Saturday, August 29, 2009

A Trip to Peru it Will Put a Good Dent in your Bucket List

By Dave Bouskill

The Life List. Everyone has made a list of some sort or other in their lives. It is a list of goals and dreams that most of the time is put away in a drawer and forgotten about. But don't wait too long like Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson did in the movie The Bucket List. You might not be as lucky to find a millionaire to whisk you around the world checking off your wish list in a few short months before you kick the bucket. It is time to start fulfilling your dreams and one of the best places to start is in the country of Peru.

Even if you only have two weeks in Peru, you can return home knowing that you have just kick started your life list and put a good dent into checking off some of the most incredible activities you will ever do in your life.

Everyone on the planet wants to see one of the great ruins of the world. The Pyramids, Angkor Wat or Tikal are just a few of the famous destinations. At the top of many people's must see ruin is Machu Picchu. Nestled high in the Andes Mountains of Peru, at 2500 meters it is certainly the most extraordinary ruin on the planet. How did the Incas build this incredible complex so high on the side of a cliff? Built in the 1400s Machu Picchu is remarkably well preserved. Arriving early in the morning, it is shrouded in cloud, but as the sun rises and burns off the fog, a majestic vision unfolds. 200 buildings, terraced high on the side of the mountain surrounded by jungle, vegetation and clear blue skies. You can either hike the Inca trail for another exciting activity to add to your list and visit ancient trails used by the Inca's or you can take a magical train ride through the Andes Mountain witnessing incredible scenery. Whichever way you choose, you will come away with memories to last a lifetime and a travel on your list that many people in this world only dream of doing.

So often people want to skydive or bungee jump at least once in their life. Well in Lima Peru, you can get the best of both by Paragliding high in the sky. Walk down to the waterfront and follow the trail of parachutes above to the landing and take off point near situated on a high cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. For $20 you will be harnessed up to an experienced para-glider and the next thing you know you are running off the end of a cliff waiting for the wind to whisk you into the air. It is an adventure of a lifetime flying over skyscrapers, doing maneuvers over the surf and floating high into the sky.

Many people have never seen a desert. If you visit Peru, you will not only be treated to seeing an absolutely beautiful desert, but you will witness some of the largest sand dunes in the entire world. Take a dune buggy out to explore everything it has to offer. Don't drive yourself however as desert driving can be tricky. Hire a driver or take a tour and they will give you the thrill of your life. Racing at top speeds your will climb giant dunes only to plunge down a near vertical cliff into the valley below. Don't forget to try your hand at sand boarding while you are out there. Feel like a kid again as you roll down the gigantic dunes or use your board as a sled to zip to the bottom.

We all know about Oasis from movies and television, but how many people have actually seen one and stayed on its shores overnight. Huacachina is a village built around a natural lake in the middle of the desert called the Oasis of America. It is an incredibly beautiful location. There are only about 10 hotels most with swimming pools and the giant dunes right in your backyard. You can rent pedal boats to float around the small Oasis and spend the day relaxing by the waters edge taking in the incredible once in a lifetime opportunity.

Have you ever wanted to go to the Galapagos Islands or to the Antarctica to see wildlife? Well, while you are in Peru, you can visit Isla Ballestas and get a taste of what it would be like. This wildlife reserve is home to hundreds of sea lions and penguins. Take a boat out to these beautiful rock formations and witness wildlife int their natural setting. Birds by the millions inhabit their shores and you will be treated to the sea life playing and basking on the rocks. They are in a vast protected area, so they are not threatened by man, but make sure that your boat doesn't venture too close to the sea lions. Their exhaust and engines can really pollute the air and they can be loud. It is great to witness this spectacle, just have respect for the wild life.

These are just a few of the things that you can do in Peru to kick start your "Bucket List". There are so many other things to see and do like visit Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world, see real life catacombs in Lima or take a flight over the Nazca Lines. These lines are a mystery of the world etched in the sand over 2000 years ago. Shaped in the forms of spiders, monkeys, sharks and lizards, nobody really know what their purpose is or how they were made. Want to visit the jungle? A good portion of Peru is located in the Amazon basin where you can explore one of the most fabled and vast rainforests on the planet.

So stop wishing that you could check off some of your life list, visit Peru and actually start living your life list. You will never be disappointed fulfilling your goals and dreams.

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