So after a night bus we arrived in Nazca the home of the famous Nazca lines - lines in the ground that have been there for centuries and nobody really knows why. The reason the description is a bit vague is that I spent most of the time there chilling. I opted not to fly over the lines to see them as it was $90. This is because there has been a recent spate of accidents so they've had to increase the safety precautions resulting in increased costs! Therefore alth...

Ariquepa is a really nice city in southern Peru, it has a much more affluent feel to it compared to the other cities I've visited and doesn't feel quite as touristy - although this may be just in comparison to Cusco because there, every second shop is a tour agency. Soon after arriving into Ariquepa we met my cousin Rachel again. After a brief catch up we went to organise a trek into the Colca Canyon. That evening we met up with 3 of the people we'd done the Inca...

After arriving into Cusco we went to a hostel nearby where we paid for a shower and the opportunity to repack our bags. Then we hopped straight onto the night bus to Puno. This is by far the most luxurious bus I have ever been on - for 45 soles (£10) we had fully reclining seats, it was so comfortable! We arrived into Puno at 4.30 and went straight to our hostel (which a bit like a homestay because it is family run). We got breakfast and then went on a boat trip...

At 3.45 am on the 8th December I arose to start the Inca trail. We were doing it with a company called Llama Path, who were absolutely fantastic! We had to be in town at 4.30. We had already met the people we were doing the trek with 10 others and 2 guides (also 17 porters and a cook). Although 12 people on a trek is probably more than I would have liked it actually worked out really well, everyone in the group was really nice and easy to get on with. We were als...

Cusco is a city in the Andes (3300M) and was once the capital of the Inca empire. It is a beautiful city with a mix of some Inca buildings, a strong colonial feel all set against the dramatic backdrop of the Andes. It is also the base for all tourist trails to Machu Pichu as well as other treks! I arrived early Saturday morning and again was greeted by a man standing at the airport with my name on a sign (I could get used to this). Loki hostel in Cusco is a stunn...