Plans for our NEXT trip to Peru

Vilcabamba aka Espiritu Pampa

This was the last strong hold of the Inca Empire, and the place from which Manco Inca orchestrated rebellions against the spaniards for 33 years, from 1539 to 1572. It was actually discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911, within weeks of his discovery of Machu Picchu. His goal on that expedition was actually to find Vilcabamba, but he decided that this could not be it because it wasn't large enough. Instead he somehow managed to convince everyone until well after his death that Machu Picchu is Vilcabamba. It turns out he just didn't look hard enough and the site is much larger than Machu Picchu. This explains why history professors should probably not become archaeologists! If not for Hiram Bingham originally billing Machu Picchu as Vilcabamba it would have never been so famous.

To get here we will have to take a 9 day trek, with a peak elevation of over 12,000 (!) feet, and ending at 2,624 ft. Why walk 9 days to see ruins mostly covered in jungle roots? First off, that is a lot of downhill, and I like hiking downhill. Second, and more importantly, there are actually several ruins to see along the way, and Vilcabamba itself is absolutely deserted. One account I read said that they were the only person all day. Imagine that compared to the 4,000 people who visit Machu Picchu in a day.

Nazca Lines

Thought by some to have been drawn by aliens, how can you resist? Well, luckily we did resist. This was a close contender for a few days when we found out that we couldn't see Machu Picchu, but it turns out the cheapest tours leave from Cusco, go to Nazca, and then drop you off in Lima, and we had already bought round trip tickets from Lima to Cusco. And then on Thursday an aircraft flying over the lines crashed and all 7 passengers died (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=553123&publicationSubCategoryId=200). This one is definitely best left in the next trip category, when hopefully small aircraft regulations will have improved.

The Amazon

With a picture like this, how can you resist it? Well, first there is the getting there, which would take a sizeable chunk of already short time. Then there are the shots. No one likes needles, and we would need to subject ourselves to lots of shots deemed unnecessary for American toddlers to receive before we enter the Amazon.

Is there anything left to see on this trip then?

What I found so amazing when we started planning our trip to Peru is just how many things there are to see. Why don't more people go here for their vacations? Probably because it is daunting to whittle down all of the amazing sites into a manageable itinerary for the length of vacation that most of us can take. So what did we decide to see? Here's a hint: lots of ruins, markets, cuy, and the culinary capital of South America!