If you are arriving from the mountains, you’ll be descending into a strange climatic fog called the “garua”, which gives Lima its gray skies most of the year. If you’re arriving from the north or south coasts, you’ll also be entering the fog. Although the sun might by shy here, there are plenty of things to keep the intrepid backpacker busy.

First you’ll want to check in to Pariwana Lima. Not only does it offer the most competitive prices in the safest neck of the woods in Lima, Miraflores, but it also boasts probably the best location of any hostel in the city. Situated on the second story of a corner building of Miralfores’ ovalo, you get a view spanning the central Parque Kennedy, the upstairs bar giving you that perfect atmosphere you’d been hoping for!

Lima might be big, but the areas of interest are rather centrally located. First, you’ll want to take a left out of the hostel to walk down Larco Avenue. At the end of the avenue you’ll come to the Pacific Ocean, that greatest of bodies that stretches around the planet’s waist. Perhaps you’ll decide to undertake some paragliding, or hang gliding.

Pucllana ruins lay nearby, and also plenty of artisan shops and souvenir kiosks. Miraflores hosts some of the best restaurants in the city. Will you miss your best chance to try the country’s national dish of ceviche (also called cebiche)?

Other than Miraflores, there’s bohemian Barranco with its small colonial buildings and good nightlife. In the city center you’ll find the grand plazas of Lima, China Town, the San Francisco catacombs and plenty of museums to keep you busy.

Lima has so much going on it could be detrimental to your Peruvian experience if you take the high road and ignore the megapolis capital city.

                The bar is more than just a bar. The Pariwana staff have made it a fun, interactive experience wherein you can test your knowledge in games, test your liver in games, or test your motor skills in games.

                One of the best bar nights Pariwana has to offer is the pub quiz and bingo. The questions range from current events to local know what. They ask popular culture questions too. Bingo is a classic, and for a drunk party of backpackers, its monotony is somehow relaxing, especially if you’ve already sent your energy on visits to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.

                Drinking games are always a welcome feature for an anxious traveller. Sure, it’s nice to sit around and chat over a well-mixed pisco sour, but when it comes down to it, humans enjoy a good competition. The drinking games are fun and engaging, and the big wheels on the wall add to the magic of the party, making the games a tid bit more interesting.

                A night to remember will be the crazy speed dating night. You’ll have to make sure you at the hostel when it’s close to full, because they only get the dating going when there are a lot of participants. High season is key. This is a superb way to break the ice with other hostellers. Meet guys and girls, share some drinks, some stories, and perhaps you’ll eventually make a special friend.

                The bar scene is good in Cusco, but it’s nice to know that the in-house entertainment is up to par and probably as enjoyable, if not more, than the local night out!

You could be totally safe by avoiding sketchier joints altogether. Just go to restaurants that can present their certification credentials and that have big glass doors and clean tiled floors. However, if you do that, you’re limiting yourself from many culinary possibilities. So, here are a few guidelines about food that’s cheap and safe.

Well, food safety can sometimes be a gamble, even in developed countries! Let’s not fear-monger here; if you get a bug all you have to do is pick up some over-the-counter medication at a pharmacy and you’re good to go. Remember that many drugs for which you need a prescription in your home country you can buy directly here, so that stomach virus doesn’t have a chance!

Anyway, so you want to eat cheap and well. First, avoid raw meat. This means cutting open that chicken leg before you dig into it with a bite. It’s rare to be served uncooked meat.

Know what your stomach prefers. This means that if raw fish cooked in lime sounds displeasing, you might not be able to stomach ceviche (but let’s hope you can!). If you have a food allergy, you need to make it duly clear to your cook. To be sure they got it, ask them to repeat after you that “no nuts please.”

Cheap eats usually mean that you’ll find yourself in a place that, in your country, might be of questionable standards. In terms of the image of sanitation, you’re going to have to settle for less. But the reward is much greater; the food. Of course, you could always stay in your more expensive restaurants, but the shack joints are especially unique and offer the cheapest, best food.

Markets are key. If you are in Peru, you won’t soon regret a trip to the local market. Pariwana Lima is near to a great market that enjoys a small food festival every weekend, while Pariwana Cuzco lies in one of the most culturally important mountain cities in the country, so you won’t be want for edible diversion.

If there’s no market in town, look around for the placards promoting their daily “menu”. These are meals a la carte that come with a soup, a drink and the main course. Always look down side streets, away from the hustle bustle of the city centers to find the cheaper options.

Finally, wash your hands before and after you eat. Often, it has nothing to do with the food that gets you sick, and everything to do with what was on your hands beforehand. Most restaurants have bathrooms or hand washing stations, so forgo that whole cliché of carrying around hand sanitizer.

The coast is not burning hot throughout. Lima’s microclimate, for example, is decisively moderate compared to Mancora’s tropical blaze. South of Lima you’ll find the warmer temperatures of Ica and Huacachina. Up into the Andes, the evenings are usually chilly to freezing. The air is also rather dry in the mountain climates. Descending the eastern slopes brings the traveller to the ubiquitous humidity of the Amazon jungle.

As a backpacker, you come prepared with all the necessary gear. This means that for the coastal climates, you’ll have packed a number of items. Board shorts or swimsuits are of course mandatory as far as Mancora’s vibe is concerned. Light t-shirts or loose-fitting clothing is also recommended. Sunglasses and a cap are a wonderful idea in all of Peru’s climates.

Lima’s climate is a bizarre mix of heat, gray skies and drizzle. Raingear isn’t necessary there, but a sweater and jacket are. Into the mountains you’ll want to have all the necessary gear for some pretty cold encounters. Long johns will keep your legs warm, and a good base layer makes for better comfort. Wear a winter hat, gloves, and a jacket. You might several layers if you plan on spending any amount of time near Puno at night.

    The jungle is sweaty. You’re going to want to have a good pair of sandals. You’ll also want to soak your shirt in cold water whenever you have the chance. Sleeveless shirts are not uncommon here, either. In the mountains, there’s a bit more conservatism in terms of dress, so you’ll want to try to avoid sandals and shorts there.

Finally, make sure you have a good deodorant, chapstick, and a water bottle to carry around. The best material for all your clothes is going to be synthetic materials, since they’re great at wicking up sweat, and they dry much faster than cotton garments.

Hostels sometimes have laundry services, so you’ll enjoy arriving to a good joint to prepare for the next leg of your journey.

First of all, you’re probably going to be arriving via plane at the Jorge Chavez International Airport. The airport is in the northwest of Lima metro, in the port city of Callao. It is about 45 minutes by taxi from Miraflores, where Pariwana is located. From the airport, you can choose to take a taxi that will cost from 40 to 60 sols, or you can choose to leave the airport and take a taxi from outside the fence that will cost 20-35 sols. Of course, going outside the airport is considered a bit more dangerous, so it’s up to you. You can leave the airport and jump on a bus that is headed to the city center, and from there jump on a bus bound for Miraflores. This option is cheaper, but takes much longer, and doesn’t provide the same safety a taxi might.

Pariwana hostel offers a 55 sol taxi service back to the airport, so you’re covered there. In fact, taking taxis to your travel hubs is going to be the surest way to get to where you need to get. You can spend the time figuring out how to get to hubs on the metropolitan and city buses too, which is cheaper and more time-consuming.

When we say “hubs” we’re talking about the fact that Lima’s individual bus companies are not centrally located. They are however located in somewhat close proximity to one another. The majority of bus companies are located in La Victoria, which is considered a dangerous place to walk around alone, especially at night. This means TAXI it. The more reputable companies are located on Javier Prado (like Cruz del Sur, which Pariwana can reserve for you), and also on Paseo de la Republica, which is a straight shot from Pariwana Lima. In fact, at the intersection of 28 de Julio and Paseo de la Republica, there is a cluster of several companies including Civa and CIAL.

Don’t let the immensity of the city get you down. Just remember that your adventure is just beginning, and a little logistical concern isn’t going to dampen your backpacker drive!

Now, I know what you’re thinking-that it’s a shame that such furry cuties are skewed up for the split. You might have had a guinea pig as a pet when you were younger, or perhaps you’ve seen one of those “cute animal wheels” videos, where they stick their soft pink noses into the camera. All of this previous history will make you aggressively anti-guinea pig cuisine, if you let it.

Though, none of your history with this animal has anything to do with the fact that here, guinea pig is a delicacy. You’ll find the meat on sticks, fried and chucked in with chifa rice chaufa, or marinated in some delicate sauce that’ll make your mouth water.

If you’ve eaten rabbit, guinea pig is not much different. You will be happy to know that the meat is high in protein, and low in fat and cholesterol. Indeed, part of the effort you’ll have to put forth to eat it might include tearing it off of the bony carcass.

Guinea pig comes from Peru in the first place, so it was a mark of cuisine before it was a pet. Of course, for you vegetarians out there, it might be neither. Unfortunately this is not the article for you, so it’s best to turn away now. And as for those who aren’t convinced, you should know that Peru exports a new breed of “super guinea pig” to Europe, the US and Japan. Yes, it’s for eating.

So, should you eat the guinea pig or not? As long as you’re in Peru, there’s nothing strange about the act. Guinea pigs have been cooked for centuries, and were once sacrificed to the Incan gods. In a morphological coincidence, you might see depictions of The Last Supper with the players eating roasted guinea pig!

If you’re someone who likes to try something new, then this is for you. Otherwise, just try not to look the guineas in their hollowed out eye sockets!

However, let’s take the idea of cheap to the next level, shall we? In Peru, many travellers already find the prices to be well under what they’re used to. However, travelling in a foreign country is better when you think in terms of local prices. If you’re coming from Europe or the States, everything is cheaper in Peru. However, put yourself into the local scenario, and try to save an extra buck where you can. There are a few things you need to know in order to maximize the return on your sol.

First, you should know that there is a lot of fake money in Peru. Here’s how you tell the bad stuff from the good. The bad sol coin is yellowish with black stains. The bad 2 and 5 sol coins are lighter, and the real ones are magnetic where the fake ones are not. As for bills, there are a few ways to tell the true ones from the untrue. The true ones have small hairs embedded within them, and also have stained watermarks on the corners that you can see when held up to the light. The real bills feel thicker and stronger where the fakes are more like regular paper. Finally, the purple number changes to gold when you look at it from another angle. 

Now that you have real money with you, the question is where to use it. First, save money by buying meals that are “menu”. This means that you get an appetizer soup, then the main course and a “refresco” to drink. Menus are cheaper in the municipal markets. You could always just subsist on the food you buy from the market and cook in your hostel kitchen!

Finally, remember that here, bargaining is the way of the game. When buying souvenirs for loved ones, try to talk down the price. It makes for a great way to engage with locals as well. Just don’t be too expectant!

Lima’s markets are various and vast. If you’re staying at the Pariwana in Miraflores, there are a few markets you’ll want to check out in the near vicinity. The Surquillo market is the best place to go in order to find the traditional everything. Food and culinary ingredients abound in abundance. The market sits just across the Via Expresa from Miraflores, a 5 minute walk from the hostel. There, you’ll marvel at all the fruit, vegetables, nuts and meats that you’ve already seen elsewhere or that you will see again in the mountain towns. There are also plenty of cookware, like giant wooden spoons, which could make for a great present!

Also nearby the hostel are the souvenir markets. There are 3 or 4 of them in total, and each one it packed full of trinkets, models, effigies, photos, postcards, typical Peruvian clothes and wares. Across the street from the artisan markets you’ll find the artists’ shops. You’re granted an amazing selection of artwork from these local sellers. You can find art of any style and of anything and everything Peruvian.

As for the big local markets outside of Miraflores, Polvos Azules is the most popular in the city. You can find, literally, everything; from clothes and shoes to giant HDTVs and mobile devices. As the most organized pirated merchandise indoor market in the city, it makes for not only a good place to purchase cheap fare, but also to experience a market that otherwise might not exist where you come from. On the roof you can find some cheap restaurants all of which specialize in cebiche.

There are other markets, and you can visit them at your own risk, since they are situated in parts of the city that are a bit more nefarious. Gamarra is one such market, and you can find all sorts of pirated electronics and cheap fake clothe brands.

Lucky for you the Pariwana team knows all about this stuff, so just inquire and bam, you get your next adventure.

The water tumbles from a ridge cliff face of 771 meters high. The water “leaps” from ledge to ledge, making it the third tallest in the world for this kind of falls. It’s actually visible from the closest village, from where the falls gets its name Gocta. So, the local folks have known about it for quite a while, but the story goes that they feared a curse if they were to reveal it to outsiders. It would be a blond mermaid witch, whose white locks are said to be visible at the bottom of the water shoot, who would cast the spell.

Well, the falls were discovered in 2005 by a German explorer. 2005! Imagine walking along, and suddenly finding a world-record waterfall. Any backpacker could’ve been the lucky one! Soon after the discovery, the government set up the area for tourists, and now it’s your turn to behold Gocta Falls.
You’ll have to don your trekking boots, because you’re going to have to hike a bit to get there. From your likely hostel in Chachapoyas, you’ll arrive by minibus to the small town of Cochachimba. From there, the trail leads you for 3 to 5 hours, depending on your level of excitement and hiking abilities, to the falls. The trail can be tough in some places, so it’s best to go with a buddy. Take lots of drinking water and food.
Once at the falls, you’ll need to whip out the compact camera to snap the essential photo as proof of your triumphant adventure.

There are plenty of options for camping along the beach as well, if you’re ok with a sandy tent! Just make sure to pack it all out, keeping the beaches as pristine as you can. The night generally sees the rain fall, which makes the party experience all the better, with the water smiting the heat from the day.
Mancora is THE tropical beach destination in Peru, and it merits its wild reputation!