Have you accumulated vacation time and want to avoid the maddening crowds? Consider planning your Peru trip during the rainy season! The rainy season normally occurs between the months of November and April. It’s true that you’ll want to be prepared to be rained on, however; it doesn’t rain ALL of the time, and there are a few advantages to visiting during these off-season that might persuade you to plan your Peru adventure during those months. Here are five good ones:

1- Fewer People – since the “high season” for tourism in Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu occurs May through August, many of the sites you’ll visit during the off-season will have fewer tourists jostling for the best photo ops. Museums and ruins will have shorter lines; it will be easier to get a table at most of the restaurants, and there will be less competition for getting up close to exhibits and attractions. In fact, things will just generally be more tranquil.

2- Lower Prices – Depending on which hotels you have your eyes on, prices for lodging will likely be lower during the rainy season, as supply exceeds demand. Airline tickets are nearly always less expensive as well, as fewer people travel to Peru during this time. One note – as there are fewer people traveling, there are fewer people to buy souvenirs and go on tours. It’s a wonderfully kind gesture to tip bigger and bargain less this time of the year, since there’s less to go around for those just trying to put food on the table. Your good karma will thank you.

The exception to this rule is the Holiday season, between December 20 – New Year’s. This range of dates is actually quite busy thanks to Christmas vacation, and so prices often increase during this time.

3- Green, green everywhere – A wonderful thing happens all over Peru, from Cusco and the Sacred Valley in the rainy season to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon – everywhere you look, there is green! Steady rains bring new growth to grass, trees, and plant life, and colorful flowers will also be blooming all over! You’ll also get a bit of mist in a very green Machu Picchu, making it seem even more mysterious, like a city truly lost in time.

4- Wet weather brings warmer temperatures – As rainy season is technically summer here in the Southern Hemisphere, the temperatures tend to be on the warmer side. Also, with the cloud cover, you don’t need to worry about roasting in the sun and freezing in the shade – the temperatures are more even. True, you will need to plan for rain, but you may not need to carry so many layers with you as you would in June or July.

5- Clean, fresh air! – Whereas August can be dry and dusty, rainy season brings with it a clean freshness that makes the rain more than worth it. And you know that certain aroma that occurs when rain hits the earth? That smell, known by the rather unfortunate term “petrichor” is wonderfully present during the rainy season. If you enjoy the aroma of rain on earth, sniff away!

So there you have it, five good reasons to plan your Peru holiday for the rainy season. Come breathe in the fresh air and take in the green mountains during your rainy season Peru adventure.

Your luxury adventure to Peru will be greatly enhanced by attending a fiesta that includes music and dance from the traditional Huayno tradition of the Andes. Huayno is a genre of music found in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, and is practiced mainly among the Quechua-speaking populations of these countries. Influenced by a mixture of Spanish and native musical traditions, the genre dates back to colonial times.

In many Andean gatherings, Huayno music, zapateo dance, and chicha (corn beer) combine to create a unique celebratory environment found only in the Andes. A sense of welcome and joy radiates through the party. A vocalist generally singing in a high register is accompanied by a variety of European and Andean instruments such as guitars, harps, charangos (an Andean lute), and sikus (Andean pan-pipes), all of which set the pace for the gathering dancers.

The dancers stomp their feet to the driving yet tensely reigned-in rhythm, usually consisting of one beat followed by two short beats. The traditional lead/follow roles are reversed as the man follows the woman in a playful and coquettish age-old musical courtship. Huayno dancers dress in native clothing, including short skirts and colorful embroidered jackets for women and woven ponchos for men.

The genre has pre-Hispanic origins but with time, like many cultural manifestations of the Andes, it has morphed into a hybrid of Spanish and native styles. It is difficult to distinguish which elements emerged from each tradition; however, one thing is certain, this art form is an important part of Andean cultural identity.

The sound of Huayno is the sound of the Andes: festive yet melancholic. There is both longing and celebration in the sound of the panpipes and wailing vocals that evoke the time when native Andean people lived life on their terms, dreaming of the days before the Spanish conquest.

Many Huayno song lyrics combine Quechua and Spanish, providing an excellent opportunity to work on your language chops during your private Peru holiday. One of the emblematic songs that combines both languages is entitled “Adios Pueblo de Ayacucho,” (Goodbye, Town of Ayacucho). This song narrates the tale of a priest who falls in love with a high-class woman from Huamanga, and once the love affair is discovered, he is banished from his town. The lyrics reflect the two-fold heartbreak of the priest, who loses not only his home, but his beloved as well. Other well-known songs in this genre are “Ojos Azules,” “Valicha,” and “Vienes y Te Vas” by Cusqueñan artist William Luna.

In modern-day Peru, it’s possible to hear every variety of music the world has to offer, with live bands playing styles from Cuban salsa to American rock. However Huayno, similar to traditional mountain music from around the world, holds a special place in the hearts of those living here in the Andes Mountains. By listening and dancing to this music, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of Andean culture. So while on your luxury adventure to Peru, be sure to throw on your dancing shoes and let Kuoda host you to an unforgettable experience, combining Huayno music with food and drink. You may even be invited to join in the dance!

Something that stood out when I arrived on my first journey to Peru, which contrasted sharply with my experience in the US, was the nearly universal presence of really good soup. In every restaurant, even the most humble, soup was served before the meal. And we are not talking about the unidentified liquid-in-a-can that passes for soup in many US establishments. On the contrary! No matter how inexpensive the meal, soup was always served as the first course, and it was nearly always a soup full of natural, colorful, nutritious ingredients that had likely been simmering on a hot stove for hours. In fact, on my first trip to Peru, it was the SOUP that alerted me to the fact that Peru’s cuisine was out of the ordinary.

There is nothing to make you feel comfortable and warm you up from the inside like a bowl of steaming Peruvian soup. This blog features five of the most delightful ones, with links to recipes found on the web that I believe make a fair case for Peru having the best soup on Earth.

1-Caldo de Res (or Caldo de Gallina) Caldo means Scalding, and Res is beef. Gallina means free-range hen). This soup-in-a-meal is delicious, simple, and warming, usually consisting of a large piece of beef or hen, a boiled potato, perhaps a piece of boiled yucca, a boiled carrot, a large chunk of zapallo, or pumpkin, and a piece of choclo, or corn. Other vegetables may be included, as well as some slices of lime and ají (hot pepper) on the side to optionally spice things up a bit. An excellent soup if you are cold or if you have a cold! “Recipe Here”

Caldo de gallina – CC: Christian Vinces

2- Sopa Criolla and Sopa a la minuta– These two similar savory soups both feature ground or minced beef, a tomato-y broth, aji panca (Peruvian pepper), eggs, and angel hair pasta: both are absolutely delicious. There appears to be some long-standing disagreement among chefs as to the differences between the two. I have it from an excellent source that in Sopa a la minuta, the egg is batido, or whipped right into the broth. Sopa Criolla features a fried egg that is placed on top of the finished soup. Either way, you’ll be begging for more! Here’s a recipe.

3- Crema de Maíz – Peruvians distinguish between their sopas and their cremas. The latter will usually include milk or cream in the ingredients, and most of the vegetables will be liquefied until smooth, with a few unblended vegetable cubes or kernels added for texture, resulting in an amazing cream soup. This Peruvian take on Creamed Corn Soup is comforting, delectable and buttery.  What more can you ask for in a soup? “Recipe Here”

4- Sopa Wantan Especial – Found in most Chifa restaurants throughout Peru, this Peruvian- Chinese take on Wonton Soup is made even more mouthwatering by the liberal use of ginger, colantao (pea pods), and especially, huevos de codorníz, quail eggs! The soup also commonly includes wontons, roast pork, chicken, shrimp, and beef, in a chicken broth. I have often ordered this for my meal and been utterly satisfied with no additional entree. “Recipe Here”

5- Aguadito de Pollo – If you read the blog we published a couple of weeks ago about pollerías in Peru, you may remember that the first course at almost every chicken restaurant is a steaming bowl of Aguadito de Pollo. This mouth-watering soup is usually bright green, owing to the heavy use of cilantro. There may also be a chicken foot (considered a delicacy in Peru), gizzards, and chicken livers. With a couple of squirts of lime juice and a bit of ají amarillo, this is a great prelude to a pollo a la brasa (wood-fired chicken) meal. “Recipe Here”

Hungry yet? Join us for your luxury trip to Peru, where we will make sure you get to try some of these “really good soups,” and learn firsthand why Peruvian soups are, hands down, the best on the planet!

On your luxury Bolivia tour, your trip can include a visit to the mysterious ruins of Tiahuanaco, which were populated by a people whose architectural remains reflect a sophisticated civilization that was likely inhabited as early as 300 BCE!

The Tiahuanaco culture is believed to have reached its peak between 500 and 900 CE, at which time it is theorized that it dominated much of the Southern Andes and beyond. The structures left behind testify to this culture’s degree of advanced development.

Located near the southern end of Lake Titicaca, at an altitude of 3,850 meters (12,631 feet), the adobe portion of the city did not survive the centuries. However, a spiritual and ceremonial center, which includes huge stone monuments, is contained within a protected archaeological zone, and can be viewed by the public. It contains monuments constructed using ashlar masonry techniques, wherein individual stones are cut and dressed to be uniform in shape, size, and appearance. This area is also equipped with a comprehensive network of sunken channels and canals used for the irrigation of crops and the distribution of rainwater. Recent scientific discoveries demonstrated that rather than functioning as mere drainage channels, these canals were dug in such a way as to be heated by the sun during the day and release heat at night. This phenomenon supported crops that were planted alongside the canals, while crops without this protection would easily succumb to frost, a frequent occurrence at this altitude. Thus, the Tiahuanaco were not only master builders, but masters of their environment, showing a sophisticated understanding of what it took to survive and thrive in the cold, dry climate of this region. The modern-day residents of the area are now adapting these techniques for their own use: a wonderful example of current generations benefitting from ancestral wisdom.

The ceremonial area also includes several monuments and pyramids, the most impressive of which is the Akapana Pyramid. It is the largest building at the complex, measuring 194 meters (636 feet) by 182 meters (597 feet) and is over 18 meters in height (59 feet)! It is oriented to the cardinal points, and consists of seven overlapping levels, separated by carved walls filled with sediment and compacted sandstone. The temple is thought to have been dedicated to the worship of the Sun God. It is theorized that it may have been constructed by successive generations, due to the fact that there are differences in construction between the first and subsequent levels. At the first level, the walls are lined with padded stone, but at succeeding levels, they are cut with symmetrical rectangular blocks. Some of the pedestals of the temple are carved with black basalt Puma-Men, hybrid images of humans and cougars.

Another structure at the ceremonial center is the Kalasasaya, which was built of vertical columns interspaced with small rectangular blocks. This structure includes a Sun Gate, a monolithic doorway protected by a carved, staff-bearing guardian and winged “angel” figures. Pottery pieces discovered at the site were formed as flared beakers adorned with pumas, condors, and other creatures.

The Tiahuanaco people predate the Inca by several centuries. The exact time of their first appearance is unknown, nor is it known how or why they disappeared. The mysterious legacy they left behind is the subject of much speculation among modern-day archaeologists.

You will be enthralled as you visit Tiahuanaco and soak up its mysterious atmosphere on your luxury trip to Bolivia.

Time to celebrate an amazing accomplishment: you’ve reached a milestone anniversary with your partner. Through tears, laughter, excitements, and occasional humdrum days, months, and years, you‘ve made it through everything life has thrown your way. You’ve somehow managed to survive, even thrive as a couple through it all. What better place to celebrate this great milestone than on a romantic Peru luxury tour.

In this article, we’ll walk you through some options we’ve handpicked to make your special anniversary unforgettable.

Start out in Lima, where you can spend a night or two in the impeccable Belmond Miraflores, with its gorgeous views of the ocean, fabulous garden setting, and Amazon-inspired spa. Lima offers the finest of dining experiences: visit the district of Barranco to dine at Central, a concept restaurant that features colorful Peruvian dishes categorized by ecosystem and elevation. It is currently ranked as the number one restaurant in Latin America and number six in the world! Chef Virgilio Martinez serves up a variety of all-Peruvian tasting menus based on region, colors, and function. Truly a specular and memorable experience to share on your Peru luxury anniversary tour.

From Lima, you might consider hopping a short plane ride to Iquitos to take a luxury Amazon Cruise aboard a five-star yacht, such as the Delfín II or the Aqua Expeditions. These luxury yachts boast beautiful deluxe suites with panoramic picture windows so that you can watch the world float by from the comfort of your luxurious king-sized bed. There are regular jaunts on skiff boats to view wildlife, including the mystical pink Amazon River dolphin and the Giant River otter. There is nothing like a cruise to re-attune one to the beauty of life, and sharing this experience with your mate will no doubt bring you even closer together.

Now it’s on to the southern region of Peru to visit Cusco, this once historical Inca capital, the Sacred Valley, and the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. Enjoy a night or two at the Belmond Nazarenas, formerly a nun’s convent. The Belmond boasts 55 suites, a renowned restaurant and bar, and an infinity-edge swimming pool. While in Cusco, take a tour of the Sacred Valley and visit the intriguing Maras and Moray on horsebacks. Another option you may want to consider is Ollantaytambo, one of the few remaining places in Peru that has preserved its original Incan urban planning.

Surely, you cannot celebrate your anniversary in Peru without visiting Machu Picchu and what better way than to board on the luxurious (and romantic) Belmond Hiram Bingham train. Upon arrival to Machu Picchu Station in Aguas Calientes, a shuttle bus awaits to take you to Machu Picchu where you and your loved one can stroll along the ancient paths and breathe in the mysticism of this amazing place.

Spend the night with your sweetie at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge, located just a few paces from Machu Picchu itself. With delectable food, cozy accommodations, and an open air Jacuzzi, you and your loved ones will bathe in tranquil warm waters while observing a sky full of stars.

After your Peru luxury trip to Machu Picchu, consider a trip to the Northern Coast to stroll along the beautiful sandy beaches of Mancora. The DCO Hotel Mancora, boasts an international menu, beach access, impeccable guest service, and a luxury spa with massage packages especially designed for couples. Participate in ocean kayaking, swim in the hotel pool, ride horses along the beach, or view the exquisite coastal sunsets from the comfort of your hotel room with an ocean view.

All of the above options are adaptable for couples with or without families. If you are celebrating your anniversary with grown kids and/or grandkids, you might want to consider something a bit quirky and adventurous: how about a stay at the Sky Lodge? This hotel consists of exclusive transparent capsule suites clinging to the side of a cliff, for a completely transparent 300 degree view of the surrounding mountains and valleys. You’ll spend the night 1200 feet above the ground! This option is for couples and families in good shape, as you have to either climb up the side of the cliff via ferrata or use a series of hike-zipline  combo and climb a 13ft via ferrata at the end (all accompanied by professional guides) to arrive at the accommodations. You and your family will never forget this experience; it’s akin to being in a condor’s nest for the night!

There is simply no other place on earth that offers so many incredible options for your anniversary as Peru does. Let Kuoda arrange your anniversary celebration tour.

Costeño cuisine is an alluring combination of multi-cultural influence, local ingredients, and age-old recipes. Seafood, coconut, sugar, and the deep fryer feature prominently in many of the dishes that compose the local diet and though it’s not all healthy, there’s a long lineage of history and tradition in every bite. So, push the calorie-counting aside for now, and dig into the unique and diverse dishes of traditional costeño cuisine.

Here’s what to try during your visit to Colombia’s Caribbean coast:

5. Peto Costeño

Later in the day, after your morning arepa de huevo, another popular street snack is peto, a drink made from dried corn, water, milk, coconut cream, cinnamon, and panela. You’ll hear the calls of the local peto vendors carting or cycling their supply through town in large metal pots. It’s the perfect mid-day snack or after-dinner dessert, as it’s both sweet and filling enough.

6. Enyucado

Continuing with the theme of between meal bites and dessert, sampling enyucado deserves a spot on every traveler’s Cartagena trip itinerary. This dense and delicious cake is made from cassava, coconut, sugar, butter, anise, and queso costeño with a pinch of salt. It’s a sweet and savory treat that many a costeño will salivate over at its mere mention and one that likely fills their childhood memories, too.

Ready to Sample Costeño cuisine?

Costeño cuisine may not be the healthiest you’ll sample on your custom tour of Colombia, but it will certainly be one of the most memorable and delicious of your trip. Our recommendation: put the diet and calorie counting on pause and try it all!