Rides in Peru

Rides in Peru are less about roads than about what the machine is crossing. On the south coast the desert is the track. Huacachina is a lagoon village of about a hundred residents, five kilometres from Ica, whose name probably comes from the Quechua for hidden lagoon. Dune buggies, locally called areneros, work the dunes around it, and the oasis was already a summer resort in the 1960s. The Paracas desert offers the same ground, and Lima has dunes of its own, about 40 minutes along the Panamericana. In the Andes the vehicle changes: quad bikes cross the plateau toward Rainbow Mountain, and mountain bikes follow Lake Titicaca above 3,800 m. In Amazonas a cable car lifts visitors toward Kuélap, a Chachapoya fortress of 421 buildings at about 3,000 m.

Peru rides tours are short thrills and long days. Buggy and sandboard sessions at Paracas and Huacachina last an hour. Lima adds a coastal bike ride of three hours and a seven-hour 4x4 and sandboard day in the desert. From Puno the bike routes run to the Chucuito peninsula, to the shore beyond the Uros islands and to the burial towers of Sillustani, from a half day to a full day with lunch at a family house. Cusco has a private quad-bike day to Rainbow Mountain and the Red Valley. From Chachapoyas a day goes to Kuélap, and four- and five-day programmes add the Gocta waterfall, reached on horseback and on foot, and the Karajía sarcophagi. A private day from Lima pairs the Ballestas boat with a Nazca overflight.

Practical. The Paracas wind peaks in the afternoon, mostly between June and October, and lifts dust, so bring sunglasses and a scarf to cover your face. Closed shoes beat sandals on dunes. Chachapoyas, at 2,335 m, holds near 20C by day all year, with about 127 mm of rain in March against 18 mm in July, so dirt roads and horse trails are slickest early in the year. Puno stands above 3,800 m, and a long ride is easier on the second day. Sun on sand and lake is strong: wear a hat.