Peru & Bolivia 2026

Trip summary

Day-by-day. Tap a card to expand if you need more detail. Updated 17 May 2026.

Open action items

Where you sleep each night

International — Hari family (4)

Outbound (22–23 May)

Return (4–6 Jun)

International — Vignesh (1)

Outbound

Return

International — Shree & Srivatsav (2)

Outbound

Return

International — Mahesh family (3)

Outbound

Return

Internal Peru / Bolivia

Flight status — live trackers

Tap any flight to open the airline's live status page (needs internet). Status is checked twice a day in the background and a summary appears at the top.

Outbound

22–23 May

Internal Peru / Bolivia

Return

3–6 Jun

Automated check

I've also set up a scheduled task in Cowork that pings flight statuses twice a day starting 18 May and reports back via the Status summary above. To pause or change the cadence, ask "stop flight checks" or "check every hour".

Climate by location

Late May to early June is dry season in the Andes. Daytime sun is fierce. Nights drop fast.

Altitude profile

Diamox protocol: 125–250mg every 12h, start evening of 24 May, continue through 27 May. Pediatric: 2.5–5 mg/kg every 12h (max 250mg/day) — pediatrician sign-off required.

Onion-layering rule

The Andes throw 25°C swings within 8 hours. Standard kit:

1. Base — moisture-wicking T-shirt or thermal top

2. Mid — fleece or wool sweater

3. Insulating — lightweight down jacket

4. Shell — windproof / rain jacket

For Tunupa and Salar nights add: thermal leggings, wool socks, beanie, gloves, buff. Hand warmers are worth the weight.

Indian restaurants

When 12 days of unfamiliar food hits you, these are the safety nets.

Lima — Miraflores

Cusco

La Paz

Coffee / roasteries

Peru grows world-class coffee — drink it where it's roasted.

Lima — Miraflores & Barranco

Cusco

La Paz

Must-try Peruvian veg / egg-OK

Save these for D2-D9. Quinoa is the safest base — grown locally, every restaurant has it.

Causa rellena — yellow potato terrine with avocado/cheese filling. Most Lima restaurants offer a veg version.

Rocoto relleno (veg) — stuffed red pepper with quinoa, raisins, cheese. Cusco does the best version.

Quinua chaufa — Peruvian-Chinese stir-fry, quinoa replaces rice. Egg-OK is standard.

Quinua tapada — baked quinoa-and-veg layered casserole. Indigenous Andean.

Solterito de queso — Arequipa-style chopped salad with cheese, fava beans, corn, olives. Refreshing and substantial.

Choclo con queso — large Andean corn kernel with fresh cheese. Sacred Valley snack-food.

Sopa de quinua — quinoa soup, warming for cold Cusco evenings.

Pollo a la brasa (skip) — Peru's signature dish is roast chicken; not for vegetarians but mentioned so you don't get tempted by the smoke.

Peruvian desserts (egg OK)

Picarones — sweet potato + squash doughnuts in chancaca syrup. Try at a street vendor — best texture is freshly fried.

Suspiro a la limeña — caramel manjar blanco topped with meringue, dusted with cinnamon. Lima specialty.

Mazamorra morada — purple corn pudding with chunks of dried fruit.

Arroz con leche — rice pudding, Peruvian style with cinnamon.

King Kong — manjar blanco sandwich biscuit. Found in Cusco markets.

Chocolate — Peruvian cacao is world-class. Try at Choco Museo (Lima & Cusco) or buy 70%+ bars to take home.

Must-try Bolivian veg / egg-OK

Plato Paceño — national dish of La Paz, naturally vegetarian. Boiled potatoes, white corn (choclo), fried cheese, fava beans. Filling and warming.

Salteña (veg) — Bolivian empanada with juicy stew. Paceña La Salteña chain in La Paz makes vegetarian versions. Eat standing up; the juice spills.

Cuñape — small yucca-flour-and-cheese rolls, tea-time staple.

Sopa de maní (veg) — Bolivian peanut soup. Some places have meat-free versions.

Humintas / tamales — corn-based parcel, can be sweet or savoury. Veg versions widely available.

Quinoa & chuño dishes — both staple in Bolivian Andean cooking.

Bolivian desserts

Helado de canela — non-dairy cinnamon-lemon ice from street vendors.

Buñuelos — fried dough doused in syrup. Cousin to picarones.

Chuño con queso — freeze-dried potato with cheese, savoury but textural curiosity.

Api con pastel — purple-corn hot drink served with fried sweet pastry. La Paz street-corner ritual.

Shopping — Peru

Best buys: alpaca, silver, ceramics, chocolate, pisco, coffee. Most haggling done in markets, fixed prices in boutiques.

Pisac market (Day 4, May 25)

Best place for textiles, ponchos, alpaca scarves, ceramics, jewellery. Open daily 9am–4:30pm. Bargain in soles — start at 50% of asking price. Don't buy "baby alpaca" labels without checking — most is alpaca blend.

Cusco — San Blas & Plaza de Armas

Sol Alpaca & Kuna — premium alpaca chains, fixed prices, good quality. Better than Pisac if you want guaranteed 100% alpaca.

Mercado San Pedro — local food market for chocolate, coffee, dried fruits, herbs (coca, muña). Cheaper than tourist shops.

Centro Artesanal Cusco — Av. Tullumayo. Ceramics, silver jewellery, retablos (3D scene boxes). Best variety, fair pricing.

Choco Museo — 70%+ dark chocolate bars. Worth buying as gifts.

Aguas Calientes

Overpriced tourist trap. Avoid buying souvenirs here — same items 3x cheaper in Cusco.

Shopping — Bolivia

La Paz — Witches' Market (Mercado de las Brujas)

Calle Linares + Sagárnaga. Traditional remedies, dried llama foetuses (don't buy — illegal to export), coca leaves, amulets. Mostly photographic value. Real shopping at the surrounding Sagárnaga textile stalls.

Mercado de Sagárnaga

Aymara textiles, silver, vicuña scarves (more expensive than alpaca), tin frames. Bargain hard.

Uyuni town

Salt souvenirs — tea-light holders, salt lamps. Skip the cheap "salt bottles" sold to tourists. Real salt artwork is at Colchani workshops near Palacio de Sal.

Shopping — Airports

Lima (LIM) duty free

Pisco — buy at Lima airport on the way home; usually cheaper than Cusco. Brands to look for: La Blanco, 4 Gallos, Bianca, Don Alvaro, Centenario. Limit 2L per person (Indian customs).

Alpaca at Sol Alpaca / Kuna duty free stores — last chance if you missed Cusco.

"Fantastico Peru" store — curated local brands, gourmet food, cosmetics. Pricier but quality.

Chocolate, alfajores, turrones — last-mile gifts.

Paris CDG (T2E layover return)

Long layover (7h+) on the return. Hermès, Chanel, Dior duty-free at CDG T2E. Wines and champagne cheaper than India retail.

Delhi DEL (T3)

Skip duty-free — Indian customs only allows 2L liquor + 1L wine, very tight. Last chance for chocolate, perfume.

India customs limits (rough)

Alcohol: 2L total per adult (any combination). Pisco counts.

Tobacco: 100 cigarettes / 25 cigars / 125g — but you don't smoke, skip.

Currency: Up to USD 10,000 equivalent without declaration.

Free allowance: ₹50,000 of goods per adult, ₹15,000 per child.

Above limits → use the red channel, declare, pay duty. Don't try to hide alpaca shawls — they're well-known.

Hari family packing checklist

Tap to check. Saved on this device.

Chennai shopping list

Sequenced by urgency. Tap to check off.

Tour operator

Hotels (saved above)

See Hotels tab for direct phones.

Airlines

Family / co-travellers

Add numbers manually below before departure.

India emergency contacts

Emergency numbers

Altitude sickness — when to descend

Mild AMS (headache, nausea, sleeplessness): rest, hydrate, ibuprofen, Diamox.

Moderate AMS (worsening despite rest, vomiting, ataxia): descend immediately. Cusco airport is 3,400m — sleeping at lower elevation (Sacred Valley 2,800m) helps.

Severe (HACE / HAPE — confusion, breathlessness at rest, gurgling breath): emergency descent + dexamethasone + nifedipine + bottled oxygen + helicopter / ambulance.

Hotels at altitude usually have oxygen on call. Ask the front desk.

Banks & ATMs

HDFC NetSafe / IDFC FIRST forex card — call 1860-266-0333 (HDFC) if blocked.

Best ATMs: BCP / Interbank (Peru), Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz (Bolivia). Multilingual screens, accept Visa/Master.