After many days of debate and searching for the perfect way to visit Colca Canyon we decided to DIY it without a tour or guide. The tours were great value for money (we ended up only saving £5 each by going alone) but we didn't fancy the 3am pick up time, we couldn't find any 8am tours that were going within our price range and we also fancied going at our own pace without the crowds. So we caught the 8am public bus to the canyon getting off just before the town...

Our journey to Arequipa involved our second night bus, still not an enjoyable experience for me (Katy) after throwing up twice for no identifiable reason, but improved by more comfortable seats than the last one and our own TV screens like on a plane. Arriving at our hostel quite tired, we were greeted by very friendly staff and didn't have to wait too long before we could get into our room. After some recovery time, we headed out into the historic centre for so...

A short 4 hour early morning bus ride and then a taxi took us to the tiny oasis town of Huacachina. We had viewed the desert the whole way down the coast of Peru from a bus window and this was the place to have fun in it. The town is surrounded by impressively tall sand dunes and is very touristy with hundreds of international and locals visiting daily. The oasis isn't even natural anymore but for the good of the local economy has to be regularly topped up. Afte...

After a nine hour bus journey, we arrived into traffic-clogged Lima. We thought we were making good time until we reached the outskirts and moved at a snail's pace, beeping horns providing background noise. Once at the bus station, we got a taxi to the Miraflores area, with the taxi driver telling us he knew the road our hostel was on. However he didn't so he ended up dropping us fairly near and we had to walk the last six blocks when he tried to double the agree...

We arrived in Huaraz, at 3,000m, very early on the night bus and caught a taxi to a hostel who had not replied to our email. Luckily they had plenty of space and let us have a room at 6am and then breakfast. Katy felt a bit ill so she slept the whole morning while I looked into hikes we could do over the next two days. From the town you can see at least five snowy mountain peaks, which make the concrete city almost seem pretty. When Katy woke up we went out for a...