Huacachina, Peru: land of sand

Once upon a time, Huacachina was a playground of the Peruvian elite, a veritable oasis where they would come to escape the drudgery of everyday life. Nowadays, it’s more of a tourist trap – the tiny lake in the middle of a sea of sand dunes is lined three-deep with bars advertising 5x1 happy hours and hostels housing tipsy young tourists. It’s definitely not what you’d call a cultural hub. But you only need to head over the first dune to realize what drew the Peruvians originally and the tourists today – a gorgeous, untouched expanse of silk-smooth sand dunes, where, if you time it right, you can see a sunset that will take your breath away.

Sun setting over the sand dunes in Huacachina, Peru

Arequipa, Peru: mummies & monasteries

“This is more like it,” was my first thought as we squealed around corners towards downtown Arequipa in an impossibly compact cab. Colonial architecture, cobblestone roads, people flooding the streets – it had the character and buzz that I expected but didn’t receive from Lima.

Arequipa's main square with volcano El Misti in the background

Trekking to Machu Picchu

Some moments that we experience and then file away in our memories become lost, or faded. Certain others, though, remain crisp and clear, laminated, easily accessible. These are the important ones, our defining moments. I can say with near certainty that watching the sun rise over Machu Picchu will be one of my unforgettable moments.  

Sunrise at Machu Picchu, Peru

Cusco, Peru: fiesta city

Cusco kind of appears out of nowhere from the plane - it´s been nothing but stunning Andes peaks and the occasional farming village for the last hour from Lima and then suddenly, there it is, spreading out up into the hills from a valley at around 3,400m above sea level. The first thing you notice is its characteristic red tile roofs, and as the plane makes a sharp (and bumpy) turn to make the landing on the tiny, one-runway airport, you´re not sure quite what to expect. But it doesn´t take long for Cusco to win you over.

VIVA EL PERU

Lima, Peru: the beautiful and strange

There's that moment when you wake up in a strange place and you don't realize you're not in your own bed. And then something snaps you into awareness. On my first morning in Lima, it was the birds. The bizarre cawing birds, and then someone playing Björk on the stereo in the hostel courtyard just outside our room. Birds, Björk, people speaking in Spanish... and then it hit me: holy crap, I'm in Peru.

Street art in Miraflores, Lima, Peru