amazon to the andes
 
 
An incredible trip. I arrived during the festival of Inti Raymi in Cusco, then did a three-day hike in the remote Lares region of the Andes, camping in sub-zero temperatures at an altitude of 4000m, followed by a trip to the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, a couple of nights in the Amazon rainforest, and a fleeting visit to Lima, on my own which was a bit dodgy but I survived in one piece...
peru 23rd june - 5th july 2006
Inti Raymi festival of the sun, 24th June
Cusco, Inti Raymi
Cusco, Inti Raymi
Cusco, Inti Raymi
Cusco, Inti Raymi
Cusco, Inti Raymi
View of Cusco valley  from Sacsayhuaman
The huge stones at Sacsayhuaman
She demanded more money for a smile
Sacsayhuaman ruins
What is the llama whispering in her ear?
Cusco
Narrow cobbled street in Cusco
Plaza de Armas, Cusco
They start young in the Peruvian police
Spinning and dyeing alpaca wool
Alpaca
Sacred Valley of the Incas
Inca farming terraces
Family posing in a convenient spot
Face in rock at Ollantaytambo
At Kiswarani, before the Lares trek
Getting the llamas ready for our trek
Climbing to the first mountain pass
It snowed on us at the pass at 4300m!
Lares trek, day 2 near Kunkani
Our llamas overtaking us on the path
Pretty remote
Small indian children on the mountain
Lares trek, day 2
Schoolgirls in the mountains
Traditional Andean dress
Lares trek, day 2
At Ipsayqocha pass, day 2
At Ipsayqocha pass, day 2
Alpaca
We saw wild chinchilla near here
Site of our second campsite at 4200m
5pm, time for coca tea and popcorn
Early morning frost at the camp
6am - frozen solid in our tents
8am - starting to thaw in the sunshine
Llama and alpaca in the frost
Alpaca
Local women selling their wares
Lares trek, day 3
Tiny shepherd tending his flocks...
...then reunited with mother and baby sister
Mother and baby
Marie-Lou with kids at Patakancha
Perurail train to Aguas Calientes
Machu Picchu, early morning
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Jurassic scenery
Machu Picchu
Climbing Wayna Picchu mountain
No safety barriers here
Los Hermanos Roque, Cusco
Mmmm... guinea pig
Guinea pig... after
Goldiggers on the Tambopata river
Capivara, the world’s largest rodent
Capivara on the riverbank
Camilla in the boat on the Tambopata river
Tarantula in the Amazon jungle at night
Emerald boa
“Erotic palm”
Strangling ficus tree
Chilling at the Jungle Lodge
Election posters even at a jungle plantation
Date palms
Papaya as chicken feed
The Tambopata river, Madre de Dios
Hibiscus
Frogs mating at night in the river
A caiman at night
Lima seafront, where I surfed
Plaza de Armas, Lima
The cathedral, Plaza de Armas, Lima