Howdy all,

Flying into Quito on May 2nd and out of Lima on July 6th. Bringing tent and stove ect.( SMD Lunar Duo, SP GST-100). I have read the trip report- Ultralight Backpacking in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca- here on BPL. Great posting. This one is on our list.

Looking for insight on trips and must see places. We have trekking experience with gear, as we have backpacked the Markha Valley and Sham Valley treks in Ladakh, Gangotri to Gamukh, to see Shivling and a few smaller treks, as well as teahouse trekking to EBC, ABC, Ama Dablam and Island Peak base camps, all self-supported.


Thanks for a great forum. Any help will be appreciated.

Nicole and Stephan


PS If you have any questions about traveling on a low budget in these areas, please ask. I can't type and seem blunt as a result.

Edited by khumbukat on 01/25/2011 10:04:30 MST.

Shivling, Garhwal Himalaya, India

It's been a long long time, but the Cordillera Blanca is beautiful. I should go back. There's lots of treks there and nowadays gringos trek in the Cordillera Huayhash which is supposed to be even better. The guide that was best was: "Peru and Bolivia" The Bradt Trekking Guide; it's been updated since I was there. Huaraz was great as a base city. Learn a little Spanish. The people in the Andes were lots of fun.

If you can swing it, the Amazon is amazing. Iquitos would be a good starting point.
The best ice cream in the world is in Iquitos.
--Walter

Walter,
Ice cream, mmmm..... We have that trekking guide and a few more. Sounds like you had a great time. We are excited, and my wife can't put the tour books down.

stephan

Edited by khumbukat on 01/25/2011 20:08:59 MST.

I can't provide any recommendation, but on the contrary, I'd like to pick your brain a bit. Myself, and g/f and step-daughter are starting a year in South America come July 16th'ish. We're flying into Quinto (gonna miss you by a hair), spending a couple months in Equador, and traveling South through Chile into Patagonia and back North. There's obviously a lot in between. We'll be WWOOFing the majority of time, and doing some treks as we can. Very low budget so we can actually pull off a full year.

Can I get in touch with you?

Good luck on your travels!

-Michael

Will contact via PM.

Stephan

Trekking down to Ki Monastery, Spiti Valley, India

Lhotse, Khumbu, Nepal 8516 meters