Preparing for a Peruvian Vacation
When you’re visiting exotic locales like Peru, it may be necessary to get vaccinated, but it is not mandatory. For instance, if you’re just traveling to the main cities of Lima, Cusco, or even more well-traveled ecotourist areas like Machu, Picchu, it is not necessary to be vaccinated against yellow fever. If you’re coming from an infected area, then you need a yellow fever certificate, but if you’re traveling from the United States or other developed country, a vaccination certificate is not required unless you’re going to obscure jungle regions.
Just because it is not required does not mean it is not advisable, however. This is especially true if you are visiting the jungle areas. Vaccination against typhus and malaria are recommended. This is purely a precaution, but it is better to be safe than sorry. As a disease like malaria is transmitted through mosquito bites, protection against mosquitoes is important as well.
Not to worry you, but there have been reports of rabies transmitted from vampire bats! This has happened in the Madre de Dios and Puno provinces, but it is rare. Aside from these major dangers, which are avoidable, the main issues affecting tourists are altitude sickness and sickness from drinking tainted water. “Don’t drink the water” is a popular refrain when traveling below the border of the U.S. and this applies to Peru. All told, it only takes a bit of preparation in order to have a safe trip through Peru, and if you never leave the major cities, even these precautions will not always be necessary.
About Venture Peru:
Venture Peru is the leading online retailer of Peru tour packages and Peru travel tours. If you are interested in exploring Peru, please visit our book a trip page or contact us at 877.852.7378.
Flying Over the Nazca Lines
February 27, 2009 by admin
Filed under Home Post, Nazca Lines
We’ve mentioned before the great spiritual mystery of visiting some of Peru’s most popular landmarks: specifically Machu Picchu. It has to be experienced to be understood, but many people feel a great spiritual presence when visiting Machu Picchu. One of the great mysterious places in Peru are the Nazca Lines, believed to have been created between 200 and 700 B.C.
What makes the Nazca lines so extraordinary is their scope and the fact that they can only be appreciated high in the sky – a perspective that the Nazca culture obviously would not have had during that period. So who exactly were the Nazca lines built for? Are they entertainment for the Gods – or as some have pointed out, even made by and for something more alien? Literally, people have argued that the Nazca Lines are landing pads for spaceships. How were they able to construct these massive drawings without having the perspective from high above? These questions are unanswered.
More earth-bound theories are that the Nazca Lines are a form of irrigation, or an ambitious art project. The fact that these are theories and no one knows for sure adds to the Nazca Lines’ mystery and allure. While it’s possible to visit the area and see how the lines were constructed – by moving away the reddish pebbles of the landscape to reveal the whitish earth underneath – you can only get a true view of the Nazca Lines by flying overhead in a helicopter, so this is the method that is most recommended for visitors.
About Venture Peru:
Venture Peru is the leading online retailer of Peru tour packages and Peru travel tours. If you are interested in exploring Peru, please visit our book a trip page or contact us at 877.852.7378.
Things to Do in Peru: Exploring Inca Ruins
February 27, 2009 by admin
Filed under Home Post, machu picchu
The top tourist destination in Peru are the wide variety of Incan Ruins. While people come to Lima and are sometimes surprised to see such a bustling metropolis, one of the major attractions of Peru are not the country’s modern amenities, but rather the great history that can be found throughout the country. Though Machu Picchu is the number one tourist spot for exploring Inca ruins, there are a number of other ruins that are just as exhilarating.
Over 3000 people visit the Machu Picchu during the peak months of June to August. Machu Picchu is accessed via the capital of the ancient Incan Empire, Cusco. From Cusco, you can visit other ruins, such as the fortresses in the towns of Ollantaytambo and Pisac. However, Cusco’s Sacred Valley isn’t the only place to find Incan ruins. In the north, the cities of Trujillo and Chiclayo both claim access to the Tucume pyramids, some of which have Incan origins.
Hiking the Inca Trail is also highly popular. It can be strenuous in places, so keep this in mind, but by trekking through Peru you are rewarded with clean air and some of the most beautiful vistas in all the world. At the end of the trail is glorious Machu Picchu – and it can take as long as seven days to get there, depending on the nature of your tour. It’s possible to trek along the Inca Trail for as little as two days on the way to Peru’s most popular Incan ruin.
About Venture Peru:
Venture Peru is the leading online retailer of Peru tour packages and Peru travel tours. If you are interested in exploring Peru, please visit our book a trip page or contact us at 877.852.7378.
The Cosmopolitan City of Lima, Peru
February 13, 2009 by admin
Filed under Home Post, lima, peru nightime
Lima is the largest city in Peru, and the third largest city in Latin America, a fascinating mixture of the new and the old. Founded in 1535, it is now a bustling and cosmopolitan metropolis. Though some of your stay in Peru will involve visiting ancient ruins or marveling in the natural beauty of the rainforest, Lima is where the old meets the modern with some of the finest restaurants in South America, if not the world, a famed night-life scene, theatres, art museums, and other cultural attractions..
Nothing typifies Lima’s mixture of the old and the new more than the city’s architecture. In the financial district, buildings are comprised of glass skyscrapers – modern, and even futuristic, in design. Older structures include the city’s monasteries and cathedrals, built in Spanish neoclassical style. There’ also a French influence for many of the city’s government buildings.
If you’re visiting Peru, Lima will likely be your jumping off point for traveling within the rest of the country. Though when people think about traveling to the Amazon, they don’t necessarily think about the big city, but Lima is as much a part of the country’s cultural history as Incan ruins and Machu Picchu. Though Peru has many cultures that have not changed for centuries within the rain forest, and bordering Lake Titicaca, the city of Lima is actually an interesting blend of many cultures: European, Andean, and Asian cultures – making it markedly different from other South American cities like Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
About Venture Peru:
Venture Peru is the leading online retailer of Peru tour packages and Peru travel tours. If you are interested in exploring Peru, please visit our book a trip page or contact us at 877.852.7378.
Being Safe in Peru
We obviously do not want to discourage anyone from Peru, but any crowded tourist area will raise safety concerns and you need to be careful about pickpockets. This means carrying your wallet in your front pocket, rather than your back pocket, and always keeping a purse zipped and hung tightly over the shoulder. This is true in transportation centers, such as train and bus stations, major city centers in Lima, as well as large political gatherings or demonstrations.
We have written here about the importance of having a guide in Peru. This is because there have been instances of tour groups having trouble out in the wilderness. However, it’s important to understand that these are rare and just to stress the importance of taking adequate precautions. Certain areas are worse than others, but the areas that are the most popular to tourists are safe due to the number of visitors and increased safety precautions.
Again, we want to make it clear that a trip to Peru will be safe, but these are concerns you should have when visiting any foreign country. Other issues that you should be aware of: don’t take photographs of military installations and don’t wear Indian clothing, as this could come across as insulting to natives. Remember, you are a visitor in the country so you should treat the country and its people with respect. If you do, you’ll be sure to have a safe trip throughout Peru that may be the best vacation of your life.
Touring Peru with a Guide
Unlike other travel vacations, it is advisable when traveling to Peru that you do the tour via a guide, rather than on your own. If you’re visiting a city like New York City, you can certainly visit the sites by yourself – especially if you can speak, and read, English. However, in the vast jungles of Peru, it is not only advisable to go with a tour group, but a necessity.
Hiking the long trails up to Machu Picchu just cannot be accomplished alone, unless you’re a very seasoned hiker. The same goes for a boating trip up the Amazon. It will be necessary to travel the Amazon with a boating service. This isn’t just a question of safety, but the quality of your trip. Visiting Peru is like visiting a museum, and while you can learn a lot about Peru from reading books or brochures in advance of your visit (which you should do regardless), there is so much you will miss if you don’t get a guided tour through Peru’s many environs.
What is that wildlife, what is that fauna? What was the main function of these Incan ruins? Who still lives in this area? Visiting Peru isn’t just a tourism experience, but a learning experience. It’s like being inside your own history channel documentary. As mentioned, reaching some of these areas isn’t possible without a trained and trusted guide, so it is something you should make part of your travel plans. This will factor into the expenses for your trip, but it will make your trip more worthwhile.
About Venture Peru:
Venture Peru is the leading online retailer of Peru tour packages and Peru travel tours. If you are interested in exploring Peru, please visit our book a trip page or contact us at 877.852.7378.
The Amazon in Peru
The Amazon is the largest river in the world, cutting across much of South America going from country to country. What this means is that wherever you happen to be visiting in South America, your experience of the Amazon could be different depending upon the country. The Peruvian section of the Amazon is particularly interesting and exotic. The Amazon is considered the aorta of the earth, but unfortunately parts of the rainforest surrounding the Amazon are being cut down. This is not so in the Peruvian section of the Amazon, which is prized for be an example of how the Amazon appeared centuries ago.
The Peruvian section of the Amazon has 70% of the living species on planet earth. That’s not a typo. One of the reasons for the controversy surrounding deforestation of the Amazon is just how many species live in the Amazonian ecosystem and how important that ecosystem is for earth’s survival. Thankfully, the species are alive and thriving in the Amazonian section of Peru. Flora, fauna, insect life, mammalian, water life – this section of the Amazon has everything. Amazonian creatures have the reputation of being fierce and threatening, but much of the wildlife in the Amazon is peaceful, colorful, and needs to be seen to be believed.
By and large, when tourists take a tour through the Amazon, Peru is the main destination. This is what makes Peru so special as a destination in South America. Not only does it have some of the most interesting ruins on the entire continent, but the wilderness is also untouched. Because Peru is the top tourist destination in South America, there has been a concerted effort to preserve the country’s ecology.
Majestic Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca may have one of the funniest sounding names, but the name actually means “Rock Puma,” for the shape of the lake: from above it looks a bit like a puma catching a rabbit. Amusing names aside, Lake Titicaca is actually one of the more majestic places on earth. The largest lake in South America, it is also the lake that one of the highest-altitude lakes in the world: 12,500 feet above sea level. The lake is so large that it straddles both Peru and Bolivia.
What makes Lake Titicaca particularly interesting are the artificial islands comprised of floating reeds throughout the lake. There are also watchtowers built of reeds as well and these islands are a major tourist attraction in the lake. These are actually military installations that could be moved around the lake as necessary.
Amantani island is a timeless piece of history – there is no development on the island whatsoever and there functioning villages on the site – with electricity produced by a generator. Some homes on the island are open to tourist visits.
Taquile island has a number of interesting Inca ruins, as well as agricultural terraces like Amantani. Other islands include Isla del Sol, Isla de la Luna, and Suriqui – all unique and all providing different sites. What makes the areas around the lake so unique is the differences in languages and cultures between the inhabitants of each island. It’s highly recommended that you read about each culture’s history before visiting to get the most out of your visit to the lake.
The Mysteries of Machu Picchu
February 6, 2009 by admin
Filed under Home Post, machu picchu
What makes Machu Picchu such a mysterious and magical place to visit is that the purpose of the ancient ruins is still a mystery. Discovered only recently in 1911, due to its isolation in the higher mountain of Peru, Machu Picchu, it’s estimated that 1200 people could have lived there at any one time, but it’s also thought that it may have been a mountain retreat for elite Incan rulers.
What makes Machu Picchu particularly mysterious is that because of its isolation it is still unknown how the massive structure of Machu Picchu were built. Much like other famous monuments like Stonehenge in the U.K. there are many theories, but no definitive information. And also like Stonehenge, there are far-flung theories about its construction, including alien intervention!
Even with this sense of mystery, much of Machu Picchu is practical as well – a combination of both form and function. As it is built high in the mountains, it is built using an aqueduct system which utilizes the natural slope of the hills and gravity. The religious centers are high atop Machu Picchu’s peaks, overlooking the Urubamba Valley.
Visiting Machu Picchu isn’t just about visiting the ruins, but the entire experience of hiking through Peru’s jungle forests. Hikers will be hiking along and suddenly there is a foundation among the dense wilderness. Pictures don’t really do it justice, and it is something that needs to be seen, and felt, to be believed. Over 7,000 feet above sea level, it’s not an easy hike, but it is worth it to see one of the world’s great wonders.
About Venture Peru:
Venture Peru is the leading online retailer of Peru tour packages and Peru travel tours. If you are interested in exploring Peru, please visit our book a trip page or contact us at 877.852.7378.