins in Peru, and by magnificent hiking country. The world-famous Inca Trail , which culminates at the lofty, mist-shrouded Inca citadel of Machu Picchu , is just one of several equally scenic and challenging treks in this region of Peru alone.

iStock
MIRAFLORES, LIMA

Along the coast , there are more fascinating archeological sites as well as glorious beaches and sparky towns. South of Lima are the bizarre Nazca Lines , which have mystified since their discovery some seventy years ago, as well as the beguiling desert landscapes of the Reserva Nacional Paracas and the wildlife-rich haven of the neighbouring Islas Ballestas . If that all sounds too active, you could always duck away to spend a day knocking back pisco at the many Ica Valley bodegas .

FACT FILE
• Potatoes are native to what is today southern Peru - they were domesticated here around 7000 to 10,000 years ago. Today there are over 3000 varieties of potato grown in the country.
• Peru is home to the largest segment of the Amazon rainforest after Brazil, with over 60 percent of Peruvian territory covered in dense forest.
• Guinea pigs ( cuy ) are widely consumed in Peru; it is said approximately 65 million guinea pigs are eaten every year.
• The Ca n de Cotahuasi is one of the world s deepest canyons , with a depth of over 3500m - twice that of the Grand Canyon.
• Peru s population is an estimated 32 million, almost a third of whom live in Lima, the country's capital and South America's second biggest city.
• The Cerro Blanco sand dune is the highest in the world at 2070m above sea level and 1176m from base to summit.
North of Lima lie the great adobe city of Chan Chan and the Valle de las Pir mides . The surfing hangouts of Puerto Chicama and trendy M ncora beach are big draws along this stretch, but almost all of the coastal towns come replete with superb beaches, plentiful nightlife and great food.
For high mountains and long-distance treks, head for the stunning glacial lakes, snowy peaks and little-known ruins of the sierra north of Lima, particularly the ice-capped mountains and their valleys around Huaraz , but also the more gentle hills, attractive villages and ancient sites in the regions of Cajamarca and Chachapoyas . The central sierra is crammed with tradition and glorious colonial architecture, at its peak in Ayacucho and Huancayo ; the region around Tarma is also worth exploring, offering a variety of landscapes, from jungles and caves to waterfalls and stupendous terraced valleys.
If it s wildlife you re interested in, there s plenty to see almost everywhere, but the jungle provides startling opportunities for close and exotic encounters. From the comfort of tourist lodges in Iquitos to river excursions around Puerto Maldonado , in the Reserva Nacional Tambopata , the fauna and flora of the world s largest tropical forest can be experienced first-hand here more easily than in any other Amazon-rim country. Not far from Iquitos, the Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria is a remote and extremely beautiful, though less-visited region; while close to Cusco, just below the cloud forest, the Reserva Bi sfera del Manu is another wildlife hotspot.

Tim Draper/Rough Guides
FIESTA DE LA VIRGEN DEL CARMEN, PAUCARTAMBO
< Back to Introduction to Peru
When to go
Picking the best time to visit Peru s various regions is complicated by the country s physical characteristics; temperatures can vary hugely across the country. Summer ( verano ) along the desert coast more or less fits the expected image of the southern hemisphere - extremely hot and sunny between December and March (especially in the north), cooler and with a frequent hazy mist, known as gar a , between April and November - although only in the polluted environs of Lima does the coastal winter ever get cold enough to necessitate a sweater. Swimming is possible all year round, though the water itself (thanks to the Humboldt Current) is cool-to-cold at the best of times; to swim or surf for any length of time you d need to wear a wetsuit. Apart from the occasional shower over Lima it hardly ever rains in the desert. The freak exception, every few years, is when the shift in ocean currents of El Ni o causes torrential downpours, devastating crops, roads and communities all down the coast.
In the Andes , the seasons are more clearly marked, with heavy rains from December to March and a warm, relatively dry period from June to September. Inevitably, though, there are always some sunny weeks in the rainy season and wet ones in the dry. A similar pattern dominates the Amazon Basin , though rainfall here is heavier and more frequent, and it s hot and humid all year round. Confusingly, the rainy season in both the Andes and the Amazon basin is referred to locally as winter ( invierno ).
Taking all of this into account, the best time to visit the coast is around January while it s hot, and the mountains and jungle are at their best after the rains, from May until September. Since this is unlikely to be possible on a single trip there s little point in worrying about it - the country s attractions are broad enough to override the need for guarantees of good weather.

PERU TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
July
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
LIMA
Max/min ( C)
26/19
27/19
26/19
24/18
22/16
20/15