Unbenanntes Dokument

Puno on the northwest shore of Lake Titicaca, was the perfect place from where to explore the islands of Uros, Amantani and Taquile. The floating islands of the Uros in the Puno Bay, are only 30 minutes away from the main land. The people of Uros build the houses, boats and the foundations of their islands with reeds. They fish and hunt birds for a living. A little extra income is generated from the handicrafts that are sold to the visiting tourists. The very friendly islanders had plenty of time to show us their islands, houses and boats and explain their way of life to us. On arrival at the beautiful and peaceful island of Amantani, we were greeted by our host family in their traditional costumes. The majority of people from Amantani speak Quechua, but understand Spanish. Our host brought us to his small house high above the port, where we were given the best room to sleep in. The food was served in the tiny kitchen, where the cooking was done on an open fire on the floor. In the evening, after being dressed up in their local clothes, we were invited to the communal house to join the festivities and dancing. What an experience!
Next we went to Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca Empire. Its colonial churches, monasteries, convents and extensive pre-Colombian ruins attract many tourists on their way to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. After driving a little further north, we found a charming B&B in Urubamba, from where we organized the train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. We had decided to spend the night in Aguas Calientes and visit the Machu Picchu ruins early in the morning, when not so many people were around. After arriving at the entrance of Machu Picchu at around 5.30 a.m., we queued with a few hundred other visitors, before being registered to enter the site. The tremendous feeling of awe most tourists experience, when first witnessing Machu Picchu, was postponed because of the morning fog. At around 9 a.m. the clouds cleared and the whole majestic scene of the ancient city against the green jungle peaks were visible. It was well worth the wait!
The Sacred Valley of the Incas with its monuments at Ollantaytambo, Moray and the beautiful salt pans near Maras, were all within easy reach of Urubamba. From these sites, we headed to the Pampas Galeras at 4’100 m above sea level, where we passed big flocks of Vicunas, before arriving in Nazca. Set in a green valley, surrounded by chocolate coloured mountains, Nazca town has a pleasant dry climate and is the perfect location from where to explore the world famous Nazca Lines and the tombs of Chauchilla. The lines cut into the stony desert and the enormous animal designs, are best seen from the air; ½ hours flights are available for US $ 100 p.p. Next we crossed the endless desert to Paracas, where we decided to stay for several days to explore the Ballestas Islands and the Paracas National Reserve. The spectacular Isla Ballestas with numerous arches and caves, are the home of thousands of seabirds, some rare, hundreds of penguins, pelicans and sea lions. The ride through the fertile coast to Lima will stay in our memories, since we had to pass several road blocks and enormous queues of trucks and buses, stuck because of the farm workers strike. From the Miraflores district in Lima, a nice, safe and more up-market area, we visited all the interesting sites in the historic centre.
From Huarez we saw the highest mountains in South America, which lie along the Cordillera Blanca. Over 20 peaks higher than 5’000 m can be seen, weather permitting. The Cordillera Blanca contains the largest concentration of glaciers found in the worlds tropical zone. The very narrow dirt road through the Canon del Pato was a real challenge and had our adrenalin flowing. Passing under tremendous walls of bare rocks and through 40 natural tunnels with poor visibility, took us several hours; see youtube: Canyon del Pato by thebiketrip Near the town of Trujillo, were the huge and fascinating Moche pyramids, “Huaca del Sol” and “Huaca de la Luna. The informative, newly opened museum near the pyramid of “Huaca de la Luna” explains the Moche culture very well.

Peru 27. April 2011 until 19. May 2011
Puno on the northwest shore of Lake Titicaca, was the perfect place from where to explore the islands of Uros, Amantani and Taquile. The floating islands of the Uros in the Puno Bay, are only 30 minutes away from the main land. The people of Uros build the houses, boats and the foundations of their islands with reeds. They fish and hunt birds for a living. A little extra income is generated from the handicrafts that are sold to the visiting tourists. The very friendly islanders had plenty of time to show us their islands, houses and boats and explain their way of life to us. On arrival at the beautiful and peaceful island of Amantani, we were greeted by our host family in their traditional costumes. The majority of people from Amantani speak Quechua, but understand Spanish. Our host brought us to his small house high above the port, where we were given the best room to sleep in. The food was served in the tiny kitchen, where the cooking was done on an open fire on the floor. In the evening, after being dressed up in their local clothes, we were invited to the communal house to join the festivities and dancing. What an experience! Next we went to Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca Empire. Its colonial churches, monasteries, convents and extensive pre-Colombian ruins attract many tourists on their way to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. After driving a little further north, we found a charming B&B in Urubamba, from where we organized the train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. We had decided to spend the night in Aguas Calientes and visit the Machu Picchu ruins early in the morning, when not so many people were around. After arriving at the entrance of Machu Picchu at around 5.30 a.m., we queued with a few hundred other visitors, before being registered to enter the site. The tremendous feeling of awe most tourists experience, when first witnessing Machu Picchu, was postponed because of the morning fog. At around 9 a.m. the clouds cleared and the whole majestic scene of the ancient city against the green jungle peaks were visible. It was well worth the wait! The Sacred Valley of the Incas with its monuments at Ollantaytambo, Moray and the beautiful salt pans near Maras, were all within easy reach of Urubamba. From these sites, we headed to the Pampas Galeras at 4’100 m above sea level, where we passed big flocks of Vicunas, before arriving in Nazca. Set in a green valley, surrounded by chocolate coloured mountains, Nazca town has a pleasant dry climate and is the perfect location from where to explore the world famous Nazca Lines and the tombs of Chauchilla. The lines cut into the stony desert and the enormous animal designs, are best seen from the air; ½ hours flights are available for US $ 100 p.p. Next we crossed the endless desert to Paracas, where we decided to stay for several days to explore the Ballestas Islands and the Paracas National Reserve. The spectacular Isla Ballestas with numerous arches and caves, are the home of thousands of seabirds, some rare, hundreds of penguins, pelicans and sea lions. The ride through the fertile coast to Lima will stay in our memories, since we had to pass several road blocks and enormous queues of trucks and buses, stuck because of the farm workers strike. From the Miraflores district in Lima, a nice, safe and more up-market area, we visited all the interesting sites in the historic centre. From Huarez we saw the highest mountains in South America, which lie along the Cordillera Blanca. Over 20 peaks higher than 5’000 m can be seen, weather permitting. The Cordillera Blanca contains the largest concentration of glaciers found in the worlds tropical zone. The very narrow dirt road through the Canon del Pato was a real challenge and had our adrenalin flowing. Passing under tremendous walls of bare rocks and through 40 natural tunnels with poor visibility, took us several hours; see youtube: Canyon del Pato by thebiketrip Near the town of Trujillo, were the huge and fascinating Moche pyramids, “Huaca del Sol” and “Huaca de la Luna. The informative, newly opened museum near the pyramid of “Huaca de la Luna” explains the Moche culture very well.
Itinary Copacabana, Puno, Islands of Uro, Amantani and Taquile, Cusco, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes, Machupicchu, Maras, Moray, Salinera de Maras, Chincero, Abancay, Nasca, Paracas, Islas Ballestas, Lima, Huaraz, Cordillera Blanca, Canon del Pato, Santa, Trujillo, Sullana	Highlights Islands of Uro, Amantani and Taquile, Cusco, Machupicchu, Moray, Salinera de Maras, Nasca, Islas Ballestas, Cordillera Blanca, Canon del Pato, Trujillo
Peru
Flag Peru	Uros floating islands
Uros reed boat	Uros woman
Island Amantani	Guest family Amantani
Wheat field Amantani	Amantani men
Folkloric evening	Quinoa
Harbour view Taquile	On the way to Cusco
Market in Sicuani	Market in Sicuani
Cathedral Cusco	Colonial house Cusco
Local women	Weaver
Procession Aguas Caliente	Procession Aguas Caliente
Church Aguas Caliente	Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu	Machu Picchu
B&B Urubamba	On the way to Moray
Coliseum Moray	Near Moray
Salt pans Maras	On the way to Nasca
Valle Las Trancas	Tomb at Chauchilla
At the market in Nasca	Flight to the Nasca Lines
Famous Nasca Hummingbird	Space-man Nasca
Near Paracas	Petrified chandelier
Islas Ballestas	Sea birds on Ballestas
Sea birds on Ballestas	Sea birds on Ballestas
Pelicans on Ballestas	Reserva Nacional Paracas
Reserva Nacional Paracas	Road block on the way to Lima
Road block on the way to Lima	Lima
Lima	Lucumas
Locals in Lima	Cordillera Blanca
Canon del Pato	Canon del Pato
Trujillo	Trujillo
Huaca de la Luna	Moche warrior and priest
Sculpture in Chan Chan	Delicious bananas
Reed boats	Stopping for a coke