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According to Peru’s First Vice President, Luis Giampietri Rojas, a direct flight between Lima International Airport and China could begin operating soon. Giampietri Rojas, who is also chairman of the preparatory committee of the 2008 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, said that Peru’s government is highly interested in turning Lima International Airport into a major traffic hub among all 21 APEC members.
Add comment April 8th, 2008
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This 1500-megapixel photo of Machu Picchu, by photographer Scott Howard, provides such a deepness of detail that you could explore it for hours. You get to see the rocks’ lichen and even graffiti!
The image uses more than 400 single photos and took some 65 minutes to shoot completely (and more than 10 hours to render). The photos were taken at the end of the 4-day Inca Trail, upon arrival to Machu Picchu.
Add comment March 14th, 2008
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Online travel insurance company, WorldNomads.com, has launched a contest with a huge first prize: a 15-day adventurous holiday to Peru from anywhere in the world.
The contest is called “Where in the World is Sanchez?” and asks participants to send photographs or video of Sanchez doing things all over the world. By the way, Sanchez (the little orange guy that illustrates this post) is the company’s icon. An excerpt from WorldNomads.com contest webpage:
Sanchez, our most valuable employee (and company icon) has been slaving away 24/7 since World Nomads’ doors first opened in 2002. Finally it’s time for a holiday – we’re sending him on a world tour and we want YOU to find him!
We want you to send us photographs or video of Sanchez doing things all over the world.
Be the most creative and you could win an Intrepid trip to Peru which will be awarded to the best overall photograph or video!
You can find all the information on the contest in WorldNomads.com ’s “Where in the World is Sanchez?” page.
Add comment March 10th, 2008
Of course the news story published by The Spoof is a satire, but funny:
Scientists report that the Peru meteorite which is inside the crater it created when it hit the Earth has been hit by another meteorite.
Astronomer Dr. Povenmire Finootch says he is not surprised by this event. He told reporters that there is a phenomenon known as “training” wherein objects like meteors follow the exact path taken by previous meteors. Training occurs because the objects travelling along the same path share the exact point of origin.
No one was hurt when the new meteorite hit. A nearby taco vending stand sustained minor damage. The old meteorite was pushed further into its crater by the new meteorite.
As you might remember, a rare kind of meteorite did struck near Lake Titicaca, in the high plains of Peru, in September 2007. The event made it to the news some days later because it caused a mysterious illness among local residents, who complained of headaches and nausea. According to the experts, the illness was the result of the meteorite liberating arsenic fumes when after reaching an underground water supply.
Add comment March 3rd, 2008
National Geographic reported last week of a mysterious pyramid complex discovered near the city of Piura, in Peru’s northern coast. The discovery –several truncated pyramids and a large adobe platform– was made by construction crews at the beggining of January. It is supposed to be a vast ceremonial site belonging to the Vicús, a pre-Hispanic civilization that flourished in Peru’s northern coastal desert from 200 B.C to 300 A.D. and is known for its decorated ceramics.
Officials from Peru’s National Institute of Culture (INC) who inspected the discovery announced that the complex, which is 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) long and 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide, was likely either a religious center or a cemetery for nobility.
Add comment February 28th, 2008
The 48-hour strike to protest against a tourism draft law has cut off Cusco from the rest of the country. Main roads have been blocked by the protesters, as well as the railroad to Machu Picchu. The authorities, in order to prevent major damages, have closed the airport until Saturday morning, when it will be operative again (according to Carlos Puga, the vice minister of transportation and communication).
Add comment February 22nd, 2008
A completely new section on ThePeruGuide regarding Puno and Lake Titicaca, one of the most exciting destinations in Peru.
There is something undeniably mystical in the profound-blue waters of Lake Titicaca. According to the Incas, the Sun, Moon, and stars rose from the depths of the world’s highest navigable lake to originate the universe. Today, the mythical dimension grasps more earthly grounds: the intense colours of the lake, the pureness of the Andean highlands’ air, the man-made floating islands, and the colourful festivals that cheer-up Puno, the city at the shores of Lake Titicaca.
Enjoy!
Add comment February 22nd, 2008
Peru Negro, probably the longest-standing exponent of Afro-Peruvian culture and music, will perform next Saturday, February 23rd at the Arsht Center, Miami.
Their high-energy show, a dazzling combo of celebratory dances and vibrant live music, bring to life the folkloric history of their ancestors (Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts).
The show starts at 8pm and tickets go from $15 to $48. More information on the Arsht Center website.
Complementing the live show by Perú Negro, there will be a free Afro-Peruvian Dance Workshop for ages 16 and up (Thursday 21st, 7-8 p.m., at Peacock Education Center, Knight Concert Hall, Arsht Center) and a Peruvian Cuisine Cooking Workshop (Friday 22nd, 7-10 p.m, at Johnson & Wales University).
Add comment February 21st, 2008
The New 7 Wonders of the World was a huge event during 2007, in particular the final ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, that saw Machu Picchu elected as one of the New 7 Wonders. During 2008, a new set of 7 wonders will be elected, this time regarding Nature only. As couldn’t be otherwise in a country with a spectacular nature of sheer diversity, Peru is presenting many candidates. The complete list (up to now) is the following:
- Rock Forest of Huayllay
- Machu Picchu, Mountain Peak
- Alpamayo, Mountain Peak
- Amazon River, River/Forest
- Apurimac, River
- Ballestas Islands, Archipelago
- Colca Canyon, Canyon
- Cotahuasi Canyon, Canyon
- Gocta Waterfall, Waterfall
- Huacachina, Oasis
- Huascaran, National Park
- Lake Titicaca, Lake
- Llanganuco, Lagoon
- Lomas de Lachay, National Park
- Manglares de Tumbes, National Park
- Manu National Park, National Park
- Pacaya Samiria, National Park
- Paracas, Beach
Currently, 4 Peruvian wonders make it to the top77: Amazon River (7), Lake Titicaca (14), Colca Canyon (67), and Alpamayo Mountain Peak (70). Only the top 77 nominees will be considerated by a panel of experts for inclusion in the group of 21 finalist candidates. Personally, I’d also like to see the Manu National Park in there.
You can vote here, if you wish to.
Add comment February 17th, 2008
A very interesting article appeared yesterday in The Economist magazine: Killing the tourism goose. It warns that the uncontrolled, frequently chaotic growth of the tourism industry in Peru could irreversibly damage both Peru’s nature and cultural heritage. The Economist’s admonition is clear:
INCA ruins, splendours from even-older cultures, Spanish colonial towns, pristine jungles and good food: Peru has much to offer the tourists who are flocking there in ever-greater numbers. But if it is not careful, its tourist industry risks becoming its own worst enemy.
Add comment February 15th, 2008
According to Aussie newspaper The Age, Machu Picchu ranks among the World’s Top10 most romantic destinations. Particularly romantic, watching the dawn break over the old Inca ruins.
Add comment February 14th, 2008
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The Amazon River is being proposed as one of the Natural Wonders of the World. The candidature of the World’s largest river in terms of water volume will be endorsed by Peru’s Loreto region, through its Department of Foreign Trade, Tourism and Handicrafts.
The Amazon river bathes the largest rainforest on Earth, the Amazon Rainforest, which accounts for more than half of the planet’s remaining tropical forests, and shelters more than 1/3 of all species in the world, including 1.300 species of birds, 10% of Earth’s mammals, and 15% of land-based plant species.
Add comment February 12th, 2008
An article by Kelly Hearn, appeared today in National Geographic News, reports about the descovery of a 2,000-year-old mine in the Peruvian Andes. This, according to archaeologists, offers proof that pre-Inca cultures mined hematite iron ore centuries before the Inca Empire. Hearn points out:
The discovery, reported by a U.S. archaeologist, was made in southern Peru in the region once inhabited by the ancient Nasca (often spelled “Nazca”) culture. The rare find adds to a slim body of evidence about New World mining practices, said Kevin J. Vaughn, an anthropologist at Purdue University who reported the find. The discovery sheds light specifically on how hematite was used by the Nasca, who flourished along the Pacific coast from about 100 B.C. to around A.D. 600. The culture is known for etching giant drawings in the Nasca desert [the Nazca Lines, ndr], as well as making textiles, designing irrigation systems, and creating colorful pottery adorned with images of plants, animals, and complex religious symbols. “Our hypothesis is that the Nasca people used the red-pigmented mineral primarily for ceramic paints,” Vaughn said.
Add comment February 12th, 2008
Timesonline’s Jeremy Lazell travels the World in search for remote hotels and finds one of the farthest in Lake Titicaca. Managed by Casa Andina, Suasi Island hotel is a beautiful adobe-and-reed hotel located in the small 106-acre island of Suasi, one of the most charming within the whole Lake Titicaca. Here’s what Lazell says:
More than 12,500ft above sea level, surrounded by Lake Titicaca, in the Altiplano of Peru, Suasi Island hotel doesn’t make much noise about being on what must be the highest island in the world, but then shouting’s not really its style. The country’s only entirely solar-powered hotel, Suasi Island is all about the peace: so remote, it is reached only after a 3½hour crossing from Puno town (or a bone-rearranging drive around the lake’s northern shores), this is a seriously mind-clearing refuge. Especially if you book yourself the hotel’s Andean Cottage, a two-bedroom stone and adobe lakeside shack with mighty views across the lake. I say shack, but this is no Scottish bothy: instead, it has its own pier, a butler, a wood-burning stove and enough colonial touches to thrill a conquistador.
Add comment February 11th, 2008
According to El Comercio, a demostration in Cusco that draw some 25.000 protesters ended without consequences. The protest was called after knowledge of a draft Law that would make it easier for private investors to build near famous ancient sites in Cusco.
Roads were blocked and the train service from Cusco to Machu Picchu was suspended, as had been previously announced by Peru Rail, the company managing the railway. Flights in and out of Cusco, though, continued to operate normally.
The proposed law, number 20167, will make it easier for private investors to be awarded concessions for building hotels near Cusco’s historic centre and in areas adjacent to archaeological sites. But Cusqueños –including the regional authority– fear that the law would just make it easier for foreign investors to grow rich from the old Inca Capital’s cultural heritage.
The controversy, though, is far from coming to an end. One of the leaders of the protest announced they will call for a new demonstration if the central government in Lima didn’t revoke the law.
Add comment February 8th, 2008
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