#annapurna over parking lot. The benefit of enduring a overnight taxi ride from Kathmandu to #pokhara #trekkinginnepal #earlybird #nepal
You don't have to be human to have attitude. #peruvianhairlessdog #endemicspecies #dogsoftheworld #lpinperu
#llamalove #lpinperu #lonelyplanet #peru
The bounty of Andean potatoes and corn at #MIL -the new food lab recovering ancient native varieties and restaurant of star chef Virgilio Martinez at #moray #nativefoods #lonelyplanet #lpinperu #nongmo
The surreal circular terraces at #moray were thought to be experiments in planting but new theories postulate that these sculpted terraces with channels are a homage to water. #sacredvalley #lonelyplanet #incaruins #peru #lpinperu
Ruins are so plentiful in the Sacred Valley, almost no one goes to these, a nice, steep hillside scramble. So, I'll leave it at that. Follow your curiosity. #sacredvalley #incaruins #lpinperu #lonelyplanet
This guy moves for nobody. In the Inca village of #ollantaytambo #dogsoftheworld #sacredvalley #lpinperu #lonelyplanet
The trail to #rainbowmountain #lonelyplanet #peru #lpinperu #andeantrails
Want to ride to Rainbow Mt? She will rent her horse for 60 soles, a bargain if your dogs are barking. At least these folks make a decent living. #lpinperu #lonelyplanet #rainbowmountain
Trespassing on other people's bucket lists: #rainbowmountain outside Cuzco has become a monster attraction, with 1000 tourists per day going on a 6-hour roundtrip drive plus 10k hike at altitude to capture just this. Pretty? Yes. Also oversold. #lpinperu #lonelyplanet #instatouristrap
Couldn't resist one more look back at the Choque trail high above the Apurimac River. #choquequirao #followthattrail #lpinperu #trekkinginperu
Looking back to the start of the trek when shaman Justino prepared a blessing for our journey. He is part of the Q'eros community, people believed to be descendants of the Inca. The ceremony was elaborate, evoking the four directions, the geographical features around us, our family and friends and our intentions. Looks like it worked. #lpinperu #respectthejourney
What will #choquequirao look like when they build the tram across the Apurimac River to bring 3000 visitors per day? I hope we never know. Plans are underway but there are too many variables to call it a certainty. Right now it's a 2-day hike in vs a 15-minute tram ride. A half-dozen communities profit by being stops along the way. Not to mention the journey, one that connects us to how the Inca had to live, is lost. #qhapacñan #lpinperu #trekkinginperu #lonelyplanet
Proof that there's so much left to explore. Only discovered in 2002, these terraces on the backside of #choquequirao feature 22 llamas in stonework being herded by a lone figure below them. It's like nothing else ever found in Inca architecture. The trip down there reminded me of trying to ski double-diamonds as a kid: watch out! #qhapacñan #lpinperu #lonelyplanet #exploremore
Move-in ready? Seeing the resilience and lasting beauty of Inca architecture makes me feel we live in an inferior age. Not to mention the artistry of their chosen locations. Sublime. #choquequirao #incas #lonelyplanet #lpinperu
Hard to beat the hard-won views at #choquequirao especially this spot, the house of the priests, on a narrow saddle some 5000ft above the Apuimac River. Incans. They knew where the magic is. #closertothegods #lpinperu #trekkingperu #incahistory #lonelyplanet
Freddy, master of trail cooking, honed his skills serving the multitudes on the Inca Trail. He makes a pretty perfect mushroom ceviche, Andean soups and lomo saltado with rice pressed into a perfect half-circle, all while hunched over in the cook tent five feet from the mules. #gourmettrekking #lpinperu #choquequirao
Almost there: the village of Marampata sprung into existence with the increasing popularity of #choquequirao and now there's a dozen or so families offering camping, lodging and provisions often in the clouds, high on the hilltop just outside the entrance to the ruins. #lpinperu #trekkingperu #andeanreststop