Travellers' Reports for Peru

Manu

Tambopata

Chachapoyas

Salkantay Trek

Inca Trail

Highlights of Peru

Choquequerao

Circuits and tailor made holidays

Apurimac rafting

Amazon (Manu - Tambopata)

Herman, US - Manu Wildlife Center 25/10/2001
Hello Danielle:
Thank you for arranging our trip to Peru which proved to be an absolutely great experience. The guides were really excellent, and the accommodations and facilities were as expected!
The charter flight to Manu was not the best experience, and I suggest that you find a better carrier n if such exists [There is only one carrier and we have to rely on it]. We had to leave the hotel at 0615 for a planned 0730 departure. The guide made valiant efforts to find why no plane appeared after many promises, and the three of us sat for hours in the otherwise totally empty large charter terminal waiting room. She was told they could not locate the pilot. Finally, we were changed to another terminal and boarded an ancient turboprop which finally left at 1142. It was carrying supplies and cargo to Manu and other locations. The cabin interior was disheveled to say the least. There were cartons of apples in front us and bathroom supplies behind us. We were a bit nervous flying over the mountains, but did arrive intact.
The return trip was in a better plane which did manage to get into Manu between intermittent rain. The only problem was that it stopped on the runway in about 3 inches of water and had to be pushed out manually by all hands in order to start the takeoff.
[Text cut about flight problem]
Best regards,

Mike, US - Sandoval Lake Lodge 20/12/2002
Excellent - the highlight in Peru for me. Guides were firet rate - very knowledgable and friendly, quality of food first class and the surrounding primary forest breathtaking.

Northern Peru

Bryan, UK - Chachapoyas & Lost World of the Cloud People 13/08/2001
Hello Danielle,
Thanks for your message. My former work colleagues forwarded your message. I have just started a new job - lots of travel, but nothing in Latin America, unfortunately.
I found out once I got to Peru that foreigners would not be charged the 18% tax for accomodation on presentatio of passport details. It occurred to me that this might mean I am entitled to a refund? However, I so much enjoyed the trip that I decided not to pursue the matter - however, it would be interesting to know how the exemption legislation affects the pass on of costs from InkaNatura to you to me!!!
The service provided was first class. The information package was there for me on arrival, I was picked up at Chiclayo as planned - and then at the end of the trip the local guide (Edith) made a point of arranging my transfer to Trujillo airport and getting me through check-in even though I had broken the trip with my independent stay at Huanchaco. Great!
Most of all the Chachapoyas trip was outstanding - I must admit I am more used to the larger groups with British / Aussie or Canadian tour leaders a la Explore or Exodus. This was different - the leader/guides were really good - Daniel was a class-act and I hope to keep in touch - maybe even take up his suggestion of joining one of his more adventurous expeditions.
Caballito de Totora was comfortable and well located - but I was the only guest, given that it was winter. Huanchaco was perhaps not at its best but I enjoyed it (and its seafood) nonetheless.
Please keep me on your mailing list.
I await my slides (17 X 36, so lots to look forwards to). I might send scans of one or two if they work out.
very best wishes - Bryan

Cuzco Area

Denise, France - Sacred Valley Trek 17/09/2001
Dear Danielle,
Our holidays were fantastic - thanks for your help. The few days trek in the sacred valley was particularly great with a brilliant guide and a chance to get off the beaten track. All the staff were lovely. The only problem we had was with the transfer guide at Cuzco who was obviously trained to sell as many packaged tourist excursions as possible. Although we managed to refuse most of them, we got well and truely done on the trip to Machu Picchu as she bought first class train tickets for us without our permission and at an exorbitant price. We understand fully that she was working direct for Trek Peru and nothing to do with Condor, however. Everything that had been agreed through you was perfect so thanks again for your help and patience, Denise

Circuits and tailormade arrangements

Julie and John from the UK - tailormade arrangements - Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Cuzco - Salkantay Trek, Nazca and Balestas Island 07/2004
Dear Danielle,
We're now safely back from our wonderful holiday in Peru, and would like to thank you for making all the arrangements. We were very happy with our itinerary, and were glad to have organised more time at each place than most tours were allowing - it was wonderful to have time to walk in the Colca Canyon, as well as lining up with the coach parties to see the condors! We were very pleased with all our guides - they were all very knowledgeable and helpful, and always sympathetic, allowing us to go slowly and take loads of photos!
The organisation of our tour was very good, except for one minor 'hiccup' between Pisco and Arequipa. We were told on the morning of our transfer by our main contact (I'm afraid I can't remember her name) that the overnight bus was at 6.00 pm from Ica, not Pisco, and that we'd be taken there in the afternoon. At lunch time we were told that it would actually leave at 10.00 pm and that we shouldn't wander round Ica after dark! his meant a long, uncomfortable wait at the bus station, little sleep overnight, and no-one to meet us at Arequipa! (We arrived at 9.30 am.) We got a taxi to the hotel, and later learned that they had come to meet us a t 6.00 am. We never discovered what went wrong, and but thought that you should at least know about this one breakdown in communication.
Percy in Cusco was marvellous! He had problems with the authorities regarding our trek, which meant that we had to do the private Salkantay part in 4 rather than 5 days and join a group from Huallabamba for the next 2. This gave us an more time at Machu Picchu and an extra night in a hotel in Aguas Calientes. Although we were at first a bit upset, and worried about being rushed through the trek faster than we could manage, we realised that government interference is causing a lot of problems for the tour organisers, and we were very happy with the compromise that Percy worked out for us.
We greatly enjoyed the trek and had nothing but admiration for our two arrieros (and 6 horses), our excellent cook, Ivan, and our wonderful, patient guide, Cesar. Freak weather conditions meant that we had to camp at the Japanese camp in deep snow - I have attached a couple of photos to prove it! Although we didn't get the views of Salkantay, and I was nearly dead when we reached the camp, it was a wonderful experience, and walking over the pass and down to Sisay Pampa the next day in the snow was magical.
I could go on for hours about our experiences. We have learned so much about Peru both ancient and modern, and have quite simply had a fantastic holiday.
Thanks again for all your help and advice in making it such a success.

Olivia, UK - tailormade arrangements - Cuzco - Salkantay Trek - Biking in Manu 07/2003

Hi Danielle, sorry for the late response.
We enjoyed our trip very much. I'll give you some feed-back and if you need more info or have questions, please write.
Accomodations were great, we really liked our hotel in Lima and the one in Cuzco (Ruinas). The hotel in Aguas Calientes was okay, but not that great, and I imagine more expensive than Ruinas. The best part of the trip for me was the mountain trek [salkantay Trek] (by the way, made it all the way, without needing to ride the horrses). The staff was wonderful and very hardworking, all of them and especially Mario who was SPECTACULAR. Nazario the cook was very good too, everybody was. We felt like we were very ell taken care of and we were very safe.
The jungle extension was very fun as well. They do have problems with their equipment: the bikes were quite bad, the raft was duct taped and leaked air (had to stop twice to inflate it) and the motor boat engine broke twice on the way back, once we had to wait for an hour on the river side, then we had to walk to our destination after it broke again. The guide Eduardo was most likely doing drugs and made me feel unsafe - I would not go with him on another tripe. The cook at Erika's Lodge Richard made very good food and was very sweet and the canopy flight was awesome and very well run.
Percy went out of his way to make our trip the best - he is wonderful.
And you were great accomodating all of out travel changes and requests: thanks a lot! I will definetly look you up for my trip next year ( I take one yearly), and also I will highly recommend you to my friends.
Thanks again and wish you all the best,

Daniel, Switerland - tailormade arrangements - Cuzco - Machu Picchu - Titicaca - Bolivia and Chile 07/2003
Bonjour,
En gros pour les infos voyages de ce que je me rappelle.Un guide une fois en retard,un guide nous a oublié au retour de Cuzco,mais pas grave.Sinon les hotels parfaits.Les excursions et guides super chez Transturin(les seuls qui nous accompagnent avec 1 bonbonne d'oxygène en excursion, qui nous font passer devant tout le monde à la douane et qui retéléphone à l'Hotel pour savoir si nous sommes contents).Les autres agences corrects sans plus.La nourriture bien et le catamaran génial pour 4 seulement.Les vols d'avion ont bien suivi.Ce que l'on pourrait reprocher aux autres agences c'est de devoir demander les informations en permanence même si le travail est fait.Pour le Chili tout était réservé mais aucune voucher ne nous a été donné,comme si il y avait de la magouille de dessous de table dans les réservations??? Sinon je recommanderais volontiers votre agence vos propositions et choix.Un petit manque quand on est à Lima pour un soir,on a demandé 1 tour de ville au guide dommage que cela ne soit pas prévu dans la mesure ou nous sommes sur place.Je ne me rappelle plus les noms des autres agence sur place mais pourrais vous dire quoi si vous me les nommez.Bcp d'agences appellent guides des personnes qui nous accompagnent mais ne connaissent rien a l'histoire du pays (étudiants) doammge sauf transturin.
A dispo pour d'autres questions sinon.Bonne suite à vous.Daniel Juillerat

Tom, UK - Highlights of Peru 03/2002
Please forgive the excessive delay in providing you with the promised report on our trip. The road to hell is paved with good intentions!
In essence we had an extremely good trip although there were a few uncomfortable moments along the way. Because of the earthquakes Eduardo decided to advance arranements to ensure that we could reach Arequipa even if the road was impeded by rockslides etc. This meant that everything was one day ahead of the scheduled which we had expected. As you will see from the actual intinerary, the slack was taken up with by our self-financed tour of Lima (organised by Eduardo) and the lost hotel day (at Pisco - on day 2 - was absorbed by the extra night at the Hotel Mariel at the end of the tour).
As a general observation many of the hotels along the way were slightly confused by the absence of "vouchers" when we arrived, and some of the handovers (at Arequipa, Cuzco and Puerto Maldonado) would have proved disconcerting in their uncertainty to a traveller of a more nervous disposition. To see Peru was Nadia's dream and it proved to be a dream come true. She went particularly for Machu Picchu and ended up wanting to see more of the jungle!
You can certainly regard us a satisfied customers! I see you moved to Scotland. I hope you find it pleasant there and do not have too much difficulty with the local accent!

Brigitte, France - Highlights of Peru 03/2002
Bonjour, Nous sommes hélas de retour... et au travail.
Les parties Puerto Maldonado et Lima se sont très bien passées.
Nous avons réussi à nous comprendre avec notre jeune guide amazonienne, grâce à un tutti frutti hispano-italo-anglais et surtout grâce aux noms latins des animaux, communs dans toutes les parties du monde. A Lima, Julia a redoublé d'efforts pour notre accueil et nous a fait visiter la ville.
Je reste à votre disposition pour tout contact.
Cordialement.

Barney , UK - Choquequerao (tailormade arrangements - not in brochure) - 04/2002
Danielle
It seems so long ago and we apologise for being so slow in replying. We were married at the beginning of this month and everything was very busy before and after.
In short, we thought it was really excellent. The organisation was good with flights, hotels, connections etc. all working perfectly.
The trekking too was good. The guide was young and knowledgeable, although she was a bit too concerned over our lack of experience at trekking at altitude. It was not a problem in practice, but her constant worrying was a bit unsettling! The pony men and cooks were very nice and competent - it was a shame that we could not speak Spanish in order to get more from them. The equipment was basic and OK - we couldn't ask for more in the surroundings.
The scenery was absolutely wonderful and completely lived up to expectations, as did the trek. We were very glad we did not do the standard Inca Trail, but to have Choquequirau as our ultimate destination not only gave a purpose to the trek but was a wonderful place to finish up.
Lastly, we were very impressed that the owner of the travel company (whose name I forget) came to meet us at Lima airport when we arrived on our last Sunday morning and helped us organise a day in Lima before flying out. Without his help we would have been much less confident of enjoying ourselves.
Altogether, it was an excellently-organised trip and one we have very happy memories of.

Wayne from the US - Apurimac whitewater rafting 07/2003
Hi Gilles,
Sorry it has taken so long to get in touch with you. I have been meaning to but have had loads of things to do and forgot all about it.
Our rafting trip was “EXCELLENT”. We arrived at our hotel in Cusco and there was a message waiting for us from the rafting company. The hotel returned the call for us and a meeting was set for that night at 7pm. Our guides turned up on time and we had a good briefing. We were picked up the next day and taken to our drop in point. The whole experience was first class. I would definitely recommend that company again. We even went out with one of our guides on the night after returning to our hotel!
I could go on and on saying how good the trip was. Can I also take this opportunity to thank you and your company for all of your hard work in helping make it all happen?
Thank you.
Please pass on my remarks back to the rafting company in Cusco.
Should any of your future customers use the services of the guys in Cusco, I would be more than happy to provide recommendations via e-mail.

Donna from the UK (tailormade arrangements in Cuzco, Arequipa and Lake Titicaca - not in brochure) - 05/2003
Dear Danielle,
My apologies for not getting back to you after our absolutely fabulous trip....we had just Sunday to catch up, then back to a full work-load. However, I do want to let you know about the trip.
Everything really was terrific....all the guides were wonderful, informative, caring, prompt and attentive. We were met at the airports just as you told us, and our guides helped us with hotel and airline check-ins.
Lima: Posada del Inca was spacious, conveniently located. Our first day there, our driver was our "guide" for an extra 1/2 day city tour, and though his English was limited, he showed us some very interesting spots. Our scheduled guide for the second day, Carlos, was wonderful. He took us to the Museo de la Nacion & Museo nacional de Antropologia. Both were interesting, although perhaps one of them would have been sufficient since they covered much of the same information.

Cusco: Our guide were outstanding. Percy not only met us at the airport, but met us everyday before we ventured forth. Our guide, Juan, couldn't have been better. The Hotel Ruinas was fine: well located, clean and friendly. Our second floor room was quite small, and when we returned to this hotel after Machu Picchu, our first floor room was very large, but noisy as it overlooked the lobby.
Our tour to the Sacred Valley was very interesting (and the lunch spot was lovely) as was our city tour. Machu Picchu was everything we had hoped it would be and more. We enjoyed the train ride and were so glad we stayed overnight (highly recommended) as it gave us a chance to be there after the hordes of day tourists had left).
The Machu Picchu Inn was our least favorite place: it was clean, but bare-bones, lacking any charm. We understood that because of the National Emergency, many tourists cancelled plans and rooms became available at the more preferable hotels (El Pueblo) at the last minute. I assume that once we pre-paid for a reservation, we would not be able to change for a better place?) This is the only place I would say, "you could do better".

Puno: The bus trip to Puno was long but fine. You sent along an "assistant" to accompany us, and we stopped at Raqchi, on the way, which was interesting and a good break. The Taypikala Hotel was very nice, though a little isolated as we were told that if we wanted to place a phone call, it would cost $20/per minute!). At this altitude, one of our group was hit with altitude sickness, despite our having "acclimitized" in Cusco and having taken "diamox" as prescribed by our physicians. The staff there was very helpful, giving her oxygyn and helping as best they could. Here, our "assistant" from Cusco proved very helpful since she could translate Spanish for us. We ended up changing our plans for an overnight the next night in Amantani since our friend was too ill to go. My recommendation here for future travellers would be to plan an extra day in Puno to rest: we were fine in Cusco, but the added altitude in Puno was a problem, and even the rest of us suffered from headache and shortness of breath.
Our guide was accomodating, and we toured the Puno market the following day, and then the second day, did a full day excursion to the Uros and Tacquile Island. On the way to the airport, the next day, we stopped at Sillustani....interesting, but somewhat anit-climactic after all the other Inca sites we had been to.

Arequipa: Our guide, Rosario, was also terrific here. Since we didn't arrive until late afternoon and were fatigued, she gave us the option of our 1/2 day city tour for the next day which was a much better plan for us. The Liberatador was very comfortable and a lovely place to stay...we would recommend it to anyone. By the way, the restaurant there proved quite good.
The Colca Canyon trip was fabulous and we very much enjoyed The Colca Lodge. However, since the bus trip to the canyon is so long and arduous, we wish we had a second night to enjoy the area, and would suggest you encourage people to do this. As it turned out, we arrived at the lodge when it was dark (having stopped in several towns along the way), and left the next morning at the crack of dawn to see the condors, so we never really were able to appreciate the beauty of the lodge and its setting. Anyone willing to go this far would probably enjoy an extra day here as it is quite beautiful.
As it turned out, the order of our trip worked out well. Arequipa was a fine destination to "wind down", and having experienced the "altitude problem" in Puno, I can't imagine how much more severe it would have been if we had not acclimitized first in Cusco. Plus, the trip to Colca Canyon involved some very high points: at one point, we were close to 16,000 ft. high (though on the bus), so it was memorable. Again, this might have been much worse for us if we hadn't already been to some high points before.
I am giving you some details I would have changed only as things to think about for future planning, but I want to assure you that we all had an absolutely fabulous experience. Your planning and arrangements were wonderful, and we couldn't have been more pleased with the guides and all the experiences we had. Peru is a jewel
We are meeting with friends soon who may be interested in traveling to Peru: we will certainly recommend you to make the arrangements.
Please don't hesitate to ask me about any further points you might be interested in as I would be more than happy to give you any information you wish.
Again, many thanks for all your help.

Sara from the US- Magical Journey to machu Picchu and Amazon 10/2003
Danielle,
I'm sorry I have taken so long to get back to you about my trip to Peru back in September. Thank you for arranging it. I loved the hotel in Cusco (Casa Andina) and Carol Cumes' resort/spa. The trip to the jungle was terrific - very fun people and good guides. (Ecological Adventures). And the Macchu Piccu trip was beautiful. I'm glad you suggested I take the sleeping bag and camp in the tent. The others in my group who slept inside one room hardly got any sleep that night, while I slept quite well. The tour I was very disappointed in was the Sacred Valley Tour. The guide was not honest about the lunch choices and the cost in Urubamba, and many of us were upset with that. Also, we were supposed to go to the ruins in Pisaq (which was the main reason I wanted to take this tour), but instead spent 45 minutes at the market and skipped the ruins entirely. Overall, there were too many stops at places to buy cheap souvenirs. Next time I would just hire a taxi to take me into the valley.
When I first arrived in Lima, my flight from NY was early, and it took me about 20 minutes to find my driver. I don't know if he was there when I got in and just wasn't holding up my sign, or if he wasn't there yet. It all worked out, but it was a bit disconcerting at first. Laura from Eco Andes Adventures in Cusco was very sweet and helpful. Overall, I enjoyed my trip immensely and want to thank you for arranging everything so well for me.