Wow, this country has been on my bucket list ever since I put it on my Pinterest board in high school. I’m here to help you plan your trip to Peru with no nonsense advice and some helpful tips.
You probably want to go to Machu Picchu which is in Cusco. Generally, there are no direct flights so in order to get here you’ll need to fly into Lima. So let’s start with Lima.
Lima the Gray
Lima is a coastal city on the Pacific. It has been nicknamed “Lima the Gray” because it is usually covered in a gloomy gray cloud In the winter.
Don‘t forget that Peru is south of the equator, so NY summers are actually Peru’s winter season, which is ironically the best time to visit Peru. The summer season is very rainy and therefor not a good time to travel to Peru.
Anyway, Lima should be a short stopover, there’s isn’t much to do here, especially during the winter. I heard that before Covid it had a great night life but any remnant of that is long gone.
Since you have to stop here, here’s how you can make the most of it:
Visit Chabad
While Chabad of Lima is catering to the community more than it is catering to tourists, you can still feel very welcome here. They are working on opening a Milchig restaurant too! They recently got a fancy pizza oven and we got to be their beta testers. It was really good and high quality. In NY you would probably pay $22 for a pie like this.
They also have a bakery and small grocery store. You can order meals in advance too! the food was super tasty and we were so thankful to have them.
Go Downtown
We just walked around downtown and the nightlife was pretty happening althiugh it was nothing major. We ended up making some friends with a German couple and we went out drinking together. I think it’s the only way to enjoy Lima! They are also known for their Drag shows. We stopped in a bar that was known for it, so if you’re feeling super adventurous… :)
In short: you don‘t need to spend a lot of time in Lima. Use it as your launching pad fly straight to Cusco or to make your way to Ica.
Ica & Huacachina
A few hours south of Lima is another city called Ica. It is very close to Huachcina which is an oasis in middle of the desert that turned into a thriving spot for tourists and travelers to enjoy the spectacular view.
To get here we took a coach bus which was both reliable and comfortable.
In Ica, you can do a few activities like sand surfing, dune buggy and atving.
We opted for the dune buggy together with some sand surfing and we had an absolute blast. I highly recommend it. Unfortunately our dune buggy broke down in the middle of the desert so our ride got cut short. Our guide tried adding gasoline from a coke bottle to fix it and all we can do was have a good laugh. The dune buggy is fun because there are so many slopes and you drive fast on it so it’s a really great thrill.
There are more things to do around the area:
Pisco Tours
They are known for their Pisco tours and we tried doing one of those but some were closed for Covid. We did find one I the end because our taxi driver knew one that was opened and it was an informative experience.
Nazca Lines
A few hours away you can do a flight over the Nazca lines. They are ancient and mysterious symbols that span for miles. The best way to view it is via flight from a bird eye view.
Paracas
On the way back up to Lima, about an hour north of Ica, there is a coastal town that is known for its wildlife. You can book a day tour from Ica or go there yourself. You can see penguins and other sea life. We didn’t because the weather didn’t work in our favor.
Now it’s time to either, drive back up to Lima and take a flight to Cusco or take a longggg bus ride to Cusco. The choice is yours. We opted for a flight. It’s about an hour.
Have in mind that there is no kosher food in Ica, so plan accordingly. We stayed for Shabbos but we ordered food from Chabad of Lima fully cooked and brought it with us. We also did some light cooking.
Cusco
This was my favorite part of our whole Peru trip, naturally. I do love my mountains! We chose an Airbnb that was a 15 minute walk from the main square and about a 25 minute walk from Chabad. Because, views!
Cusco is a small mountainous town and it’s absolutely beautiful. It also offers good value, our Airbnb cost about $60 per night.
There is more to do around here than just Machu Pichu, but let’s first talk about Kosher food.
When I say that is one of my favorite Chabad houses, I say it with confidence. From the minute you walk in you can feel the warmth. they are so welcoming! When we arrived it was literally the week it opened up again as it was closed during Covid. Yet, on Shabbos there were still about 200 travelers at the Friday night Kiddush. We ended up spending so much time here every evening because we enjoyed the environment so much.
In terms of Kosher food at Chabad these are the options.
Israeli dishes
On a regular evening you can order pargiyot, falafel, schnitzel etc. The food is tasty and the portions are good. We had a lot of Schnitzel on our stay here!
Peruvian Cuisine
They also offer Peruvian dishes but you do need to have a party of 6 and order in advance because they need to time to prepare Ans make sure they have the correct ingredients etc. Let me show you the options:
Ceviche
It’s trout marinated in lime juice, this is a classic Peruvian dish. if you like fish yo definitely need to try this.
Chicha Morada
This Peruvian drink is made of cooking purple corn! At first I was like whattttt and then I drank all of it!
Lomo Saltado A chicken stir fry with local flavors, delicious.
We also had Yuca chips and Peruvian corn - Choclo which is way larger than the corn you’re probably used to.
For Shabbos you can join the Shabbos meal and I can guarantee you’ll have a great time. We played a lot of card games and Catan (my favorite) all Shabbos long! We played during the week too. :))
All right, let’s move on from the food and talk about what to do in or around Cusco.
Plaza De Armas
Located in the heart of historic Cusco, this square is very vibrant and happening. It’s a great place to shop as well. If you walk around the square in the narrow cobblestone streets you can find adorable sweaters and even spot some alpacas.
The alpacas we’re so cute I just needed to fall for the tourist trap and I took photos with these cuties for a small donation. Totally worth it!
Salt Mines
You can book a tour with any tour company and they take you atving and on a tour to these salt mines.
My opinion on this tour was that it was too touristy for me, the atving lasted shorter than I wanted and they stopped at some random salt shop so we can buy things. Before booking any tours, make sure you have clear descriptions from your good so you know what to expect and so you know what is included in your package.
Rainbow Mountain
You know how you see all those photos on Pinterest of rainbow mountain? Those are highly edited and saturated. This is what it really looks like.
There you go, my very own non edited photo. is it pretty? Yes. Is it a colorful rainbow? Nah. Do I regret the hike? Absolutely not. The views to get up here were gorgeous. It’s about a 3 hour drive to get from Cusco to the foot of Rainbow mountain where your hike begins. The hike is about 2-3 hours depending on your fitness level. For those of you who are wary of that hike they do have horse options. we opted for the climb and our guide gave us walking sticks.
To be fully prepared for this hike, don’t go on the first or second day of arriving in Cusco. The altitude will get to you. It takes time to get used to the airy pressure. Bring lots of layers because it‘kk likely start off cold but you’ll want to layer up for down as you climb.
Ausangate can be seen from this trek. It’s snow capped mountains made for a breathtaking view.
Machu Picchu
My favorite stop in Peru. It’s as glorious as I imagined it would be and I’m so happy I finally made it here.
The “easiest“ way to get here is to book a ride to the train station, (45 minute car ride) which usually leaves at 3 or 4 AM, then take the train to the foot of Machu Picchu (1.5 hour train ride) and then you take a bus up the mountain (20-30 minutes) or you can hike up (2 hours).
There’s also the Inca trail which is a few day trek to get from Cusco to Machu Picchu. It’s scenic and not too hard from what I hear.
What I recommend is that you book it with a tour guide becuade while you can definitely get there on your own it’s just so much work. You need a ticket for the car ride, train ride, bus ride up and down and entrance tickets to Machu Picchu. our tour didn’t pay for the bus ride down from Machu Picchu so it felt kind of scammy. They also asked for our passports by like literally every new mode of transport, so make sure to bring yours with you! So my final suggestion for this is to always make sure you know what is included when you book a tour.
Masks we’re required and they were pretty strict about it. We also had to wear a face shield in the train. This rule may already be lifted but check before going.
We learned so much history from our guide while on Machu Picchu and I really enjoyed it!
If you have any questions that I didn’t seem to cover here feel free to DM me on Instagram! @kosherfoodworld
Happy Tragels!
Comments