Peru
Peru is a land in triplicate: the arid desert coastline and the Amazon interior are slashed apart north to south by the magisterial Andes.
Coastal Lima introduces you to pre-Inca ruins, the Spanish Inquisition and post-modern Peru. Iquitos, astride the Amazon River, buzzes with all life: dancing in the nightclubs, lounging on the beaches and squawking from the trees. Andean Cusco is not just the start of the Inca trail; it was once the centre of the biggest empire in the world and conceals colonial charms.
Get barrelled with the surfer crowd at Mancora, get scrubbed at the natural thermal baths of Monterrey or get snorkelling amongst the ruins of Cusco’s ancient port at Puerto Inca. Hack your way through the jungle with a machete, rattle over vertiginous mountain passes by train, cruise the desert in a tiny plane or navigate the Amazon on a houseboat.
Find pre-conquest traditions with the Indians of Lake Titicaca, floating on their man-made reed islands. Find fiestas: the Festival of the Sun, bullfights and Semana Santa. Find wilderness on Alpamayo, an ice shard peak thrusting into an azure sky or at Cotahuasi, the world’s deepest canyon.
The wildlife of Peru is as varied as its landscapes. Sea lions, dolphins and Humboldt penguins play offshore whilst deadly coral snakes and desert foxes patrol the barren wastes. Spectacled bears, puma and alpacas command the mountains whilst the imperial Andean Condor wheels overhead. Spider monkeys and sloths rustle the rainforest canopy whilst armadillos and jaguars stalk the ground beneath and anacondas and caiman raid the Amazon River.
Sup fine wine with witches at Ica Valley bodegas, or hallucinogenic potions with ayahuascero shamen in the Amazon. Try fishy ceviche for a tangy kick on the coast, munch on coca leaves to get yourself up that mountain and restore your soul with inchicapi chicken soup after a tropical soaking.
Everyone knows about Peru's archaeological treasures: Machu Pichu and the Inca trail, but what about the fertility temple stuffed full of monumental willies, the Valley of the Pyramids or the monkey visible from space?