Palacio del Inka Must-Stay. Cusco oozes history. Cusco was the historical heart of the Inca Empire(the largest empire in pre-Columbian America) from the 13th to the 16th century. And the five-star Palacio del Inka is no exception. This hotel, formally a huge colonial mansion, was claimed by Gonzalo Pizarro in 1533. Gonzalo was the brother of [...]
Sauce Hostal Ollantaytambo Sacred Valley. Sauce Hostal is located in the heart of, a quaint village of 10,000 in the Sacred Valley. Ollantaytambo is a great base to explore the valley and also a great midpoint between Machu Picchu and Cusco. In fact, I made Ollantaytambo my home base for three days to explore the area [...]
Plaza de Armas - a must-see. Plaza de Armas roots can be traced to the Spanish King, Charles I. Plaza de Armas is the heart of Lima, the capitol of Peru. In 1535, the Spanish conquistador, Francisco Pizarro, founded the New World’s capitol, originally known as Ciudad de los Reyes. When creating the city plan he [...]
Vast. Remote. Infinity. The Peruvian Amazon is an incredibly biologically diverse area. There are more bird species in the Amazon than anywhere else in the world. It is the size of California yet only 1.5 million people live there. While the wildlife is abundant in the Amazon, it does not smack you in the face like [...]
Aqua Expeditions: 5 Stars On The Amazon. One does not often associate the Amazon River with non-stop luxury, but I experienced 7 nights of unadulterated extravagance on Aqua Expedition’s Aria. The Aria is an ultra-luxury river boat cruise that holds 32 guests. I was fortunate enough to be one. And this is an incredible way to [...]
Seven Things To Do In Iquitos. It is the world’s largest landlocked city in the world. It is a needle in the Peruvian Amazon haystack. There is no road or highway that leads to Iquitos. This port city is located over 2,000 miles upriver on the Amazon River from the Atlantic Ocean. Iquitos is only reachable [...]
Photos From Belan, Iquitos. It is gritty. At 9 am, the locals are gathered in the neighborhood bar swilling moonshine. On the street dozens meander around giant stacks of plantains, searching for the best buy. The sky is a gloomy grey and the humidity hovers over the dense neighborhood. Mototaxis prowl the dirty, chewed up streets. [...]
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