: Dodging the Gringo trail seeing less means more

By Lourdes Quijada

IF  VACATIONING  for you means simply ticking off each the country’s biggest draws you might be surprised  at one travel  advisor’ suggestion that you’ll get more by doing  less.

In a new two minute travel guide responsibletravel.com says that just hitting the “mandatory” trail means you miss some of your destination’s most engaging features. It’s something my husband would agree with.

On a recent visit to Aberystwyth in Wales he promised that we would learn more about the country, the people and what’s going on by starting with lunch in a local pub. He proved right. At the first   watering hole we met a retired sea captain who had traversed the Canal some 30 times. By the time we left him, he and in true seamanlike fashion brought us up to date on local politics, and gossip and in true seamanlike fashion had charted a passage to good dining and accommodation, and places to visit that most visitors would never see.

Responsibletravel takes the same approach when talking of Peru, and says that if you are working down a list of the “must visit” places you will miss out on much of its vibrant culture, remote communities and world-class gastronomy.

Better known for the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu and a host of jagged Andean peaks, it’s very easy to view a trip to Peru as a check-list of lost Incan delights. However for a much more authentic and enriching experience the new guide recommends seeing less instead immersing yourself in each place for longer, andavoiding some popular tourist destinations completely.

The guide argues that the ‘Nazca Lines’, a field of mega glyphs which can only be seen from above by light aircraft and attract tens of thousands of tourists each year  are one of its most overrated experiences. It says “for the modern traveller on holiday in Peru, that means an exceptionally environmentally unfriendly flight; a large fee for 30 minutes in the air; and a high chance of sickness as the plane banks left and right to allow views out of both sides.”

Instead the guide highlights the hidden valleys, jaw-dropping canyons and welcoming Quechua communities, which all lie within a stone’s throw of Peru’s major attractions and make off-the-beaten track adventures accessible for even the least adventurous traveler. Getting off the well-trodden “Gringo Trail” is easy if you know how; here are some tips:

Don’t fly straight out of Lima to Cuzco – instead spend a couple of days in Peru’s underrated, eclectic capital and sample its world-class restaurants and booming Peruvian gastronomy.

Take a daytrip to Titicaca’s Islands and you’ll miss its most atmospheric sight; the sun rising over the sacred lake. An overnight stay instead will give you a chance to explore without the tourist hordes, and experience an authentic culture that hasn’t changed for centuries.

Quechua culture is quite rightly a popular tourist draw, but markets along the “Gringo Trail” are too often chock-full of mass-produced, inauthentic goods. Instead try the Rosaspata Market in Cusco; it may be slightly rough around the edges but you’ll get a taste for a real, traditional Peruvian market, and all its foodie delights.

Stay at a homestay, it’s not only the best way to put your money straight into a very local community but in a country so vast, is also the best way to access some of its best hiking routes and remote communities. And you’ll receive a very warm welcome – especially in the highlands where local people thrive on sharing their homes with guests.

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