Peru – Page 12 – Pirwa Hostels BLOG

Crossing the Peru – Bolivia Border

November 9, 2013 Pirwa

Most travelers cross the Peru – Bolivia border by buying a tourist-class bus ticket from Puno to Copacabana. Almost all of these buses cross at the border town of Yunguyo and depart Puno daily, such as Panamericano and Tour Peru. Disembarking at Copacabana allows you to explore the Lake Titicaca’s famous Isla del Sol (Sun Island), although you can also opt to continue on to La Paz. The 7hr trip from Puno to La Paz boasts scenic views of the villages alongside the lake and involves a ferry ride across the the lake’s Tiquina Strait.

The direct route from Puno to La Paz crosses the border at the small and filthy town of Desaguadero rather than Yunguyo. Ormeño buses depart Puno along this route at 5:45am each day, and although you won’t have a scenic trip, the total time gets cut down to 5 hours, and you will catch a glimpse of the Tiwanaku ruins en route.

Rather than take a bus from Puno’s main terminal (the terminal terrestre), you can take a colectivo from the corner of Bolivar and 1 de Mayo two blocks away. Although these shared vans are a cheaper option, you won’t be guaranteed a seat and have to deal with overcrowding and possible pickpockets. If you have luggage with you, you will find this an uncomfortable option.

2½hr Puno – Yunguyo: US$3.00
30min Yunguyo – Copacabana: US$0.50
5hr Copacabana – La Paz: US$4.00

The cheapest way to cross the border is by colectivo vía Desaguadero. It takes about 4 hours and US$2 to get from Puno to Desaguadero, and 4 more hours and US$3 to make it to La Paz from Desaguadero (with colectivos only leaving up to 5pm).

The colectivos stop at Desaguadero’s town center, only about 600 feet from the border stations, located along the bridge over the river of the same name. On the left of the bridge is the Peruvian immigration exit station. Officials here will check and collect your TAM, and stamp your passport, at which point you can walk across the bridge into Bolivia. Once you arrive on the Bolivia side, the entry station will be on your right.

At The Border

The Peru-Bolivia border is open from 8am–midday and from 2pm–7:30pm, and crossing is relatively quick and stress-free. Although you should confirm if this applies for your own country of origin, most tourists only require a passport and an entry/exit card which is provided for them. For example, in the case of Bolivia, North & South Americans, New Zealanders, and Australians won’t need entry visas, but French nationals must arrange this ahead of time. In the case of Peru, citizens of all of the countries in North America and South America, all countries within the European Union, Switzerland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are not required to obtain visas from the embassy in advance (among other exempt countries).

The card that you receive upon entering Peru or Bolivia is the TAM (Tarjeta Andina de Migración), which you will be required to produce it in order to leave the country. If you are flying into Peru, you will receive the card during the flight and must fill it in and present it upon arrival. As it is required for exit, if your card is lost during your visit, you will need to visit the local immigration office for assistance in procuring a new one. (If, on the other hand, you lose your passport, you should contact your embassy.)

The TAM will specify how many days you will be staying in the country. You will probably receive 90 days by default if you don’t ask for more, but you may request for up to 183 days in Peru. The Bolivian TAM is generally made out for 30 days, although the visa is valid for years. If you overstay the allotted days, you will be fined US$1 for every day before being permitted to exit the country.

If you are crossing the border from Peru to Bolivia, you will surrender your TAM for Peru at the Peruvian border post, and then receive a new one at the Bolivian entry post.

While most travelers will be stamped into Bolivia as quickly as they were stamped out of Peru, United States’ citizens will need to pay the US$135 entry fee- make sure you have pristine bills or they won’t be accepted. You will also need to provide a passport-sized photo for a visa which will be good for 5 years, and complete the visa application. (If you don’t have a photo they will sometimes search for a close match in the leftover pile, but you might as well come prepared if you can.) Avoid problems by ensuring that your passport still has at least six months validity remaining, and a free page to affix the Bolivian visa. If you’d like to save time, you can fill out the visa application online before heading for the border.

Technically, you can be asked to show your outbound flight or bus ticket, reservation information, or proof of yellow fever vaccination upon entering Bolivia or Peru. Most of the time these inquiries aren’t made, although you are most likely to be asked about the first.

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Visiting Santa Catalina Monastery in Arequipa

October 31, 2013 Pirwa

The 16^th century Santa Catalina Monastery in Arequipa once housed nuns from the high class Spanish families- at its peak, the huge complex housed up to 150 nuns and 300 servants. At the time, families were expected to send their second child into the service of the church, and paid very high dowries to send their daughters to Santa Catalina. Many lived lives of luxury within the cloistered walls of Santa Catalina, with slaves and servants to attend to them and tales of pregnant nuns floating around. This ended in 1871 when Pope Pius IX requested the monastery’s reform, sending in an overseer to teach the nuns humility.

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Colca Canyon to Lake Titicaca

October 5, 2013 Pirwa

The route from Arequipa to Colca Canyon is marked by open plains surrounded by snow-capped volcanoes. Along the way, we make several stops: at the Pampas Cañahuas Reserve to watch the grazing herds of alpacas and vicuña, at the town of Viscachani to stretch our legs and enjoy a coca tea or coffee, at the Mirador of the Andes Lookout (4850masl) to take in some dazzling expansive views of the surrounding landscape. The lookout is located at the highest point of the crossing, meaning that you will probably be feeling a little fatigued from the altitude! (Check out an earlier post if you’re looking for tips to prevent and deal with altitude sickness….you’ll probably be glad you did.)

At Chivay, we’ll enjoy a buffet lunch where you can sample alpaca and other local dishes. Chivay is considered the canyon’s principal town and entry point, so this is where visitors must purchase their entry, which is presently S/35 Peruvian nuevos soles.

Continuing on to the town of Coporaque, you can get settled in our inn for the night before exploring the town with our local guide. Evenings can be quite cold in the canyon, but you can warm up in the La Calera Hot Springs if you desire. The entry cost is S/10 Peruvian nuevos soles. (The inn can provide towels, so you just need to bring sandals and your swimsuit.) The pools are surrounded by beautiful mountains. Dinner will be accompanied by a folkloric show highlighting the canyon’s two pre-Columbian cultures, the Collagua and the Cabana.

After an early breakfast on the second day, we head to the viewing platform of Condor’s Cross, the most famous site in the canyon, stopping along the way to enjoy views of the canyon and its river as well as thousand year old cliff-side agricultural terraces and pre-Columbian hanging tombs. As the sun’s rays begin to warm the canyon, the endangered Andean condors rise from their nesting colony deep below Condor’s Cross, circling ever higher in search of food. The sheer size of the world’s largest birds of flight is stunning to see at close range, especially in the setting of the canyon’s natural beauty. There are some small trails in the area that we can walk as well. During the return to Chivay for lunch, we’ll visit some of the tiny towns of the canyon.

Then, it will be time to depart from the canyon and begin our journey over the altiplano, the high Andean plains. Depending on the time of year, we may see Andean flamingos feeding on the shores of Lagunillas Lake. At the end of the journey, you will be dropped off at your hotel or hostel in Puno.

Although Puno itself is not a large city, the islands of Lake Titicaca will surely be calling to you. Most visitors choose to see at least the Floating Islands of Uros, and if time allows the islands of Amantani and Taquile. For more detailed information on things to do in Puno, here’s a selection of earlier posts on the topic:

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Learn to Make Chocolate at the ChocoMuseu in Lima or Cusco

September 28, 2013 Pirwa

The ChocoMuseo mission is to make chocolate in the countries where cacao grows, which is why it luckily has three different locations in Peru. In Lima, it’s located 3 blocks from Kennedy Park in Miraflores (very close to our hostels, which are located one block and four blocks from Kennedy Park). In Cusco, it’s 2 blocks from the main square, the Plaza de Armas (just a block from Pirwa Colonial Hostel, Pirwa Posada del Corregidor, and Pirwa Suecia B&B!). There’s also one located half a block from the impressive ruins of Ollantaytambo.

(You may remember reading about Ollantaytambo in an earlier blog post, “5 Best Spots to Visit in the Sacred Valley of the Incas“.)

Visitors can take part in popular activities, especially the 2-hour “Cacao Bean to Chocolate Bar” workshop, which takes you through the whole process. Other workshops vary by location and month, but some of the standards are truffle-making and sculpting chocolate.

Each activity has a cost, although entrance to the small cacao and chocolate museum is free (and you are often invited to enjoy a cup of cacao husk tea for free as well….it’s different, but the taste really grows on you….you’ll probably find yourself buying a few bags to take home). There’s an artisanal chocolate kitchen open to view, as well as a store and café if you want to sample some of their products, which include natural cacao goods, crafts such as mugs and chocolate-making tools, and of course, chocolates.

Although the ChocoMuseos are actually quite small, the workshops and café make it a fun way to spend an afternoon and learn about one of the region’s most fascinating and delicious products.

As always, feel free to ask reception in any of our Pirwa hostels in Peru for tips and recommendations on fun, enlightening ways to spend your free time during your trip!

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The Santa Cruz Route in Huascarán: One of the World’s Best Treks

September 24, 2013 Pirwa

Peru offers some of the best alpine hiking in the world, as attested by National Geographic when it included the Santa Cruz Trek in its list The World’s 25 Most Epic Hikes. The trek follows the river of the same name through Huascarán National Park, which contains all of the stunning Cordillera Blanca- the highest mountain range outside of the Himalayas and the most concentrated collection of large peaks in the western hemisphere. It’s appropriate for all experience levels and is generally done in 4 days. (Although experienced hikers seeking a more challenging route often opt for the longer Alpamayo Trek.) The hike does reach a difficult summit, however, at the cold and windy high pass of Punta Union.

The lively hikers’ hub of Huaraz serves as the base town for almost excursions into Huascarán, whether it’s day-hikes, longer treks, mountain climbing, skiing or biking. The Santa Cruz Trek itself generally begins in nearby Cashapampa (2900m), although it is sometimes also done in reverse. Going with an agency group tour means that you will also have a guide, a chef, and donkeys or horses to carry the camping and cooking equipment. (Feel free to contact the travel specialists of Pirwa Travel Service at pirwatravel@gmail.com for information.)

Along the route, you follow the rapids of the Santa Cruz River past red quenua trees and turquoise lakes under the looming mountain peaks. Beginning at a narrow gorge where the river spills out from a cleft in the mountains, the first day’s hike is only a few hours. As you continue past eucalyptus groves and flowering bushes in different colors, towards the dark rock spires of the gorge walls and the route’s first waterfall, the guide tells you about the area’s history and the scenery gets ever more varied and majestic. The first night’s camp is at Llamacorral, a grassy area enclosed by stone walls.

The following day, you won’t be able to resist marveling at the glacial lake of Jatunococha surrounded by the narrow valley’s steep walls. In the distance, the snowy peak of Quitaraju will rise above the scene. Just a little further on, a set of dozens of waterfalls from Arthayacocha River spring from the 300m tall valley walls give the impression of an enormous natural dam holding back an ocean. Exiting the gorge and entering a wide grassy field with steams. The series of Andean peaks which will come into view include the beautiful Alpamayo and Artesonraju, the Paramount Pictures mountain. The scenic lagoons will also continue, most notably with colorful Laguna Arhueycocha and the glacier and ice fall that tumbles into it.

The second day’s camp in generally Taullipampa, which you reach by descending into a meadow. On the third day, you ascend a stunning valley to a glacial lake surrounded by impressive ice covered peaks. The high point is at Punto Union Pass, at a daunting 15,617ft above sea level (higher than any peak in the contiguous U.S.) boasting enviable views. After the pass, you descend through a forest and a series of lakes to the third day’s camp. From the pass on, the landscapes are much starker, but are still beautiful in a different way. The final day takes you through Huaripampa village, with its humble thatched roof homes and guinea pig farms, before ending in Vaqueria. Though you are free to take a polar dip in any of the icy lakes along the route (and some do), most prefer to wait until the trek’s end and then to take advantage of the area’s hot springs. From Vaqueria, you can take a bus to Yunguay.

Things to Remember

The best time to go is from April through September, when it’s very cold but rains are not a problem.
You are required to buy a trekking permit for Huascarán National Park, which costs about almost US$30 person.
You can reach Huaraz from Lima by bus, an 8-10hr trip, or you can fly. (You can arrange transport through Pirwa Travel Service.)
Day trips from Huaraz to sites like Pastoruri Glacier or Laguna 68 can help you acclimatize before the trek.
Make sure to bring a rain poncho and mosquito repellent.
Prepare for a strong sun in the afternoons and very, very cold nights.