Peru – First Day – October 16th, 2025

Today I begin an 11-day trip to Peru. Having left Richmond, I have a layover in Atlanta before my 7-hour flight to Lima, arriving around 9 pm this evening.

This is a “Backroads” trip with my friend Pete. I will be spending two days in the coastal capital of Lima (elevation – sea level)g, two days in the mountain city of Cuzco (elevation – 11,300 ft) and time cycling and hiking in the Andes Mountains (elevation 11,000 to 13,000 ft), including the “Sacred Valley”, the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. I have already started taking acetazolamide – to prevent altitude sickness. Hopefully, it works. The last time I spent this much time at high altitude was when I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2017. And that was unpleasant. However, I am arriving in Cuzco early to acclimate. Hopefully, that will also help.

An Introduction

This will be my first trip to South America. And I now believe I have chosen the right country for my first visit. Other than a colleague (Earl) recently telling me that Peru is one of his favorite countries to visit, why would I say this? Make no mistake. I decided to visit Peru to check Machu Picchu off of my bucket list. A city built on a mountain top at over 12,000 feet in the Andes Mountains, it is considered one of the most impressive achievements by any civilization. And I am exited to see this engineering and architectural wonder. But as I started to learn more about Peru, Machu Picchu only scratches the surface of this fascinating Andean nation. The following are some of the reasons I am truly excited for this trip.

History

So, the Inca empire, which built the “City in the Clouds” in the early 15th century, is considered one of the most impressive empires that ever existed. Geographically, it was the same size as the Western Roman Empire. However, I will talk more about the Inca Empire during my trip. But as impressive as the Incas were, other impressive civilizations preceded them. If you believe that the species we now call humans began in Ethiopia, the area that is now Peru was probably one of the last stops on humanity’s journey from the deserts of our origination. It was in the fertile river valleys of Peru that the very earliest civilizations of this continent began.”

“In fact, the Inca were only the latest in a long string of human civilizations that rose and fell in this region of the Andes. The coastal basin of the Atacama Desert on the west coast of Peru is thought to be one of the few so-called cradles of ancient civilization in the world, along with others like the Indus Valley, the basin of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers in China, and the Tigris Euphrates Valley in Mesopotamia – all places where city-dwelling human societies have independently risen up.

We now know that fifteen thousand years ago, the oldest civilization in the Americas, Norte Chico, developed on Peru’s coast. And around 1,000 B.C., a people who were part of the Horizon Culture in Northen Peru built a very accurate celestial clock. Later, during a period roughly equivalent to the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, that is between around 400 BC and 500 AD, the Moche and the Nazca civilizations achieved a high degree of organization and sophistication, and expanded their territories along Peru’s pacific coast. The Nazca are responsible for the hundreds of huge remarkable patterns and images that dot the landscape of the coastal deserts. You may have seen these patterns in photos when people claim they were created by aliens. Nope, just huge drawings and patterns made from stones by some impressive people who lived in what is modern day Peru around 2,000 years ago.

And I have to mention the impressive city of Tiwanaku on Lake Titikaka, the largest navigable lake in the world, located on the border of southern Peru and northern Bolivia. The people of Tiwanaku built vast pyramid structures and impressive carved gateways cut from solid blocks of stone weighing up to 66 tons – 100 times the size of the stones that make up the pyramids of Egypt. The city was home to as many as 20,000 people and formed one of the first capitals of the Andes. In the Inca creation story, we can see the cultural debt they owed to Tiwanaku. So, this part of the world IS ANCIENT!

The Landscape

Peru has one of the most diverse biospheres in the entire world, creating beautiful and unique landscapes. Peru includes the driest desserts in the world known for sand sailing and sand boarding, the deepest canyons in the world (twice the depth of the Grand Canyon), a long pacific coastline, some of the highest and most beautiful mountains in the world (The Andes), beautiful mountain valleys with spectacular rivers, and finally, the Amazon Rain Forest. The mighty Amazon River actually begins in Peru.

The Culture

In addition to the indigenous peoples of Peru who speak several languages including Quechua, Peru has a huge Spanish influence because of Spanish colonialism between 1534 to 1823. However, waves of immigrants from Africa, China, Japan, Italy and Germany make it a very diverse society, especially in the capital City of Lima, where a third of the population live. So the culture is very unique. That said, society as a whole is very traditional with family being the focal point.

The Food

Even with its long and rich history, the amazing landscapes and cultural diversity, the food may be the best part! The history of Peruvian food is a blend of pre-Inca, Spanish colonial, and migratory influences. From ancient times, pre-Inca civilizations cultivated native crops like potatoes, corn, and quinoa, which remain staples in the Peruvian diet. The arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century brought new ingredients and techniques that blended with local traditions. Later, immigration from Africa, China, Japan, and Italy added even more diversity to the flavors and preparation methods, creating what is now internationally acclaimed and exquisite cuisine.

Peruvian food has won multiple World Travel Awards and Lima is known as the gastronomic capital of Latin America. In fact the Restaurant Central, located in the Miraflores district of Lima, which is where I will be staying, was voted best restaurant in the world in 2016. And that was no fluke. Lima is very much a foodie City. When that same Top 50 Restaurant list came out this year, Lima had 4 restaurants on the list. The only other city in the world with 4 restaurants on the list was Paris. No U.S. city had more than two.

So, combining this rich mix of cooking cultures with the country’s vast biodiversity allows Peru to offer an impressive variety of dishes. I will describe some of these amazing dishes after my first day in Lima. Possible ingredients include over 3,000 types of potatoes to an extensive selection of corn, chili peppers, and exotic fruits. By the way, the potato originated in Peru over 8,000 years ago and was exported to Europe by the Spanish after they conquered the Inca Empire. There are now 4,000 varieties of potato in the world – 3,000, or a third, are in Peru!

I was told by Earl that after visiting Peru, I will want to return to Peru with Elizabeth. We shall see. There are other parts of the world that I have visited without my life partner that I would like to revisit with her. They include Provence (which I have done), the Basque Region of Spain, the cities and countries along the Danube including Prague and Budapest, and of course, Morocco. We shall see if Peru can live up to Earl’s prediction.