Travel Forums by Destination360 - Peru http://www.destination360.com/forum/ Travel Forum - Post your questions on Peru or share your travel stories with fellow travelers. And read our travel guides for expert advice on traveling to Peru. en Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:31:36 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.destination360.com/forum/images/VBSilver_tc/misc/rss.jpg Travel Forums by Destination360 - Peru http://www.destination360.com/forum/ Peru Travel Forum http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/7446-peru-travel-forum.html Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:59:52 GMT Are you looking for Peru advice and information from Peru Travel Forum members? Post Peru travel questions and get insights from real travelers... Are you looking for Peru advice and information from Peru Travel Forum members?

Post Peru travel questions and get insights from real travelers and forum members. Some of the highlights of the Peru travel forum are threads on best time to visit Peru and traveling from Cusco to Lake Titicaca.

Get advice on getting from Cusco to La Paz as well as Peru Flights.

Vacationbuddy ]]> Peru VacationBuddy http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/7446-peru-travel-forum.html Where to stay in Cusco - Cheap homestay http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/7170-where-stay-cusco-cheap-homestay.html Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:23:31 GMT If you are looking a nice place in Cusco while you are visiting the principal tours in Cusco like Machu Pichu one of the best options is to stay in a... If you are looking a nice place in Cusco while you are visiting the principal tours in Cusco like Machu Pichu one of the best options is to stay in a host family, some home stays provide good accommodation and the opportunity to know more about the Peruvian Culture specially their cousine, this homestay give you also 3 meals per day for low prices (between 12$ - 16$) more cheaper than a hotel with the same quality and a friendly atmosphere with the family.
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]]> Peru cuscoexperience http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/7170-where-stay-cusco-cheap-homestay.html going to Peru next year http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/7148-going-peru-next-year.html Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:27:46 GMT Hi I and my family are thinking of going to Peru next year and them traveling onto Argentina I am looking for some information on trains and buses... Hi I and my family are thinking of going to Peru next year and them traveling onto Argentina I am looking for some information on trains and buses dose anyone know were or how to get this info thatnks ]]> Peru mmichael http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/7148-going-peru-next-year.html Machu Picchu Tour http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/7014-machu-picchu-tour.html Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:02:53 GMT There are many ways to save money if you want to visit Peru, specially Machu Picchu, Inca trail, Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo, Pisac and other tours... There are many ways to save money if you want to visit Peru, specially Machu Picchu, Inca trail, Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo, Pisac and other tours in Cusco. I will give you some advices in the next posts, but now I want to show you a tipical Schedule for Machu Picchu:

Well, the day starts with an early morning rise to transfer to Ollantaytambo train station (02 hours from Cusco by bus) for a two- hour train journey to the famous Inca Citadel of Machu Picchu, also known as "The Lost City of the Incas".

Arrive at Aguas Calientes station where you can visit the hot spring and go to Mandor (a waterfall at the border of the jungle), then you will sleep in a hostal/hotel in Aguas Calientes.

The next day climbing 6km of winding road, arrive to the incredible citadel of Machu Picchu. Upon arrival, we´ll participate in a guided tour of the Citadel, visiting the Main Plaza, the Circular Tower, the Sacred Sun Dial, the Royal Quarters, the Temple of the Three Windows and various burial grounds. After the tour you will have time to stroll around the archeological site at your leisure or you will have the opportunity of climbing the "Waynapicchu montain". After that back to Ollantaytambo by train in the afternoon and by bus to Cusco. ]]> Peru cuscoexperience http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/7014-machu-picchu-tour.html Machu Picchu History http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/6770-machu-picchu-history.html Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:04:01 GMT The ruins of Machu Picchu , rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, are one of the most beautiful and enigmatic ancient sites in... The ruins of Machu Picchu , rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, are one of the most beautiful and enigmatic ancient sites in the world.

While the Inca people certainly used the Andean mountain top (9060 feet elevation), erecting many hundreds of stone structures from the early 1400's, legends and myths indicate that Machu Picchu (meaning 'Old Peak' in the Quechua language) was revered as a sacred place from a far earlier time.

Whatever its origins, the Inca turned the site into a small (5 square miles) but extraordinary city. Invisible from below and completely self-contained, surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed the population, and watered by natural springs, Machu Picchu seems to have been utilized by the Inca as a secret ceremonial city.

Two thousand feet above the rumbling Urubamba river, the cloud shrouded ruins have palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and some 150 houses, all in a remarkable state of preservation. These structures, carved from the gray granite of the mountain top are wonders of both architectural and aesthetic genius.

Many of the building blocks weigh 50 tons or more yet are so precisely sculpted and fitted together with such exactitude that the mortarless joints will not permit the insertion of even a thin knife blade. Little is known of the social or religious use of the site during Inca times.

The skeletal remains of ten females to one male had led to the casual assumption that the site may have been a sanctuary for the training of priestesses and /or brides for the Inca nobility.

However, subsequent osteological examination of the bones revealed an equal number of male bones, thereby indicating that Machu Picchu was not exclusively a temple or dwelling place of women. One of Machu Picchu primary functions was that of astronomical observatory. The Intihuatana stone (meaning 'Hitching Post of the Sun') has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes and other significant celestial periods.

The Intihuatana (also called the Saywa or Sukhanka stone) is designed to hitch the sun at the two equinoxes, not at the solstice (as is stated in some tourist literature and new-age books). At midday on March 21st and September 21st, the sun stands almost directly above the pillar, creating no shadow at all.

At this precise moment the sun "sits with all his might upon the pillar" and is for a moment "tied" to the rock. At these periods, the Incas held ceremonies at the stone in which they "tied the sun" to halt its northward movement in the sky.

There is also an Intihuatana alignment with the December solstice (the summer solstice of the southern hemisphere), when at sunset the sun sinks behind Pumasillo (the Puma's claw), the most sacred mountain of the western Vilcabamba range, but the shrine itself is primarily equinoctial.

Shamanic legends say that when sensitive persons touch their foreheads to the stone, the Intihuatana opens one's vision to the spirit world (the author had such an experience, which is described in detail in Chapter one of Places of Peace and Power, on the web site. ]]> Peru machupicchu21 http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/6770-machu-picchu-history.html Lake Titikaka http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/6594-lake-titikaka.html Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:23:06 GMT I'm interested in visiting the floating islands of Lake Titikaka - Amanti and Taquile, in particular, with an overnight stay in Amanti w/a family. From all the info I've read, they suggest not booking tours with travel agencies. And to just book the arrangments with locals. Unfortunately, I do not have much time to spend there. Only 2 days and 1 night. So I am tempted to book in advance with a travel agency. What are my chances of being able to walk to the dock early in the morning to arrange for a trip that day with the locals? And how do you distinguish the tour boats from the local boats? ]]> Peru grace http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/6594-lake-titikaka.html Peru Vacations in Machu Picchu? http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/6491-peru-vacations-machu-picchu.html Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:42:53 GMT Peru the most incredible destination in South America. Visit Peruvian highlight cities: the Nazca lines and the oldest civilization in the Americas. ... Peru the most incredible destination in South America. Visit Peruvian highlight cities: the Nazca lines and the oldest civilization in the Americas. When you think of Peru, do you imagine visiting the Incan Imperial City of Cusco, walking the Inca Trail, or experiencing the mysteries of the New Seven Wonders of the World Machu Picchu? We have an extremely diverse country with beautiful beaches, trekking through the Andes [Salkantay trek, Ausangate trek, Choquequirao trek, etc.], cycling to sacred valley of the Incas, or watching incredible condors in the Colca canyon near Arequipa, and Titicaca Lake in Puno. ]]> Peru perutravel10 http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/6491-peru-vacations-machu-picchu.html Did you do Inca Trail tours Machu Picchu ? http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/6418-did-you-do-inca-trail-tours.html Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:01:42 GMT your one option Inka Trail to Machu Picchu 2 Days and 1 Nights The Inca Trail has been famous all over the world for many years. The reasons... your one option

Inka Trail to Machu Picchu 2 Days and 1 Nights

The Inca Trail has been famous all over the world for many years. The reasons are many: The fantastic nature with valleys, snow-capped mountains and great variety of plants, birds and animals. The amazing trail itself, with its stairs and tunnels, which is part of a network of 30.000 kms. of trails, going from Mendoza in Argentina to the border between Ecuador and Colombia. Finally, of course, for the archaeological sites along the trail that reveal the great knowledge and organizational skills of the Incas, with the impressive Machu Picchu as a more than worthy final ]]> Peru toursmachupicchu http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/6418-did-you-do-inca-trail-tours.html Peru Tours agency http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/6269-peru-tours-agency.html Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:07:49 GMT Hello there, Very interested in booking a 15 days trip to Peru. I wanted to know if anyone out there can recommend tour agencies and can share... Hello there,

Very interested in booking a 15 days trip to Peru. I wanted to know if anyone out there can recommend tour agencies and can share their experience? ]]> Peru caliguy http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/6269-peru-tours-agency.html Finding a Peru travel guide http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5993-finding-peru-travel-guide.html Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:21:20 GMT Hello, I need some advise regarding finding a Peru travel guide..i was wondering how hard is it and how do you do it? Hello,
I need some advise regarding finding a Peru travel guide..i was wondering how hard is it and how do you do it? ]]> Peru wordpression http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5993-finding-peru-travel-guide.html Cheap Hostels http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5805-cheap-hostels.html Sun, 17 May 2009 00:15:23 GMT Hi: I was in Peru with my wife and booked with a travel agency called Inka Fest Travel and they booked us with a very nice hotels located in safe... Hi:
I was in Peru with my wife and booked with a travel agency called Inka Fest Travel and they booked us with a very nice hotels located in safe places and we just pay S/ 40.00 soles ($14.00 for a double room with private toilette) just search in google by Inka Fest Travel and write them they will be glad to help you.
Cheers ]]> Peru carlosmattos http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5805-cheap-hostels.html Inka Fest Travel in Peru http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5804-inka-fest-travel-peru.html Sun, 17 May 2009 00:12:23 GMT hi everyone I never heard about Inka Wasi; but me and my wife just came back from our trip to Peru with Inka Fest and our services went... hi everyone
I never heard about Inka Wasi; but me and my wife just came back from our trip to Peru with Inka Fest and our services went excellent. The guides were really nice ,spoke very well english and were very funny , giving us full of information during the whole trip.
Evelyn & Claudia were very helpful and friendly people and they gave us many advices for the rest of our trip in Peru and Bolivia.
Good Luck ]]> Peru carlosmattos http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5804-inka-fest-travel-peru.html Peru travel http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5717-peru-travel.html Wed, 06 May 2009 16:36:36 GMT when is a good time to travel to peru? we want to venture out in the rain forest and experience the jungle.. anyone any suggestions please? when is a good time to travel to peru? we want to venture out in the rain forest and experience the jungle.. anyone any suggestions please? ]]> Peru stripvegas http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5717-peru-travel.html is it worth it??? http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5479-worth.html Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:41:16 GMT hi, me and my mates are thinking of flighing to peru and buying or renting a boat and going down the amazon to brazil ourselves, is it worth doing it... hi, me and my mates are thinking of flighing to peru and buying or renting a boat and going down the amazon to brazil ourselves, is it worth doing it this way or will it be too hard and expensive???? i was looking at the usual tourist trap boats and it really doesnt seem like my kind of thing, wot does u suggest???/ ]]> Peru stephmesser http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5479-worth.html My trip to the Reserve Pacaya Samiria Peru http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5228-my-trip-reserve-pacaya-samiria-peru.html Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:24:13 GMT This is the story of my life's best trip, that to the Reserva Pacaya Samiria Reserve in Peru where my boyfriend and I got gladly and greatly amazed for the fauna and vegetation or wildlife and such wonderful landscapes over there and their tranquility, something unique the world over.


Thursday

We arrived in Bretaña (near Iquitos port, Peru's Amazon) by boat from Pucallpa. Cesar (the guide) arrived and we picked up everything we had collected or gathered and we walked down the pathway to where the boat was, the one taking us to the Reserva Pacaya Samira.

And then we went straight away to the boat. Marquiños (Cesar Galan's, the guide) brother and his son were waiting for us over there. And we embarked in and sailed down to the Reserva Pacaya Samiria. Marquiños and his son remained there and Cesar, my boyfriend and I went and undertook the trip.

We arrived, after saling along the Ucayal River, to the PV1 entrance gate: Belo Horizonte. Arriving to that vigilance or watching spot is done through and along the channel of that same name. There we left the boat and we went to get duly registered.

We left and after sailing for some time when Marquiños and his son came in another canoe. They climbed up and boarded the boat. The idea was that, Marquiños, who was a guide also, could show us some shotcuts. We arrived to a beautiful lake called "Lago Vanllal" lake and since it was rather hot, we swam in the lake. We continued our sailing and 2 universal rains fell awfully over us; my boyfriend wisely put on his raincoat, the rest of us got the raining right and straight over and onto us getting us awfully wet.

We arrived to the Qurmural and the Lagartal Lakes, then Marquiños and his son ate together and then they went back to Bretaña. Then my boyfriend and me were again alone with Cesar, the guide. Cesar put off the engine and we were very quiet, motionless and withiout any noise for a while. The son was dazzling at the sky and the lake's immensity brought us peaceful moments which was accompanied by the parrots' chatters and trillings as they were flying around from one place to another.

We kept sailing and passing along lakes from one into another: Yanacu and Shauinto Lakes. We took the Santa Elena channel and sailing along it. As the night was approaching down to us and Cesar decided to find an appropriated place where to sleep on the boat since the PV2 was far away. We were in the Zapote Channel. Cesar found some appropiated branches there in order to fasten the two mosquito nets and then we slept sooundly till the next day. I have to say it was a horrible torture every time we got close to the shore because of so many daddy longleg mosquitos biting and piercing us all the time. They wouldn't move or withdraw at all and we had to be killing them out of simple, hard and tiring hand blows.



Friday.

Dawn came early. We picked up everything and then left and sailed in search of the PV2. It didn't take us much long to arrive in there. This vigilance or watching post was a very big house with many rooms and which is yet moree important, with some bathrooms with showers. What a pleasure!! Now it seems it was just the recreational or entertaining house for the former President of Peru: Fujimori.

We left and arrived to the Yarina Lake. So beautiful and full of ''bufeos'' dophins. The so called shrieking monkeys were noisily bawling by the shores. That was awfull terrible. The noises seemed as if they were planes engines or something like that! Lot of wild animals like black and white herons, kingfishers, galliforme eagles can be seen flying high up over the place.

We arrived to an Assitance & Support House where there were four men. They lent us a canoe and we went for a short visit. We were able to see more monkeys and other animals since the boat got no engine. Cesar took us to a place where we could relieve us ourselves. We got onto the canoe and went through a flooded wood. We went and sailed along the Afasi canal and arrived in "Puerto Limonal" Port. It is a plot of land the INRA has given to Cesar so he could mount and erect his campsites there. He has got some kind of nails to put and fasten his mosquitos nets over there.

We went back to the supporting house and we ate some fish they had cooked: "boca chico" and "carbazú". They were tasty but, unluckily, salty.

Then we rested and got relaxed for a while and after sunset and it got dark we took the ship again and we sailed along and from a channel to a lake. Once there in the lake, Cesar started to emit and send for a sound in order to call and attract the lizards. He told us to do that also. Cesar was rowing round the lake and calling the lizards to attract them and then, although them answered him back not any one showed up. What was really there were a lot of fireflies or glowworms. They call the discotheque to that lake. It was a shame for with so much moonlight we couldn't see not any lizard.

We went back to the supporting-protecting house, had a soup and went straight to sleep. My fiancé didn't feel alright for he had some stomach ache and belly trouble and he got some fever. Today, keeping with the tendency we had been observing since we arrived in Peru, where and when it rains one day and another or every two days, we expected it to rain, but it didn't rain at the end. We slept at the supporting house's porch and under the mosquito-nets; there were a lot of "zancudos" outside to keep the trend.



Saturday

We left the protective supporting house early in the morning and carrying 4 "boca chico" fish freshly done and which were given to us by the local fishermen. My boyfriend got up with a stab in his belly. Cesar, as he was worried about it, asked us if we wanted going back to Bretaña, but my fiancé was soon alright (what he got were some belly gasses only).

I was navigating for a while so Cesar could get some rest. We were already in the Pacaya River. Then suddenly Cesar cried saying that he had to turn back around for we had overpassed an entrance to the place where he wanted to take us: "Miraflores". I turned around the best I could and then Cesar took over commanding it. Cesar recognized the entrance because of a settled tree of which there are undoubtedly very few ones on the river shore. The entrance was covered with underbrush, thickets and weeds but he toof off and cleaned it. He took the boat into it, into the entrance and then...Oh! Surprise! To our amazemet...solid ground, mainland! He then fastened the boat, we put on our long trousers, jersey and the boot and we started a long walk across and along the jungle, right in full primary forest. Wow!

We went rather slowly in order to watch and see the animals, but although Cesar was very silent, we, my fiance and I were very noisy. Cesar was showing us giantic ants hills; foot prints and wildboars smells and an endless lot of things during the expedition. The heat was horrible and we were sweating a quite a lot. Without wanting it I hit my boyfriend on his eyebrow with the metal canteen I was carrying.

We saw howling or shrieking monkeys, wapo monkeys and the so-called "monos bolsillo". The long-legged mosquitoes were annoying us all the time. We also saw a furtive hunters' camping :( Then we went back to the boat as we were tired from the walk and we just wanted to get a bath. Cesar took and sailed the boat to a place right in the middle of the river and we three took a bath with plenty of soap to get our sweeting off.

We ate those fish we had still left, some soup and rice. And we continued sailing along the Pacaya River planning to arrive in the PV3 soonest, but of course...why not!..today was raining time. And it rained a lot, it rained cats and dogs the whole afternoon. We managed to cover right everything with the plastic cover Cesar was carring. It didn't stop raining the whole day long and so, when it was getting dark, Cesar decided we should be camping. He was looking for a while around both sides of the river in order to find the appropriated place to install or erect the plastic cover and the mosquito-nets. Finally he found it; meanwhile my boyfriend and I were helping him the best way we could. It kept raining and the long-legged mosquitoes continued attacking, annoying and bitting us. All Cesar's anxiety was watching us fall sleep in bed.

Wew got in bed and Cesar quietly installed his own mosquito-net, took some soup and got into his bed. Animals that were close to us were heard during the whole night and it didn't stop raining at all....


Sunday

We got up early. It didn't rain, we picked up and took everything and we left the place sailing along the Picaya River. It was rather cold, but not so much. We were at the Tami Novioa Lake. After taking breakfast we kept sailing down the Pacaya River in our way back to the PV1. Here we desembarked to say farewell to the engineer at the entrance. He made us fill a questionnary about the natural park and then we went right away back to Bretaña, which is just in front and across the river.

Once we arrived in Bretaña, we left everything in the boat and went with Cesar to get back or retrieve all whar we had left in there before. We were in the shore of the river near Marquiños home. His wife was there, Eva (31 years old) and four of his five children. Cesar prepared some soup to us and we took it. Then we kept talking for a while later on. At 21.00 ship's arrival.
Cesar took us by boat. He truly gave us all his true dedication and care, worryig about all our wellbeing and our enjoying the trip, it couldn't have been greatest. Thanks so much, Cesar!;) ]]> Peru marluriy http://www.destination360.com/forum/peru/5228-my-trip-reserve-pacaya-samiria-peru.html