PERU 2015 | Owainperu2015

Peru is an enormous country, which takes in the Pacific coast, the High Andes and the Amazon basin. The expedition centres mainly on the mountains and the highland communities, and even with just being restricted to these two areas, the distances to travel are huge. There is a wide variety of landscapes in the areas that we will visit. Within the population of Peru there is a great range of cultures. There are the Quechua people, and also the Aymara around Lake Titicaca, and lots of other smaller indigenous groups too.

The preservation of customs and traditions is a matter of pride for many of these communities which is openly displayed in the colourful and elaborate clothes that they wear – a very different world to what we know in our country.

Have a look below for what the expedition holds in store for us:

About Peru

Deserts and canyons

Lakes

Near Arequipa is the desert for dune boarding, and nearby to the project work site, is Colca Canyon – claiming to be the world’s deepest canyon with amazing trekking terrain and for spotting the mighty condor.

There are the vast expanses of the Altiplano as well as Lake Titicaca (the world’s highest navigable lake at 3800m) and its surroundings. There are floating island towns and communities further out on the lake on natural islands which have forged their own path through life over hundreds of years.

Mountains

Weather

And not forgetting the spectacular and breathtaking Machu Picchu. The route we will use to get to the Inca city will be perhaps a little more challenging, but less populated and more remote.

Weather: Altitude has the great influence as far as the weather is concerned. The camps are all fairly high, and above 3000m in the Puno area, so it can be cold, especially at night, warm clothes are needed. However, on the whole it is dry, with Arequipa for example, having almost no annual rainfall. The driest and coolest time in the southern highlands, is during July and August with direct sunshine making it quite warm. The wettest time in this area is December to March.