Reisgids Peru
To say that I am now a huge Peru expert is a bit strange. I was there for eight days and that is of course far too short for such a gigantic impressive country where there is so much to do. But I can certainly tell you a thing or two about the places I visited, so if you are now planning a trip to Peru you will surely find this helpful.
Lima
Lima is quite a gigantic city with nearly 10 million inhabitants, divided into 43 districts, each with its own signature. Compare it to the arrondissements in Paris. The climate in Lima is quite strange; it is cloudy for about 8 months of the year to start with. Furthermore, it never rains there, at most a little drizzle, but never real rain.
Barranco district
This used to be a beach town and you can see that from the large Hamptons-like mansions that are there. Barranco is vibrant, full of nice bars and great restaurants. We ate at Isolina Taberna Peruana and I can definitely recommend it to you. Delicious traditional Peruvian dishes at great prices. Right across from there is Ayahuasca, a gigantic place where you can eat and sift through the gigantic cocktail menu. My tip: the lychee sour. Ayahuasca is the only place in all of South America with 7 bars, downstairs there is space for bottle service and Condé Nast Traveller named this place the Best Bar of South America. Just so you know. In short, go to Barranco for a nice city walk and then a prrrrrrrima dinner and cocktails.
Historic City Centre district
Also known as Colonial Lima and this is where the beauty of Lima really comes to the fore. The presidential palace, the town hall, the various ministries, and the historic squares are here, and anyone who is a bit interested in the history of Lima will find plenty to enjoy here. Fun fact: at Plaza Mayor (where on January 18, 1535 the first stone of the city was laid by Francisco Pizarro) stand the cathedral, the archbishop's palace, the town hall, and the Clud de la Union. Part of those buildings was originally white, but when the pope visited in 1985, all those buildings were painted yellow, in the colors of the Vatican flag. I found that quite bizarre.
Miraflores district
We only drove through here, but what I saw was beautiful. What I do know is that there is a park, Kennedy Park, that is inhabited by cats. CATS! I kid you not. How it came to be is not really known, but the small park is packed with city cats. You can imagine that I was almost dying when we just drove past and didn’t go inside.
Paracas
Paracas National Reserve
Here we visited the Paracas National Reserve, a gigantic nature park with rugged cliffs and crashing waves. Think desert, think crumbling rocks, and a lot of endlessly empty plains. You can drive through it with your own transport (for example, by mountain bike or car), but there are also many tours that take you by minibus to the most beautiful spots. It is about a four-hour drive from Lima.
Ballestas Islands
Off the coast of Paracas are the Ballestas Islands, which are also officially part of the National Park. Small speedboats that take about half an hour bring you to the islands, which consist of rock formations and caves where thousands of birds, sea lions, and penguins roam. It is truly breathtakingly beautiful and a highly recommended trip that takes between two and three hours in total.
Iquitos
From Lima, you fly to Iquitos in an hour and a half, a city in the middle of the jungle and the middle of nowhere. You can only get there by boat or plane, about half a million people live there and 25,000 tuk-tuks. Yep, there are more tuk-tuks than cars or scooters. There is one road that runs from Iquitos to Nauta, where we went to board the cruise. If you also want to see the Amazon, then flying to Iquitos is a very good option.
