The Llama Travel Blog

The Sol y Luna is a fabulous hotel by anyone's standards. Located in Peru's Sacred Valley, surrounded by the Andes, and Relais & Chateaux accredited, you know it's going to be a good experience before you get there. What you may not know though is that this isn't just any upmarket hotel. Set up by an intrepid and big-hearted French woman, it exists to support an education project in the valley, and to help improve the lives of the people who live there. Below is an interview with Petit (as she is known), the driving force behind the Sol y Luna Association.

Our Sales Supervisor, Mari, is a Peru native, born and bred in Lima. She returned recently for a holiday and was pleasantly surprised by how the city has changed. 

Returning to Lima after 3 and a half years and seeing how much it has improved and grown was mind blowing. To many people Lima is just another city but to me it is a place that holds many great memories with family and friends. Some people think there isn´t much to do there, but Lima has well preserved archaeological sites and museums, not to mention a great gastronomic offering with many Michelin Star restaurants. In fact, Lima’s Central restaurant was voted 4th in the World’s 50 Top Restaurants in 2016.

Recently back from Peru having successfully completed the Salkantay Trek (read the day by day account here), Graham has a few tips for those planning on trekking in Peru.

Reaching the famous Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu, on foot is high up on many travellers’ bucket-lists. Whilst the accomplishment brings a huge sense of achievement and satisfaction it is an extremely challenging endeavour. Here are some tips to help you prepare for one of the most famous trekking expeditions in the world.

Graham, a member of the Llama Travel sales team was lucky enough to be sent on the 4 day Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu, a popular alternative to the renowned Inca Trail. This is his account of a magnificent four days, giving you an idea of what to expect on the Salkantay Trek.

Latin America is a special part of the world, and each country offers its own gems. As the original Llama Travel destination though, Peru will always hold a special place in our hearts. Furthermore, as one of our most popular destinations, it is clear that our high opinion of Peru is widely shared. If you are wondering what all the fuss is about, read on for the reasons everybody loves Peru.

Just about everyone who visits Peru goes to Machu Picchu and loves it. You can visit on a day trip from Cusco or the Sacred Valley, and this is fabulous. It’s a long day (the Llama Travel excursion starts before 6am and you get back to Cusco around 9pm), but very satisfying. This includes a beautiful train journey, an in-depth guided tour of Machu Picchu and a great lunch in the restaurant next to the ruins. As Machu Picchu is quite a compact site, you visit most of the important parts of the ruins on the guided visit. So, given that you can visit Machu Picchu and see many of the significant sites in on a day trip, why would you want to spend a night there? Well, lots of reasons…

Llama Travel’s Sales Manager Graeme has always been a fan of travelling in comfort and style. For his latest blog he has reviewed some of his favourite superior hotels in Peru, from location and facilities to dining and atmosphere, and why in his opinion they are worth every pound of their upgrade supplement!

Next week sees the release of Paddington, a film adaptation of the classic children’s book series about a speckled bear who journeys from “darkest Peru” to England, and throws himself and everyone around him into a whirlwind of adventures.

Here at Llama Travel, we do the reverse; whisking people away from their cosy firesides in good old Blighty and off to the teeming jungles, vast lakes, soaring mountains and faraway cities of Peru and the rest of the Americas. Someone who took the reverse Paddington journey with us quite recently is Llama Travel’s own Sales Manager Graeme, and he found it hard to imagine why anyone, bear in a duffle coat or otherwise, would ever want to leave Peru!

Check out the below for Graeme’s top 5 list of what in darkest Peru is worth shining a spotlight on…