Peru from the mountain to the sea

Arriving in Peru by road is quite an experience since the city view reflect on the lake's water in a very beautiful way. We entered the country through the city of Puno, located in lake Titicaca. After arriving there we took a bus to Cusco, capital city of the ancient Inca culture.

Once in Cusco we look for a hostel near the main square of the city, which by the way is huge and it has colonial architecture mixed with Inca ruins making it a very unique place. You can get lost in the stoned streets taking pictures of every corner. Drink a Pisco Sour or more, visit shops, museums, and have delicious food all day since peruvian cuisine is known world wide for its amazing flavors both in gourmet and street food.

From Cusco you can take tours or buses to the Sacred Valley in which you have different towns to visit in your way to Machu Picchu. Each town has its magic, there are hot springs, and rivers to go take baths, you can have amazing hikes with beautiful landscapes, visit Inca ruins along the way and always have delicious meals and drinks.

Before getting to Machu picchu there's a three hours walk to "Aguas Calientes" the closest town to the ruins of Machu picchu. You can get there by walking or you can take a ride on the touristic train.

The walking through the Urubamba canyon feels like an spiritual trip due to the powerful sound of the river, the so so green thick vegetation, the butterflies all along the way and just the peace that the place gives you. Arriving to Aguas Calientes is another great view. It looks like a lost town in the middle of nowhere. Since there are no cars it's an all pedestrian town so you can just get lost around.

We took an hour walk to Machu picchu next morning but you can also ride a bus to get there. Entering this lost city is quite a moment, I felt my breath took away the moment I saw the imposing view. All day went by walking around every street, climbing the highest tops of the complex and just staying there being amazed by this ancient human miracle.

Next stop in our trip was the capital city of Lima, so we took our way back to Cusco and took a 24 hour bus ride to the city. You go through the so called Cordillera blanca (White mountains), it's always a great view and you better be prepared to be very cold too since they are very high mountains.

When arriving in Lima we got to a friend's house and took a rest of our journey so far. Later that day we went to Miraflores, one of the most touristic places in the city, there are parks, restaurants, hotels, casinos, malls, discos, theaters, a whole and vibrant city life. 

While there we also went to the beach and to "parque de las aguas" (waters park), a place full of different fountains and water shows.

After a week of enjoying the city we continued our trip to last peruvian destination in Mancora, a beach town in northern Peru. We got ther in a 22 hour bus ride. It's an small town very prepared to receive visitors since there are several hostels in front of the sea, restaurants and shops. The sea in very blue in contrast with a dry desert-like beach. A cool place to go take a sunbath and relax.