Lima

We arrived to Lima on an overnight bus from Huaraz. We spent 3 days here touring the city and it’s amazing coastal views.

Day 1
The first day consisted of visiting the city center called Plaza de Armas or Plaza Mayor. Located here is the Catedral de Lima, Government Palace of Peru (Presidential Palace), and other government buildings. Everyday at noon in front of the Presidential Palace is the event “Changing of the Guard,” which can be seen in the video below.

Plaza de Armas

Catedral de Lima

Presidential Palace

After visiting the Plaza de Armas area we took a short walk to the Basilica de San Francisco (Monestario de San Francisco). It is famous for it’s catacombs and Harry Potter looking library. We were unable to take photos of the library, but did snap some photos of the bones still in the catacombs.

Next, we grabbed a quick bite in the China Town district before walking South to the Parque de la Reserva to check out the Magic Water Circuit.
Fuente Magica (Magic Fountain)

Tunel de las Sorpresas (Tunnel Fountain of Surprises)

Fuente Arcoiris (Rainbow Fountain)

The last stop of day 1 was at a small park (Parque Combate de Abtao) to see a statue of Manuel Villar who is a distant relative of our Chicago friend Matt Bonnstetter.

Day 2
The second day in Lima we rented bikes and went to check out Huaca Pucllana (ruins of an adobe pyramid built in AD 400).

Next we took a long bike ride along the beautiful coast of the Miraflores district. It was lined with parks, workout areas, and of course restaurants and shopping.

Day 3
The third day consisted of a run along the coast and relaxing before our flight to Cusco.

Huaraz

Cordillera Blanca is one of the most amazing places on the planet. Over 22 ostentatious summits over 6000m make this the highest mountain range in the world outside the Himalayas.
Both Peru’s highest point, the 6768m Huascarán, and the picture-perfect 5999m Artesonraju (rumored to be the mountain in Paramount Pictures’ live-action logo), loom here over the Andean villages.

Our first excursion was to see the extraordinary giant Puya raimondii plant (which can take 100 years to grow to its full height – often 10m!) and the glacier at Nevado Pastoruri.

Our second trek was 14 kilometers (5 hour hike) to the Lagunas Llanganuco, where there are spectacular views of Huascarán. It was cloudy but we caught a glimpse. Along the way we passed two stunning lakes , Laguna Chinancocha and Laguna Orconcocha. The hike culminated with the amazing Laguna 69. A stunning view with marvelous mountains and waterfalls! Truly breathtaking! Our favorite part of our trip to Huaraz by far!

Trujillo/Huanchaco/Chan Chan

We took an 8 hour night bus from Mancora and arrived in the bustling city of Trujillo. Instead of staying in the city, we jumped over to the chill beach town of Huanchaco. Lots of surfing and fishing off the pier. Visited the nearby ruins of Chan Chan. Our favorite part…world’s best banana pancakes at hostel Sud America and visiting Chan Chan!

Mancora

Beach town on the Pacific coast of Peru. Best part of Mancora… We learned how to surf and pisco sours on the beach!