Peru Outdoors Destinations

Trekking

A paradise for walkers
To trek Peru is to journey through incredibly beautiful Andean countryside with a backdrop of everlastingly white mountains and crystal clear lakes, to walk along the Qapac Ñan (Inca Trail), that network of roads built by the Incas to unite their empire, and to see the culture of communities that adorn the pathways. There are trekking routes that take you on adventures through the White and Huayhuash Ranges in Ancash as well as many others in the department of Cusco that will lead you to Machu Picchu or Choquequirao.

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu: Part of the 23.000 kilometers (approximately 14.000 miles) of roads built by the Incas in South America, this is Peru's most famous trekking route and possibly one of the most spectacular in the Americas. Every year; some 25.000 hikers from around the world walk along the extraordinary 43 kilometers of this stone-paved road built by the Incas leading to the unassailable citadel of Machu Picchu located in the depth of the Cusco jungle. The journey starts in the village of Qorihuayrachina, at kilometer 88 of the Cusco - Quillabamba railway and takes three or four days of strenuous walking. The route includes an impressive variety of altitudes, climates and ecosystems that range from the high Andean plain to the cloud forest. Travelers will cross two high altitude passes (the highest being Warmiwañuska at 4.200 m.a.s.l.) to culminate the hike with a magical entrance to Machu Picchu Inca City through the Inti Punko or Gateway of the Sun.

Mountaineering

Touching the sky in the Andes
After the Himalayas, the Andes are the highest mountains in the world. One of those mountains is Mount Huascarán, located in the White Mountain Range, which happens to be the highest mountain found anywhere in the tropics. Along with this record breaking mountain are dozens of others that surpass 5,000 m.a.s.l. (16,400 f.a.s.l.). The Peruvian Andes feature mountains of different technical difficulty levels – from high to medium to easy – as well as the chance to make first assaults and to open new climbing routes.

The Cordillera Blanca is the highest tropical mountain range in the world and the Peruvian capital of mountaineering. The Huascarán National Park (PNH) has 663 glaciers, including the Huascarán (6,768 metres), the Huandoy (6,395 metres) and the Alpamayo (5,947 metres) glaciers. The PNH offers good accessibility, an adequate climate and is close to communities offering guide, porter and rescue services. It is the preferred choice for European climbers.

Mountain Biking

Traveling the routes of the past
Part of the attraction to mountain biking through Peru is the opportunity to discover ancient Incan and pre-Incan trails, visit archeological sites and picturesque villages, as well as to ride through different ecological tiers in just a few hours. There is one route, starting in the town of Olleros, south of Lima, where you can descend 3.600 meters (11.808 feet) in a ride that is just 70 kilometers (113 miles) long. Pachacámac (Lima), Cusco, Puno, Arequipa and the Colca Canyon are also great places for cyclists.

Paragliding and Hang Gliding

Taming the wind
Free flight lovers will feel overjoyed by what they can do in Peru. The Sacred Valley of the Incas (Cusco) provides flyers the experience of soaring over Incan ruins, and, in the Huaylas Valley of Ancash, they can fly at on winds that blow between towering mountains. Likewise, along the Costa Verde boardwalk in Lima, you can fly above the ocean waves and enjoy a bird's eye view of the city.

White Water Rafting and Kayaking

Through the world's deepest canyons
The Peruvian Andes and their plunging canyons turn this country into a magnificent stage for rafting. The most renowned rivers are the Apurímac in Apurímac (class II and V), the Cotahuasi in Arequipa (class V), and the Tambopata in the jungle.

Kayaking: In the many less difficult rivers, where canoeing and rafting can also be enjoyed, tourists can travel by kayak. This is especially true for the peaceful lagoons located in various regions around the country, where there are plenty of boat hire services, the best place is Lake Titicaca (Puno), the highest navigable lake in the world.

Surfing

Waves all year long
Peru's beaches are considered by experts to be among the best in the world. There are permanent surfing opportunities all year round, with small, big, long, tubular, high peak and bell waves, as well as a large quantity of waves that break closely one after the other.

The central coast has permanent surf during winter (April to September), while the north coast offers its famous swells between the months of October and March, turning it into a surfers' paradise. The best beaches are: Cabo Blanco, Máncora; Lobitos, Chicama (with the longest left wave in the world), Huanchaco, Pacasmayo and Los Órganos.

There is a theory that states that it was in Ancient Peru rather than in Polynesia or the South Pacific where the oldest evidence of men riding the waves with the help of rafts exists, as testified by textiles and ceramics from various pre-Hispanic cultures. Surfing, which is a 2,000 year-old practice in Peru, continues to be used by fishermen in the northern coves of Huanchaco, Santa Rosa and Pimentel, in La Libertad and Lambayeque departments, where local inhabitants ride the waves on reed rafts searching for their daily catch.

In the central coast, the Lima's beaches, great surf beaches are Punta Rocas, site of one World Qualifying Series surfing tournament, Pico Alto, whose waves are compared to those in Hawaii, Punta Hermosa, Señoritas, Caballeros and San Gallán Island in front to Paracas.

Sandboarding and Buggies

Challenge of the sands
Sliding face-down on a board along the great sand dunes is the unique pleasure offered by sandboarding, an adventure sport that has spread to several departments in Peru. The sport began in Ica, before spreading to Nazca, in Cerro Blanco (2,078 m.a.s.l.), the highest dune in the world, which is just for experts.

In many desert zones on the Peruvian coast, there are dunes in which sandboarding can be enjoyed, including Sarapampa (Lima), Camaná (Arequipa) and Acarí (Arequipa), with the second highest dune in the world (2,068m.a.s.l.).

Boarding styles have been almost entirely copied from snowboarding techniques and include slalom (zigzagging between poles), boarder cross (a competition across an obstacle course between 2 or more riders), slopestyle (tricks and movements using rails and ramps) and big air (massive leaps from a ramp).

The equipment consists of a board (a sandboard) with handles for the feet, a helmet, elbow and knee guards and special fall-resistant sand goggles. Comfortable clothing and specialist advice is recommended, and many specialists are linked to the companies that rent out the boards or travel agencies that prioritize adventure sports.

Ica, near to Paracas, is a special place, exceptional for its beauty, natural landscape and history as well as the wide variety of activities that can be enjoyed in its desert. The desert consists of many different types of dunes encircling Lake Huacachina, which are perfect for sandboarding and dune buggying. The higher the dunes, the more adrenaline for visitors.