segunda-feira, 25 de abril de 2016

South America trails 2015 – my route – part 2/2

My route:
My planned route only considerer Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador (by this order) and, by choice or because of time and budget limitations I have visited only a few of the ‘Highlights’ enumerated before. My basic goals were Machu Picchu (near Cusco, Peru), the Titikaka lake (Peru-Bolivia), and three volcanoes in Ecuador (Chimborazo, Cotopaxi and Cayambe – by then I didn’t know the Cotopaxi would be inaccessible, because it started erupting in August). Any of the other possibilities (the jungle; the Atacama desert, in Chile; the hot springs; the coast…) would be just a happy plus. Besides, I had one important ‘time of the year’ restriction: October is the last good month to visit Machu Picchu (after this starts the rainy season), and December is the starting season to climb volcanoes in Ecuador (the other good season is May-August and in between is no good). So, I tried to go to Machu Picchu at the end of October and start on the volcanoes at the beginning of December, having one month (November) to wander around.

This was my own real route:
Lima (Peru) – Cusco – Salkantay trail to Machu Picchu – Puno – Copacabana (Bolivia) – La Paz – Sajama – Uyuni – S. P. Atacama (Chile) – Arequipa (Peru) – Ica – Lima – Huaraz – Guayaquil/Riobamba (Ecuador) – Baños de Agua Santa – Quito – Cayambe – Otavalo – Papallacta – Quito.   
And this is what happened…


My story:
If you book a hostel in Lima they will give the opportunity to have a taxi waiting for you (at the airport) and drive you straight to their door. This is a good option because there are many stories about taxi drivers robbing tourists. I was advice by many traveller reports that suffering a thievery act in Peru is, at least, to be expected – that is ‘mark of the house’. Fortunately, I was spared to that inconvenience and got through with no problems in Peru but, I was surprised in Ecuador…

From Lima (staying at the central ‘1900 Backpackers Hostel’), I bought a bus ticket (several private bus lines were located close by) straight to Cusco (driving along the night). Connections are good but slow; there are many options and daily departures (the trip takes over 24 hours). Always choose the upper floor (the ground floor is usually very noisy) of a full/half bed bus (the higher prices compensate). On the following morning (after one night at Cusco) I was picked up to join the group heading to the starting point of the Salkantay trail to Machu Picchu. It happened that my alarm clock did not ring (at 7 a.m.) or I didn’t hear it (was too tired?), and the man came shouting through the corridors but I also did not here that. Woke up 30 minutes later and rushed to… I don’t know where! Luckily, the man came to the hostel once again, later on, and everything got back on track.

Salkantay is a sort of Inca Trail (organized some 20 years ago because the real Inca trail was getting too crowded), that starts at a small mountain village and leads you to Aguas Calientes, after 4 days of trekking (the Inca trail takes 2 or 3 days to arrive at the same spot; distances are shorter and does not go so high up on the mountains). It offers much better views than the Inca trail (you lose a few ruins on the way, though) at a very affordable price. It is worthwhile!

This was my impression of Machu Picchu if you do not count on with those 30 minutes going up (should I say running up) from Aguas Calientes (the bridge pass opens at 8 am) to the entrance of the Machu Picchu ruins (opens at 9 am) – you can also take a minibus later on and arrive at about 9 o’clock (but me and 2 traveler partners were the first on the entrance, just for the fun of it) – and the noisy American tourists: If you find a calm spot and relax for half an hour, in front of that magnificent scenery, absorbing the whole atmosphere, you’ll find this ‘once in a life time experience’ much more interesting than to just hassle and running around trying to take a picture of every single corner. On the other hand, consider this basic conclusion: “Machu Picchu comes rapped in a pack that offers only two alternatives: either rain or mosquitoes!” (quotation marks represent my posts on facebook).

From Aguas Calientes (also full of mosquitoes), on that same evening, we took a train to another village (2 hours away), where a minibus drove us back to Cusco. On the following morning I took a bus to Puno (on the way to Bolivia) and stopped over for the night so I could take a boat (the next morning) to visit some of the totora floating islands in the middle of the Titikaka Lake. I had planned 2 nights in Puno, but I got this strange feeling... people were not nice... so I´ve decided to leave as soon as possible. Colours at the Uros islands are awesome, and the way they live... and the water temperature was not so low for a dive, on that sunny day at 3.800 meters above sea level (the highest navigable lake in the world), so that is what I did! The Uro people looked for refuge on the Titicaca Lake when they were persecuted by the Incas and that is how they have established there definitely. This tour took around 3 hours (better to buy a ticket there, directly, and pay around 7 dollars, rather than accepting offers that agencies will through at you at Lima, or Cusco, or other cities – you may contact Rober at titikakaurosadventure@gmail.com or go directly to their office at Av. Titicaca, 461, near the harbor). That same day another bus took me to Copacabana (142 km away, through a nice scenery overseeing the lake), the first little town you will find when crossing the border to Bolivia. Here I found a beautiful sunset on the beach; a very active market in the evening; local gastronomy (be careful on that), and a different feeling... (plenty if hostels there). The people you saw in big city streets dressing in a traditional fashion, the peasants, here at Copacabana they are the business owners, so they are everywhere, and it is funny to be attended by them at any shop. There are a few tours to do (like crossing the ‘isla del sol’ on foot, starting on the ‘sacred rock’), but I decided to keep on going. From Copacabana to La Paz it takes a few hours (150 km on bad roads that are being repaired), counting with a water crossing on a raft (each raft take one bus or several cars).  


Photos: Titicaca Lake
What about “La Paz, the city of bricks? Asphyxiating chaos or strategic point of departure (20 years ago the city did not have asphalted roads and now, since 2013, it benefits from 3 cable-cars, and another 4 are planned – the best way to move yourself inside such a tight city)?” La Paz was a surprise: first, because you think you got there, but you still keep driving for a long time inside the city (which is, in fact, El Alto); until you reach a spot where you can watch, down there, the real La Paz, la hoya (the pan), because it lays on a hole, the color of bricks, immense, surrounded by rocky and snowy mountains, and that feels suffocating; last, because one actually learns to move around (the city center), and you get to know the offers for tours that are not so far from the city, and that does not feel so suffocating anymore.

I got to the city centre on a holyday, everything being closed and crowds filling the streets, especially near the cemetery (bus left us there because it could not go through). Had to walk a bit to find my hostel (Pirwa: very well located) and had to wait for the next day to get good information and start planning the next tours. That was when I found out about the many mountains, the jungle, the salted desert, the death road downhill on mountain bike, among others (to mention only the ones that caught deeper my attention). Unexpectedly, I found a cheap opportunity to climb Pico Austria (on my own), Chakaltaya (couldn’t miss it because it represented the center of a study about glacier melting in South America: http://glacierwatch.blogspot.com), Wayna Potosi (wonderful final climb), and so I did it (I´ve used mostly the services of Juan Carlos, www.climbingbolivia.com)! On the other hand my time limitations started ticking – this was in the beginning of November and I had to be in Ecuador before the end of the month to make sure I had time to climb three volcanoes; but I still had to accomplish my other options: the Sajama volcano (quite expensive to organize because it laid a bit out of hand; and the unmissable ‘salar de Uyuni’ (3 days tour on a jeep, through a salted desert, and the Dali desert, that costs around 700 BOB, less than 100 USD).
 
Danger: this picture (Sajama hot springs) may cause severe 'envy' on certain people…
 

Uyuni was impressive! A revelation for photographers (despite the driver and that the conditions of comfort were not the best – make sure that you visit the trains museum and that you do not use the agency Sandra Travels but, instead, one that owns their own jeeps): the lakes, the flamingos, the conical volcanoes, the ice-capped peaks, the sand extensions, the geysers, the hot springs, the rock formations... The Uyuny salted desert is located on the south-west of Bolivia (at 3.700 m. of altitude), bordering Chile. It has a surface of around 12.000 km², and is the biggest in the world. The tour crosses the salar, stopping on an island of cactus (Incahuasi Island, or the ‘house of the Inca’) and other deserts (like Dali and Silaba deserts); it reaches an altitude of 4.700 meters; and includes two national parks.

Photos: geysers & ‘rock tree’



 
Bolivia has a huge potential for tourism. The landscapes and the possibilities for active tours are countless! The structural investment is missing, in order to offer a service with a minimum quality desired. In Bolivia, keep religiously safe the National Park entrance tickets (together with your money and passport): park rangers will ask for it when leaving the parks and, because they are so ‘square’, it won’t be enough to them that you indicate that you have entered on Monday at 11:40, as stated on the manual registration you have filled when you got in. The entrances are expensive (between 100 and 150 BOB, bolivianos, approximately 15 to 22 US dollars). In Ecuador, on the other hand, it is common that you register and pay nothing. The curious thing being that, when leaving the park, you may not find any rangers watching, which makes the entrance registration to lose its sense, or demonstrates that the registration will turn into a mere statistic and not into a form of safety control of your life.

Before finishing the tour back in Uyuni, we had the option of leaving the jeep at the border with Chile (still in the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve of Andean Fauna), to keep on going (there are bus connections) to San Pedro de Atacama. I asked to be left at Laguna Verde, and so I’ve climbed the Licancabur volcano (before heading to the border on the next morning)... Then, came Atacama, a nice village that offers a special atmosphere and plenty of activities for 2 or 3 days. But the Chilean peso got quite expensive and I decided to skip the Atacama desert and lagoons (not without regretting) and went for a half day tour to the hot springs, closer by.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Photo: Atacama hot springs

“A recent pic on FB stated: "I don't need therapy. I just need to go to the mountains...". Well, Wayna Picchu (2.682m), Chakaltaya (5.421m), Pico Austria (5.328m), Huayna Potosi (6.088m), Sajama (6.542m), Licancabur (5.916m), in 14 days... What a heck, I must be a quite a balanced guy!!!”




Photos (around La Paz): 2x Austria Peak; 2x Wayna Potosi 

On that same afternoon I took a bus, via Arica, back to Peru (Tacna), and then another one to Arequipa (a long and unpleasant trip, during the night and half the next day). At Arequipa, under the sights of the appealing volcano El Misti (which I’ve skipped because I needed to rest and do some laundry), I’ve stayed 2 nights at the new and highly recommendable hostel at calle Puente Grau (plenty of offers around that area).

"Todo es posible. Nada es seguro" (bolivian saying). Nothing is safe, particularly if related with computers: my memory card with thousands of photos got infected in one of them (Arequipa). At La Paz, because many things are ‘unsafe’, I was hit by some stomach virus that left its trace through the next many days. On the mountains though, one finds improbable friendships.”

 Photo: with Japanese friends

Then, I kept going north, stopping at Ica for the sandboarding and buggy tour (if you stop there, do not miss the town museum which holds a collection of strange stones with ancient inscriptions that are suppose to reveal the existence of on old civilization). And back to Lima to reorganize and restore myself. On the way to Ecuador I found time only to stop at Huaraz, the starting point of many trekking and mountain tours, including the highest and famous Huascarán - but it was not the season anymore. The city is too busy and I only climbed up to the disappointing Wilcacocha lake (excellent views, though) before deciding to leave. From here I had to go to Chimbote and from there I could not find a direct connection to Ecuador, so, once again, more buses... 


“Hi & bye to Salar de Uyuni (world's biggest salted desert - Bolivia), highlight of this tour which allows amazing pics; bye to Atacama (Chile); bye to Arequipa, and El Misti volcano (which I did not climb); hi again to Lima and to stomach trouble; bye to Huaraz & hi to Riobamba (Ecuador), and Chimborazo volcano, after more than 30 hours on 4 buses with remote comfort...”. When arriving at Guaiaquil (which, according to the news is quite a violent city) bus terminal I heard a man shouting “Riobamba”, so I took that other bus without resting. Riobamba was the starting point to climb Chimborazo, the highest in Ecuador.

“Yesterday my hostel room shacked... It was an earthquake! Not as strong as the one in south Peru but here at Riobamba we have an active volcano right next door: the Tungurahua (5.029m) is active for 17 years (people aren't allowed to approach). The iconic Cotopaxi turned active in August 2015 (who knows for how long!) and climbing it is not allowed any more (it was on my list). Let's try Cayambe (5.800m), the only volcano at the 0º latitude... But before that, next stop is Baños (hot springs)!”

Baños de Aguas Santas was not on my ‘list’. I just heard of it along the way. It was a nice surprise, a small town the way I like it (stayed 3 nights there, sharing room with 2 American rafting guides from Colorado whom I met on Chimborazo). Several options for restoring hot springs, magnificent waterfalls under the shade of Turungaua volcano, and more, were available. Don’t miss it!
 

It was December, and I keep going north, to Quito. This city would be the center of my next tours, to the mountains and hot springs (and perhaps to the jungle).

“I’ve installed myself at the Cayambe hostel, on the Cayambe (Equador) town, at the base of the Cayambe volcano, in the National Park Cayambe-Coca! The volcano is in the pocket and was dedicated to my dear friend Nuno Marques on the eve of his birthday.” After the Cayambe I’ve returned to Quito and from there I did only 3 other tours, all of them very worthwhile: to the hot springs of Papallacta (3 nights); to Otavalo market and Cuicocha lagoon (1 night); to the Pichincha peak (day tour next to Quito).






Photos: 3x Chimborazo; 3x Quito
 
“It was supposed to be a soft hike of 2 to 3 hours to the Pichincha summit (4.696m), but mountains reserve you this sort of surprises, and the typical Ecuadorian misinformation even more. ─ «Have you descent the 'paso de la muerte'?!», asked an American woman, fully roped, in a surprised tone. «I don’t know! I’ve unclimbed the East crest…», said I. «Yes, that is the 'paso de la muerte'!". No wonder people die in that exposed route (for those who do rock climbing it turns rather stimulating), but the information about the difficulty is inexistent (another negative point to Ecuador).”


My impressions:
If the ‘mark of the house’ in Peru is that one gets robbed (like several travellers testimony), in Ecuador the ‘mark of the house’ is the misinformation: Ecuadorians deceive on purpose (with bad intentions) or negligence, or disinterest, or by pride (to hide that they don’t know). The fact is they lie a lot! They lie through every skin pore (I’m not exaggerating, unfortunately the examples are abundant): they can be miserable when they sell you a pepperoni pizza without the pepperoni; when they ‘forget’ to give you back the change; when they sell you an entrance to visit natural water pools without telling you those are empty; or when they don’t make any signs along the trails that lead you to the popular Pichincha, to inform you that the path you are about to take can be deadly! However, it was in Ecuador (arriving at Quito) that I’ve experienced a theft situation, followed by a scene frequent on an action movie: while inside the bus I took notice that my jacket was no longer on the shelf; in a few seconds I’ve checked around and ran to the driver who pointed me the only people (two young men) that had left on the bus stop. I have no idea if it was my prompt intervention – 50 meter sprint into the void, jumping over street vendors, followed by a police woman with her hand on the gun (who was telling me she had to call for backup) – or the eventually menacing looks on the approach to the vehicle I supposed he was entering, the fact is the little thief abandoned my jacket over a taxi trunk. Untouched! Inside the pocket, still the mini video camera with more than 300 short videos...     

The Bolivian also lies, perhaps not so much by negligence or habit (like an Ecuadorian) but more by economic interest, that is to say, to obtain an advantage over something he/she does not possess: he/she can offer you a business in which the product/service offered does not correspond exactly to the reality… I’ve heard British people stating that sarcasm is the ultimate form of humor. In Bolivia they lie purportedly by need but, in Ecuador it seems they pretend to elevate misinformation to some sort of art form.

 






 
 
 
 
 
Photos: La Paz (1st); 2x Puno
 
Peruvians are so lazy that, when it is raining, they don’t even turn on the wipers of their vehicles, until you can no longer see a thing (maybe thinking they are saving energy that way). Also, in that country you can hardly get a cold drink: inside the freezers (disconnected) they keep other things… However, quite often, their hands fall heavily over the horn button of their vehicles. They honk for any apparent reason, in an automatic, and not rational, gesture. In these aspects one notes the differences between them and Ecuadorians, considered a little bit more ‘developed’. In Ecuador, only taxi drivers abuse of the horn, to call the attentions for potential clients – only that everybody is potential, even if improbable.  

“Ecuadorians might lie through every pore of their skin but what they say about the beauty of the Cuicocha lagoon (photo), is pure truth!”

Photo: Cuicocha lagoon

“La Paz, has the color of house bricks over a rocky mountains bottom. Quito is colorful, over a green back of the hills that encircle it. Lima is flat and the horizon is at a few meters distance. Fog is common, and adding to it, there is a strong atmospheric and acoustic pollution (honking is uninterrupted).”
 

My message to Rafael Correa, the President of Ecuador:
Do you want to upscale your country to an exponent of Sustainable Tourism (like he stated on one speech)? The efforts taken by the Ministry that holds National Parks, can be seen. But intentions are not enough, it takes education! The first step to take should be to renovate the bus fleet operating in Quito, the main source of visible (and felt) pollution at the capital city. Along the way, you should provide better training to your drivers because most of them drive like crazy, with contempt for the other users (pedestrians and drivers), and an incomprehensible voraciousness. By the way, I´ve burst out laughing when I saw the sign, well at the city centre, “Cuide su vida, utilice el paso cebra”: nobody ever respects that sign, and even less the bus and taxi drivers, meaning your biggest problem, at the moment, Mr. President, is to educate your population! Achieve it, and you will get you sustainable tourism!


Buses & agencies & hostels:
Bus: CIVA and Cruz del Sur, both work in an automatic way by keeping you entertained with video films non-stop and loud and low-quality music (this is why the duct tape) but both of them connect Peru and Ecuador. For night trips choose semi-cama seats (160º), the full bed seats always located on the ground floor are too noisy (other buses could be even less comfortable). Just for the record: one CIVA bus had a deadly accident on the high roads of Peru (April 2016), 5 months after I had used that line.

Agencies: Titikaka Uros Adventure (Puno) works Titikaka and Puno tours.

Climbing Bolivia (La Paz): expensive but accomplisher.

Julio Verne (Riobamba): the Dutch girl at the store reception is not very friendly but she’s more serious than others.
 

Hostels I’ve stayed at (and to which I would return to, exception made to Pirwa in Puno) with the condition that in some cases one should not expect much from the information given by the staff:

Hostels in Lima: 1900 Backpackers Hostel

Hostels in La Paz: Pirwa hostel;

Hostels in Quito: Casa Kanela; Hostel Galapagos:


No way:
Iberia (flights) – better pay more and use other company that takes better care of your luggage and has an effective costumer-relations department (like KLM or Lan Chile);

Sandra Travels (Uyuni) – it is not guaranteed that other company will accomplish the service promised but this one sure won’t.


Video:
As a result of this great trip of 45 days, I’ve managed to prepare an abbreviated video of less than 13 minutes (with traditional Andean music). It will also give you an idea…
This is part 1 (2'50):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pVscWVrENw&feature=youtu.be
This is part 2 (4'42)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkzseDtp-Yw&feature=youtu.be
This is part 3 (4'37):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roba6A_y41I&feature=youtu.be

ENJOY & HAVE FUN!

sexta-feira, 26 de fevereiro de 2016

South America trails - part 1/2

     Many English speaking and north European young travelers follow the routes and suggestions of some guide books, like the Lonely Planet, when visiting South America. I will not follow any guide book but I will enumerate the best spots to visit/activities to participate in. You can do it in a different order or leave some places out. The possibilities are numerous!
     This was in fact my first long travel as a truly backpacker and the following report describes the highlights and the do’s and don’ts of such a trip, and is dedicated to my nephew J.M.T.R. who once expressed his wish to travel through that magnificent continent.
     On planning such a long trip is essential of course to consider: how much time you have; how much money you have to spend on it; priority places to visit; the time of the year; safety aspects (avoid war zones and/or areas under social conflicts); health and food aspects; and other things…

        Don’t forget to take with you: sleeping kit for public transports and some hostels (should include: neck pillow, ear plugs, eye blind, duct tape – very useful to cover bus speakers that are always too loud and never have quality sound – …); Swiss knife or equivalent (remember to store it with the luggage, and not in the hand-luggage, when traveling by airplane); flip-flops (to rest your feet & use in the showers); fork & spoon & cup/dish (you’ll never know when you’ll need to prepare your own food; I, myself, planed to do camping so I took a mountain stove and bought locally a little gas can; fast cooking pasta soup is available on mini-supermarkets); first aid kit (should include at least: band aids, Compeed for heals & toes, aspirin, Brufen, digestive pills/salts, antiseptic, cotton & Betadine, diarrhea & constipation pills); headlamp; batteries (check your batteries are charged); pen and paper; a book; photo/video camera; batteries charger; voltage adapters (check it at http://mochileros.org/enchufe-voltaje-frecuencia-viajes/); small locker (some hostels provide room for backpack storage or phone charger, but you’ll need a lock); nécessaire/toiletry bag (include: brush and tooth paste, small soap, shampoo sachets, toilet paper and ‘humid towels’); water, cookies/cereal bars (you may wake up in a place and have no breakfast at hand); take enough money, several currencies, split it and hide it well on your body (remember you have to declare amounts of money superior to 10.000 USD, but you will never need this much).

        Remember, before your trip: check your passport is valid for more than six months after the date you are supposed to return home; get informed about vaccines needed on the countries (or areas of the countries) you want to visit; cut your hair & nails if you are going to be out for longer than one month. Also, at some borders (Chile, Argentina…) your luggage will be examined: remember to declare any food items you are carrying which are listed on their regulations (like meat, plants and seeds, cheese…).
        You will have the sensation that you are carrying too much weight and, at the same time, that you would need to pack some more stuff: do not take too much clothes (3 t-shirts, 2 underwear shorts, 1 swimming suit is enough), you’ll be able to wash them and/or buy new (cheap); one pair if soft boots or sport shoes and one flip-flops or sandals.


        10 Basic Rules of a traveler (valid for most Latin American countries):

        #1 Have a plan A (even if rough) and a plan B; and even a plan C, for your routes (you’ll have to do changes on your original plan not to get stuck on a small village waiting for the next bus, or because you are tired or got sick…). In short, be flexible.

        #2 Always carry your full travelling kit next to you (you will be doing long trips on buses or airplanes, and sharing rooms with other/foreign people).

        #3 Never accept the first offer (this is especially valid for accommodation, buses and taxis): always look for more and compare prices and conditions.

        #4 Never believe at first the information people give to you (especially in Peru-Bolivia-Ecuador where people are very ignorant & careless): ask again and again to confirm any relevant information.

        #5 Avoid reserve (tours and accommodation) from a distance (by phone or internet): except some cases (like the ‘Inca Trail’ tour and the ‘Wayna Picchu’ access, where the entrance is limited and book with months in advance is needed) you will get a better deal locally and directly, preferably with those that run the tour (avoid intermediates).

        #6 Do not look for tourist offices (unless you just need a local map): these are often closed (in Peru and Bolivia they’ll send you to the ‘tourist police’ which is not the same thing) or on the hands of bureaucrats who are not experts and/or do not care. Go better to travel agencies and get informed as if you were to take part of the tour (but remember they’ll try to sell you their tour). You can get a city map (and information about spots, markets, and so on) on your hostel.

        #7 Expect poor conditions (especially in Bolivia where they have the saying: “everything is possible; nothing is granted”): better to be positively surprised than disappointed. And be patient: transportation is seldom on time (sometimes there is no timetable) but is regular; roads are not like you are used to; on computer keyboards the @ sign is often under Alt+Q (although it shows there next to the 2) and all other signs (like: ?, &, / …) are all mixed up!

        #8 Avoid arriving on Sundays: many official institutions (tourist office, post office, banks) are closed; also check out for local holydays.

        #9 Be prepared to abandon (give away) some old clothes & equipment: you can buy some cheap stuff locally (shoes, t-shirts, razor blade, soap…); you will find spots (hostels, cafes, stores) to leave or exchange books.

        #10 Always keep an eye on your luggage: at the bus terminal (sometimes you will have to give your bag away) watch it until the personnel puts it inside the bus; when traveling, give it a look when they open the trunks, in case there are strangers around (if possible choose your seat at the same side of the luggage trunks).
 

Highlights:
 
          Ecuador (5 regions: Galapagos islands, coastal lowlands, Andean highlands, Amazon rainforest)
- Galapagos islands (I know the trip is expensive and that nature and iguanas are to be seen, but I have no idea)
 - Jungle tour (best to book it in Quito; minimum 3 days, costs above 250 UDS)
 - Hot springs: being the best at Baños de Agua Santa and Papallacta, among others…
Cuenca, Riobamba, Quito, Otavalo (market and Cuicocha crater)

 (Ica) (Huaraz)


 (Riobamba) (Quito)


(Quito)



(Otavalo)








 (Cuicocha, Otavalo)


Peru
- Cusco: Machu Picchu and the Inca trail; Moray Inca ruin; Inca's sacret valley
- Puno: Titikaka lake and the artificial islands
- Arequipa: Nasca (not worthwhile if not seen from over 500 meters; if including airplane tour becomes very expensive); Colca canyon (best spot to watch condors; includes hot springs; long drive; a bit expensive); rafting (1 hour down river, 40 minutes away from the city); El Misti volcano (a few minutes from the city; don’t do it if you don’t have experience or if you are not fit)
- Lima: visit cerro San Cristóbal; the Plaza the Armas and the Miraflores neighborhood in front of the beach (for me this noisy city is just a stop-over on your way to somewhere else)
- Ica (3 hours south of Lima): sandboarding & buggy tour
- Huaraz: trekkings, mountains and lagoons, are the attractions (look for a smaller village to stay since Huaraz is just an uggly starting point)

 (Cusco) (Puno, Titikaka)
 (Lima) (Puno)

 (Lima) (Machu Picchu) 








(Arequipa)

       Bolivia
- La Paz: death road by bike (a must); mountains (Huayna Potosi, 6.088 mts., is the icon, and trekkings); Chakaltaya (the old ski resort) + Moon Valley (landscapes, very good mountain experience of 20 minutes walk for beginners; drive through town to the south side; very inexpensive); use the red cable car to watch the city;
- Santa Cruz: haven’t been there but I heard people are really nice and different there.
- Uyuni: salted desert tour (3 days tour - or 4 days if included volcano ascent – this one, little above 4.000 mts. is recommended for people with little mountain experience) is a must (prices very affordable, book locally from 700 to 900 bolivianos, about 100 to 120 usd; 1USD=7Bob; expect some disconfort)



 (La Paz)

        Chile
- S. Pedro de Atacama (hot springs, desert and lakes tours)
- Antofagasta
- Valparaiso (beach resort)
- Santiago de Chile (cerro Santiago)
- Pucón (Villarica lake and volcano)
- Chiloé island (typical fishermen houses)
- Torres del Paine National Park

 (Santiago Chile) (Atacama)






(Villarica)


Argentina
- The clouds train (from Salta, 217km)
- Iguaçu waterfalls
- San Rafael
- Mendoza
- 7 lakes route (Bariloche, Villa la angostura, Arrayanes National Park…)
- Valdez Peninsula (whales, penguins and sea lions watching)
- Los Glaciares National Park (Fitz Roy, El Chaltén…)

(Patagónia, volcano & lakes)
 
Next, on part 2: 'South America trails – my route' ...