One of the most obvious highlights of Peru is Machu Picchu, and the Inca Trail. Hiking has never really been my cup of tea, but after hearing some of the tails of adventure from those that have completed this trek I couldn't say no to the opportunity, and how glad I am that I didn't.

The route we took was a full 3 day trek leaving Ollytantambo, with 3 nights camping along the way before finally arriving at Machu Picchu for sunrise on day 4.

We left Ollytantam...

After 2 nights in the jungle it was time to head to Cusco, 3400 metres above sea level. At this point in my life, I think that's the highest I've been (outside of a plane), but this is a record which will continue to be broken over the following days and weeks. The distinct lack of oxygen is quite apparent, making it occasionally difficult to get a full pair of lungs. But we had a couple of days here to acclimatise to the altitude before we set off the magical inca trail.

We'd booked ourselves onto a 2 week tour of the highlights of Peru with Tucan Travel. Our first port of call was Puerto Maldonado – a gateway port to an array of lodges dotted along the Madre de Dios river in the Amazon basin

An hour and a half up the river from Puerto Maldonado we came to our lodge – a fantastic setup with lots of little bungalow huts, and a bar and restaurant serving up some excellent fresh food each day.

Our first trip into the jun...

We had 4 days before our tour to the jungle, Cuzco, and the south of Peru started, so we decided to get out of the city and head south down the coast. On a combination of buses and taxis we headed to our first choice hotel in Ica. I ran in to see if we could get a room and I was greeted by about 30 drop dead stunning south american girls milling about reception. This seemed the right hotel for me, but alas it was fully booked, for what I believe must have been some kind of beau...