Adventure Trek to Lomas de Lachay

Lomas de Lachay is located just outside the Pan-American Highway (Carretera Panamericana) North Km. 105 and is a place that I would recommend to anyone.  Here is my adventure and some advice for anyone who reads this:

First of all Lomas de Lachay was made a national reservation on the 21st 1977 and this reserve is located in the region of Lima and the province of Huaura. It expands across an area of 52,070 hectares. The best season to visit the place is in winter, between July and November because the humid season is notable for its green hills and vegetation which creates more wildlife especially birds and insects. , this mostly due to the sea air currents that create humidity, 100 % in winter with frequent showers however, during the dry season humidity is less 79 % in summer and precipitation is very rare making this place baron and brown.

Carica candicans

 Here you will find 74 plant species registered, among them 25 are on their way to extinction. Among the most notable, you will find the Peruvian papaya (Carica candicans),  (Capparis prisca), (Caesalpinia tinctoria) and the nettle (Loasa urens), which cover the reserve with yellow attractive flowers. Also, you can observe numerous gramineous, tillandsias and succulents.

The common mammals found here are the rodents, but you can also find other species like the Sechuran Zorro(fox) (Pseudalopex sechurae), the Andean Skunk (Conepatus rex), the mountain mouse (Phyllotis spp.) and the vizcacha (Lagidium peruanum).

Throughout the reserve there exists approximately 55 bird species pertaining to 16 families, among them are: the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia), the Andean Tinamou (Nothoprocta pentlandii), the American Krestrel (Falco sparverius peruvianus) and diverse species of hummingbirds.

Among the most notorious reptiles, you can observe the peruvian snake (Bothrops pictus) and the Curl Tail Lizard (Tropidurus sp.). There are also many arthropods.

You may get to this location through tour guides but be careful when I a booked a tour to this place the company was unreliable and cancelled the bus at the last moment. Just to let you know and don't get scammed byt them here is the name and link of the company:

HD Travel Peru, I got to know about then through the website OferTop (a website you can buy tickets for short trips and some other goods, I don't know about the web site but this company shouldn't be offering a service they won't complete, a company like this give you a bad  image of honest Peruvians) 

Ok, let's continue xD hehehe I got a bit emotional ... Now you can make your own way there and it is pretty straight forward and can be an adventure.

I would recommend that you travel to the street called Jr. Sandia and look for the company called “Empresa de Transportes San Martín de Porres” it is a small bus company that goes all the way to Huacho, there is only one bus fare from Lima either to Chancay or Huacho (S/.12.00 soles). Remember to ask the travel assistant on the bus to tell you when you reach km 105 because Huacho is past Lomas de Lachay, to get to this location from Lima is about 2 to 3 hours.

Part of the entrance...still not in the main place

When you get off the bus you will find yourself in the middle of the desert there are buses that are running to Lomas De Lachay and if you are lucky like I was you can hitchhike on one of these buses to the entrance if not you may find yourself walking for a good 1 to 2 hours to the entrance.  

The entrance is mark with a small cabin and you can see the Peruvian flag waving there, there will be a park warden there who will sell you the tickets, the price for entrance is S/.10.00 soles per a person and it is cheaper for children (S/.3.00 soles) and elderly people (free ticket).

My 5 tickets for me and the family, also they provide you  a brochure with info about the place

OK so now you have your ticket but guess what? This is not really where the trek begins if you don’t have transport you will have to walk for a further 40 minutes till you reach the visitors centre. In my opinion it is a much better option to walk, you get to see soo much more and can take a lot more pictures to.

Remember to vigilant when walking as there are many vehicles that pass, just move to the side and let them pass and you shall be fine.

When you reach the visitors centre another park warden will be there and he or she will inform you about the different routes there is. 

There are two main routes the “The Circuit of the Fox” this will take you approximately 20 mins to complete and then you have “The Circuit of the Piquial” which can take up to 2 hours to complete both connect so you can complete both in the same walk if you wish.

 The routes are lined with signs to guide you through but be careful over time people who have the tendencies to be lazy have carved short-cuts that sometimes can be a bad idea to follow as I found out.

The paths can be rough to walk on so bring good walking boots as there are holes, uneven ground and steep winding paths up the mountain side. As I mention one such shortcut I took, took me up a steep part of the mountain and it became soo steep and hard to climb I had to stabilize myself my climbing up on all fours, this was hard but I must admit it was fun.

When you reach the top of the mountain you can really appreciate the breath taking view of the landscape around you, the green valleys below and in the distant you can see the harsh desert sands and the sea.  The sun can be harsh here and if you are like me who roasts under the sun then bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen; I made the mistake of not doing this and paid a high price. I am now the colour of freshly cooked lobster hahaah. 

When looking down on the valleys you may see some structures, these structures are from the Pre-Columbian cultures. At the same time, you can appreciate the huge granite and diorite rocks which have worn away over time leaving concavities and soft contours.

This one reminds me of  Hancock and the heart logo Will Smith makes in the moon

Regarding animals and insects you may not find many depending on the season and due to the amount of people most of the animals go into hiding however, you may see a lot of snails and bird and oh if you dislike wasps then be warned this can be seen and heard flying around for most of the trek. (Pictures are at the beginning of this article) 

Finally you will start to climb back down but be careful as some paths as mentioned before can be difficult at the bottom you can buy yourself  something to eat at the café that is located there.

Again, if you are like me who did not bring transportation you will have to walk all the way back to the highway this is very tough especially if you are tired and then faced with a long walk under the sun but I truly enjoyed it and always love to face a good walk with good spirit. 

When you reach the highway there is neither an official bus stop nor a place to catch the bus so just take care when crossing the road and when you make it to the other side just wave down a bus that comes by and ask if they will take you to Lima, the cost once again is about 12 soles. Another important note to remember is that not all buses will stop especially buses from large well-known companies such as Cruz Del Sur, Exclusiva and Tepsa but buses like Z Bus and Barranca Tours are more likely to pull over for you. 

All in all this place is truly a wonderful site to visit and we all should do our best to look after it, if you see some litter on the way it would be a nice gesture to pick it up and place it in the bin that are on the route. If you travel here and find something new or a new route lets us know and once again sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat and good boots are essential. 

I really hope you've enjoyed reading my experience and now you are ready to live yours!

Tacna: Battle of Alliance Heights

Alliance Heights (Tacna)

Why the 28th of August is important to Peru:

The War of the Pacific was a brutal campaign and was fought by Chile, Peru and Bolivia in 1879 to 1883 and this war started over many issues but tensions spiraled out of control over sodium nitrate deposits, an important mineral that was important in trade, and a the Antofagasta region that was once part of Bolivia contained a large deposit of sodium nitrate. 

Now there was always some disagreement with the boarders between the countries that would eventually fight but another important element in this was tax especially between Bolivia and Chile on the mines that existed in the region. Tensions only increased in the region as in 1873 Peru and Bolivia signed a secret alliance and Chile was only informed by Argentina who got to know about this because Peru and Bolivia offered them to join this alliance however, they never joined. The amounting tensions eventually lead to the occupation of Antofagasta by Chilean forces in 1878 and this lead to diplomatic talks that failed completely between the countries, the secret alliance then would mean Peru would have to defend its ally Bolivia in the event of war, Chile advised Peru to remain neutral but Peru honoured the alliance and refused. 

At the early stages of the war it seemed the conditions were favourable to Peru and Bolivia and they won a string of victories however, due to many factors like politics and outside intervention especially with financial help (weapons and money was sent from Europe to Chile) Peru and Bolivia were eventually pushed back. The first major defeat was the Battle of Arica and Tacna in 1880 which also ended the involvement of Bolivia for the remainder of the war.

Peru continued to fight and refused surrender but resistance was often futile often poorly equipped soldiers and poorly maintained weapons were used against the highly trained and well equipped soldiers of Chile. Bolivia also encouraged Peru to fight even though the Bolivian army was now incapable of fighting at this point and the country was facing financial ruin.

The next major defeats for Peru were the loss of Chorrillos and Miraflores some of the last lines of defense and on January 17, 1881 the Chilean army entered Lima and occupied it. Fighting then took another turn as the fighting then moved into the highlands and became a guerrilla war. In June 1884 the Treaty of Ancón was officially signed and ended the war, the war claimed over 20,000 dead or wounded. 

In this treaty Peru lost Tarapacá to Chile but while Tacna and Arica was occupied by Chile in the treaty these two regions would be given a vote 10 years after the signing of the Treaty of Ancón this however failed due to the fact that neither country could agree on the terms on which the vote would take place until the intervention by the President of the USA Herbert Hoover who oversaw the Treaty of Lima which gave Arica to Chile and Tacna would be given back to Peru.

This was signed on June 3, 1929 over 45 years after the war had ended and Tacna was officially reinstated back to Peru on the 28th of August 1929. So every 28th of August there is a parade in Tacna and the flag of Peru is carried through the streets and to the main square. 

Tacna is seen as a heroic city this is because as many Peruvian would tell you, the fighting spirit they had and the love of their homeland meant they never surrendered to the will of the Chilean forces and always claimed to be Peruvian. 

Now with Bolivia, they lost all access to the sea and now as you can see on the map they are a landlocked country they still dispute the land-sea border to this day. 

You can now visit the Alto de la Alianza monument (Alliance Heights, Tacna) that marks the place of the crucial battle that took place there; there is also a graveyard that is close by where 600 anonymous Peruvian, Bolivian and Chilean soldiers were laid to rest.

El Peruanito, Sangucheria

On the 24th of June I went to the EL Peruanito  (Sandwich restaurant) with my friend Zac, this a restaurant located on Av. Angamos Este 391 – Miraflores ( not to far from ICPNA institute)

This restaurant was created 54 years ago by Mr. Luis Sánchez and his wife Rosario Aguilar.

Since it was open in Miraflores surrounded by foreigners and immigrants (Italians, Chinese, Americans) the owner decided to reaffirm his identity by calling his business: 

"EL PERUANITO" (The Peruvian)

Well, looking at the variety of the menu I eventually chose the Jamon de Pias with a cup of coffee which only cost me S/.13.00 soles. However, they also sell fruit juices and other sandwiches. 

You can also choose what to put on your sandwiches they give you options like lettuce, tomato, onions and a variety of different creams and sauces. 

The sandwiches here and really satisfying and at a good price and the service and atmosphere all help to make it a nice place to sit down and enjoy your breakfast.

Lucuma: Gold of the incas

In Peru you shall find a unique ray of fruits one of such interest is the Pouteria lucuma or Lucuma. This fruit has been known for many years and is also in displayed in some pottery by the Moche who was a civilization in Peru who thrived in 1th century AD but this fruit was not known to Europeans till 1531.

During the prehispanic, Lucuma was one of the principal ingredients of their diet along with corn, guayaba, quinua and kiwicha. On the arrival of the Europeans, it was cultivated in the Andean plateau and in southern of Ecuador . In Bolivia they cultivate it in La Paz , in Chile it is mainly grown in the  Region of Coquimbo and in Costa Rica around San Jose , where the migrants introduced in the early twentieth century.

Chocolate Cinnamon Torta with Lucuma Ice Cream and Toasted Corn Praline

Lucuma Mousse with a Passionfruit Reduction

 This fruit is green on the outside and orange on the inside now this fruit is rarely eaten by itself due to the texture and the dryness of the fruit. It is however made into a delicious juices, milkshakes and ice cream which are popular in Peru.

Benefits of Lucuma:

1. High in carotene, which is an antioxidant that rejuvenates and reduces the effect of aging. It’s also great for eyesight.
2. Sweet. It can provide a sweet, unique flavour to foods without causing the spike in blood sugar that most other sweet foods cause.
3. High in iron, which increases energy levels through improving the transportation of oxygen to cells.
4. High in Niacin (Vitamin B3) which is generally found in meat, making Lucuma a great source of Niacin for vegetarians and vegans.
5. High in fibre, therefore assisting the digestive processes.
6. Anti-inflammatory – The State University of New Jersey reported a study that evaluated the anti-inflammatory effect of Lucuma extract on wound healing and skin aging. The study found that Lucuma significantly increased wound closure and promoted tissue regeneration. The report went on to conclude that Lucuma may have anti-inflammatory, anti-aging and skin-repair effects on human skin. Using Lucuma in place of sugar means you reduce your chance of suffering from all the health problems that sugar contributes towards

Taken from: Davinahearne.com

I must admit I never heard of Lucuma in England, but when I first tried I instantly fall in love with the flavour, so if you come to Perú you can't miss this delicious fruit. I would recommend you to try it as ice cream, specially in summer!!

Wonders in the East of Lima

Tourism in the East of Lima is something that you may not hear about all too often and some places are not even explored by many people so here is some places that I think everyone who is looking for some amazing places outside of Miraflores can go to visit:

Marcahuasi is located in Huarochirí, Lima and is a plateau in the Andes Mountains located 4000 meters above sea level which was first investigated by Daniel Ruzo (1900-1991) in the 1950´s. What is unique about this place is the large diorite rocks that appear in humanoid or animal shapes. The most notable ones are “Monument to Humanity" or "Inca Face (Pecca Gasha)" a gigantic mass of granite, from different angles can clearly see several human profiles. Then there are the goddess Thueris, the Anfichelidia, the valley of seals, the African lion, the vicuña and the Toad. 

What origin of these “sculptures” are debated by many people for example scientists believe that they were created through a natural process through erosion and ancient glaciers that once may have been present in that area but others believe that they may have been sculptured by an ancient civilization (The Masma Culture).  The work of Mr. Ruzo is hotly debated and one that I would suggest you have look at; in my opinion it is very interesting.   

When visiting this place many suggest you bring all the supplies you need due to the fact that this place is kind of isolated and getting supplies there would be difficult. 

For more information on how to get there and tourist information visit http://www.marcahuasi.com/index.php this site also offers an English version.

Also located in Huarochirí, Lima is Cañón de Autisha now this amazing place is 170 meters below the ground. 

So if you like to go caving and hiking this is the perfect spot to do it. To explore this place there is a fee of 5 soles for each person before entry. There are many tour agencies that will take you there on a tour or if you are feeling brave you could travel with friend but remember to always be careful. 

Also in the East of Lima you will find a district called Ate a district that is kind of hectic and industrial however here lies some historical gems these include: Monticulos de Huaycán, Huaycán de Pariachi, Quebrada Seca, Gloria Grande and San Juan de Pariachi.

Information on these places can be difficult to find but you may find brief information and the location of these places on the Municipality of Ate. 

The most well know places of Ate when concerning historical and tourist places are places like:

Pictures taken by Lizardo Tavera

Cajamarquilla which lies on the boarder of the San Juan Lurigancho district of Lima. This place is believed to have been occupied by the Wari people around 500 AD who built on an early remains of past settlements. Cajamarquilla had an estimated population of 15,000 and most of the structures that were built here were made of adobe which all formed into a major commercial, administrative and military city. The downfall of this city and the civilizations that occupied it have been associated with climate change and natural disasters especially due to the changes of El Niño. This place is supposed to be protected and is recognized by the Instituto Nacional de Cultura but due to the overpopulation of the area illegal settlements have been built around it and a lot of this historical gem has been destroyed and damaged due to this also due to littering and illegal dumping of waste. 

Another site of interest that lies in Ate is Puruchuco, what can be found here is the remains of a palace and a cemetery. Here archaeologist unearthed over 2200 Inca mummies all buried in the traditional fetal pose and buried along with precious objects like ceramics and food. One amazing findings in this place was the finding of the “Cotton King” "El Rey del Algodón" a body found wrapped up in cotton and who wearing a feather hat, interesting the name Puruchuco is a Quechuan word meaning “feather hat”.

During excavations of this site there was numerous skeletal remains not found in the traditional fetal pose and what may found here is the remains of the Inca people who took part in the Great Inca Rebellion on Lima in 1535. Most of the skeletons were found badly damaged due to the weaponry that the Spaniards carried with them also some had gunshot damage. This really highlighted the violence that these people faced under Spanish conquest.  The Incas ultimately failed to defeat the Spanish and the bodies that were left behind were buried quickly and unceremoniously. 

This site is also another victim of the unyielding population explosion in Lima with vandalism and illegally settlements causing irreparable damaged to the site.

This place is relatively easy to get as it is in a busy part of Ate and most buses will pass by there and there is only a small fee to enter.