This eco-friendly luxury hotel has everything guests could wish for from spectacular scenery to five star cuisine and service. Las Casitas del Colca is composed of individual bungalows with spacious bedrooms, an elegant lounge area with a fireplace, and a dressing area. Beyond this, these 1,200 plus square foot bungalows offer privacy and multiple bathing options for guests to choose from.

One of the highlights of any travel to Peru, the spectacular Colca Canyon, located nearby the beautiful colonial city of Arequipa, is one of the deepest in the world, and twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. Agricultural terraces, majestic condors, traditional villages, lush green peaks towering above await travelers adventurous enough to stray away from the big city. Sports buffs will also revel in the array of activities available in the canyon, including hiking, trekking, horseback riding, and white river rafting on the roaring Colca River.

I was really looking forward to climbing Chachani, as it was a new 6,000-meter mountain for me. When Nathan and I had done a training hike on a low knob on the side of it, we had met a driver who takes climbers to the trailheads, and he had given us the driving instructions. There are two ways to reach the trailhead; one is the rough gravel road between Misti and Chachani, and the other is to take the paved highway that goes towards Chivay and Colca Canyon. The paved road is quite a bit longer, and just beyond passing a toll booth you need to turn right on a gravel road that take you around the backside of Chachani.

Due to the current restrictions on the number of hikers on the classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, there have been a number of new treks being offered in recent years. One of the most common is the Salkantay route, which is usually a four or five day hike to Machu Picchu. Another trek that has become popular recently is the hike to Choquequirao, another set of Inca ruins that, like Machu Picchu, are in the high jungle and have been covered with vegetation, and are now being excavated and restored.

Peru is one of the largest tourism nations in the world. It also does a lot of fishing and mining. The government has protected attractions sites especially the archaeological monuments and encourages ecotourism through the Peruvian Amazon Cultural Tourism. The above cultural program encourages beach tourism and adventure tourism. The industry is growing at an annual rate of 25% and has maintained this steady performance for the last five years. The most popular visitors arrive from United Kingdom, Brazil, Spain, France, United States and other European countries.

This delicious Peruvian recipe for stuffed hot peppers is perhaps one of Peru's most famous dishes. This is a traditional entree from Arequipa, a city in the Andes mountains. You can use meat to stuff it or any other ingredients you want. This recipe takes a bit of time to prepare but once you taste the end flavor you will agree that the effort is worth it and your hard work really pays off. This is a spectacular dish which is colorful, aromatic, and flavorful all at once.

While hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, I briefly met Smiley, a fellow thru-hiker. The following year he sent me an email saying he wanted to come to Southern Peru to climb the Arequipa area mountains, and was looking for a partner. He said he was an experienced climber but didn't want to climb 20,000-foot mountains alone. He also needed transportation, which I could provide. I couldn't remember where we had met, or picture what he looked like, but the name sounded familiar, and after a time of communication we worked out the time and details.