How to plan a trip to Peru: A backpackers guide.

Peru blew me away with all it had to offer. I know I say every country in South and Central America are so diverse but Peru for me was the best so far. The people in Peru are just so friendly and eager to help. They always seem happy and their enthusiasm for football is contagious. While I was in Peru they made it to the final of Copa America which is unheard of for Peru. Watching the locals go crazy made watching football fun (coming from someone who doesn’t watch it unless paid to).

Peru’s landscape ranges from Andean glacial peaks and sprawling deserts to the rich rainforests of the Amazon basin. In one day you can climb a mountain, visit an oasis and surf on the beach. Peru would be a top pick of mine for adventurous travelers, hiking lovers and anyone interested in discovering the land of the Inca’s.

I spend a month in Peru and it didn’t feel long enough although a month is plenty of time to see the highlights and immerse in the Peruvian culture. I’m happiest when either A) eating or B) outdoors. Peru has some of the best food in South America and undoubtedly some of the finest hiking in the world. I loved Peru so much because of these two things coupled with the Inca history and friendly people.

General info and tips:

• Capital: Lima
• Population: 32 million
• Language: Spanish and Quechua
• Visas: not required, 90 days given to tourists in one entry.
• Currency: Peruvian sole (PEN) €1= 3.6
• Transport: viva air fly cheaply domestically. Buses are comfortable, cheap and sometime provide meals over long routes. Main companies are Cruz Del Sur, Oltursa and Movil Tours.
• Uber is used in Lima and Cusco and is very cheap and safe to use. It is neither legal or illegal to use so go for it.

When to travel:

The best months to travel in Peru are from Jun-Aug for hiking in the Andes and for visiting the Amazon as it is dry season. Expect cool nights with warm dry days. It will be cool in Lima at this time and cold on the south coast beaches but warm still in the north on the coast. Dec-Mar are the hottest months, ideal for surfing and beach time on the coasts. The Inca Trail closes for the month of February during the wet season.

Sample month itinerary:

Lima (2 nights)- Huaraz (6 nights)- Paracas (1 night)- Huacachina (1 night)- Arequipa (4 nights including 1 night in Colca Canyon)- Puno (2 nights)- Cusco (10 nights, 4/5 days for Machu Picchu), fly back to Lima from Cusco.

Two week itinerary:

Lima (2 nights)- Huacachina (1 night)- Arequipa (3 nights)- Cusco (7 nights), fly back to Lima from Cusco.

Depending on if you are traveling in to just Peru or are continuing down to Bolivia or Ecuador, the order will change. If you like surfing I would add in a few nights along the coast at either Mancora in the north or Trujillo.

Here is a where I went, what I did and where I ate during my month traveling around Peru:

Lima (2 nights)

Lima is the first thing to a big European city I have come across in South America. It’s a fast paced metropolis home to almost a quarter of the country’s population. It’s a massive city and we only visited two areas of it; Miraflores and Barranco, the two most touristy and backpacker friendly areas. They are packed with bars, eateries, hostels and cute cafes.

Getting there:

Uber is legal in Peru and the cheapest way if there is more than three to share a ride from the airport. The Miraflores area from the airport in traffic took us 50 minutes and cost 40 soles (€11) between three of us. Lima is well served with plenty of buses coming from north and south of the country. It has no central bus terminal so where your bus is coming and going from will depend on the bus company.

Things to do:

1. Free walking tour. We went on the free walking tour from the hostel. Here we visited Barranco and historical center of Lima. It was one of the better walking tours we did. It took half a day to do and we left the hostel at 10 am.

2. Visit Circuito Magico del Agua. The lovely Parque de la Reserva comes to life at night when their famous fountains light up and make for a magical sight. The entrance is 4 soles (€1).

3. Shop in LarcoMar. Or just sample some of the great food on offer in this shopping center with a truly unique location. This shopping center is built into the oceanfront cliffs, selling popular international brands and great food.

4. Learn about Inca history at Huaca Pucllana. This is a restored adobe ceremonial center from the Lima culture that goes back to 400 AD. You have to have a tour to visit these ruins. The tour lasts for about an hour and is open from 9- 17.00. It’s half price with a student card, they will accept a photo of a student card too.

5. Wander around Plaza de Armas. Lima’s main square was the heart of the Spaniards’ continent wide empire and impressive colonial buildings line the perimeter of the plaza.

6. Eat ceviche. Ceviche is a national Peruvian dish consisting of raw seafood marinated in a lime juice. It is surprisingly tasty.

7. Drink a pisco sour. This is Peru’s famous cocktail, and they’re strong!  Pisco liquor, lemon juice, syrup and egg white mixed together to give you the worst hangover of your life.

Where to stay:

Miraflores area is by far the most popular and is a very safe area to stay in.

Pariwana hostel: I’ve stayed in a few of them in Peru now and they easily provide the best free breakfast in any hostel yet. They’re fairly new and have a good rooftop bar, social without being crazy and all the usuals like sockets and reading lights by the bed. It’s a bit more expensive then other hostels but worth it for the breakfast and comfy beds with two pillows.

Puriwasi hostel: cheaper version of Pariwana hostel. Free breakfast is a bit shite but comfy beds, nice rooftop bar and great location around the corner from Parque Kennedy in Miraflores. Think we paid about €11 a night here in an 8 bed dorm.

Where to eat:

Lima is quickly becoming the foodie capital of South America. We had heard of a tasting menu at Astrid y Gastón, one of the top restaurants but decided not to blow the daily budget on it.

• LarcoMar: try artisan ice cream here.
• Bao bar: for amazing poke bowls and soft fluffy rolls filled with a mixture of vegetables, sauces and meat.

Mancora ( 2 nights)

This was the first stop on my month trip to Peru. It’s not far from the Ecuadorian border and buses run directly from Cuenca in Ecuador to the beach ton of Mancora.

The night bus from Cuenca arrived into Mancora at 4 am after a very swift and easy border crossing. The bus took 7 hours in total and cost $15. We arrived into Mancora on a Saturday night so the place was still busy at 4.30 am. The bus dropped us a 100 m walk from our hostel, Loki. This place is renouned for being a chain of party hostels in Peru. It did not fail to live up to it’s name. There were plenty of people roaming around the hostel bar area at 5 am and the music had just stopped. We managed to get a bed that morning and sleep until 10 am. Noone surfaces in this hostel until well after 11 so my lie in was not disturbed by rustling of bags and pulling of zips.

What to do

1. Surf, chill by the beach and relax. Mancora is a surfing beach party town with not too much to do but the beach is beautiful and makes for a great spot to watch sunset.

2. Party. A good place if you want to indulge in a drink or 20. Loki is the party spot by the beach here.

Where to stay

Loki– only if you don’t want to sleep and are ok with music on until 3 am. Otherwise, go elsewhere. It was €10 a night for a bed in a dorm room here. The pool is lovely and they’ve a good bar providing some what forced fun at times.

Where to eat

There are loads of gringo cafes and restaurants along the main road and beach.

• Bamboo cafe– a nice cafe that does good desserts and breakfasts.
• A menu del dia place serving 2 courses for 10 soles (€2.80). You can’t really go wrong for that.

From Mancora we got a shared taxi for 20 soles each to Talara airport. It’s a tiny airport about 50 minutes from Mancora. You can get really cheap flights within Peru with Vivaair. We got flights for €11 to Lima and with a bag I think it came to €20. It beats the two night buses we would have had to take otherwise and worked out cheaper. Here in Lima we met my sister to embark on a very busy and packed three week trip finishing in Cusco.

Huaraz (5 nights or so many more!)

Huaraz is a bit of grimy city at 3000 m with views of the snowy peaks of the Cordillera Blanca mountain range. There isn’t too much in the city for tourists but the market is an education if nothing else. It’s the gateway to some of the best hiking in South America in the Huarascán National Park, which is home to Peru’s tallest mountain.

Getting there

We took a night bus from Lima to Huaraz. The night bus takes about 8 hours and there are loads of companies running buses here through the day and night. We booked online through Busbud and got tickets for 40 PEN (€10).

Things to do

Hiking! If you’ve come to Huaraz it is generally because you like hiking. The surrounding Andean mountains are a hikers paradise. There are a few day hikes which are nice to acclimatise before taking on any multi-day hikes.

1. Laguna Churup: This is a nice day hike a 45 min drive from Huaraz. We were a bit slow to get moving the day we arrived coming off the night bus so we missed the collectivo to the starting point of the hike. We got a taxi for 40 PEN (€10) to the starting point and started the hike too late to make it to the lake but got in a bit of a hike to warm up for the next hikes.The highest point of this day hike is 4600 m. The last collectivos leave Laguna Churup at 4 pm heading back to Huaraz and costs 10 PEN. You don’t want to miss this as taxis don’t happen to be passing by. It takes about 2.5 hours to get to the lake and about 2 hours to return.

2. Laguna 69: This in my opinion is the most stunning hike in Huaraz. I’ll let the photos do the talking. The colour of the lake is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I found this hike challenging purely due to the altitude, I hadn’t fully acclimatised to the altitude. The end point of the hike is the laguna at 4600 m. It took about 2.5 hours to reach the lake and then we had an hour at the lake to have lunch and enjoy the stunning scenery before descending which took 2 hours. We booked this tour through the hostel and got picked up at 4.30 am and returned at 6.30 pm. The laguna is in the Huascaran National Park which is a 3 hour drive away from Huaraz so plenty of time to sleep on the bus.

3. Santa Cruz: This is a 4 day hike (can also be done in 3) in the Huascaran National Park. Read here about it in this post I did on completing it in 3 days.

4. Huayhuash: This is a 8 day hike camping and trekking in the Cordillera Blanca. We didn’t have time for this and I don’t know if I would have lasted 7 nights in a tent but I have its spectacular and if you’ve time on your hands and you’re into camping and hiking, this is the hike to do.

Where to stay

Alpes Huaraz is a good shout for a hostel in here. It has a huge kitchen, warm comfy beds with duvets, en suite rooms, free breakfast (albeit pretty poor) and they help you organise any treks from here too. We had a six bed dorm to ourselves for €7 a night. We got 10% off our bus back to Lima with Oltursa bus by showing our Alpes Huaraz band.

Where to eat

Mi Comedia Pizzeria– Decent place for feed after all the hiking. They offer 20% off here if you’re staying in Alpes Huaraz, just show your band.

Paracas (1 day)

From Huaraz we got a night bus to Lima and then another 3 hour bus onto Paracas. Paracas is a coastal town known for its beaches and for the Islas Ballestas, also known as the poor man Galapagos. As it was winter in South America when we arrived here it was fairly dead and the beaches were desserted. In the summer I imagine it would be busy. The beach front is lined with restaurants, cafes and street vendors selling souvenirs. We stayed just one night here which was plenty. We could have easily gone on the tour to the Ballestas Islands the morning we arrived and continued on that afternoon to Huccachina but it was a nice place to catch up on much needed sleep following days of camping, 4 am wake up calls and night buses.

Things to do

1. Isla Ballestas tour: This short boat trip out to spot sea life is well worth it. We saw penguins, sea lions, Peruvian boobies and millions of birds. You stay on the boat for the tour and it only takes about 2 hours in total. We paid 25 PEN (€6.60) for our tour and organised a a transfer to Huccachina through the same travel agent also for 25 PEN.

Where to stay

We stayed in Kopelli Hostel which is right on the beach. It has a nice big bar area, a swimming pool and plenty of deck chairs, comfy beds and privacy curtains.

Huccachina (1 day)

Huccachina is a tiny village in a desert oasis just outside the city of Ica, about an hour from Paracas. There isn’t a whole load to do here but staying in an oasis, watching the sun set from the top of world’s tallest sand dunes is an experience I’ll never forget. Cerro blanco in Huccachina is considered Everest of the dessert. You can even ski down the dunes.

Sand boarding and buggying is one of the funnest experiences I’ve had in South America. You lie on your stomach on a wooden board and throw yourself off the top of the sand dunes. This activity takes about 2 hours in total. We stayed in Banana Adventures which includes an activity, a nights accommodation and breakfast the next morning. You could choose from pisco tasting, sand boarding or a BBQ for the included activity. One night is plenty here as there isn’t much to do in the oasis. Bananas had a swimming pool and roof terrace to chill out at.

Arequipa (4 days)

Peru’s most beautiful city is framed by three volcanoes. This colonial-era white washed walled city is a must visit. It’s historical center is filled with roof top bars to watch the sunset over the Plaza de Armas, cobbled streets and cute cafes and restaurants. There’s lots to do in Arequipa and around it. One of the main attractions nearby is Colca Canyon and condor spotting. We spend a day just wandering the streets of Arequipa, enjoying the sun in Plaza de Armas and watching the skyline change during sunset from a roof top bar over Plaza de Armas.

Things to do:

1. Museo Santuarios Andinos: this is the museum where the remains of Juanita, a 12 year old Inca girl who was sacrificed to the gods in 1450s, can be seen. In 1995 her intact remains, preserved by ice, were discovered.
2. Summit El Misti: El Misti volcano that towers over the city can be summitted over a strenuous 2 days which reaches a height of 5822 m.
3. Enjoy the sunset over Plaza de Armas. We had a drink at Katari Hotel which has the best views of El Misti and the Plaza. It’s a perfect place to sip a pisco sour and watch the sky change.

• Trek into Colca Canyon and watch condors soar from above: There are day trips to Colca Canyon, one of the world’s deepest, from Arequipa but we heard you spend the majority of the day on a bus so we opted for the 2 day 1 night trekking option. There is a 3 day 2 night option but I found 2 days was plenty of time. We booked from a tour agent near the main plaza and paid 85 PEN (€23) for it. This doesn’t include the 70 PEN entrance fee which you pay on the first day of the trek. This included breakfast x 2, lunch and dinner, accomodation, transport and guide. €26 is ridiculously cheap for this so we couldn’t really give out too much at the very pasta focus dinner and stale bread and jam breakfast.

The tour starts with pick up from your hostel at 3 am, followed by breakfast at 6 am and then we went to the condor viewpoint. After this we started the trek at about 10 am. We trekked for 3 hours all downhill into the canyon to the river crossing which was shortly followed by a delicious lunch. The rest of the hike after lunch was what’s called Inca flat- up and downhill. It was a gorgeous walk through the canyon and not too strenuous. We reached the hostel by about 3.30 pm and had time for a swim while it was still warm. It’s really hot when the sun is out but freezing in the canyon once the sun goes down.

The hostel was very basic but at least we had beds with plenty of blankets. We went to bed early that night as we had to be up at 4 am to start the hike out of the canyon the next morning. I don’t think I’ve ever been asleep before 8 pm since being toddler. The hike out of the canyon took us just over 2 hours. We started hiking in the dark so the head torches came in handy. Watching the sunrise and illuminating the canyon was stunning. It’s a constant steep uphill hike to the top and at the top, it’s bloody freezing. Especially as I was drenched in sweat from the hike.

Susie and I were the first to the top of the canyon. I’m not the most patient person and neither is Susie. Thankfully having that in common made traveling together easier! We were absolutely freezing at the top and hungry. I could see a town not far away and figured this must be where we’re having breakfast and being collected from. We hemmed and hawed for no longer than 30 seconds before deciding we were off in search for coffee, warmth, eggs and wifi. The guide would know we had gone on.

We found a hotel doing buffet breakfast for 10 PEN (€3) and it had wifi. Almost an hour later, filled with coffee, eggs, toast and avocado and happy as pigs in shite we felt slightly bad for the group probably searching for us thinking we’d fallen and dropped to our death in the canyon. But not bad enough to leave the warmth of the hotel, just enough to peer out the window. Then we saw our guide coming with the rest of the group past the hotel. We followed them to the breakfast place which was a tiny room upstairs in the back of someone’s house for our second breakfast which was below par.

After breakfast the bus picked us up to start the journey back to Arequipa. The first stop was to the hot springs which were a dream after being so cold and sweaty. After lunch in a restaurant and to a few other viewpoints, we arrived back to Arequipa at 5 pm.

Just enough time to have dinner and catch a night bus to Cusco. We got a night bus to Cusco at 9 pm from Arequipa and expected not to arrive until 8am the next morning but to our amazement the bus was early and we got there at 6 am. The bus terminal is slightly outside of the main tourist area of Cusco so you’ll need to get a taxi. We managed to get a taxi for 8 PEN (€2.20) when we walked just outside of the bus terminal.

Cusco

I absolutely fell in love with this Cusco. There is so much to do outside of the city high in the Andes and also in the city. It’s brimming with cafes, restaurants, colourful markets and colonial style buildings. It’s used as a launch pad by tourists for exploring the Sacred Valley, Macchu Pichu and the surrounding mountains. Cusco has great night life and a lively bar scene.

Getting there and away

By air: holiday makers or those on a short time frame may choose to fly directly into Cusco. There was cheap flights from Lima but be aware you will be flying directly into 3400 m altitude so give yourself a few days to acclimatise before tackling any of the surrounding hikes.

By bus: plenty of overnight buses serve Cusco from Puno, La Paz, Lima and Arequipa. It’s a long bus wherever you’re coming from as Cusco is quite a bit away from everything else but the buses are very comfortable. We got an overnight bus from Arequipa to Cusco which took 10 hours and cost €11. It included a snack and breakfast. Using busbud saved us so much money on buses by booking in advance. One of the few times I’d recommend booking things in advance in South America.

I took an overnight bus to Puno leaving Cusco which took 7 hours and cost 30 PEN (€8) , getting into Puno at 5 am. The buses are very comfortable, serve meals and are cheap as chips considering they are your accommodation, provide dinner and sometimes breakfast and obviously your transport.

Things to do in and around Cusco

Machu Picchu: This is the main attraction, bringing tourists to Cusco in their droves. It’s one of the seven modern wonders of the world and after visiting it, I can see why. It is a spectacular sight. There are plenty of ways to get there. You cannot drive to it, it can be reached by train to Aguas Calientes or on foot and then either hike the 2000 steps or take a bus to the entrance. The steps are steep but its a very doable 45 mins to 1 hour hike and worth the effort. For those with more time and who like the outdoors there are several hiking and adventure options. The Salkantay Trek is a very popular 4 or 5 day hike to Machu Picchu and less expensive than the Inca Trail, which books out months in advance and is up to five times for expensive. We opted for the Inca Jungle trail which is a 4 day, 3 night adventure filled trek finishing in Machu Picchu. The jungle trail cost $150 with Marvelous Peru and included white water rafting, hiking, zip lining and downhill mountain biking. This included entrance into Machu Picchu, all food, activities and accommodation for the 4 days which is excellent. Read more about my Machu Picchu experience here on the Inca Jungle trail.

Salkantay hike: This usually a 4 or 5 day hike finishing in Machu Picchu taking in Laguna Humantay, Laguna Salkantay and Salkantay mountain along the way. The accommodation is camping along the way although we saw some very nice domes with beds and bathrooms inside so it’s possible to shell out a bit more for full on glamping. Cause I’m a broke backpacker I went with the most basic option for my two day Salkantay sample. I wanted to do some more hiking and see Laguna Humantay and Salkantay Lake so Marvelous Peru arranged that we just do a 2 day Salkantay taking in the highlights and without going to Machu Picchu twice! We paid $75 dollars for the two days which included meals, transport and accommodation. The scenery is just incredibly beautiful. Laguna Humantay can be visited on a day hike from Cusco too.

The Sacred Valley: This lies 15km from Cusco as the crow flies. There are three main sights and they can be visited in either one day from Cusco or two days. If you are tight on time and want to see them all in one day, Marvelous Peru run tours leaving from Cusco at 6.30 am and returning at 6 pm for $50. This includes entrance to all the sights, transport, lunch and a guide. If you have a bit more time and want to spend a bit longer exploring each of the sights, Marvelous also do a 2 day tour to The Sacred Valley where you spend one night in The Sacred Valley. This tour costs $75 and includes meals, entrance, accommodation, guide and transport.

• Pisac- this little colonial village sits at 2715m in elevation 33km away from Cusco, at the base of an Inca fortress. These ruins generally receive less tourists which make them a great choice. The ruins here take a few hours to explore. There is a 4km trail from the town, 2 hours down and 1.5 hours back. If you don’t take a day trip form Cusco you can stay here, there are a few options in the village and take a public bus to Urubamba costing 3 PEN and takes an hour.
• Urbamba- There isn’t much to see here but its a transit hub for those going through the Sacred Valley. This is the bus you hop on to visit the salt mines. Here thousands of salt pans have been harvested since Inca times. They cost 5 PEN to visit. Buses going to Cusco take 2 hours (4 PEN), via Pisac take 1 hour (4 PEN) and colectivos to Ollantaytambo take 25 minutes (3 PEN).
• Ollantaytambo- this is the best surviving of the ruins demonstrating Inca city planning. Things havent changed much here in over 700 years with its huge fortress towering above the cobblestoned village. It’s the most famous and popular of The Sacred Valley sights. The ruins and the fortress can be visited on a half day tour from Cucso. Collectivos go from Urubamba’s bus terminal or direct collectivos leave from Cusco which take 1.5 hours and cost 15 PEN.

Las Salineras de Maras (salt mines): these salt mines were formed from naturally sallinated creek water running off a river between Ollantaytambo and Cusco. These spectacular terraces of salt are only an hour drive from Cusco. The water is collected in these terraced pools and when the sun causes the water to evaporate, pink salt is left for collection and is sold locally. A lot of tour groups will stop off here but you don’t need a guide to get there.

• Catch a collectivo going to Urubamba and tell the driver you want to get off at Maras, this takes about 45 minutes. When you get off at the crossroads, hail a taxi to take you to the salt mines. It takes about 15 minutes. Entrance to the salt mines costs 7 PEN (€2.10)

Rainbow mountain: this is quickly becoming one of the most popular day trips from Cusco. Until recently it was concealed under ice and snow until global warming unfortunately caused the glaciers to melt, unveiling this natural marvel. You can go with a tour, prices start at 60 PEN (€16) but beware they leave at 3 am and it won’t look like Instagram with the crowds. Click here to check out this post on how to skip the crowds, avoid a busy tour and have rainbow mountain all to yours.

Walking tour: a free walking tour takes place four times daily (9.50 am, 12.30 pm, 3.30 pm and 6.00 pm) The tour is tip based and lasts about 2 hours. This is worth doing to see the old town and visit the main historical sites. The meeting point is in Plaza de Armas by KFC. The guides will be there wearing a red t-shirt.

Where to eat

Green point: This is a vegan restaurant with a few sister establishments, including a bakery. They serve delicious organic food and albeit more pricey than your average dish in Peru, it is still affordable and the best vegan restaurant I’ve tried. I went with my sister and brother who are very much meat lovers and they forgot it was a vegan restaurant. They do great 2-for-1 cocktails at happy hour.

Qura Bowl Bar: This place does amazing healthy food, your typical millennial brunch of smashed avo and poached egg on sourdough toast, acai bowls, pancakes, salads, wraps, buddha bowls and sushi. An all rounder for anytime of the day.

Where to stay

Cusco is full of hostels. During my time here I stayed in three hostels. All were completely different and I’d recommend The Wild Rover for a party hostel, Pariwana for a nice comfortable hostel but also social and The Point for backpackers who are on a budget and don’t mind that it’s a bit grimier.

• The Wild Rover: a chain of hostels throughout Peru and Bolivia renowned for wild parties, sleepless nights and a serious craic. 20 somethings will love it, 30 somethings will loath it. Its very much a party hostel but in Cusco the bar is in another building so the dorms are actually sound proof and if you choose to go to bed at 9pm you can sleep soundly. They have privacy curtains, alright food, good WiFi, reading lamps, a bar and great showers. There’s no free breakfast or kitchen though so they end up making a mint off people ordering food too.
• Pariwana– also a chain in Peru and they’ve opened one in Santiago now too. Really clean, spacious, great showers, lamps and sockets by the bed, kitchen, decent food in the bar, a big screen for games, UNREAL buffet free breakfast included and comfort beds. Social but not crazy. This is my favourite hostel here but its a bit more expensive than the other two.
• The Point– another chain in Peru. Its cheap as chips, has a kitchen, good food, free tea and coffee all day. Not half enough bathrooms though and dorms are freezing at night. Quite social too and has a pool table. It was dirt cheap so we went here when Pariwana was full but you pay for what you get. Good for the price but slightly grimier.

Where to dance and drink

• Wild Rover: This is a hostel but also has a club/bar at the back that gets going at about 9 until 2 am. Non guests can also enter and get a visitor band.
• Mama Africa
• Chango’s

Puno

Puno is the port for the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. Sitting at 3808m, Lake Titicaca is considered the world’s largest high altitude lake. The days are warm with strong sun but the nights here are bitterly cold, falling below freezing in winter. Puno it’s is a bit gritty and there isn’t too much for tourists to see or do but from Puno, you can access the unique floating islands of the Uros people. These are man made islands constructed out of reeds floating in the middle of lake Titicaca.

Getting here and away

From Cusco I took an overnight bus here, taking 6-7 hours. Buses from Arequipa take 5 hours and buses go directly to Lima (20 hours), to Copacabana in Bolivia (4 hours) and to La Paz, Bolivia (6 hours).

Things to do

1. Yavari– This is a ship that lies 5 km from Puno in Lake Titicaca. This steamship was commissioned by the Peruvian Government in 1862 and is now a B&B or open for visitors by donation.
2. Coca Museum- A tiny museum dedicated to the coca plant and its many uses. Interesting information about the history, medicinal and cultural uses of the coca plant.
3. Sullustani– Ruined towers that stand out for miles. The ancient Colla people buried their nobility in these towers. You can head on a tour to see the towers from Puno costing about 35 PEN (€10) or go yourself by catching any bus going towards Juliaca and get off when the road diverges to Sillustani. From here, collectivos go regularly to the towers and take about 20 minutes costing about 3 PEN (€1).
4. Floating islands– there are several options for visiting the floating island of the Uro people.

• A half day tour from Puno leaving at 9 am and returning at 12. This costs anywhere between 20-40 PEN (shop around!) and are the nearest islands to Puno. They are very commercialised now but a great way to see the islands if you are tight on time and just passing through Puno for the day. You see how the floating islands are made from reeds and enter several islands and the homes of the Uro people. Several hundred people still live on the islands and make a living off tourism, fishing and weaving or tapestry.
• A full day tour leaving Puno at 7 am and returning at 5pm. This tour goes further out to Isla Taquile where Quechua speaking islanders lifes maintain mostly untouched by the modern ways of society.
• An overnight stay on the islands with a homestay. If you have the time, this is the best way to explore the islands and understand the way of life for the island inhabitants. Although tourism has changed the landscape somewhat and if you are looking for the most authenic homestay experience, stay on nearby Amantani which is in its infancy of tourisms. Homestays can be arranged from 20 PEN (€7) per person.

Where to stay

Lucky Your House: A great hostel for €7 a night. I had the dorm to myself. The owner let me have breakfast the morning I arrived and go to my bed at 5am when coming off a night bus. Most places won’t let you check in until the allocated check in time. Decent free breakfast included, nice common area to watch TV, good wifi and warm showers. They also help organise tours from the hostel butI found out I paid almost double for the floating islands tour compared to other people on the tour so I wouldn’t book tours through them.

Where to eat:

I mostly cooked here but Loving Hut is a great vegetarian restaurant doing filling lunches with salads, soy-meat, quinoa burgers in Asian and Peruvian style.

La Casa del Corregidor is a cute cafe/ restaurant with an artisan shop attached to it. Its a lovely place for lunch or a coffee and has a nice courtyard to sit outside in the sun.

Getting to Bolivia:

This border between Puno and Copacabana was the easiest to date. US citizens require a visa into Bolivia ($135 plus two passport photos). Everyone else is ok and will be granted 30 day stay. We were not required to take our bags off the bus or anything. Just go into emigration to get stamped out of Peru, walk across the border and get stamped into Bolivia. If a lot of buses arrive at a similar time the queue to get stamped in and out can be quite long. It’s worth remembering Bolivia is one hour ahead of Peru.