From hiking the Inca Trail to the iconic Machu Picchu site, to taking a reed boat across Lake Titicaca and indulging in food and culture in Lima, Peru offers visitors a rich tapestry of incredible experiences. I spent two weeks there in 2018 and while I blogged about the places I visited, my long-overdue Peru travel guide is finally here!

It's been another busy year of travel for me, with 11 overseas trips to seven different countries, three of them for the first time (Poland, Hungary and Peru). I've been back to Toulouse, Amsterdam and Berlin, which have all been on my return-visit list for many years. I also visited Kraków; Austin, TX; and Budapest for the first time, completing the Inca Trail during my stay in the latter. And, of course, I managed a few visits to New York, Washington DC and Cannes.

Note: this is a long post, including my reflections on the four-day Inca Trail trek I took with Llama Path in 2018, and practical information on planning and packing. I hope you find this useful; please feel free to leave questions in the comments.

“This is ‘Inca flat’,” our guide Aiben tells us wryly as we walk along a rocky path with a moderate uphill incline. The Incas were made of extremely stern stuff, we soon learn. A Franco-German family and I are trekking the 26.5-mile stretch of the Inca Trail that runs from km 82, near Ollantaytambo, all the way to Machu Picchu.