13 REASONS WHY I FELL IN LOVE WITH PERU

I've fallen in love with this beautiful, beautiful country and amazingly hospitable people. Peru can be a challenging country to travel in: those unaccustomed to dusty, unpaved roads, hours-long hikes, constantly piercing sun that can cause second-degree burns in high elevations, and the high altitude of most sights, will feel uncomfortable. I loved every minute of my stay in this lovely country; never mind the bloody nose, sprained ankle, tired legs from the daily hikes, the shortness of breath in high altitude, shallow sleep, lack of appetite (not necessarily a bad thing!), the piercing heat/cold, the chaos of some areas.

I visited Peru without any expectation, and with only the goal of seeing Macchu Pichu - but all the places I visited in this country blew me away and has captivated me in ways I didn't expect. Peru is an absolute MUST on any wanderer's itinerary.

After a two-stop, 29,000km, 31-hour flight lugging a 15-kilogram backpack, I finally arrived in the nondescript town of Juliaca in a small airport. I was greeted by one of the lovely staff from the Hotel Lago Taypikala. This was the start of my South American adventure!

I hope my fervent love for this country inspires you to explore Peru, it's one of the most amazing places on earth that every traveler should see and visit at least once in their lives. Below details what I love about this country, in no particular order:

1. Peruvians are warm and hospitable, just like Filipinos.:) I found the Peruvians to be kind, accommodating to foreigners, and easy to get along with. The driver who picked me up on my first day in Puno was very chatty - despite having limited English skills! And I understood him, go figure! :) He wanted me to drink a lot of coca tea to help with going from sea level to 12,500 feet. Locals I met on the street were nice as well, they mostly left me to own devices and never once did I meet an aggressive tout, unlike in several destinations I've been to (I'm looking at you, Thailand!).

True story: at my hostel in Cuzco, I arrived late on a chilly, rainy evening. Understandably, I didn't have the time yet to buy groceries as I had come straight from the bus station and I was parched and tired from carrying around my backpack. I spoke to the caretaker in my hostel, in my limited Spanish, asking him where the nearest store was to buy water and crackers. I really couldn't expect concierge-type services in hostels - that's why they come cheap because almost everything is DIY. But no, the kind old man told me to sit down in the lobby and relax while he braved the cold rain to buy me two liters of water. He didn't even have an umbrella! He prepared hot coca tea for me and gave me bread - even if I didn't have any meals included in my stay for the first day. For me, it wasn't just a small gesture of kindness, it was a reminder of how humans are still good, despite whatever else is happening out there in the world. Faith in humanity restored. :)

This young local was happily smiling and saying hi to all travelers who came his way!

2. Life is simple. The towns of Puno and Ollantantaymbo mostly offers the most basic of necessities, time slows down to a crawl, afternoons paint the hills in a pretty, golden glow, and there was a sense of serenity all around. I may be seeing it with rose-colored glasses on, but for a city girl, the remoteness of the place was a welcome relief. Even Cuzco, despite offering more upscale and global amenities than Puno, was very ladiback. I found the simplicity of living conditions in Peruvian towns a refreshing break from the big city life.

3. Multiple ethnicities have lived in harmony around one body of water for centuries. Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake at 12,500 feet plays host to descendants of the 800-year old Aymara tribe in Taquile Island, known for their UNESCO-recognized weaving craft using llama / alpaca / sheep / women's hair, and the Uru people, a pre-Incan civilization, that has perfected the art of creating floating islands made from Totora Reeds, the most famous of which is Uros Island. We can learn a thing or two from these tribes when it comes to living together in peaceful harmony, despite cultural differences.

The men of the Aymara tribe

Floating island community: the Uru people

4. It's home to some of the clearest waters and remotest beaches on earth. We were the only ones hiking the trail to this beach on Taquile Island and I felt happily detached from the rest of the world. Not your run-of-the-mill ocean seascapes - no surfers or suntanners here. Perhaps that's why I found it so appealing - there was an unmistakable beauty to its isolation and silence. Beautiful, beautiful landscapes!

There's a beach in the middle of the lake at very high altitude!

5. The country is littered with ancient ruins of bygone civilizations, some dating back to 1100 AD, pre-Incan. History is literally everywhere: on a street corner, on a hill, high up in the mountains, in the middle of the city square, etc. It was like being inside the pages of a history book! Everywhere I went, there were traces and proofs of ancient civilizations that I daresay, had the skills and talents that most modern-day engineers can only dream of, when every structure is built by the push of a button on an automated machine.

Beyond Machu Picchu: Pisac, Sacred Valley

6. Peruvians' rich cultural heritage are practiced in their daily lives. Culture wasn't just kept in museums or books. It wasn't just a historical tidbit. I could see it permeating every corner of Peru. One of my favorites was the Pachamanca Ritual: various veggies and meat cooked on an earthen oven of hot stones and covered with grass and soil, blessed by a shaman, and then unearthed after an hour or so of cooking.

7. The town square is the epicentre of social activities. People from all walks of life congregate here. It's the best way to socialize with the locals, people-watch, and just watch the world go by. Or eat a chocolate crepe and down it with a chocolate smoothie at the Chocolate Museum while chatting to a fellow solo female traveler and observing the square from a balcony, like I did. ;-) No NETFLIX or internet-bingeing here; people actually socialize in person and talk to each other outdoors!

8. Cuzco is STUNNING! This is another Peruvian destination that unexpectedly blew me away. I stayed at the Hostal Qolqampata, which was a bit of a daily hike on top of a hill - not an easy feat especially in high altitude. All worth it though: it had a fabulous view of the city and the surrounding mountains. It had a small-town feel, yet was always busy with travelers from all walks of life spending several days (or years!) here, using Cuzco as the starting point for day trips to surrounding sights such as Pisac, Ollantantaymbo, Tipon, and of course, Machu Picchu.

I looked forward to breakfast with a view on the Hostal Qolqampata's balcony, everyday.

Below: daily walks around the town square is a must.

9. I felt safe as a solo female traveler with limited Spanish language skills, even on a 10-hour bus ride on the Sun Route, passing by some of the remotest roads and sights of the Peruvian antiplano. Goes without saying that everyone should employ the same amount of safety precautions as with any other travel destination; never once did I feel threatened or unsafe throughout my stay in this lovely country. There were several times that I walked alone back to my accommodations at night - even one night where I was with two fellow female travelers, coming home from a salsa bar past midnight. Probably the two things that can threaten travelers here are the street dogs and high altitude of most places.

My new friends and I were the only people at this corner of the Raqchi ruins, one of the stops along the Sun Route (Puno-Cusco)

10. LLAMAS! Cute and cuddly creatures. Who can resist?! Just look at him.... ***SOOOO FLUFFY***

Oh hai! Can you pass me some grass?

11. Inca heaven in my mouth with Inca Kola! Once you get a taste of it, it will forever haunt you with its sugary awesomeness. :)

12. Peruvians LOVE color! There's an explosion of every possible color in their clothes, their houses, streets, arts, and crafts. No color was ever too bright enough, or too clashing to match with a different hue. My kind of people. :)

Colorful houses on the way to Ollantaytambo. Below: arts and crafts in a myriad of hues!

13. STUNNING landscapes everywhere I looked! From the breathtaking Andes Mountain Range, to the Sacred Valley, to Ollantaytambo, to Aguas Calientes, to Machu Picchu, and everywhere in between. Truly amazing works by this universe's architect. :) It was both a humbling and awe-inspiring experience to be able to see these wonders. The photos below don't do Peru justice: you have to see it with your own eyes. I was in awe every minute of my stay in this lovely country.

Happy tears in my eyes as I saw the Andes Mountain Range from a distance​

Miles of history as far as the eyes can see at the Sacred Valley

Fascinating mountain ridges along the way, before our Chicha de Jora stop

That was just scratching the surface, I would love to go back to Peru and explore more of its cities and regions, for a longer time, sometime soon. :)

HAPPY TRAVELS! x

#Peru #listicles