Peru

Lonely Planet Travel Guide

by Sara Benson, Paul Hellander, Rafael Wlodarski

Discover Peru
Bike, hike and ride a scary cable car to Machu Picchu on one of five alternatives to the busy Inca Trail.
Glide past manatees, dolphins, monkeys and macaws in the Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria.
Swill a scoopful of chicha - saliva-fermented corn beer - to earn the respect of the locals.
Descend into the narrow, hallucinatory underground chambers of the millennia-old ruins at Chavin de Huantar.
In This Guide:
Three authors, 144 days of on-the-road research via planes, riverboats, and dozens of death-defying bus rides.
Dedicated Peru Outdoors chapter, plus expanded activities coverage throughout.
Get the inside story on the Inca world from notes explorer and author Hugh Thomson.
Content updated daily - visit "lonelyplanet.com" for up-to-the minute reviews and traveler suggestions.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Guidebook, Guides, Adult, History

564 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2013

Reviews

[Nicki Elson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's info you can get online, but it's nice to have it all in one place. Bookmarking pages on my Kindle was a major help in planning my trip - and also during the trip. Note that some of the info. is outdated, so if you plan to visit any of the specific places mentioned in the book, make sure you look up their website for current hours, pricing, location, etc.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information and definitely wet my appetite for my trip here, but I found the prices to be about 30% higher on average than those in the book, due to (I think) Peru's currently booming economy (noted as the fasted growing in South America by a recent - 12/08 or so - issue of the Economist magazine). This is certainly not the author's fault, but it is something readers should take into account when planning their trip. Of course, I was only in the Sacred Valley, so prices may be more in line with the book elsewhere in the country.

[Roberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

COME VISIT PERU !!!
One of the 5 oldest civilizations on planet earth !!!
A country that looks mora like a continet, plenty of new expiriences and facinating places to explore, discover and conquest with your 6 senses....PACK YOU BACKPACK AND FEEL IT !!!

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prices are ridiculously outdated, particularly for flights and hotels. Otherwise, it contains a moderate amount of useful information. I'd recommend the "Moon" book over LonelyPlanet.

[Suzan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. A good place to start if you know little about the area.

[Ellen Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

Printed guidebooks aren't for pricing or opening hours, the internet has them beat on that, but the maps and main options for travel in an easy to read single place not dependent on wifi is invaluable. The laugh out loud humor in the Lonely Planet guides makes them a great way to travel vicariously before you set foot away from home. I'll be staying close to the well worn paths in Peru, but have learned much about the Peruvian hairless dogs, the Nazca lines, and the Amazon headlands not found in the other, more sober guides. I am intrigued by places like the Parque Tematico de la Policia, apparently with statues of police in riot gear, although I will not be visiting. I also now know not to believe everything seen in that J Lo/Ice Cube movie set in the Amazon. I'm so relieved!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The recommendations in this travel guide are slightly out of date and are not catered towards finding local eats - rather the lists are more similar to heavy cheese/the Western style diet. The information provided for historical sites and social history are very, very good. The attention to detail while still maintaining a summary made reading the book/sections much more enjoyable than reading other guides or blogs. The book can be utilized for a suggestive or complete itinerary (depending on how much more you want to research the cities and plans). I appreciated that they gave the number of weeks estimate for how long you should allot for the entire trip (1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks). I wish that they listed WHY the itineraries are in the order they are, locals say that it is for the body to adjust to the changes in elevation. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to plan for a trip to Peru or someone who wants to know a brief history of various cities in Peru.

[Gi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay

Coincido con otros lectores. Está bueno para tener todo en un solo lugar y no andar buscando en Google, bastante informativo, pero no sé qué tan actualizado. Más que ayudarme a planear mi viaje, me llamó la atención la sección de historia y demás.

[Paul Mullan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent guide but was lacking in some details of tours (in a country where most tourists go on the same 3 week trip (the order of the chapters reflects this) and take 1-2 day trips to see Cola Canyon and Titicaca.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were quite a few errors, especially regarding transport, but it is still an indispensable companion. History and politics sections particularly useful. Restaurant reviews accurate.

[Sidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the restaurant recommendations and agreed with lodging observations. Has depth of detail for a smaller book! This has become my favorite series for travelling.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful not only in planning my trip, but it also included fascinating historical and cultural information that was beneficial to my travels too.

[mcq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful travel information and good city maps.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful and insightful. Good tips and info. Was totally helpful on our recent trip

[Seth Ulinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great primer for anyone traveling to Peru! A ton of information on the various regions and sites, so you may want to take notes.

[Kaushik Gopalakrishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great info.

[Peru · Rating 4 out of 5]

EXCELENTE libro lo compre en https://ofertascatalogoperu.blogspot....

[Matthew Scheffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful enough guide book in the internet age.

[PhattandyPDX · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good travel book. Accessible easy to read and understand

[Lori Blevins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference for travel and dining!

[Renata Silveira · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was helpful when I travelled to Peru and made me want to visit other cities that I didn't have the time to go.

[Miel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aún no sé cómo de fiable y real es puesto que no he ido todavía a Perú pero por lo general me parece que tiene una buena estructura, muchas recomendaciones y proposiciones de rutas muy interesantes.

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed it before Galapagos-Machu Picchu trip- reread the pertinent sections after & the history & current happenings made so much more sense. Thanks Ben

[Ferio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voy a repetir lo que he dicho en otras guías, porque la reflexión es la misma y la estructura también:

Las guías de viaje de este estilo ya solo tienen sentido en el siglo XXI por la conveniencia de tener casi toda la información necesaria en un único sitio porque, por lo demás, carecen de la fluidez y la velocidad de actualización (particularmente en lo hostelero) que nos pueden ofrecer nuestro portal favorito de hoteles, Yelp o TripAdvisor. Evidentemente, el modelo está cambiando y, por muy actualizada que esté una guía, las ciudades son conjuntos que evolucionan cada día más rápidamente y lo que ayer molaba puede que hoy no: la única forma de saberlo es a través de Internet.

Pero a mí me gustan mucho las guías Lonely Planet porque te dejan bien claro cuáles son las cosas que no debes perderte a nivel cultural en cada sitio y, siendo cosas que muchas veces tienen siglos, es difícil que su importancia cambie de un día para otro; también me gusta mucho que te dicen en qué atracciones compensa comprar la entrada previamente para evitar horas de cola, los trasfondos artístico-históricos de todas y cada una de ellas, sus horarios y precios... De otra manera, es muy complicado que todo estos datos se ofrezcan en una única página.

También hay que tener en cuenta que una guía de estas características no se lee de cabo a rabo como un libro cualquiera, sino que se usa para organizar un viaje pero no para aprendértelo y, llegado el momento de estar allí, leer con mucho más detenimiento las descripciones de cada lugar. Lo bueno que tienen estas es que también tienen un acercamiento histórico y artístico completo de cada región que sirve como introducción a todas las especifidades que se desarrollan. ¡Es material valioso!

Supongo que, con el paso del tiempo, este tipo de guías desaparecerán completamente en beneficio de páginas web que ofrecerán lo mismo a través de GPS, incluyendo audioguías y otra serie de cosas muy beneficiosas. El progreso es imparable pero, mientras tanto, cada vez que salgo de viaje me llevo mi Lonely Planet, que tampoco está de más

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for a first time traveler, it was quite basic in its recommendations.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent travel guide--included a great idea about how to access Machu Piccu via adventure travel, aka mountain biking in the Amazon and then hiking some of the less packed parts of the Inkan Trail. It was helpful that shops had banners outside denoting they were recommended in Lonely Planet. Yes, it's a book for gringos--even my boyfriend in Peru knew I only read Lonely Planet because that's just what gringos do--but the recommendations appear to be flawless. Okay, now that I think about it, I take it back. One hostal recommended in Puno was not at all what it was described in the guide--the hostal was quite rundown but in the guide it was described as well taken care of. And the guide needs to include at least one restaurant in Puno that it missed, but I think people can send in recommendations for the next edition, so that doesn't really count. Anyway, I would say that overall, I was impressed with the recommendations and I'll definitely continue to use the series for my adventures in Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina.

[Katie Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The prices are a little out of date, but so far it´s been accurate in every other way. Some good tips about money counterfeiting could have been included earlier in the book. It´s encompasses a lot, and it´s extremely helpful. It´s organized really well. It´s helped us find some really cool places, that we maybe would have skipped otherwise. The biggest price difference was the Nazca Lines overflights, which the book lists at around $35, but now you can´t find any for less than $55 plus an additional $6 airport tax per person. I guess the reason is that it used to be a lot more unregulated and cheaper until a plane crashed killed a few tourists. After that the government shut down some of the cheapo ones and imposed safety regulations, forcing the price up. After learning that, I can´t really complain.

I recommend this book for anyone going to Peru on any budget and for any amount of time.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

[2010.09.07] Used 2010 7th edition to plan Peru portion (approx 1 week) of our Fall 2010 South America trip. Sections used: Lake Titicaca, Cuzco & the Sacred Valley. This book probably contained the most inaccuracies out of all the Lonely Planet books we've used (We used it the same year it was published...). Some of the information about long-distance buses (for example, between Cuzco and Puno) was incorrect. Also, bits here and there, like the info for Huayna Picchu. (Book says first 200 in line get 7am, next 200 get 10am -- not true, you get to pick your time. Book says to go to registration desk in back of complex to sign up -- not true, we got our 7am/10am time stamps on the steps leading up to the main entrance to the site.) We expect the hours / time information and prices to not always be right, but there were just too many other little things that were wrong as well. Despite that, this is probably the best guidebook for planning it all out =/

[Geraldine · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was six, I lost a library copy of a Babysitters' Club book during our family camping trip to Florida. As a result, I refuse to take library books out of state, and so this one will be staying at my parents' house during the trip. But it was good and lighter than the Rough Guide and I sort of wish I was bringing it instead...

(Best guide to Peru I found! And everyone there was carrying it in one language or another.)

[Devero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dodici anni fa la mia ex ed io organizzammo 3 splendide settimane in Perù seguendo questa guida, decisamente più che buona e attendibile per le non poche destinazioni che girammo (Chavin, Macchu Picchu, Cuzco, Nazca, Ica, Lima, Huascar...)
Un viaggio che consiglio. E che prima o poi ripeterò per gli itinerari che all'epoca non riuscimmo a fare.