<p>Slowing down to see the world is in Veronika's blood: she had her own frequent flyer number by the age of six months. She also goes big as a B&amp;R Trip Designer. Big grandeur. Big wilderness. Big tortoises (she is our Galapagos guru, after all). And big stories for the grandkids.</p>

LIFE LONG TRAVEL

Trip Designer

<p>Stepping foot on these lands for the first time, it's hard not to stare in disbelief as hundreds of sunbathing iguanas block your path, completely unphased by human interference. Here the tortoises are older than the radio, lava oozes from ocean floors, and folklore says that lost&nbsp;treasure might still be found thanks to the pirates and buccaneers who prowled the waters in the 16th century.</p><p>This isn’t an excerpt taken from a mythical legend, these are the Galápagos Islands.</p>

<p>While I've been designing trips to the <a href="https://butterfield.com/trip/bespoke/ecuador-galapagos-bespoke" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Galápagos Islands</a> for years, the magic of stepping off the plane never fails to be an assault on all my senses. Travellers have been crossing off the Islands as one of those once-in-a-lifetime destinations for decades—and rightfully so.</p><p>With its lunar-like landscapes and rare flora and fauna found nowhere else on earth, it's an other-worldly haven.&nbsp;A haven and a vibrant backdrop for a family adventure.</p><p>Getting up close with wildlife isn’t only magical for the kids, the close encounters with multiple species are something to engage you at any age. Learning about this ecosystem never stops, and what better way to adventure with multiple generations?</p>

<p>George Butterfield called on his family of 13 to join him on a trip, the challenge was to find a destination and itinerary that appeals to everyone – from 83-year-old George and 9-year-old granddaughter Ellie. But when you travel to the Galápagos, you’ll find it’s a place that keeps families together. Or in George’s words: “the perfect family trip.”&nbsp;</p><p>“There are very few perfect family trips,” George says. “You must have something that appeals to everyone, so it's hard to encompass something that’s interesting for all age groups. Animal life and bird life are two of them, and that’s why the Galápagos is the perfect trip. It’s just like an African safari. There’s life on land and life in the water, and you’re all together exploring at the same time. There are no diversions.”</p><p>Over 17 days, the Butterfields were able to reconnect after being straddled across the globe for the first time in two years thanks to a certain pandemic. By day they spotted rare animals like the blue-footed boobie; snorkelled, surfed, kayaked and hiked through white sand beaches and turquoise waters; and learned about Charles Darwin’s rare discoveries alongside naturalist guides. By night they motored to the next island via a 16-passenger private yacht, allowing the freedom to explore the lesser-known islands, each with its own unique wildlife (which is in fact our <a href="https://butterfield.com/get-inspired/a-boat-cruise-around-the-galapagos-islands" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">favourite way</a> to see the Galápagos!). When they weren't cruising the waters, the Butterfields also stayed at Galápagos Safari Camp, an intimate glamping experience comprising luxury tented camps, similar to what you would see in Africa.</p>

The Butterfields Take On The Galápagos

<p>While the Galápagos can be compared to an African safari, the animals here are much more up-close-and-personal; because of the harmonious existence with humans, the animals are not afraid of us. Iguanas mingle with sea lions, 600 lb giant tortoises meander along in groups and the various birds observe it all from above (or below in the penguin's case!).</p><p>“I don’t think I know a place in the world where human beings haven’t taken it and changed it,” George said. “On these islands, there’s nothing except the way life was thousands of years ago. It’s very primeval. When you step around the iguanas, they don’t move. They don’t even scatter. That’s because human beings haven’t been predators to them, whereas in so much of the world human beings have killed them off.”</p><p>But maintaining one of the world’s last Shangri-La is no easy task. The islands are 97% National Park and governed by a special law that restricts the number of travellers that can visit. And with more and more travellers looking to explore far-flung, remote, bucket-list destinations, it’s often advised to book a full year in advance for normal travel and 2 or more years in advance for festive dates and school holidays.</p>

The Last Shangri-La

<p>For George, the exclusivity of the island was what made it so appealing for a family trip in the first place. People should want to visit the Galápagos because they limit the number of visitors. The privacy is in fact one of the best parts, and sharing that special magic with loved ones is bound to create memories to last a lifetime.&nbsp;</p><p>But you don't have to take it from George, take it from the grandkids themselves! From snorkelling among hammerhead sharks to watching unique birdlife at Darwin's Research Centre, we asked George’s family to share their most memorable trip highlights.&nbsp;</p>

<p><br></p><p>Feeling inspired to make this experience your own? Get in touch with Veronika Macas to start planning your next family adventure.</p>

The Perfect Family Trip

<p>Compared to magazine writers, filmmakers have it easy. (Yes, I realize how biased that probably sounds. But let me explain.)</p><p>In order to properly capture a region’s essence, writers have to suffer. We slave away in front of our keyboards, desperately clamouring for the right combination of words to describe not just what a place looks like, but how it feels—its vibe, its milieu, its ineffable <em>je ne sais quoi</em>. (To wit: I scoured the thesaurus for 20 minutes before settling on “milieu.”)</p><p>Filmmakers, on the other hand, know no such struggles. In order to inform the audience they’re in Paris, Rome, New York or Sydney, all they need to do is drop in a quick establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower, Coliseum, Statue of Liberty or Opera House, respectively. Landmarks of this calibre are so famously unmistakable, that they come to not just identify a place, but emblematize it.</p><p>For more than a century now, Machu Picchu has been an icon. Since Hiram Bingham’s first fateful trip to the Incan site in 1911 – and especially after the publishing of his 1948 memoir The Lost City of the Inca, which propelled his journey into the popular conscience – Machu Picchu has been Peru’s most trafficked attraction.</p>

<p>At its peak, Machu Picchu attracted more than one million tourists each year. Even with restrictions encouraged by UNESCO and imposed by the Peruvian government, upwards of 900,000 still visit annually, taking the Hiram Bingham Train from Cusco to stare at the sun gate, or hike the nearby (and nearly as famous) Inca Trail. And to be fair, Machu Picchu’s appeal is obvious – I don’t think I’ve ever had an experience as transcendent as seeing it at sundown, after all the tourists had cleared out (working for B&amp;R has its perks).</p><p>But I sometimes pity those who hop a flight out of the country as soon as they’ve checked the spectacle off of their bucket list. I’ve spent a decade globetrotting for both work and pleasure, and I’ve found few countries that boast as wide a breadth of natural wonders, or as rich a reservoir of cultural heritage. That so few people take the time to savour all that Peru has to offer is one of travel’s greatest travesties—and one that I'm determined to correct.</p><p>With all due respect to The Lost City, I think it’s high time that people found out about Peru’s myriad other unforgettable adventures. There are enough off-the-grid, little known and overlooked experiences here to fill an entire magazine, but I think my editor would kill me if I took up that much space. (Editor’s Note: That’s true.) So in the interest of brevity, here are five of my absolute favourite parts of Peru that most people never get to experience.</p>

The Amazon

<p>When was the last time you fished for piranhas and swam with pink dolphins? That's what I thought.</p><p>The Peruvian Amazon is a treasure that's somehow remained hidden from the vast majority of the travel industry. The lush natural rainforest plays host to a slew of incredible creatures, from alligators and anacondas to jaguars and spider monkeys, and even its human inhabitants have embraced the idea of being off the grid—the region's main urban hub is Iquitos, the biggest city in the world that you can’t actually drive to. The best way to experience it is to quite literally go with the flow by floating down the Amazon River. Using a luxe cruise ship like the Aria Amazon as your home base, you can take skiffs that venture deeper into the heart of the jungle for wildlife viewing, and dock in remote villages to meet the locals and explore on foot.</p><p>Opportunities for water-based adventure abound, including kayaking, canoeing and swimming in the Amazon River by day. By night, you can break out a telescope and awe as constellations come to life in the skies of the Southern Hemisphere.</p>

<p>The aptly named Sacred Valley is a visually stunning, incredibly rich playground for adventure. Some of the best hiking trails in the world intersect the valley, passing through ancient ruins, agricultural enclaves and sweeping valleys, all of them lined by the Andes mountains. Here you can truly disconnect and commune with the natural world; hiking through the valley feels like stepping back into a simpler, more peaceful era. The few people you encounter along the way are locals who live off the land, the way their ancestors have for generations. On one hike, our group passed by a local woman who kindly offered us fresh, hot potatoes from her <em>huatia </em>(a sort of underground earth oven, shaped like a pyramid).</p><p>But the Sacred Valley isn't solely for serenity—adrenaline junkies will find plenty of adventures, too.</p><p>Mountain bikers flock to this part of Peru, but those who prefer four wheels to two can take it all in on ATVs, while those who prefer four legs to four wheels can ride horseback on gorgeous Peruvian Paso horses. Want to get on the water?</p><p>Kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding and white water rafting are all on offer here. And if you're looking for a little elevation, you can rock-climb up a mountainside and zip-line back down, or paraglide above to explore it from the perspective of the Incan gods.</p>

The Sacred Valley

Arequipa & Colca Canyon

<p>Your Instagram feed will love <a href="https://butterfield.com/get-inspired/a-new-side-of-peru-arequipa-the-colca-canyon" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Arequipa</a>.</p><p>A colonial-era gem awash in white buildings made from hand-cut silar stone, Arequipa is a gorgeous city in an even more stunning setting. Three volcanoes frame the city, towering (safely) in the distance and providing the city with some stunning views, which few visitors to Peru ever get to drink in.</p><p>But there's much more to take in than the views—the food scene in Arequipa is incredible. A historical trade hub that connected Cusco and Lake Titicaca with countries such as Bolivia and Chile, today Arequipa is a melting pot where a mix of cultures, flavours, ingredients and spices come together in the local <em>picanterias</em> (lunch spots), creating a unique culinary experience.</p><p>You've got to try some <em>rocoto relleno</em>, Peru's version of stuffed pepper, and <em>chupe de camarones</em>, a shrimp chowder. Then wash it all down with <em>chicha morada</em>, a delicious drink made from purple Peruvian corn.</p><p>Culture and history abound in Arequipa too, including the Santa Catalina Monastery, an architectural stunner that recounts the scandalous tenure of the nuns who once lived there, and Juanita, a mummy only discovered when a glacier melted and revealed her tomb.</p>

<p>As if the city itself weren’t enough of a draw, Arequipa also provides a gateway to the stunning Colca Canyon, whose terraced valleys are even less trafficked than those in the Sacred Valley, despite the fact that some points of Colca reach greater depths than the Grand Canyon. Both the hiking and the horseback riding here is incredible, offering postcard-perfect views at every turn, and adventure junkies will love the river rafting.</p>

<p>Few people realize that the best archaeology experience in Peru has nothing to do with Machu Picchu.</p><p>Best known as the home of Peru's traditional marinera dance, Trujillo is a coastal town in northwestern Peru that not only boasts beautiful and colourful colonial architecture but acts as a gateway to pre-Incan archaeological sites that bring ancient history to life.</p><p>Nearby marvels include the Huaca de la Luna ("the moon temple"), one of the most important spiritual sites for the Moche culture, who populated the area from 100 to 700 AD, and El Brujo, the temples of which are adorned with polychrome reliefs depicting wars, gods and an ancient way of life.</p><p>But the best part is what—or maybe I should say who—isn't there. Because so many people forego Trujillo, savvy travellers are treated to a raw and relatively tourist-free experience that puts them directly in touch with ancient history—sometimes literally, in fact. With so few tourists, there’s little need for ropes and barriers, meaning there's nothing stopping you from reaching out to literally touch ancient history.</p>

Trujillo & the North

<p>Often overlooked or skipped by those flocking to Machu Picchu and Cusco, Lima is arguably the culinary capital of the world right now, boasting three coveted spots on the list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants.</p><p>Lima's restaurant scene has garnered a ton of attention from the press, but few editorials (and, thankfully, not many tourists) seem to appreciate just how cool the rest of the city is. Perched on the coast of the Pacific, the city offers sea, surf, sand and some incredible ocean views.</p><p>Further inland, Lima's myriad unique neighbourhoods make it the perfect place to meander on foot. In posh Miraflores, upscale shops, stunning sea views and great restaurants are complemented by huacas, the pre-Incan ruins scattered throughout the neighbourhood that add a bit of culture to all that class. In boho-chic Barranco, boutique shops and local artists dot a unique and colourful neighbourhood just begging to be snapped for social media. And in the city centre, fabulous architecture denotes the legacy of the conquistadors who once reigned over the city—be sure to check out Aliaga House, where consecutive generations of the Aliaga family have lived since the land was first granted to Jerónimo de Aliaga in 1535!</p>

Lima

<p><br></p><p>Feeling inspired to take the road less travelled in Peru? Learn more about our Scheduled departures <a href="https://butterfield.com/trip/scheduled/peru-walking" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> or get in touch with Veronika Macas to start planning your perfect Bespoke adventure.</p>

Off The Beaten Trail In Peru

Experts + Insiders

Guides

Bespoke Stories

Travel Diary

Latin America

Peru

<h2><strong>DAY 4 </strong></h2>
<h4>INCAN TRAILS &amp; TOMBS</h4>
<p>Since Craig and Josh were avid mountain bikers, I knew they could step things up on Day 4 with an amazing ride through the Lares Mountain Pass to the village of Calca. High altitude pedalling is no joke, but both father and son were up for the challenge, settling into a steady rhythm high above the Sacred Valley.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-44415 size-full" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_005_900x675.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="675" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_005_900x675.jpg 900w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_005_900x675-400x300.jpg 400w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_005_900x675-768x576.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_005_900x675-800x600.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /></p>
<p>The climb paid off with one of the best descents in all of Peru – a mix of dirt roads and ancient trails that wind through small farming communities and across original Incan steps, ending at the tombs built into the cliff face of the Totora Canyon.</p>
<p>All in all, the gents completed a mighty 1,400-metre descent, earning a very well deserved rest at the evening’s hotel, the luxurious Tambo del Inka, a spectacular respite in the middle of an enchanted region.</p>
<hr />
<h2><strong>DAY 5 </strong></h2>
<h4>THE LOST CITY OF MACHU PICCHU</h4>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-38380" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Books-About-Peru-Banner.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1271" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Books-About-Peru-Banner.jpg 1920w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Books-About-Peru-Banner-453x300.jpg 453w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Books-About-Peru-Banner-768x508.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Books-About-Peru-Banner-906x600.jpg 906w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></p>
<p>When a traveller makes a request on a Bespoke trip, it’s my job to make it happen, but in true B&amp;R style I didn’t just want Craig and Josh to <em>visit</em> Machu Picchu, I wanted them to <em>experience</em> the Lost City in all its glory.</p>
<p>The morning began with a train ride along the Urubamba River through the Canyon of Vilcanota to the Lost City of the Incas.</p>
<p>At KM 104, they met up with Carlos, a local Machu Picchu expert, who led the guys along the final passage of the Inca Trail through impressive archaeological sites as he explained the history of Incan engineering and architecture.</p>
<p>They arrived at Inti Punku, Machu Picchu’s impressive gate, after lunch, and, as most people were leaving the site, they were able to sit in silence and watch the sun set on the citadel, marveling at one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.</p>
<hr />
<h2><strong>DAY 6 </strong></h2>
<h4>SCALING NEW HEIGHTS</h4>
<p>Before saying goodbye to Machu Picchu, Craig and Josh took one last opportunity to take in the majestic 360-degree views from Machu Picchu Mountain, the site&#8217;s highest peak.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-44441" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Bespoke-Stories-Peru-mid-banner4.jpg" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Bespoke-Stories-Peru-mid-banner4.jpg 1600w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Bespoke-Stories-Peru-mid-banner4-450x300.jpg 450w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Bespoke-Stories-Peru-mid-banner4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Bespoke-Stories-Peru-mid-banner4-900x600.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></p>
<p>Skyscraping Andean peaks tower in the distance while the Urubamba River wraps itself around the mountain site.</p>
<p>Inca priests once performed rituals on this site, and when you stand there now, you can almost feel their power electrifying the air.</p>
<hr />
<h2><strong>DAY 7 to 9 </strong></h2>
<h4>A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT</h4>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-44418 alignright" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_014_378x283.jpg" alt="" width="378" height="283" />Aside from being fit, fierce, mountain biking fiends, Craig also revealed during one of our discussions that he and Josh are avid white water rafters.</p>
<p>They couldn’t have picked a better spot than Peru and, as the cherry on top of an already exhilarating trip, I planned a three-day rafting adventure that would send them off on a high.</p>
<p>They set out from the Huallpachaca bridge, spending three days, paddling and exploring the Apurimac River through intermediate- and advance-level rapids. They drifted past granite cliffs and portaged across rocky trails.</p>
<p>They ran infamous rapids including – <strong>“The Purgatory”,</strong> <strong>“Space Odyssey”, “Tooth Ache”,</strong> and <strong>“Babalua”</strong> –traversed canyons and ate like kings before ending each day on a sandy campsite.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-44417 size-full" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_011_900x675.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="675" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_011_900x675.jpg 900w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_011_900x675-400x300.jpg 400w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_011_900x675-768x576.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_011_900x675-800x600.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /></p>
<p>Up for anything, father and son “roughed” it, B&amp;R style, because while five-star hotels may not always be necessary on a B&amp;R trip, unique, breathtaking, immersive experiences certainly are.</p>
<hr />
<h2><strong>DAY 10 </strong></h2>
<h4>ADIOS PERU</h4>
<p>Having travelled back to Cusco the night before, Craig and Josh were ready to start their trip home, sad to say adios to Peru, but excited to share stories with their family and friends about their adventures in this magical Incan land.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-44421 size-full" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_009_900x675.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="675" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_009_900x675.jpg 900w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_009_900x675-400x300.jpg 400w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_009_900x675-768x576.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_009_900x675-800x600.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /></p>
<p>And I was thrilled that, with this one-of-a-kind Bespoke father-son adventure, we had once again made dreams come true.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Start Planning Your Dream Trip</h2>
<h5>(Or better yet—let us!)</h5>
<p>Ready to go on your own unforgettable adventure? Have the perfect trip in mind? Whether it&#8217;s somewhere you&#8217;ve always dreamed of going or something you&#8217;ve always dreamed of doing, our expert Experience Designers specialize in turning fantasies into reality. Contact us to <a href="https://www.butterfield.com/start-planning/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">start planning</a>.</p>


<h2><strong>DAY 3 </strong></h2>
<h4>50 SHADES OF COLOUR</h4>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="alignright wp-image-10974" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Peru_inset.jpg" alt="Peruvian quilt" width="385" height="581" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Peru_inset.jpg 424w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Peru_inset-212x320.jpg 212w" sizes="(max-width: 385px) 100vw, 385px" />With its traditional vibrant fabrics and fantastical rainbow mountains, Peru is known as one of the most colourful countries in the world, and today’s activities lived up to the claim.</p>
<p>Craig and Josh’s ride began in the fields of the Chinchero plateau where potato, bean, corn, kiwicha, and quinoa crops create a patchwork of colours across the land.</p>
<p>With the snow-capped Urubamba mountain range in the background, it was a ride to remember, full of fast descents and glimpses of local culture in the Sacred Valley.</p>
<p>Outside the town of Moray, they hopped off the bikes to explore the Incan terraces, a luscious green paradise of concentric circles that took their breath away.</p>


<p>While no one knows the exact purpose of the terraces, they’re thought to be an early feat of scientific engineering by the Incans, an in-situ laboratory where they could study crops and experiment with different microclimates to see what conditions were best suited to what species.</p>
<p>They also managed to modify, adapt, and hybridize some crops, just one of the reasons that today, Peru is home to 2,000 different varieties of potatoes.</p>
<p>Thankfully, while potatoes did make an appearance on trip (you can’t visit Peru without feasting on a rainbow of organic chips served as an appetizer at virtually every restaurant), there were myriad other delicious dishes for Craig and Josh to try during lunch at the home of Tat, a local friend of B&amp;R and a pretty fantastic cook.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-44410 size-full" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_004_900x675.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="675" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_004_900x675.jpg 900w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_004_900x675-400x300.jpg 400w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_004_900x675-768x576.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PERM_920180809_TCA_004_900x675-800x600.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /></p>
<p>After lunch the boys headed to the Maras salt pans where they discovered just how many shades of pink there can be. For hundreds of years, local Peruvians have been harvesting pink salt from the geometric pools that cascade down the valley like a series of uneven steps.</p>
<p>I scheduled some time for Craig and Josh to walk among them, observing their methods and marveling at the ancient tradition, even getting to sample some of the goods!</p>


Bespoke Stories: <br>An "Off-the-Grid" Adventure for a Father & Son in Peru

Features &amp; Stories

<p>At its peak, Machu Picchu attracted more than one million tourists each year. Even with restrictions encouraged by UNESCO and imposed by the Peruvian government, upwards of 900,000 still visit annually, taking the Hiram Bingham Train from Cusco to stare at the sun gate, or hike the nearby (and nearly as famous) Inca Trail. And to be fair, Machu Picchu’s appeal is obvious – I don’t think I’ve ever had an experience as transcendent as seeing it at sun down, after all the tourists had cleared out (working for B&amp;R has its perks).</p>
<p>But I sometimes pity those who hop a flight out of the country as soon as they’ve checked the spectacle off of their bucket list. I’ve spent a decade globetrotting for both work and pleasure, and I’ve found few countries that boast as wide a breadth of natural wonders, or as rich a reservoir of cultural heritage. That so few people take the time to savour all that Peru has to offer is one of travel’s greatest travesties—and one that I&#8217;m determined to correct.</p>
<p>With all due respect to The Lost City, I think it’s high time that people found out about Peru’s myriad other unforgettable adventures. There are enough off-the-grid, little known and overlooked experiences here to fill an entire magazine, but I think my editor would kill me if I took up that much space. (<em>Editor’s Note: That’s true.</em>) So in the interest of brevity, here are five of my absolute favourite&#8230;</p>
<hr />
<p>Want to read more? Email Veronika to get the full story: <a href="mailto:veronika@theslowroad.com">veronika@theslowroad.com</a></p>


Off the Beaten Trail in Peru

<h2><strong>Go Low in the Colca Canyon</strong></h2>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-40871 alignright" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/peru-child-alpaca-350.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="233" />Don’t fear the depths of the Colca Canyon, located in the south of the country. In some places, it’s deeper than the Grand Canyon itself, and is recognized as one of the deepest canyons in the world, as low as 3,270 feet (10,730 feet). This typical Andean valley is saturated with hundreds of Inca terraces in an array of colours—lush and green in the summer, gold in the drier months—and rooted in pre-Inca times.</p>
<p>The first people to inhabit the region were the Quechua-speaking Cabana, descendants from the Wari, and the Collagua cultures, who relocated here from Lake Titicaca. It was only in the year 1320 that the Inca civilization came to this area, and through intermarrying, the Inca established their dominance over the region. Spanish conquerors under the direction of Gonzalo Pizarro arrived in 1540 and relocating the locals to centrally-built pueblo settlements, which remain today as the main towns in the region.</p>
<h4><strong>Active Pursuits</strong></h4>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-40881 alignleft" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/hikers-400.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="267" />Your best bet to make the most of the Colca Canyon is heading out by foot on picturesque hikes, with postcard-worthy views at every turn. A relaxed and tranquil atmosphere means your walk on the trails will be uncrowded, a major contrast to sites like Machu Picchu. Rafting on the Colca River and horseback riding are other activities to consider.</p>
<h4><strong>A birder’s delight</strong></h4>
<p>Don’t forget to look up—swarms of the magnificent Andean condor make their home along the Canyon amongst the rocks. This endangered bird is the largest flying land bird in the Western hemisphere with a maximum wingspan of up to 3.3 metres (just over 10 feet). Anywhere else in the world, a sighting is extremely rare, but not so here in the Colca Canyon; you will see flocks of them soaring and perhaps, if they fly close enough, you will feel the mighty wind from their wings. Also keep an eye out for the giant hummingbird, about 21 centimetres (8.5 inches) in length, and the bird that inspired the hummingbird art of the Nazca Lines.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-40872 aligncenter" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/condor-960.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/condor-960.jpg 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/condor-960-450x300.jpg 450w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/condor-960-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/condor-960-900x600.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></p>
<h4><strong>Where to Stay: </strong></h4>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.belmond.com/hotels/south-america/peru/colca-canyon/belmond-las-casitas/">Hotel Belmond Las Casitas</a></strong> is a serene and tranquil getaway in the Colca Valley with just 20 private casitas. It is set amongst the backdrop of the Andes Mountains and features an on-site spa, vegetable garden, greenhouses, and even a small farm with horses, pigs, alpacas and guinea pigs, great if you are travelling with the family.</p>


Discover A New Peru:<br> Arequipa & Colca Canyon

Essentials &amp; Advice

Hotels

See + Do

The Slow Road

<h3><a href="https://titilaka.pe/en/lodge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Titilaka Lodge, Puno</strong></a></h3>
<p>Walk into each room and pull the curtains aside: <em>voilà</em>—you’ve got a live nature documentary all to yourself, looking out with undisturbed views of Lake Titicaca. The hotel itself, a Relais &amp; Chateaux property, is very well-styled, with a great menu including local produce and even trout caught right in the lake. Sit out on the hotel patio and watch the sunset over Titicaca. With a pisco sour in hand, you can’t go wrong; the colours are stunning. High up at this elevation, the stars are also super bright and in abundance, so don’t forget to look up for a star-gaze session before you call it a night.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-37687 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Titilaka-Lodge-Sunset-Lake-960px.jpg" alt="titilaka lodge" width="960" height="640" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Titilaka-Lodge-Sunset-Lake-960px.jpg 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Titilaka-Lodge-Sunset-Lake-960px-450x300.jpg 450w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Titilaka-Lodge-Sunset-Lake-960px-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Titilaka-Lodge-Sunset-Lake-960px-900x600.jpg 900w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></p>
<h3><a href="https://www.explora.com/hotels-and-travesias/sacred-valley-peru/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Explora Lodge Valle Sagrado, Sacred Valley</strong></a></h3>
<p>Gorgeous views over the cornfields and the mountain vistas of the Sacred Valley, the property has its very own farmlands and grows crops nearby for the absolute freshest meals. Four-hundred-year-old Inca terraces were discovered on-site, and you are surrounded by them here. Located in one of the most remote haciendas in the Valley, the excellent hotel spa is located in a 17th c. colonial mansion that once belonged to a Peruvian independence hero. The lodge has a roaring fire to cozy up to with an alpaca blanket, and there&#8217;s also a pool, should you wish to have a dip.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-38168 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Hotel-explora-Valle-Sagrado-960px-compressedcompressed.jpg" alt="Peru" width="960" height="387" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Hotel-explora-Valle-Sagrado-960px-compressedcompressed.jpg 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Hotel-explora-Valle-Sagrado-960px-compressedcompressed-480x194.jpg 480w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Hotel-explora-Valle-Sagrado-960px-compressedcompressed-768x310.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></p>
<h3><a href="https://www.hotelsolyluna.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Sol y Luna, Urubamba, Sacred Valley</strong></a></h3>
<p>A gorgeous little place, the Sol y Luna has just upgraded their grounds to include a bigger pool. With all-private <em>casitas</em> (there are no rooms here), it feels like your own hideaway in the Sacred Valley. The location is excellent as well, as you can easily make your way to and from activities all throughout the valley. There’s also a school on-site for local children that guests can support with donations during their stay towards this educational endeavour for the local community.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-37688 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sol-Y-Luna-Pool-960px-compressed.jpg" alt="Sol y Luna" width="960" height="641" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sol-Y-Luna-Pool-960px-compressed.jpg 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sol-Y-Luna-Pool-960px-compressed-449x300.jpg 449w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sol-Y-Luna-Pool-960px-compressed-768x513.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Sol-Y-Luna-Pool-960px-compressed-899x600.jpg 899w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></p>
<h3><strong><a href="https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/cuztl-tambo-del-inka-a-luxury-collection-resort-and-spa-valle-sagrado/?scid=cba116a5-7a93-4271-8658-c1cef149bc63&amp;ppc=ppc&amp;pId=ustbppc&amp;nst=paid&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwhaaKBhBcEiwA8acsHLWH9x26WuY0Fr7I9KDfn8-0JUM_p6ObsP8m2mQFJNfwhz2ehGIxpBoCTzAQAvD_BwE&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tambo del Inka, Sacred Valley</a></strong></h3>
<p>With Inca-inspired architecture, get into the Andean spirit in the Sacred Valley. I like this property for families or groups; the hotel’s many room styles and sizes mean you can find a configuration that works for you. With a dramatic stone fireplace in the lobby and large panoramic windows, you can gaze at the mountaintops on the horizon. The biggest spa in the Sacred Valley is located here, along with a much-coveted pool, should you want to take a dip.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-37689 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Tambo-del-Inka-pool-732px-compressed.jpg" alt="" width="732" height="400" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Tambo-del-Inka-pool-732px-compressed.jpg 732w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Tambo-del-Inka-pool-732px-compressed-480x262.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 732px) 100vw, 732px" /></p>
<h3></h3>
<h3><a href="https://naturavive.com/web/skylodge-adventure-suites/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Bonus: Skylodge, Sacred Valley</strong></a></h3>
<p>This one-of-a-kind lodge is for the adventurous type only: perched on the side of a cliff overlooking the Sacred Valley, all guests must climb up a 400-metre via ferrata to access it, and zipline down on their way back! Not for the faint of heart or any sleepwalkers, each small capsule suite gives you a 300-degree view of the valley. The luxury here is being totally disconnected. A stay you’ll never forget!</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-37708 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Skylodge-by-visitor-732px-compressed.jpg" alt="" width="732" height="538" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Skylodge-by-visitor-732px-compressed.jpg 732w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Skylodge-by-visitor-732px-compressed-408x300.jpg 408w" sizes="(max-width: 732px) 100vw, 732px" /></p>
<h3><a href="https://www.belmond.com/hotels/south-america/peru/lima/belmond-miraflores-park/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miraflores Park, Lima</a></h3>
<p>A true urban sanctuary set in Lima&#8217;s bustling metropolis, Miraflores Park is only steps away from the city&#8217;s hottest restaurants, galleries and a breezy six-mile boardwalk. Although set in Peru&#8217;s cosmopolitan capital, the hotel itself is surrounded by historical hotspots, blooming gardens and nestled right next to the Pacific, so you truly get the best of both worlds. The perfect mix of glamour and tranquillity for an unforgettable stay.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-49895 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Miraflores-Park-Peru.png" alt="Miraflores Park Peru" width="960" height="600" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Miraflores-Park-Peru.png 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Miraflores-Park-Peru-480x300.png 480w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Miraflores-Park-Peru-250x156.png 250w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Miraflores-Park-Peru-768x480.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></p>
<p>Feeling inspired to see and stay for yourself?<a href="https://butterfield.com/start-planning" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Get in touch with Veronika Macas</a> to see how she can craft your perfect trip to Peru.</p>


Top 10 Luxury Hotels <br> in Peru

Culture &amp; Lifestyle

Need to Know

Reading for the Road

B&amp;R Picks

Reading for the Road:<br> Our Favourite Books About Peru

Accolades

Media Mentions

Passion Passport

Amazon

Arequipa

Colca Canyon

Lake Titicaca

Paracas

Trujillo

Five Must-Visit Locales in Peru

Must Sees

Ecuador And Galapagos Islands

<p>The Biosphere Reserve is another region in Ecuador that offers some of the most diverse species on earth, some endemic to the region. It is a haven for birders with approximately 1,600 species found in this area.</p>
<p>The Amazon in Ecuador is mainly tropical at 400 metres above sea level and remains warm and humid year-round. Surrounded by wild rainforest, untouched flora and fauna for miles, the remote Ecuadorian rainforest is truly a haven for those who want to experience nature at its purest.</p>
<h5>Stay nearby:<a href="http://www.sachalodge.com/the-lodge/" target="_blank"> Sacha Lodge</a></h5>
<p>On the Napo River in Coca Ecuador hides a modern sanctuary known as Sacha Lodge. Located in the lush Amazonian forests, it sits on its own private nature reserve of 5,000 acres.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-33550" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Sacha.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="613" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Sacha.jpg 1200w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Sacha-480x245.jpg 480w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Sacha-768x392.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Sacha-960x490.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p>
<p>The only way to access the lodge is via boat/motor canoe from Coca Ecuador. The lodge was built to complement the surroundings with 26 eco-friendly cabins, and canopied walkways and towers offering incomparable views of the Amazon forest and treetops.</p>


<h2><a href="http://www.ecuador.com/protected-areas/cotopaxi-national-park/" target="_blank">Cotopaxi National Park</a></h2>
<p>Roughly 50 km south of Quito, this national park spreads over three provinces in Ecuador.</p>
<p>The park is most known for its famed Cotopaxi Volcano, a snowcapped symmetrical summit that takes pride of place along Ecuador’s Avenue of Volcanoes. Known as the King of the Andes, it is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, with a summit of 5,897 meters (19,700 feet) above sea level.</p>


<p>The volcano is surrounded by the relatively flat national park, a vast wilderness of sweeping plains adding to the stunning panorama. Established in 1975, Cotopaxi National Park has 34,000 hectares of wild, beautiful moorland, streaked with wispy clouds and pockets of mist, and plays home to a variety of animals from wolves, pumas, bears and condors, to birds and endemic species. Here you can hike, climb, or trek/mountaineer your way around the park.</p>
<h5>Stay nearby: <a href="http://zuleta.com/" target="_blank">Hacienda Zuleta</a></h5>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-33540" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Zuleta.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="373" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Zuleta.jpg 250w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Zuleta-201x300.jpg 201w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px" />Hacienda Zuleta is a family-owned, 2,000 hectare plot with colonial buildings dating back to 1691.</p>
<p>The expansive Hacienda Zuleta grounds include a working dairy farm, cheese factory, trout farm, horse stables and a beautiful organic vegetable garden where most of their food comes from.</p>
<p>Formally owned by Ecuador&#8217;s ex-president Galo Plaza Lasso, the hotel property still maintains his private library. They also manage an Andean condor rescue center and the Hacienda is surrounded by three beautiful Andean communities.</p>
<p>Hacienda is surrounded by lush pastureland and stunning views of the snow-capped volcano Cayambe (oh, and the city of Cayambe in Ecuador also has some of the best caramel!). As sun sets in the Andes Mountains and it gets chilly at Zuleta, I can&#8217;t think of anything better than enjoying some traditional Ecuadorian cheese and snacks near a roaring fire at the end of the day.</p>
<h2><a href="http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/teacher_resources/best_place_species/current_top_10/chocoan_rainforests.cfm" target="_blank">Choco Rainforest</a></h2>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-33542" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Choco.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="267" />One of the last Shangri-las in the world, this untouched rainforest holds flora and fauna still yet to be discovered.</p>
<p>The Choco Rainforest spans from Colombia into Northern Ecuador. Cut off from the Amazon by the Andes Mountains, the rainforest evolved differently from those forests on the eastern side. The Choco area holds thousands of species and ecosystems endemic to the region.</p>
<p>Walking in the Choco feels like stepping into a world of its own, with virgin vegetation yet to be disrupted by humans; it is recognized as one of the world’s most biologically and culturally diverse areas.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-33544" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-tree-frog.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="266" />The choco plays host to a whopping 11,000 species of plants and an equally impressive 900 species of birds. In addition, there are more than 300 amphibious species, including 200-plus reptiles.</p>
<p>Kinkajous (a raccoon-like mammal), howler monkeys, sparkling fireflies, bats, bioluminescent fungi, waterfalls, rare birds, insects – you name it, it’s there.</p>
<p>The main threat to all of these species is actually a threat to the rainforest itself: deforestation. All the more reason to go and see it now!</p>
<h5>Stay Nearby: <a href="https://www.mashpilodge.com/en/" target="_blank">Mashpi Lodge</a></h5>
<p>The sophisticated and strikingly contemporary lodge is designed as the ideal springboard for exploring the biodiverse world of the Ecuadorian Choco Rainforest.</p>
<p>A hideaway in the clouds only accessible to its guests and located on a high plateau, Mashpi Lodge features views of the forested mountains on one side and the forest right up close on the other through its floor-to-ceiling glass windows.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-33546" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Mashpi.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="568" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Mashpi.jpg 1200w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Mashpi-480x227.jpg 480w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Mashpi-768x364.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Best-Places-to-Visit-in-Ecuador-Mashpi-960x454.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p>
<p>The Lodge, built with the latest techniques in sustainable building and employing hydroelectric power in the near future, is designed to blend beautifully with its surroundings.</p>
<p>Mashpi Lodge is located 110 km by car from central Quito in the evergreen wilds of the Andes’ western slopes. The shift in altitude (from 2800 to 1000 metres above sea level) allows for spectacular natural diversity among the Andean landscape.</p>
<p>We travel through the dry valley of Pomasqui into lush, misty cloud forests, and finally into one of the most celebrated bioregions in the world, known for its record-high endemism, rainfall and altitudinal range.</p>
<h2><a href="http://amazonwatch.org/work/ecuador" target="_blank">Ecuadorian Amazon</a></h2>
<p>Often forgotten in favour of Brazil or Peru’s vast Amazon, the Ecuadorian Amazon is also a fascinating region, spread across six of Ecuador’s provinces.</p>
<p>It’s a haven so far off the beaten path that there are two small indigenous tribes situated in the Yasuni National Park (Ecuador’s largest), living in complete isolation from the rest of the modern world, with a protected right from the Ecuadorian government called the ‘Untouchable Zone” to not ever be disturbed. Talk about living off the land!</p>


Eat &amp; Drink

Resto

Travel Tips

Maido

Mitsuharu Tsumura

<h5>Starting From the Bottom</h5>
<p>In Peru, Mitsuharu was an up and coming young chef with a fancy degree from America. In Japan, he was an unknown entity with no local experience to speak of.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-31832" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Maido-Mitsuharu-Tsumura-dishes-320x300.jpg" alt="maido-mitsuharu-tsumura-dishes" width="320" height="300" />But if nothing else – and there was, truly, nothing else – he had a connection. His grandparents, who still lived in Japan, introduced him to a man named Mr. Hirai, the owner of a well known restaurant called Seto Sushi.</p>
<p>After watching him filet fish, Mr. Hirai agreed to give Mitsuharu a job. The pay was nonexistent and the work gruelling. It was a start.</p>
<p>For four months Mitsuharu showed up everyday to wash dishes, never so much as touching a knife. After establishing himself as a competent dishwasher, he was elevated to the post of knife sharpener. Eventually he became proficient enough to sharpen knives for every chef in the restaurant, a huge honour by the standards of Japanese restaurants.</p>
<p>Though he was still miles away from being able to prepare food for the restaurant, in Japan everything has a purpose. While he wasn’t yet making sushi, he was watching, observing the masters, and learning patience and discipline. It was a quintessentially Japanese apprenticeship.</p>
<h5><img loading="lazy" class="alignright wp-image-31836" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Maido-Mitsuharu-Tsumura-knife.jpg" alt="maido-mitsuharu-tsumura-knife" width="350" height="236" />Working His Way Up</h5>
<p>Around this time, he started practicing his own knife skills. To master the fine art of sushi making he would practice on rice and gherkins, preparing thousands of them to hone his skills.</p>
<p>He continued to work his way up the ladder at Seto, taking over responsibility for receiving and cleaning seafood. This eventually led to filleting and preparing fish, cooking rice for the staff’s meals and working behind the bar, until one day, two years after arriving in Japan, he had finally earned his keep.</p>
<p>Mitsuharu began to make sushi.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Pulled Back to Peru</h2>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="alignright wp-image-31838" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Maido-Mitsuharu-Tsumura-dish.jpg" alt="maido-mitsuharu-tsumura-dish" width="350" height="236" />He stayed in Japan for eight more months perfecting his craft until one day Mitsuharu felt the pull of his native Peru beckoning him back home.</p>
<p>The Sheraton Lima, where he had interned years ago, invited him to return as a member of their chef team, where he began his journey up the hotel’s ranks.</p>
<p>And now here he was, three years after returning to Peru and on the precipice of the hotel’s highest position, feeling conflicted.</p>
<figure id="attachment_31839" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31839" style="width: 275px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-31839" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Maido-Mitsuharu-Tsumura-exterior.jpg" alt="Maido" width="275" height="412" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Maido-Mitsuharu-Tsumura-exterior.jpg 275w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Maido-Mitsuharu-Tsumura-exterior-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-31839" class="wp-caption-text">Maido</figcaption></figure>
<h5>A Conundrum Turned Culmination</h5>
<p>Again he turned to his father for advice and again his father was stern and resolute – but this time, he had very different advice for his son.</p>
<p>“Son, you have proved to be a good worker and I am going to invest in you,” he said. “Open your restaurant, I will support you.”</p>
<p>Today that restaurant is <a href="http://www.maido.pe/en/index.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maido</a>, where Mitsuhara draws from his experience and heritage to prepare Japanese and Peruvian dishes, telling a story with each plate he serves.</p>
<p>In 2016, Mitsuhara and Maido landed at <a href="http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/1-50-winners/Maido" target="_blank" rel="noopener">number 13</a> on the coveted World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (<a href="http://www.theworlds50best.com/latinamerica/en/the-list.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and number 2 in Latin America</a>), winning the <a href="http://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/highest-climber-sponsored-by-lavazza" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Highest Climber Award</a> in the process.</p>
<p>He’s come a long way since that conundrum.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Prime Your Peruvian Palate</h2>
<p>Fortunately, you don&#8217;t need to spend two years apprenticing at a Japanese sushi restaurant to develop a taste for Mitsuhara&#8217;s cooking.</p>
<p>He&#8217;s generously provided us with the below recipe for Amazonic Beans, which you can try preparing at home.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-31841" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Maido-Mitsuharu-Tsumura-beans.jpg" alt="maido-mitsuharu-tsumura-beans" width="752" height="452" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Maido-Mitsuharu-Tsumura-beans.jpg 752w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Maido-Mitsuharu-Tsumura-beans-480x289.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /></p>
<h3>Amazonic Beans</h3>
<p><strong>Serves 4</strong></p>
<h4>Ingredients</h4>
<h5>For beans:</h5>
<p>Avocado Cream 60 gr (RB)<br />
Sauteed beans 60 gr (RB)<br />
Sweet Quince 12 cubed<br />
Grain Soil 8 gr (RB)<br />
Ponzu gel 4 gr (RB)<br />
Crispy Quinoa 12 units (RB)<br />
Sprouts and flowers</p>
<h5>For avocado cream:</h5>
<p>1 Clean avocado<br />
Dashi 80 ml (RB)<br />
Cilantro 8 gr<br />
Salt 4 gr<br />
Juice of 3 lemons</p>
<h5>For Dashi (1/2 litre):</h5>
<p>1/2 Lt. Water<br />
6 gr Kombu<br />
10 gr Katsuobushi</p>
<h5>For sauteed beans:</h5>
<p>Regional cooked beans 60gr<br />
Or any beans you like.<br />
Chopped red onion inbrunoise 8gr<br />
Chopped garlic in brunoise 4 gr<br />
Chopped ginger 4 gr<br />
Sesame oil 20 ml<br />
Salt<br />
Pepper</p>
<h5>For the Sweet Quince:</h5>
<p>Quince 200 gr<br />
White sugar 100 gr<br />
Cinnamon 2 gr<br />
Water 200 ml</p>
<h5>For the Grain Soil:</h5>
<p>Ground coffee 35 gr<br />
Honey 50 gr<br />
flour 20 gr<br />
Unsalted butter 15 gr</p>
<h5>Ponzu Gel (250 gr):</h5>
<p>Ponzu 250 ml<br />
Xantana 2 gr</p>
<p>Crispy Quinoa (20 units )<br />
Black Quinoa 50 gr</p>
<h4>Instructions</h4>
<h5>For Avocado Cream:</h5>
<p>In a blender add all the ingredients and process until you get a smooth cream. Reserve cold.</p>
<h5>For Dashi:</h5>
<p>Hydrate the kombu in water for 12 hours. In a saucepan place the water with kombu to medium heat until it reaches 80 degrees C° and after reaching this temperature add the katsuobushi and put out the fire. Leave to infuse for 20 minutes with the lid on. After 20 minutes, strain with a thin gauze to prevent remains.</p>
<h5>For Sauteed Beans:</h5>
<p>In a pan saute the garlic with the onion, the ginger and the cooked beans for about 2 minutes and season with salt and pepper, add the sesame oil and put out the fire. Reserve cold.</p>
<h5>For the Sweet Quince:</h5>
<p>Clean the quince and cut into 1-cm cubes, with the excess of quince make an infusion with cinnamon and reserve. In a pan make a syrup with water and sugar and add the cubes of quince with the previous infusion and cook for 3 minutes. Reserve cold.</p>
<h5>For the Grain Soil:</h5>
<p>Temper the butter. Crush the Chulpi corn until obtain a kind of coarse ground. In a bowl mix all ingredients until you have a kind of dough. Spread the dough on a plate and bake at 150 degrees C. for 10 minutes. Remove, let cool and keep in a sealed container.</p>
<h5>For the Ponzu gel:</h5>
<p>With a mixer blend the ingredients until the Ponzu take gel texture. Reserve cold.</p>
<h5>For the Crispy Quinoa:</h5>
<p>In a blender place the Quinoa with little water and blend until completely ground, place the mixture in a pan and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Roll out the mixture on a Silpat , try to stretch as thin as possible and bake at 120 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Reserve in a dry place.</p>
<p>In a cold dish place as a base a line of avocado cream. On top of the avocado cream place the sauteed beans simulating a kind of garden. Embed the crispy quinoa on the avocado and placed the quince´s cubes. Finish the plating putting Ponzu gel drops and grain soil and decorate with flowers and sprouts.</p>
<p>Serve cold.</p>


At Lima's Maido Restaurant,<br> a Nikkei with a Knife <br>– and a Vision

<h3 class="List_0020Paragraph"><span class="List_0020Paragraph__Char">Plaza de Armas</span></h3>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char">Pictured here and in the banner above, the Plaza in Cusco was the centre of the Incan Empire.</span></p>
<p class="Normal"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-31139" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-Plaza-De-Armas-1.jpg" alt="Things-to-do-in-Cusco-Plaza-De-Armas (1)" width="752" height="450" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-Plaza-De-Armas-1.jpg 752w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-Plaza-De-Armas-1-480x287.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /></p>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char">Here administrative, military, and political decisions were made. In its heyday the plaza was double its current size, though today it is the bustling centre of modern Cusco. </span></p>
<h5 class="List_0020Paragraph"></h5>
<figure id="attachment_31135" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31135" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-31135" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-Plaza-De-Armas-450x300.jpg" alt="Things to do in Cusco Iglesia La Compania de Jesus" width="400" height="267" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-Plaza-De-Armas-450x300.jpg 450w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-Plaza-De-Armas.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-31135" class="wp-caption-text">Iglesia La Compania de Jesus</figcaption></figure>
<h5 class="List_0020Paragraph"><span class="List_0020Paragraph__Char">Iglesia La Compania de Jesus</span></h5>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char">A 16<span class="Normal__Char">thC</span> historical church located on the other side of the Plaza de Armas, this church rivals the Cusco Cathedral in terms of prominence in Plaza de Armas.</span></p>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char">It is a marriage of Incan and Baroque architecture. Featuring the largest altar in Peru, it also houses several notable paintings.</span></p>
<h5 class="List_0020Paragraph"><span class="List_0020Paragraph__Char">Cusco Cathedral</span></h5>
<p class="List_0020Paragraph"><strong>aka Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin</strong></p>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char">Located in the centre of Cusco at the Plaza de Armas, this cathedral took almost 100 years to complete. </span>Since its completion in 1654 it has received minor Basilica Status and was designated a <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/273" target="_blank">UNESCO World Heritage Site</a> in 1983.</p>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char">The Cathedral now houses a large collection of Cusco’s colonial art, relics, and archeological pieces.</span></p>
<h3 class="List_0020Paragraph"><span class="List_0020Paragraph__Char">San Blas</span></h3>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-31143" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-San-Blas-400x300.jpg" alt="Things-to-do-in-Cusco-San-Blas" width="400" height="300" />North of the Plaza de Armas, San Blas is one of Cusco’s most picturesque neighbourhoods.</span></p>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char">This pedestrian-only area of Cusco is great for exploring the ancient stone streets. A creative hub, be sure to take note of the artist workshops and studios as well.</span></p>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char">Travellers can take the old Incan Road up many steps to ‘great stone street’ and see the famed 12-angled stone, a marvel of stonework set into the best kept Incan walls in Cusco.</span></p>
<h3><span class="List_0020Paragraph__Char">San Francisco</span></h3>
<p>Wander to the Plaza San Francisco and visit the church and monastery, which date back to the 16th and 17th centuries.</p>
<h3><span class="List_0020Paragraph__Char">Santa Catalina Convent</span></h3>
<p>This convent houses a colonial and religious art museum that includes an interesting collection from the Cusco school of paintings. The wall paintings on the first floor are unique to the convent.</p>
<h3 class="List_0020Paragraph"><span class="List_0020Paragraph__Char">San Pedro Market</span></h3>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-31145" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-San-Pedro-Market.jpg" alt="Things-to-do-in-Cusco-San-Pedro-Market" width="400" height="250" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-San-Pedro-Market.jpg 400w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-San-Pedro-Market-250x156.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" />Experience the real people of Cusco and take in their customs in one of the most authentic Peruvian markets.</span></p>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char">Natives to Cusco shop at the San Pedro Market as you can find anything here, from fresh fruits, vegetables, grains and meats, to flowers of every colour and handmade alpaca clothing.</span></p>
<p class="Normal"><span class="Normal__Char">Feeling bold? Pay a visit to the &#8220;magic man&#8221; for some shamanistic ritual items.</span></p>
<h3><span class="List_0020Paragraph__Char">Museo de Historia Regional</span></h3>
<p>This museum houses a great collection of Incan and pre-Incan artifacts. Its second floor houses a collection of the Cuzco School of Colonial Art.</p>
<h3></h3>
<hr />
<h2>Just Outside of Town</h2>
<p>While there&#8217;s plenty of things to do in Cusco itself, those willing to venture outside the city limits can experience a few of the charming and fascinating villages that surround it.</p>
<h3></h3>
<figure id="attachment_31147" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31147" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-31147 size-full" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-andahuaylillas.jpg" alt="Things to do in Cusco Andahuaylillas" width="400" height="350" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-andahuaylillas.jpg 400w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-andahuaylillas-343x300.jpg 343w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-31147" class="wp-caption-text">The chapel in Andahuaylillas</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="List_0020Paragraph__Char">Andahuaylillas</span></h3>
<p>A little further afield (45 km from Cusco), this pretty Andean village is famous for its magnificent 17thC chapel, known as the Capella sixtina del Ande.</p>
<p>Under the auspices of <a href="https://www.wmf.org/project/san-pedro-ap%C3%B3stol-de-andahuaylillas-church" target="_blank">the World Monuments Fund</a>, the church is not always open, but the caretaker will open it for you; if you cannot find him, the town itself is worth a visit.</p>
<h3><span class="List_0020Paragraph__Char">Pikillacta &amp; Rumicolca</span></h3>
<p>Pikillacta is a pre-Incan Wari settlement 30 km (19 mi.) south of Cusco that dates back to the 11th century. The Incas built the gate of Rumicolca on top of another Wari structure just one kilometre away, and the contrast between the two is worth seeing.</p>
<h3><span class="List_0020Paragraph__Char">Tipon</span></h3>
<p>This is a magnificent series of water canals and Incan terraces located in the south-eastern Cusco Valley, approximately 25 km (16 mi.) from Cusco proper.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-31149" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-Tipon.jpg" alt="Things-to-do-in-Cusco-Tipon" width="752" height="220" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-Tipon.jpg 752w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Things-to-do-in-Cusco-Tipon-480x140.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px" /></p>
<hr />
<h2>And a Few Reminders&#8230;</h2>
<p>Though a beautiful town, Cusco has a reputation for pickpockets, so please be careful. It is best to carry valuables in front of you, not on your back, and watch your pockets.</p>
<p>Also note that Cusco&#8217;s charming cobblestoned streets are best traversed in comfortable shoes like runners or hikers.</p>


<span>Insider's Guide:</span><br> 13 Things to Do in<br> (and around) Cusco

In Pictures

<span>In Pictures:</span><br> My Week in Peru 

Animals

Boats

Trip Tales

<h2>Wildlife as Unique as The Islands Themselves</h2>
<p>All of the islands in the Galápagos are unique, differing in landscape, plant life, and animals. Most islands have species and foliage that are exclusive to that particular island and not found anywhere else on earth. Animals in the Galápagos do not fear humans, which at first is hard to wrap your head around. But with few predators on the islands, the animals live in leisure.</p>
<p>They are fascinating creatures, living in perfect harmony, and are ever-evolving and making use of what each island offers. For example, on Isabela you&#8217;ll see sea lions napping on (yes, literally <em>on</em>!) marine iguanas, both of them living alongside crabs, cormorants, Galápagos penguins and blue footed boobies.</p>
<figure id="attachment_24760" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-24760" style="width: 960px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-24760 size-large" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Sea-Lion-new-blog-960x400.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="400" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Sea-Lion-new-blog.jpg 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Sea-Lion-new-blog-480x200.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-24760" class="wp-caption-text"><em>On Isabela, sea lions and iguanas get along so well, they use each other as pillows!</em></figcaption></figure>
<p>San Cristóbal, meanwhile, features thundering mountains built up by years of volcanic ash on one side of the island, and the most picture-perfect, sea lion-clad beaches on the opposite side. There are islands like Floreana, whose waters are so crystal clear that you can see sharks, sea turtles and rays swimming in the bay from atop the Baroness’s lookout, and later snorkel with playful groups of sea lions at Post Office Bay.</p>
<p>The enchanted isles are just that, a safe haven for all those who live and visit the Galápagos. While I may have been amiss thinking that I had landed on Mars, the Galápagos does feel like a fantasy land, but not another planet exactly—more like Eden. They are like no other place on earth, and I hope it remains this way forever.</p>


<p>As I was whisked away from the airport and onto the ferry to the mainland of <a href="http://www.galapagos.org/about_galapagos/santa-cruz/" target="_blank">Santa Cruz</a>, I could not believe my eyes. Simply staring off into the sea offered a plethora of magnificent hues of blues and aquamarines, the colours so vivid I felt as if there were an assault on my senses, as though it couldn’t possibly be real. Multicoloured crabs could be seen holding onto black lava rocks basking in the sun. The water was so clear, you could see small schools of fish flittering through the current in unison.</p>
<p>By the time I reached Santa Cruz, I was in awe of the seemingly endless and untouched vegetation, so lush and green as far as the eye could see. And just as I was taking all of this in with splendor, my driver suddenly pulled over our car and exclaimed “galápago!” To my astonishment, there snacking on the flourishing landscape without a care in the world, were the first giant tortoises I had ever seen. The size and magnitude of these reptiles in person is unbelievable. With some weighing up to 600 lb, four feet in length and living for 100 years on average, the giant tortoise truly is an evolutionary feast for the eyes.</p>
<figure id="attachment_23122" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23122" style="width: 605px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-23122" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Pikaia.jpg" alt="Pikaia" width="605" height="200" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Pikaia.jpg 625w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Pikaia-320x105.jpg 320w" sizes="(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-23122" class="wp-caption-text">When I first approached the Pikaia Lodge, I felt like a Bond girl in a 007 movie.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Following the tortoise pit stop, we carried on driving around the island, through Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the Galápagos Islands, and onto my place of residence for the next few days, <a title="Pikaia Lodge" href="http://www.pikaialodgegalapagos.com/" target="_blank">Pikaia Lodge</a>. I had seen the photos and researched the property I would be staying at, however, as we pulled up towards the hotel, I felt like I was entering a James Bond film in the role of a Bond Girl &#8211; damsel in distress on her way to the villain’s headquarters. An architectural masterpiece, this ecofriendly accommodation astounds all those who enter its gates. Boasting arguably the best views in Santa Cruz, its own private yacht for excursions, contemporary but environmental designs and fabulous food, Pikaia Lodge impresses.</p>
<h4>Read More</h4>
<p>After being blown away by Pikaia, I set off for a boat tour of the islands. <a href="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/2015/04/28/a-boat-cruise-around-the-galapagos-islands/" target="_blank"><strong>Read all about it here!</strong></a></p>


<span>An Escape to Eden:</span><br> My Week in the <br>Galápagos Islands

History

<h5>The Road System</h5>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22094" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Inca_roads.jpg" alt="Inca_roads" width="625" height="280" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Inca_roads.jpg 625w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Inca_roads-320x143.jpg 320w" sizes="(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px" /> The road system that linked the empire together was quite impressive in itself. It is said that the empire encompassed over 30,000 km (20,000 mi.) of roads! This oft-traversed road system still exists and winds through the countries of Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina linking them together in antiquity. In 2014, <a title="BBC.com" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27958466" target="_blank">the road system was named a UNESCO heritage site</a>, raising awareness to the complexity of its design and how it functioned as the life force behind the Inca empire.</p>
<p>Today certain sections of the road system have been paved over for modern transportation while other parts are still well trodden by <em>campesinos</em>, donkeys, horses and pedestrians—only slightly different from the traders, soldiers and runners of days past.</p>
<figure id="attachment_22093" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-22093" style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-22093" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/554px-Brooklyn_Museum_-_Viracocha_Eighth_Inca_1_of_14_Portraits_of_Inca_Kings_-_overall-295x320.jpg" alt="The Inca god Viracocha." width="160" height="173" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/554px-Brooklyn_Museum_-_Viracocha_Eighth_Inca_1_of_14_Portraits_of_Inca_Kings_-_overall-295x320.jpg 295w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/554px-Brooklyn_Museum_-_Viracocha_Eighth_Inca_1_of_14_Portraits_of_Inca_Kings_-_overall.jpg 554w" sizes="(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-22093" class="wp-caption-text">The Inca god Viracocha.</figcaption></figure>
<h5>Gods and Deities</h5>
<p>The Inca worshipped a variety of gods who represented different elements of nature. The main deities were the Viracocha (the sun and creator), Pachamama (the earth mother), thunder, lightning, the rainbow and the Pleiades.</p>
<p>Even to this day, campesinos will drip a few drops of the beverage they are drinking onto the ground for Pachamama.</p>


Experiential Travel

Insider's Guide to Quito

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

<h5>Museo Nacional de Banco Central del Ecuador</h5>
<p>This museum displays Ecuador’s largest art collection from pre-hispanic to contemporary. The gold and pre-colombian art rooms are a highlight.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20764" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20764" style="width: 320px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-20764" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/08-320x231.jpg" alt="Things to do in Quito " width="320" height="231" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/08-320x231.jpg 320w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/08.jpg 700w" sizes="(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20764" class="wp-caption-text">Artist Oswaldo Guayasamin in front of his 1985 work, Rios de Sangre.</figcaption></figure>
<h5>Fundacion Guayasamin</h5>
<p><a title="Fundacion Guayasamin" href="http://www.guayasamin.org/index.php" target="_blank">This powerful museum</a> displays the works and art collection of Ecuador’s most famous artist, Oswaldo Guayasamin. The museum also displays more than 4500 pre-Colombian pieces. If you’re into impressionism and would like to see the artist’s most important paintings, you should not miss the Capilla del hombre, a five-minute cab ride away from the museum.</p>
<h5>Casa Museo Maria Augusta Urrutia</h5>
<p>Located in the old town, this Spanish-style mansion gives modern-day visitors a chance to envision what it was like to live in Quito during the 19th century.</p>
<h5>Museo de arte colonial</h5>
<p>The museum houses the country’s best collection of colonial art and the visit will confirm that Ecuador once gave birth to the new world’s best artists. Don’t miss the sculptures and paintings of the Quito School.</p>
<h5>Parque Carolina</h5>
<p>The botanical garden is worth a visit if you’re interested to learn more about Ecuador’s plants and trees. Don’t forget to check out the greenhouse and its 1000 orchid species.</p>
<figure id="attachment_20767" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20767" style="width: 320px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-20767" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Teleferico_de_quito23-320x152.jpg" alt="Things to do in Quito" width="320" height="152" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Teleferico_de_quito23-320x152.jpg 320w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Teleferico_de_quito23.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20767" class="wp-caption-text">The TelefériQo cable car.</figcaption></figure>
<h5>The TelefériQo</h5>
<p>Quito’s cable car takes you up to the base of the Pichincha volcano (4,053 m/13,300 ft.) where you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the city and its surrounding Andean peaks. Those not affected by the altitude can opt for a hike to the peak (4,785 m/15,700 ft.), or head back to the base to visit the amusement park.</p>
<h4>A Few Words of Advice</h4>
<p>Quito sits at an altitude of over 2,700 m (9,000 ft.) above Sea level. This is by no means extreme, but as you may already be tired from your flight, we suggest you take the time to acclimatize when you arrive. Relax and keep hydrated.</p>
<p>Quito is a safe city, but like most large cities, it is not advisable to wander the streets at night. A taxi is the best way to get around at night, and the concierge will be happy to call one for you. Taxis are cheap, and getting pretty much anywhere in the city will cost between US$4.00-$8.00.</p>


<span>Insider's Guide:</span><br> Things To Do in Quito

<h2>Sea Lions</h2>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-25150 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Sea-Lion_new.jpg" alt="Sea-Lion_new" width="960" height="650" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Sea-Lion_new.jpg 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Sea-Lion_new-443x300.jpg 443w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Sea-Lion_new-886x600.jpg 886w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></p>
<p>They may be named after lions, but these guys probably have more in common with your family dog than the king of the jungle. Known as the islands&#8217; &#8220;welcoming party,&#8221; sea lions can often be found sunbathing on the shore (though I sometimes worry they&#8217;re not using enough SPF) and have a playful nature that makes them a hit with travellers.</p>
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<h2>Giant Tortoises</h2>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-25151 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Tortoise_new.jpg" alt="Tortoise_new" width="960" height="650" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Tortoise_new.jpg 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Tortoise_new-443x300.jpg 443w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Tortoise_new-886x600.jpg 886w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></p>
<p>If you haven&#8217;t seen them in person, believe me: &#8220;giant&#8221; is an apt name for these behemoths, which can weigh nearly 900 lb and reach lengths of 5&#8217;9&#8243;! Their historical importance looms perhaps even larger: Darwin&#8217;s observation of differences between highland and lowland species helped him develop his theory of evolution.</p>
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<h2>Penguins</h2>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-25152 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Penguin_new.jpg" alt="Penguin_new" width="960" height="650" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Penguin_new.jpg 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Penguin_new-443x300.jpg 443w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Penguin_new-886x600.jpg 886w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></p>
<p>The best-dressed bird in the biz isn&#8217;t exclusive to arctic climates. A cousin of South Africa&#8217;s banded penguins, Galapagos penguins are the only breed to live above the equator. They&#8217;re able to survive there thanks to the cool temperatures brought in by ocean currents.</p>


<span>5 Must-See</span><br> Galapagos Animals 

<h4>Embellishment and Controversy</h4>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-42596" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Machu-Picchu-bingham-2.jpg" alt="" width="380" height="280" />Bingham proved to be a better storyteller than explorer, heartily embellishing the tale of Machu Picchu&#8217;s discovery.</p>
<p>For instance, his telling of the story would have his readers believe that he had explicitly been searching for Machu Picchu, discovering it thanks to a great effort on his part. He described a harrowing journey that required trekking through thick jungle brush and ended with the discovery of the long-sought after ruins, which he described as being shrouded in dense vegetation.</p>
<p>But Bingham&#8217;s flair for embellishment was later revealed when his son, Alfred,<a href="https://www.americanheritage.com/content/raiders-lost-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> found letters that Bingham had written to his wife</a> shortly after the discovery in 1911.</p>
<p>In them, Bingham contradicts much of what he would later publish, telling her that the path to Machu Picchu was in fact a modern road system (which were common in the Inca Empire) not far from a populated farming region– a stark contrast from the difficult journey to a remote and isolated location, as he described it to the world.</p>
<p>Alfred also uncovered photos that further refuted his father&#8217;s famous account, which clearly show that the ruins were clear and open, not covered in vegetation as Bingham had said.</p>
<h4>Clouded in Mystery</h4>
<p>The cloud of mystery behind the site is one of the main reasons that it has survived in this preserved state for so many years.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-42593" src="https://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Machu-Picchu-clouds.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="467" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Machu-Picchu-clouds.jpg 1200w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Machu-Picchu-clouds-480x187.jpg 480w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Machu-Picchu-clouds-768x299.jpg 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Machu-Picchu-clouds-960x374.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></p>
<p>Most of what we know about the Inca culture owes to the Spanish conquerors of the period who documented and wrote about their findings. However, there were no writings addressing Machu Picchu, for the simple reason that the Spanish were not aware of its existence.</p>
<p>Today, what we know about Machu Picchu has been aggregated from the events of the époque and combined with experts’ interpretations of the different functions of the structures that make up the site.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


The Mysterious Origins of Machu Picchu

Cities

Cusco

In Deep

<h4>&#8220;Magnificent, but Unforgivable&#8221;</h4>
<p>In the 1920s it was the Andean capital for arts and culture, with bob-top haircuts and jazz music, tennis clubs, and pisco sours served on verandas throughout the town; its unique blend of European and Andean cultures found a home in the valley. You can still see remnants of this mix in paintings of the Last Supper hung high in the cathedrals, which feature images of the apostles dining on <em>cuy</em> or Guinea pig, a local delicacy.</p>
<p>Today’s Cuzco is thus a fascinating blend of two opposing forces. Christopher Isherwood described it best in his 1948 book <em>The Condor and the Cow</em>, “What remains with you is the sense of a great outrage, magnificent but unforgivable. The Spaniards tore down the Inca temples and grafted splendid churches and mansions onto their foundations. This is one of the most beautiful monuments to bigotry and sheer stupid brutality in the whole world.”</p>
<h4>Sacsayhuaman</h4>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-25509" src="http://stag.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Sacsayhuaman-new-blog.jpg" alt="Sacsayhuaman-new-blog" width="960" height="600" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Sacsayhuaman-new-blog.jpg 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Sacsayhuaman-new-blog-250x156.jpg 250w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Sacsayhuaman-new-blog-480x300.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></p>
<p>Like most Incan sites, Sacsayhuaman (pronounced, I swear, &#8220;saxy woman&#8221;) remains something of a mystery to archaeologists. Though the Spanish referred to it as a fortress—and it was in fact used as a fortress when Manco Inca tried to win back the freedom of his people—recent research indicates that it may have been a temple in earlier times. Whatever its function, it certainly must have communicated the power and grandiosity of the Incan people to all its visitors.</p>
<p>Even today, one cannot help but feel awestruck by the precision with which the enormous stones were fit together along its zigzagging walls.</p>


<span>In Deep:</span><br> Cuzco 

Columnists

How The Galapagos Islands Are Changing

Regional Delicacies

<h2>A Recipe for Ceviche</h2>
<h5><a href="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/2013/08/28/ceviche-mysterious-origins-diverse-flavour/ceviche_sized/" rel="attachment wp-att-14687"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-14687" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ceviche_sized-320x320.jpg" alt="Ceviche" width="320" height="320" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ceviche_sized-320x320.jpg 320w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ceviche_sized.jpg 424w" sizes="(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px" /></a>Ingredients</h5>
<p>1 pound snapper fillets<br />
12 lemons, juiced<br />
1 large diced onion<br />
2 finely chopped red chilies<br />
3 Tbsp chopped coriander<br />
1/2 cup popped corn<br />
Salt and pepper</p>
<h5>Instructions</h5>
<p>Place the fish into a large glass bowl and pour the lemon juice over the fish. Stir in the onion, chilies and seasonings. Leave in the refrigerator for 4 hours and serve chilled with popped corn on side.</p>
<p>*<em>The Empire Strike Back</em>, obviously.</p>


<span>Ceviche:</span><br> Mysterious Origins, <br>Diverse Flavour

Know Before You Go

<h3>Peru with B&amp;R</h3>
<p><strong>I know B&amp;R offers <a title="Peru Trips " href="http://www.butterfield.com/where-we-go/latin-america/peru/" target="_blank"><strong>a collection of trips in Peru</strong></a>. What can I expect to see when I travel to Peru with B&amp;R?</strong><br />
If I just said &#8220;everything,&#8221; I wouldn&#8217;t be far off. We hike along Inca trails through a lush valley, contemplating locals working in their corn and potato fields. We get active, with activities like horseback riding, and relaxed, chilling in a spa. We explore ancient ruins both famous and lesser known, walk through gorgeous ancient salt mines, admire the jungle (orchids!) while hiking our way to Machu Picchu and we stroll down the lively streets of Cusco.</p>
<p><strong><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-10974 alignleft" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Peru_inset-212x320.jpg" alt="Peru Travel Tips" width="212" height="320" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Peru_inset-212x320.jpg 212w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Peru_inset.jpg 424w" sizes="(max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px" />How vigorous is the walking?</strong><br />
The hike to Machu Picchu can be challenging, as can the hike to Pumamarca and to the top of Machu Picchu Mountain. The other walks on our itineraries are moderate and you can often choose either the longer or shorter option based on your ability. However, you may find that the effects of the altitude make the walks take longer than they normally would. You&#8217;ll also have stairs or steps to contend with on many hikes.</p>
<p><strong>What should I pack?</strong><br />
Bring appropriate clothing! Climate varies from very cool evenings in the altiplano to quite warm and moist near Machu Picchu. You&#8217;ll want everything from light cotton, shorts and hiking pants, to warm layers (fleece, hat and gloves) and rain gear, along with a comfortable pair of hiking shoes. A hat for the sun and bug spray are also helpful. Our trips are casual. You can bring something nice if you&#8217;d like for first and final nights, but anything too fancy may make you feel out of place.</p>
<p>According to <a title="Peru Rail's Luggage Policy " href="http://www.perurail.com/tickets_baggage.php" target="_blank">Peru Rail&#8217;s luggage policy</a>, on the train to Machu Picchu each traveller can only bring one small backpack and one piece of hand luggage no bigger than 157 cm (62 inches) in length, weight and width and weighing less than 5 kg (11 pounds). The size is similar to the handbags we are allowed to bring on planes. So, travellers will need luggage that fits those parameters for the portion of the trip that goes to Machu Picchu.</p>


<span>Know Before You Go:</span><br> Peru Travel Tips

Our Friends

Chef Q&amp;A

Cuisine

Profiles

<p><strong>How has this diverse travel experience influenced you as a chef?</strong><br />
It’s given me a broader “colour palette” to paint with… or in my case, cook with. I’ve seen so many flavours and ways of combining them that it makes it more fun for me in the moment I have to create and cook a recipe. Also I’ve been in different kinds of kitchens with different traditions and different people; each place, each person I’ve met has given me something that has led to the way I enjoy expressing myself by cooking.</p>
<p><strong>As a chef, how would you describe yourself, your methods and your cooking philosophy?</strong><br />
I cook in a mindful (conscious) way: being one with my breathing and one with the act of cooking. For me it goes beyond satisfying the taste buds. My aim is to bring pleasure, but also well-being. I cook as well in accordance with the <a title="Slow Food" href="http://www.slowfood.com/" target="_blank">Slow Food movement</a>, I like to use traditional methods. I like to be in touch with the land, grow the food I cook and eat in an organic way, and I like to be in contact with the caretakers who grow food. I use organic and sustainable products as much as I can. The food I prepare is mainly seasonal and not only tastes good, but is deliciously healthy. I believe what Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine thy food.”</p>
<figure id="attachment_8400" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8400" style="width: 195px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Brisa3.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-8400 " src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Brisa3.jpg" alt="Brisa Deneumostier" width="195" height="274" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-8400" class="wp-caption-text">Brisa embraces Peru&#8217;s natural splendour in both her life and her cooking.</figcaption></figure>
<p><strong>Let&#8217;s talk about Peruvian cuisine. What defines it?<br />
</strong>Peru’s geography makes this place a paradise of biodiversity. Such a variety of products come from the coast, the Andes and the Amazon, providing regional cuisines from different areas of Peru. These days more of our ingredients are being recognized abroad, like the Andean grains (quinua, kiwicha and cañihua) and more varieties of our potatoes, of which there are thousands, along with organic cacao and coffee. Our ceviche is the dish most known abroad and the dish Peruvians feel most proud of, but I must say that the ceviche we eat today is the result of more than 500 years of fusion between different cultures in Peru, which is manifested as well in our gastronomy, which has influences from Spanish, Moorish, African, Chinese and Japanese traditions.</p>
<p><strong>As a chef, how do you apply your own unique spin or interpretation to Peruvian food?</strong><br />
I use as many organic and sustainable products as I can and use a variety of Peruvian ingredients, including aromatic and medicinal herbs and plants, which add tasty flavours as well to food. Some wild edible ingredients will be foraged nearby, depending on the year and where I’ll cook. The methods of cooking and the way of combining food will be always done in a mindful way, using as inspiration the methods I’ve seen in different parts of Peru and the world.</p>


Blog posts by Veronika Macas