ACTIVITIES IN PERU

Peru – a real paradise for any kind of vacation

Peru and its thousand faces: incredibly beautiful landscapes with a diversity of species in plants and animals, impressing sights from past ages and interesting, still kept traditions of ancient cultures. The vast diversity of natural conditions and different climates provides lots of opportunities for all sorts of adventure sports, attracting sport-enthusiastics from all over the world. Discover all the activities Peru has to offer you!

mountaineering - trekking - climbing - surf - riding - biking - paragliding
sandboarding - rafting - fishing

Nowadays everybody knows about snowboarding, but sandboarding is definitely an exciting activity you should not miss out trying when passing by the dunes around Ica and Nazca!

Ica, Huacachina and Nazca:
Ica and Huacachina, an oasis, are surrounded by huge sand dunes. You can rent sandboards right there at a cheap rate. First you will have to climb up the dunes by foot, but the rewarding part, boarding down the dune, immediately follows after the phyisically demanding ascension. While falling down is not dangerous because of the smooth sand dunes, those who still do not feel safe standing on the board can try sitting on it or even laying on the board. The highest sand dune in the world is located in Nazca. The Cerro Blanco (white hill) rises over 2300 meters, just behind the village.

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Peru, with its uncountable amount of mountain rivers rushing rapidly towards the sea offers great possibilities for practicing white-water rafting. In Peru, there are more than 20 rivers, 600 kilometres in length. The five longest rivers of the country all together have a length of more than 7000 km.

Practising this sport, the passangers cruise white waters while navigating the raft. You can find rapids with severity 1 to 4 on the international scale. It is not possible to manage severity four with common boats, therefore the raft has to be carried. This sports allows turists to get in touch with Perus beautiful landscape in a very special way.

Lunahuana - Tumbes - Ancash - Arequipa - Rainforest

Lunahuaná
One of Peru's most beautiful rafting areas is located only about two and a half hours South of Lima. Surrounded by high mountains, Canete river searches its way to the pacific sea. Rafting tours with a severety from two to four start from Lunahuaná, a small village which is particulary well known for its fruit-growing. The village is located near Panamericana Sur and offers accomodation facilities as well as gastronomy. White-water rafting season begins in October and ends in April. Recommended as breakpoint on a trip to Peru.

Tumbes
The river Tumbes, named like the district that it flows through, progresses with the greatest volume of water of all the Peruvian rivers. White-water rafting facilities are found in the area between Fugeroa and Rica Plaza and rafting reaches severities from two up to four. The rafting season in this area is mainly during the months of May to October.

Ancash
In the Huaylas district, the Rio Santo offers possibilities to practice white-river rafting in the Cordillera Blanca. For a tour with severety two or three, the depature point is between Caraz and Yungay. (Season May to October)

Arequipa
The rapids of Colca river are known as notably difficult and challenging. The Colca river with severities from two up to four, flows through a valley of the same name 300 km North of Arequipa. With a lenghth of about 40 km, the tour between Cabanaconde and Tapay is also recommended for beginners. Tours mostly start in Chivay. Bookable also from Arequipa. White-water rafting season starts in May and ends in October.

Rainforest
Recently opened for tourism use, Mayo and Huallaga, two rivers in the district of San Martin offer white-water rafting facilities from May to October. Tours start in Tarapoto and their rapids go up to severity two or three. Its wilderness and the plentiful volumes of water make Tambopata river the best place for one of the most beautiful white-water rafting tours in Peru. The trip starts in the village of Putina Punku situated at an altitude of 1900 meters and passsing a landscape abundantly covered by tropical rainforest vegetation. It reaches its arrival point in the department of Madre de Dios and is located only at about 200 meters altitude, in the Amazon basin. It is necessary to be well prepared for the seven to twelve days descent with the white-water raft in severity three or four. Parts of the tour lead through untouched regions of wilderness.

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ocean - rivers and lakes

In the ocean
Fishing is commonly practised along the entire shore of Peru. Very popular inshore-fishing is distiguished from off-shore fishing by boat. On the sandy beaches in central and Southern Peru mostly sole, croacker or 'Chita', are fished, while other species of fish, like 'Robalo' or 'Pampanitos' can be found in the North. The steep rugged cliffs also offer the possibility to engage in cliff-fishing, where Chitas, Cabrillas, Cherlos, Tramboyos and Pintatadillas can be caught. Known as 'Muy Muy', little crustaceans living on the beach or snails are used as bait.
There are two different kinds of off-shore fishing commonly practised by boat: Fishing while the boat keeps its position or 'trolling', during which the boat keeps moving. On the central and Southern coast the species mentioned before are fished, while the Northern coast also offers 'Congrio' (conger eel), 'Mero' (goliath crouper) or 'Toyo'. Especially at the Northern coast trolling is in common practice and fishing for tuna or fishes known as 'Cherela', 'Aguijilla', 'Sierra', 'Pluma', 'Perico' or 'Merlin'.

In rivers and lakes
An uncountable amount of rivers, lakes and creeks, most of them situated on an altitude of more than 2500 meters facilitate great fishing possibilities. Also the area of rainforest around the Amazon is also perfectly suited for fishing.
In the Highlands only two different species of fish exist: trout and king fish, both of them brought to the region in the last century. Trout as well as king fish are numerous in clear water with high oxygen concentration, trouts (with red or white meat) especially up to the altitude of 3000 meters and even higher.
Northern Amazon region, near Iquitos and its sorroundings, also provides lots of lakes and rivers for passionate anglers. Species like 'Tucanare', 'Gamitana' and 'Araguana' can be caught here. In certain regions of the Southern Amazon area 'Zugaro', 'Chambira', 'Paco' and 'Doncella' can be found.

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