Join/
Just Back From
“You’re my first group in almost a year and a half,” our guide Alberth excitedly shared with my family as he greeted us in Cusco with his beaming smile. At every step along our 10-day journey across the Sacred Valley and Peruvian Amazon, locals warmly welcomed us with masks on and arms wide-open, anxiously awaiting the return of tourism. I’ll admit I wasn’t sure whether we were making the right choice to travel to Peru at this moment. It’s no secret that Covid has taken a hard toll on Peru; according to Johns Hopkins University, Peru has had the world’s highest death rate per capita. Vaccination rates have been slow across South America, and our roundtrip flights to and from Lima were packed with so-called "vaccine tourists" to the U.S.. Despite a vaccination rate of only nine percent across the country, Peruvians are very eager for (and in need of) vaccinated visitors to safely bring back their tourism economy, which is down as much as 85 percent according to the government. During the pandemic, many hospitality workers turned to agriculture to support themselves—it takes three months to earn what they once made in one. Wider and more rapid vaccine distribution (and vaccinated tourists) can bring jobs back and jumpstart recovery. As I arrived at JFK airport, masked up with printouts in hand of both my negative PCR test and mandatory Peruvian health affidavit, an LATAM Airlines representative stopped me from entering the check-in line without a face shield. Very luckily, I met a kind fellow traveler, who became my new friend and PPE scalper. During my trip, face shields were required not only on every Peruvian domestic and international flight but also on trains, including the one to Machu Picchu. (The face shield requirement has since been lifted, but in public spaces in cities, masks are still required.)Contact Indagare or your Trip Designer to start planning safe, responsible and meaningful travels to Peru and other destinations—this year and beyond. Our team can match you with the hotels and experiences that are right for you and provide information on travel safety policies and more. Coming from Boston, Los Angeles, and New York, my family and I met in Lima the morning after Peru’s closely contested presidential election, which still remains to be decided. After checking into the beautiful Belmond Miraflores Park overlooking the Pacific, we proceeded to the first lunch seating at Central, ranked sixth on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. For the first hour of our 14-course tasting experience, we had the pleasure of enjoying the entire restaurant to ourselves. This was our first glimpse into the privacy that we’d be so fortunate to experience throughout our time in Peru. From watermelon ceviche to succulent granita, we marveled at Chef Virgilio Martínez’s culinary ride up and down the elevations and ecosystems from the bottom of the Pacific to the heights of the Andes. Central was our first taste of Peru’s uniquely rich connection with nature and culture.After shopping around the bohemian Barranco, we made it to Museo Larco with just enough time to explore before Lima’s curfew of 7:00 p.m. (now relaxed to 11:00 p.m.). A lifelong lover of cultural anthropology, I was ecstatic to see masterpieces from more than 5,000 years of ancient, pre-Columbian societies. But I didn’t expect to see my parents, who never quite caught the same travel bug I have, with cameras glued to their hands, echoing my awe and wonder as we walked through the visible storage rooms, open to the general public, housing 30,000 ancient pottery artifacts. We learned about one of the most integral elements of the Andean cosmovision: the yanantin or significance of duality (male/female, dark/light, inner/outer) and the belief that complementary opposites are essential parts of one harmonious whole. We immediately drew a parallel between yanantin and yin and yang, the almost identical principle from our own Chinese heritage, appreciating how these concepts evolved ancient worlds apart. And as we continued discussing and admiring all the beauty in the galleries, I was so grateful to discover this new culture through my family’s eyes and share my passion with them. Related The Indagare Guide to Travel During Covid
We only feature hotels that we can vouch for first-hand. At many of them, Indagare members receive special amenities.
Get In Touch