Hello I'm touring Peru this year & now unfortunately touring it alone, I've never travelled alone, and quite nervous. Lots of reassurance from friends though. Any advice?
Also I am staying in Peru for 17 days which is a squeeze & have cut out Lake Titicaca, have people been & should I change my schedule? I have booked a 2 day colca canyon tour & the 4 day MP hike with other stays in Lima, Paracus, Huacachina, Arequipa and cusco. Any places that are a MUST?
Thank you
Peru is a great place to travel alone if you stay in Hostels, as there will be lots of other travellers just like you.
I think with 17 days and only 11 of those in Lima/Cusco/Areuipa etc - I'd not chuck in Lake Titicaca. To me, its just a lake and its nothing to be overly excited about. Its extremely touristy (the trips from Puno are very much disney esqe when you get to the uros islands). Spend more time in Cusco or Arequipa. Cusco has some great spots. its also on the doorstop to the Sacred Valley - so Id recommend spending a few nights there as well.
I felt safe in Peru (of course use common sense) and it was easy to get around by public transport. We had 30 days and chose to go to northern Peru for 11 days, we had one day in Lima, 9 days for Cusco, the Sacred Valley and MP, 6 days for Arequipa and the Colca Canyon and 3 days for Huacachina and Paracas. We did not go to Lake Titicaca. I think if you do go you should make sure you have time for an overnight on one of the islands (Taquile, Amantani).
Some Colca Canyon tours have hiking in the canyon, others don't. I don't know which one you booked. We went hiking in the Colca Canyon on our own and we had 5 days to get to Cabanaconde, stay two nights down in the canyon and to get back to Arequipa.
Nothing is a must. It depends on your interests. We like to hike and we like nice scenery so hiking in the Sacred Valley and around MP and in the Colca Canyon were highlights for us. We like animals so we would not have wanted to miss the Ballestas Islands. We like ruins but are less into ruins than into nature and scenery. Still, we were amazed by all the ruins and thought they were all great (not just MP, also Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Sacsayhuaman, Chinchero, the Moray terraces and the Maras salineras).
So: if you have 2 days for Paracas and Huacachina, one day in Arequipa, 2 days for the Colca tour, 4 days for Cusco and the Sacred Valley plus the 4 day MP hike and one day in Lima you might be able to squeeze in Lake Titicaca (4M Express or Rutas Del Sur from Chivay to Puno). That is assuming you have 17 full days. It depends on how much you like cities and good food. Some people like to have 2 days for Lima or even 3. And some people really like Arequipa. We were fine with one day there but some people love it there and would happily stay for 2 days.
Sounds like you got it planned...Solo Travel is Great! You don't have to put up with other people's "issues"...
Take the Bus NOT The train from Cusco to Puno...You'll see a lot of Inca Ruins on that Trip (The Bus Stops at all the interesting places)...At Puno you can book cheap tour boats to Lake Titicaca Islands which are a Must See...
More so than Lima or Arequipa...in my opinion...
You can hike to MP or just take the Train to Aguas Caliente (Tourist Trap)...But Olla is Much more interesting and historic....There are tours of Scared Valley...MP is a $60 Ticket which you can buy at Aguas Caliente But Beware of Weekends and holidays where they sell out faster...
MP is worth a whole day just to see the central area...So unless you want to buy a second ticket pace yourself...
Firstly stop booking any tours in advance. Other than the Inca trail (for which there is a limited number of spaces and gets full) its far cheaper to book tours once there and provides more flexibility. There are a number of hikes that go to MP so you might want to check which one you are on (Inca, jungle, salkantay are the usual ones).
Titicaca would be a bit of a squeeze. I think it probably makes sense to skip it, but wait and see once your there. Maybe you end up spending a day less somewhere else and have more time.
Your doing the "standard route" through Peru. Its pretty well set up for tourists and you will meet plenty of other solo travellers so no need to worry. As far as safety goes its pretty safe, obviously take the usual precautions and you shouldn't have much to worry about.
If you have time I would recommend travelling back to Lima from Cusco via andahuaylas and Ayacucho to see a more traditional, less touristy side of Peru - and also some fantastic mountain views.
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