Peru
My Peruvian 2001 trip came perilously close to getting cancelled, thanks to my nationality and my place of residence. About a month before my trip, I found out that a Peruvian visa wait time is a complicated function of the consulate, your nationality and the type of visa. An Indian requesting for a visitors visa in the LA consulate - I, by the way, fall into this category - must wait for at least 3 weeks to get his authorisation. After waiting with bated breath for 5 weeks, I finally got my visa minutes before I was all set to apply for a business visa, and more importantly, 4 days before my departure date. Hence when I finally landed in Lima, I was convinced that the things can only get better and for once, I wasn't wrong.
Lima, named after the river Rimac, at least in winter, is always dull, gloomy and foggy making you realise why the Incas were such big sun worshippers. I realised that my Spanish was not upto the mark when I ended up in the Country Club after I had clearly told the taxi driver to take me to the Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History. The museum, when I finally made it, gave me a wonderful introduction to Peruvian history. Next was the Gold Museum which housed an astounding collection of gold artifacts, textiles and arms. But if you seeing only one museum, make it the National Museum. Among the churches, San Francisco with its huge catacombs is definitely a must see.
Early next morning, the road trip officially started with a drive down the Pan American Highway to the city of Paracas. Enroute we stopped at the ruins of Pachacamac, the creator of the earth. The city was built by the Limas who worshipped the two faced God, Pachacamac. Like most other places in Peru, Incas finally conquered the place and built a sun temple at the highest point. The seaside town of Paracas has a rugged coastline and a rich animal life. Simon Bolivar, the liberator of Peru, landed here in Paracas and it is said that the flamingos around this area had inspired him to put their colour in the national flag. The best place to view the marine life is the Ballestes Islands - also known as the poor man's galapagos - located a few miles off the coast of Paracas. An early morning boat ride to these islands brought us close to the seals, penguins, boobies and pelicans. Few hours of drive through the arid desert brought us to Ica, a place known for its giant dunes and its skull museum. Incas used to deform the heads of their people based on their caste and we saw many of these odd shaped skulls at the museum.
Drive from Ica to Nasca took us past the tallest dune in the world - Cerro Blanco. (2072m). We reached Nasca in the late afternoon and rushed to the skies. Flight over the lines was straight out of National Geographic. The astronaut, the monkey, the humming bird and the spider were the pick of the lot. It is absolutely amazing how people could make such giant figures and how these figures could survive the test of time. Another long day's drive through spectacular desert scenery brought us to Arequipa.
The first day in Arequipa found me heading to the Colca Canyon, which included waking up at 2 in the morning and ascending 2400m along a bumpy road. Thanks to the magic of Coca Tea, I made it in one piece to witness the famous flight of the Andean Condors. The condors rise from the canyon floor with the thermals and we were lucky to see a half a dozen of them that morning. The canyon was completely covered by many pre-Inca terraces where cultivation is carried on even today. We also saw the famous hanging tombs of Choquetica, named so because the people used to hang from top of the cliffs to build them and hence the only way to reach them is also from the top.
The next day was spent exploring the city of Arequipa. Arequipa is a typical colonial city and easily the most beautiful city I have seen so far. It sits in a very pretty valley with the snow covered Andean peaks looking down on it. The best views of the city can be got from the Yanahuasa and Sachaca view points. Unfortunately, the main cathedral had lost one of its towers in the recent earthquake and had to be closed to the public. The biggest attraction in the city is Juanita, a 15th c mummy of a 14 year old Inca girl sacrificed on the high slopes of the Ampata mountain. She along with the many gold, silver and copper figurines (offered for the sun, moon and the earth respectively) were on display in the Museo Santuarios Andinos. The nearby picturesque Santa Catalina monastery has been housing nuns since the 16th c and part of the monastery has now been made opened to the public. Last stop was the San Francisco Monastery and some of its really pretty religious paintings representing the Cusco school of art.
That evening, a 30 minute flight took us from Arequipa to Juliaca and the Peruvian Altiplano. By dusk we reached Puno, a city situated on the banks of Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca covers 8000 sqkm and lies across the border of Peru and Bolivia. Although there are lakes higher than it that can be crossed using small boats, Lake Titicaca (elev. : 3856 m) is marketed as the highest navigable lake in the world as it allows larger boats to traverse it. Titicaca is also the site of the mythical origins of the Inca empire. The first Inca, Manco Capac, and his sister Mama Occlo, the children of Viracocha, appeared on the islands of the sun and the moon located within the boundaries of present day Bolivia In the morning, we took a boat to the Tequile island, the largest island on Titicaca on the Peruvian side. On the way, we stopped at some of the floating man made reed islands inhabited by the Uros people. The fear of the Spanish had forced these people to live on these islands and the money from the tourists is still keeping them there.
The drive from Puno to Cusco took us through some fantastic Andean scenery and having driven through the desert a few days ago, it was hard for me to believe that we were in the same country! Our first stop was at the tombs of Sillustani. Sillustani, which means finger shaped, is a peninsula in the Umayu lake - a lake which was once a part of the Titicaca lake. There are tombs here built by the Colyas who later became the part of the Inca empire. The Colyas along with the Tiahuanacos and the Lampacas formed the three major pre-Incan civilisation of the altiplano. Close to our destination were the ruins of Raqchi. It used be the store house of the grains and the place had big granaries and even bigger temple dedicated to Viracocha, the father of the sun, the moon and the earth.
Next up was the city tour of Cusco starting with the Ruins of Sacsayhuaman. It is a three tier lightening shaped fortress where Juan Pizarro was killed in one of the famous battles of the country. Most of the colonial buildings in the city were built on Incan foundations. Most famous of these is the St. Dominic church built on top of the Incan temple of Qoricancha, the best example of the Incan architecture in the city. Rest of the city highlights included: the main cathedral with its fantastic altar, the Religious Art Museum, San Blas with the famous blackened crucifix of the Lord of the earthquakes, the History Museum with its Glyptodon (a prehistoric giant armadillo) exhibit, and the well laid out Inca museum. The other ruins we visited around Cusco include Pisaq, Qenqo, Puka-pukara and Tambomachay.
The following five days were the highlight, the long trek to Machu Pichu via the Sacred Valley. The reward for the trek included the jaw-dropping view from the Dead Woman's Pass (4200 m) and isolated Incan ruins accessible only to the trekkers. But the absolute highlight was the first site of Machu Pichu from the Sun Gate.
After the hights of Machu Pichu what could keep me busy for a few more days? How abut the Amazonian Jungle? Peru has its share of Amazon Rain Forest. Lazing around in hammocks, waking up to the sounds of howler monkeys, being followed by an army of butterflies, spotting tarantulas, spider monkeys, hoatzins for the first time in your life was a great way to end a memorable trip.
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