Following a relaxing 5 days in Lima we headed south to Ica, famous for wineries and the national drink of Peru, pisco sour. Ica itself is a fairly big, busy, sweltering city so we opted to stay in the tiny resort of Huacachina. Surrounded by the most gigantic sand dunes we have ever seen with a tranquil lagoon nestled in the middle, it was a tranquil oasis. Unknown to us the following day was the Pisco Sour festival which our taxi driver eagerly told us about. N...

Nasca was only a short bus ride away and is one of those places that you ´have to see´. Obviously the main attraction are the lines with aggressive tour operators hounding you the minute you step off the bus! The town of Nasca itself is very small and doesn´t have much to offer and compared to the exhilaration of Huachachina we felt a little lost in this dry, arid land. We managed to find a simple, quiet hostal with a really pretty courtyard...

A last minute, frantic email led us to the door of Shirley and Alan. They accommodated us for 4 nights, in a wonderfully safe location in Lima known as Miraflores. A great location for exploring the more affluent area of Lima. A day spent trawling the local artisan markets looking for memoriable artifacts to ship home, using our basic spanish skills to haggle prices, a custom they are used to with tourists. Dal being the most successful, using a white lie or two ...

Cajamarca is a tranquil city nestled deep in the valley surrounded by some of the most beautiful countryside that we have seen. Once a major inca stronghold which finally succumbed to the order of the Spanish. Famous for the capture and death of Athualpa ( the Inca Lord), who was kept for ransom, then killed once gathering a room full of his riches. The locals say that his body was buried somewhere deep in the forests of Peru, where one day he will return to all ...

Huaraz is a little town nestled in the Cordilla Blanca region, surrounded by spectacular snow capped mountains. Needless to say it gets very very cold! Our accommodation was basic with none of the comforts of central heating, even a hot water bottle would have done! We toasted our hands on steaming hot bowls of soup! Absolutely delicious!! We almost felt like we were back at home :) a huge difference to the hot weather we have gotten used to. This region is know...