Peru Travel Photo Collection

We decided to contact Adventure Life for a tour of Machu Picchu at the suggestion of some good friends. This fabulous tour was our only ''guided'' tour in a 5 week, 4 country adventure through South America. This decision was perfect because we ended up learning so much more about the ruins, the culture and the country, than if we had walked in the front gates on our own. Our photos were taken in Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu.

Michael and I both loved many aspects of the Manco Multisport tour but also love cuisine and cooking, so Kassi and Ashley helped us plan a custom tour including our favorite aspects of both the Manco Multisport and the Cuisine Tours that are offered. A fabulous itinerary was now planned - all we needed to do was make sure that we were in shape to handle the Multisport portion of the trip and that we had all the gear we needed.

A journey back to an incredible country...this time featuring condors, flamingos, and pink dolphins!

Photos of our trip

Every segment of our trip was top-notch. The weather was great, along with the food, the tours, the lodging, the transportation and the people. We made a stop at Mantay in Cusco to deliver peace pals and medical supplies. We were very impressed to learn that Adventure Life has a relationship with the shelter. Thanks to Milagros in Lima, we learned about the Mantay Shelter in Cusco. My friends and I knitted 26 peace pals to distribute to the mama and baby residents there. Mantay Shelter provides safety and education for abused teenage mothers and their children.After a break in and robbery of the computers and televisions, Adventure Life helped to heighten the brick wall and install electric protection around the shelter. It also helped to solve several plumbing problems in the bathroom. We all greatly appreciated having our own \'\'private\'\' tours. With just 4 of us, we could all fit into a van and could interact better with our guides. This kind of intimacy is not possible with a large group on a bus. We were able to stop for pictures and ask questions whenever we wanted to. Also we were able to drive to locations that a big tour bus could not reach, for instance the salt mines.Thanks to Adventure Life for giving us the opportunity to share with people in Peru.

In addition to the stunning scenery, we all thoroughly enjoyed the company of our guide, cook and wrangler, who each did a wonderful job of making our trip so special with their knowledge, excellent local cuisine, and lots of good-humored laughter as we stumbled with our Spanish. This trek was on a grand scale that I had never experienced before - a trip of a life-time that I would highly recommend!

Photos of the people,animals, and places on our Peru trek with Adventure Life.

Attached are a few of the more than 1500 pictures taken during a fabulous trip to Peru in 2012.

How can you summarize Cusco, Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu? You can\'t! I will use bullets to try to help...The 7 wonders of our trip:1-How\'d they build the road to Machu Picchu (MP) and how do they keep them in great shape? They aren\'t paved and there are many switchbacks and many many buses each day.2-The bus schedule is flawless at MP. Little waiting and they are a marvel to watch as they pass and maintain order on the mountainside.3-Wild orchids jut out of the mountain. They are on road sides and at MP. They epitomize Peru. They can make hard thinks look simple.4-Some places living without reliable running and hot water at points throughout the day. That is harder than it sounds. 5-How\'d they fit so many vendors in one place, so the vendors even step out to beg for business. Compreme. Non, muchos gracias senora.6-How\'d the Incas know to layer the terraces with clay and gravel and dirt to avoid erosion and filter the water.7-How\'d Peru and the Incas inspre me to be more Inca-like...To learn more Spanish, to master hard stuff, to do something I think I can\'t, to do the Inca trail or hike Huana Picchu.Do:-drink coca tea as soon as you arrive-do drink the \"syruppy\" coffee at breakfast, but you may need to mix half and half with hot water-learn some Incas...Pachacutec, Manco Inca...-stay near Plaza de Armas in Cusco-stay at the Inti Inn in Aguas Calientes if you wanna dance all night to the Chez Maggy\'s music next door-stay at El Sauce for a marvelous view of Ollantaytambo ruins and water systems-drink Cusquena. And Chiccha morado. And say yes to cuy.-learn that @ = alt 64 on a spanish keyboard-learn to say non, muchas gracias senora. Yo tengo sombrero or whatever you already have that they are selling. Be sincere and they will leave faster!-charge your camera battery so it doesn\'t die at MP. Really.Don\'t:-take a bath in the fountain at MP-take a bath in the hot bathes at ACalientes*growing theme?-plan on using the potty at MP-not inside anyway-eat an unpealed apple-drink with your already inebriated buide-where they traditional wool pullover while climbing Huana Pichhu or wear wedges.To be Peruvian is to understand that all types of people have to live together. They have meshed Spanish and Inca tradition and religion to become who they are today. The Incas believed in duality. Man and woman. Peach. Sun and moon. I wouls say thats about right. Peruvaians are kind, gentle people (well, except the pushy women on the streets selling!). We stand to learn a lot from them.I gaze sleepily out the window as our overnight flight is met with sunshine. I glance twice out the window as I think I see terraces. White puffy terraces and the shapes of Machu Picchu. I look for a shape of a condor and slightly make it out below the terraces. Am I too tired? I have been Incanized!

Join me for a guide\'s-eye view of hiking around the Cusco region of Peru. Here are a few photos from our the multisport trip including biking around the lake and hiking from Huchuy Cusco down to Lamay. We had a lot of fire on the mountains around Cusco so the air was smoky.

Manco Multi-Sport combined with Amazon Explorer -- 16 days of non-stop adventure!

White water rafting, mountain biking, hiking, zip-lining, kayaking oh my! What had I gotten myself into???

We drove from Quito down to Mancora, Chiclayo, Trujillo, Lima, Ica, Nazca, Arequipa, Puno and Cuzco in 17days, Visited lots of wonderful places... a trip to remember for ever!!!