Discover the many facets of Peru by rental car
Marianne and John van Asperen
Despite the pandemic, we were ultimately able to enjoy a wonderful and carefree trip thanks to Petra and the Sapa Pana Travel team.
What a beautiful country Peru is! Naturally, we were very curious about Machu Picchu, but this country has so much more to offer. Stunning landscapes, the marvellous and astonishing Inca culture, the friendly locals and their contemporary culture, not to mention the Amazon region. As we were going to be staying at altitudes of over 4,000 metres during our trip, we flew via Lima to Arequipa to recover from the long flight and acclimatise. Our journey by rental car began in Arequipa.
Stone forest
We were soon treated to the extraordinary landscape of the Bosque de Piedras (Stone Forest) in Puruña. A hidden gem that isn’t signposted anywhere along the road, but can still be found using Google Maps or Maps.me. We drove through the Colca Canyon, with its condors soaring above a magnificent terraced landscape, towards Lake Titicaca, whilst the scenery changed completely. This was followed by a long drive towards Urubamba as a base for visiting Machu Picchu and exploring the Sacred Valley, with the agricultural terraces of Moray and the salt mines at Maras. We returned the car in the charming city of Cuzco. To round off our trip, we took a domestic flight to a place of very different altitude and climate: the Amazon. After a two-hour boat trip, we left all the hustle and bustle of civilisation behind us and found ourselves surrounded by screeching macaws, howler monkeys and chirping cicadas. The highlight of our trip: we spotted a jaguar along the banks of a river – we even saw it for a few minutes!
Excellent guides
All the accommodation was special; lovely boutique hotels in the cities, private hot springs near the Colca Canyon, charming cottages in the Sacred Valley, but the days spent at Lake Titicaca really stood out: Titilaka is a fantastic place with excellent guides who taught us so much about the ancient cultures: the floating reed islands, Taquile with its men knitting and women weaving, and the magical site of Aramu Muru. Our stay at the Tambopata Research Centre in the Amazon showed us the other side of Peru, with yet another fantastic guide! So many sounds, birds and animals. Brilliant! (Although the tarantula did give me rather mixed feelings).
This was our second trip with Sapa Pana Travel. The first trip was also excellently organised, but on this occasion their dedication and attention to detail were even more evident: due to coronavirus measures, the trip had to be rescheduled three times and last-minute adjustments were also necessary; and although not strictly necessary, they kept in regular contact with us throughout the trip, which we found very reassuring. So, it was postponed, but fortunately not cancelled. Despite the pandemic, we were ultimately able to enjoy a wonderful and carefree trip thanks to Petra and the Sapa Pana Travel team.
Thank you all!
Marianne and John van Asperen