Peru with its warm desert coast, imposing mountain range and a lush jungle invites travellers from India to enjoy extreme experiences and adventures including hiking in the mountains, sand boarding on coastal dunes and canoeing in rivers or trekking the Inca Trail. Adventure Tourism is a vibrant, dynamic and fast – changing sector and it has been growing exponentially in Peru over the past few years.
The Peruvian Association of Adventure Tourism and Specialised Ecotourism (APTAE) promotes sustainable tourism in the country. The path towards the consolidation of Peru as a new destination for adventure tourism is the sum of a set of long-term variables such as infrastructure, investment, reliability and promotion. The APATE’s mission is to position a new destination, while ensuring it does not become saturated. The Alfredo Ferreyros, President, APTAE said, “We don’t just focus on the demand, we are focused about the supply. Under a warm sun or a starry night time sky, beside one of the twelve thousand lagoons, or before mountain peaks reaching more than six thousand meters in height; facing a snow capped summit, or appreciating one of the planet’s deepest canyons; imagine yourself in Peru, filled with adrenalin! Some of the many adventurous activities that you can indulge in are mountaineering, rock climbing, canopying, sand boarding, caving, diving, surfing, rafting and everything else under the sun.”
To trek in Peru is to walk through Andean landscapes with stunning views of mountains and lagoons. One can journey along the Qhapaq Ñan, the network of ancient roads that connect the Inca Empire; experience the culture of the communities; hike along the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash in Áncash or wind down more than one route to Machu Picchu in Cuzco.
Peru also provides permanent surfing opportunities all year round, with small, big, long, tubular, high-peak and bell waves at destinations like Organos, Mancora, Cabo Blanco and many more. Also the destination has many easy-to-navigate rivers, where canoeing and rafting can also be enjoyed; tourists can travel by kayak or man boats. Some of the ideal waters for these activities are the Paracas, Lake Titicacas and Sandoval Lake.
The Cordillera Blanca is the highest tropical mountain range in the world and the Peruvian capital of mountaineering. The Huascarán National Park (PNH) has 663 glaciers, including the Huascarán (6,768 metres), the Huandoy (6,395 metres) and the Alpamayo (5,947 metres) glaciers. The PNH offers good accessibility, an adequate climate and is close to communities offering guide, porter and rescue services. It is the preferred choice for European climbers.
