Tips for backpacking through Peru

This post is not for my regular readers, but for people who want to go backpacking in Peru and found my blog. Welcome! I lived in Peru for 6 months in 2009, 1 of those months was spent backpacking, and I thought I would share my experiences with you.

General:

- Peru has one of those cultures where the people are slightly too eager to help. This means they will always say yes (Yes, I can tell you how to get to the church. Yes, we can make that meal vegetarian for you. Yes, I can organise a taxi for you.) but that that yes need not have any bearing on reality at all. It usually turns out okay, but keep it in mind.

- If you are ever in trouble, use this eagerness to help to your benefit. Don’t be ashamed to ask for help, you will usually receive a meal and lots of sympathy. It is their pleasure.

Safety:

- There is crime in Peru, it is dangerous for travellers, but it’s not as bad as some people (especially the locals!) like to make out. You will hear horror stories and hysterical warnings, but relax, it isn’t really that bad. Just be wary, be careful, keep your eyes open, and mind the following:

1. -Try not to have your valuables with you, but don’t keep them in the hotel reception locker, either. Store them with friends, hide them in your hostel room, or even better, don’t bring them in the first place.
2. -If you must have valuables with you, keep them against your body. Buy one of those bum-bags that you keep under your clothes before you leave (you can’t get them in Peru). Don’t keep any valuables in your bag, especially not a backpack, as the bag might be slit open and the contents stolen without you noticing.
3. -NEVER take an unmarked taxi. The number of a marked taxi will be short, 6 or 8 digits long, with letters and numbers like this: XY1234 or 1234XY or XYZ123 or similar, usually written in big black letters on the outside and inside of the cab. At bus-stations etc, taxi drivers will be waiting for you to try to talk you into travelling with them. Ignore these men (just say “no, gracias” and keep walking), walk outside and choose a taxi that looks reasonably clean and safe and has a clear number written on the side, and an official looking sticker on the windshield. If the driver isn’t in it, he’ll come running when he sees you. When you get into any taxi, look at and try to remember the number. (You don’t have to write the numbers down, but look at them conspicuously. The taxi-driver will notice.) ALL the crime against tourists that I heard of during my travels happened in unmarked taxis.
4. - Don’t walk around alone in the poorer areas. Definitely don’t walk around in the poorer areas with a camera swinging from your neck.

Making friends:

- Don’t be afraid to chat to other backpackers, they are usually just as eager to make contact as you are.

- Choose hostels with a kitchen; this is where you will make contact with other travellers.

- Book a tour every now and again (trekking, for instance). There will be fun other people to chat to in the tour group.

Accommodation:

- In Peru, hostels are cheap and abundant, there is no need to book in advance, unless you will be arriving very late at night. If you are on a budget it is usually a good idea to try a hostel that isn’t in the guidebook as they will be cheaper. Just go to the Plaza de Armas (main square) ask some locals and walk around until you find one. A cheap hostel should cost around 15 soles for a single room, 20 for a double. (Slightly more in a tourist town like Cusco or Arequipa, certainly more in Lima.) They will usually ask 20 or even 30, so you will have to talk them down. Always ask to see the room before you make a commitment.

- In the Sierra (the mountains) in the winter (July and August) try to get a small room with hot water (gas, not electric). It gets fricking freezing at night, and a small room is more likely to warm up a little through your body heat and the candles that you can buy in most local shops. Don’t bother trying to find a cheap hostel with any kind of heating system. They don’t exist.

Cusco and Machu Pichu:

- Cusco has become very touristy in the past few years. That means things are expensive, there are a lot of tricksters and thieves about, the “real” Peru has been lost and, oh horror for all the shoestring backpackers, there are loud white families with fat kids and tourbus groups blocking your view everywhere you go. Skip it. Skip Machu Pichu, too. Same deal. Go somewhere else. Unless you want to get drunk and party with tourists (after months of Latin music and obligatory dancing with sticky Peruvian men this can be very attractive), in which case Cusco is an excellent destination.

Buses:

- Even though it is usually not apparent, the ticket prices for most bus companies are meant to be haggled over. Don’t be afraid to try.

- Peruvians rave about Cruz del Sur. It is certainly the safest bus company (lots of security measures), but in terms of comfort you can go a lot cheaper and be just as comfortable and safe enough via other companies. I loved a company called Cial, which has really new buses (I’m writing this in 2009).  I also like Dias. Friends of mine raved over Flores. In the north, Linea is famous for being secure.

- It’s best to travel at night, simply because all the journeys are so long. You will usually have 3 ticket options: Cama or VIP, which means you get VIP treatment and a bed. I’ve never done this, it’s very expensive and semi-cama is fine. Semi-Cama means you have a seat that goes back very far and a legrest. This is what most tourists buy. Then you have Economico or Directo which means you have the crappy seats that don’t really go back at all and you will be sitting very close to the people around you. However, if you want to save money, these tickets will still get you where you are going and it will still be better than the average Eurolines bus (Any European who has ever travelled on a budget will know what I’m talking about).

- If you buy a Semi-Cama ticket you should get a blanket but it has been known not to happen, and a cheap ticket means you won’t get a blanket, so always take one (or a sleeping bag) with you on the bus. If it is warm enough after all you can use it as a pillow, if it is too cold you will be extremely happy you have it.

- If you are likely to worry about that kind of thing, check around with the locals if there are any strikes planned before you leave. A favourite Peruvian way of striking is to block the roads so the buses can’t get through and you will get to wherever you were going a day later than you thought.

Eating out:

- In a non-tourist town or the outskirts of a touristy one, you will usually be able to eat the “menu” (a set meal of 3 or 4 courses that varies per day) for about the same amount of money it would take you to cook a simple meal yourself (between 3 and 5 soles). Be very wary of germs though, (especially if you haven’t been in Peru very long, as your body won’t have adapted yet). Restaurants will basically always wash everything in Peruvian tapwater, which can’t be trusted, so unless you are in an expensive western restaurant, never eat anything that hasn’t been cooked, like a salad.

- Strict vegetarians will have a hard time in Peru as it can be very difficult to communicate that you don’t want meat. Even once you know that “sin carne” only excludes beef, and start using the better and well-understood “soy vegetariana”, there will still be bits of chicken floating in your soup. They just don’t get it. Accept and move on is the best remedy. If you are in a new town, ask the locals about vegetarian restaurants which usually do exist but are hiding somewhere in the bigger towns, look in guidebooks for addresses, and if all else fails head to a “Chifa”. These are the Peruvian versions of Chinese restaurants which will usually have something vegetarian on the menu.