Travel Guides

Frost, Peter. Exploring Cusco, 5th ed. Lima: Nuevas Imágenes, 1999. This book continues to be the best-written, most readable historical and archaeological approach to the Cusco [1] area, written by longtime Cusco resident Peter Frost.

Johnson, Brad. Classic Climbs of the Cordillera Blanca. Montrose, Colorado: Western Reflections, 2003. Johnson has been guiding in the Cordillera Blanca [2] for nearly two decades and presents detailed descriptions of the area’s major climbing routes, together with three-dimensional maps and vibrant color photos. This is an award-winning guide to one of the world’s top mountaineering destinations.

Wagner, Steven, and Matias Guzman. Peru Surfing Travel Guide. Buenos Aires: Gráficas Boschi, 2002. The authors had a tremendous time searching out Peru’s breaks and writing the first book in English to South America’s surfing mecca. This book can be found in Lima bookstores and ordered online in the United States.

Wust, Walter, et al. Inca Guide to Peru. Lima: Peisa, 2003. This excellent highway guide, sponsored by Mitsubishi, contains the country’s best road maps and detailed descriptions of all the driving routes. There is also some historical and cultural information on each of Peru’s main destinations, though little information on hotels and restaurants. This company has also published Guia Inca de Playas, which runs down all the remote camping and surfing spots along Peru’s coast from Tumbes [3] to Tacna. These books are for sale in Ripley department stores and most Lima bookstores [4].

Zarzar, Omar. Por los Caminos de Peru en Bicicleta. Lima: Editor SA, 2001. This is a guide to Peru’s best mountain-biking routes. Though written in Spanish, the maps and itineraries are useful even for non-Spanish speakers.