Lima Cultures Blog - Alternative Peru

Articles about Lima, sustainable travel, Peru and much more...

•September 16, 2020

Frequently Asked Questions about Peru II: Food and health

In Part II, we answer some of Google's Frequently Asked Questions about Peru. Two very popular subjects are food (safety) and health. Is it safe to eat street food? What is Peru's national dish? Which vaccinations and medicines do you need for Peru?

•September 9, 2020

Frequently Asked Questions about Peru I: How does a Peruvian look like?

Answering questions about Peru is like an addiction to us, so we went actively looking on Google for Frequently Asked Questions about Peru. Some of the questions we found are ... interesting, to say the least. In Part I, we'll tackle some of the FAQs about the physical appearance of Peruvians.

•July 13, 2020

Weekend trip from Lima: the Nor Yauyos-Cochas mountain nature reserve

Sometimes you need more than just a day to escape the big city. Our next suggestion for a trip from Lima is ideal for a weekend away. It’s about five to six hours driving inland and uphill from Lima. This one is perfect for those that love idyllic nature, hiking, rivers, waterfalls and small villages....

•June 24, 2020

Day Tour from Lima 3: The colorful town that became the largest altarpiece in the world

We have already refuted the common belief that the city of Lima is grey, but we do have to admit that the foggy weather in winter (especially June – August) can be quite depressing. The perfect antidote is our third Day Tour from Lima to the colorful town of Antioquía, named the largest altarpiece in...

•June 11, 2020

Daytrip from Lima 2: Marcahuasi

Marcahuasi has become one of Lima's favorite destinations for camping near the capital but it’s still mostly undiscovered by foreign tourists. This high-altitude Andean plateau (4,000 meters above sea level) is famous for its unique set of gigantic and mysterious rock formations with strange shapes resembling human faces, animals, and religious symbols. This unique landscape...

•May 31, 2020

Day Trip from Lima: A unique ecosystem, pre-Inca sites and hot springs

Leaving Lima seems to take forever. The apartment buildings, shops, garages and constructions just seem to go on and on. It’s anything but boring for visitors because it brings you to areas of Lima you wouldn’t visit if you just fly in and out of the airport. The Panamericana Norte, the highway you’ll travel on...

•May 9, 2020

10 culture shocks when visiting Peru

The Alternative Peru team loves Peru (duh!) and we would love for you to come and visit us here and discover the wonders of Peru. But for most of you, Peru is also very different than what you’re used to in your own country. To avoid any big surprises, we’re preparing you with a concise...

•April 30, 2020

How to find the right place to volunteer in Peru (or anywhere really)

Voluntourism, traveling and paying to volunteer, has gained momentum during the last decade. It has even become one of the fastest growing niche travel markets. While most volunteering travelers (or is it traveling volunteers?) mean well and simply want to have a more meaningful vacation, certain forms of voluntourism have a very negative impact on...

•April 10, 2020

How to start planning your trip to Peru

It’s decided. Your next trip is going to be to Peru. But where and how to start planning your adventure? Peru has a lot to offer and it might seem overwhelming at first. Because we’re very avid travelers ourselves at Alternative Peru, we’ve tried to write down the steps that we take when we plan...

•March 26, 2020

5 things to do to prepare for your next trip to Peru!

You can’t travel to Peru right now. You can’t enjoy a delicious ceviche while sipping from a Pisco Sour in Peru right now. You can’t wander the street of Cusco and you can’t fish for piranhas in the Amazon. You also can’t take one of our tours in Lima or meet one of the amazing...

•March 16, 2020

Lima is not Grey!

We admit that Lima isn’t exactly the city that travelers adore at first sight. Five months a year (June through October) the garúa covers the city sometimes high in the sky, sometimes even in between the buildings and homes of Limeños. This mysterious sea mist is caused by the interaction of warm inland desert winds...

•March 16, 2020

Travel in times of corona

For now, as long as this pandemic is not under control, stay home! Don’t travel! This might seem weird coming from a person making a living from tourism, but we need all of us to beat this together. As Dr. Georgine Nanos, board-certified physician and CEO of Kind Health group in California told Forbes: “It’s...

•February 17, 2020

What is Responsible Tourism?

Alternative Peru’s mission is to help grow responsible tourism in Peru because we believe it has great potential to strengthen Peru’s economy in a sustainable way and to replace harmful non-sustainable economic activities that are now driving Peru’s economy but are not decreasing inequality.

•July 1, 2019

7 sustainable travel apps and websites that make traveling more responsible and fun!

Travelers from around the world are becoming increasingly aware of the ecological, economic and social impact of traveling. That’s why a lot of them choose to discover new countries through sustainable tourism. But sometimes it is easier said than done. Do you also want to travel in a sustainable and responsible way but you don’t...

•June 6, 2016

How can you help protect the Amazon Rainforest?

After visiting the Amazon in Brazil and in Peru and conducting research with some of its indigenous peoples, I’m even more passionate about the most biodiverse section of tropical rainforest in the world, and its people. That’s one of the reasons that at Alternative Peru we definitely wanted to include some responsible and authentic experiences in...

•June 6, 2016

Pachacamac: the most underrated Lima attraction?

Just south of Lima, a mere 30 minutes drive (without Lima traffic) along the coast, lie the important ruins of Pachacamac. It’s definitely not a boring drive to get there. Starting at the green areas and modern buildings of Miraflores, the scenery abruptly changes and visitors are reminded that Lima is a desert city. The...

•June 6, 2016

Weather in Lima: A Mystery Unravelled

Before you leave for your big trip to Peru, there are a series of packing dilemmas you have to get through first. To figure out what to pack for a trip to Peru, it is of course important to know what the weather in Lima and the rest of Peru will be like. This is...

•June 6, 2016

5 historical sites you should visit in Peru, besides Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is one of the new world wonders and it definitely deserves to be, but Peru has many more pre-Inca and Inca archaeological sites that are just as impressive. We often get the question from travelers which historical sites to visit in Peru besides Machu Picchu so we decided to sum up some of our favorite...

•June 6, 2016

13 tips on how to be a more responsible traveler

Our friends at Ethical Traveler have made this interesting list of easy-to-follow tips on how to act if you would like to become a more responsible traveler. At Alternative Peru, we try to maximize the positive impact travelers can have and therefore encourage our travelers to be open, informed, and willing to immerse themselves in other cultures....