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Peru
,→To/From Bolivia
Expect very slow, long rides in old trucks, similar to the mountains in
[[Bolivia]].Many of the roads are kind of curvy which makes rides slow. There is less cars movement in general but more buses and minibuses pass by in comparison to the jungle. They sometimes offer you a free ride if you say you don’t have money. Hitchhiking is ok, depends which part of the mountains you are in. It seems generally that the norther parts it is easier compared to southern parts of the mountains. There is a train from Puno to Cusco, but it is very expensive. And there are also quite a lot of buses which are much cheaper than the train. However, there is also a very hoppable freight train that runs during nights and is an exhilarating ride. [[User:Themodernnomad|themodernnomad]] rode this freight train out of Cusco and then turned right around and rode it back.
[[User:MOAH|Mind of a Hitchhiker]] didn't catch any slow, long rides in old trucks in the mountains at all on her way from Puno to Moquegua/the Pacific Coast (370km). From Puno to Moquegua is the Ruta PE-36B and the best way to get out of town is with micro number 33 which stops at the end of the city next to a speed bump ("tope"). As a lot of people moved from Puno to Tacna for economic reasons, there's many big buses passing through and if you ask nicely you can go for free for a bit. Try to hitch from one of the peajes (toll stops) where there's usually policemen checking papers who are willing to stop cars for you. It gets really cold and rainy here and between Puno and Moquegua there's no roadside accomodation so carry a tent. Once you pass Titire, the mining area starts with its heavy trucks full of ore. There's plenty of Toyota Hilux on the road too for faster transportation and they're more likely to stop than any other kind. This is a popular route for Bolivian trucks too and all Peruvian drivers seem scared of them as they tend to treat curves as straight lines. The landscape here is some of the most changing you can witness in one day of hitchhiking as it goes from Titicaca mountain lake, to altiplano, rocky peaks, snow (in summer too), sand mountains, Dakar-worthy dunes, desert and finally oasis and the Pacific. You're allowed to cry.
== The Jungle ==
Hitchhiking here is kind of good, but it's tiny problamaticproblematic. Many areas don't have so many cars passing by, Especially private cars.
And many areas have problematic road that make the car flow even lower.
But even without asking a lot of people stop and offer a ride or help from any sort.
Like any other part of Peru it's better to say you can't pay for this ride before you go on.
== Mototaxi ==
MotoTaxi (also known as Motocar, Motor, Tooktook or Riksha) is a 3 wheeled vehicle
That have somewhat of a motorcycle in the front and passenger’s sits on the back.
Some times the vehicle has walls and sometimes it doesn’t.
Many people use them as a small Taxi for short distances.
In many areas it can be a little bit difficult to hitchhike because those are very common,
And if they will see you hitchhiking they will assume that you want them to stop as a paid taxi.
So you might find yourself moving your thumb in and out a lot.
In some of the regions 90% of the traffic will be Mototaxis.
In case you are walking on the road some of them will stop and might offer you a free ride.
== Border Crossings ==
=== How long can I stay in Perú? ===
Without asking or being asked for how long, hitchhiker [[User:MOAH|MOAH]] just got 90 days in Perú, which probably applies to all EU citizens. There's stories that if you ask the migration officer nicely, you can get 180 days just like that. Bingo!
Some nationalities can get 90 days on entrance and apply for another 90 days in the migration offices towards the end of their first 90 days.
=== What to do with your coca leafs? ===
Coca leaves, the ground product for cocaine, are legal in Perú and you'll probably hitch with some drivers with a big ball in their cheek chewing constantly. Though it's from the Andes region, helpful for combating altitude sickness and makes a pretty mean tea, it's not "legal" in all countries to carry with and one must be careful with border crossings and it might be wise to give it to another traveler/local or plain dump it (in the trash). As it's both legal (and growing) in Perú and Bolivia, it wasn't an issue to take a full bag of leafs over the border, as experienced by [[User:MOAH|MOAH]] from Bolivia's Copacabana to Perú's Puno at the Titicaca Lake, so that could also apply the other way around. They didn't check any luggage at all on either side to be honest. ===Fruit and Vegetable restrictions ===When you enter Peru you might be asked if you have any fruit or vegetables with you.If you do have any they might make you throw it to the trash or you might get a fine.EVEN WITHIN PERÚ there are special protected subregions though where Peruvian fruit and seeds can't be imported from one district to another and if you take a freaking apple from Puno and take it to Moquegua (where they have a super valley full of avocados (palta) and begins the "Ruta de Pisco"), you might be fined. Didn't apply to coca leafs though.
=== To/From [[Bolivia]] ===
'''The following originally appeared on the page for Bolivia'''
From the occasionally extortionately priced town of Copacabana (which is actually the "original" Copacabana if you have a Trivia night) you have to get to the border town of Kasani 12 km south, which passes the Copacabana airport. You can hitch there or say fuck it and take the 3 Boliviano micro (which is 2 for locals/non gringos). The Migración office is on your right hand now and you have to have your passport and green paper (sucks if you lost it, I don't know the consequences of this but it probably involves a bribe) ready for the angry men. Should take one minute to check out of Bolivia if you manage to answer questions correctly and not piss off anyone in the process. Hurrah! Now you have to walk 300 meters past the church the Perú statue and you'll find the Peruvian office on your right hand too. Again, you'll have to fill in a form that you have to carry with you during your entire stay like upon entering Bolivia. These guys were friendly, which probably has something to do with the fact that they have a nicer building to perform their job in. The first town on the Peruvian side is named Yunguyo and you're about 2 km away from it. You can get a 2 Soles micro there or walk to the end of it to get to hitch to Puno, which is really easy though it's still 120 km away! As experienced by [[User:MOAH|MOAH]], hitchhiking in Perú is a fucking breeze compared to Bolivia.
'''[[Puno]] - Desaguadero'''
The region in this area both in Peru and Bolivia is called the Alto Plano,
It basically means that it is very high and more or less flat.
We are talking about more than 4000 meters high, so basically there isn’t so much oxygen
Which can lead to a constant headache, and doing simple tasks can feel tiring.
After awhile you get use to it but it’s important to mention.
It is also relatively very cold all year long, and in the rainy season you can find your tent sitting all of a sudden in a paddle. So be careful not to camp in flat areas that rain drains to.
Hitchhiking by it self is not so hard, but it’s also not super good.
You’ll need to cross two big cities, Puno and Juliaca, which is always not so easy for hitchhikers.
Some parts of the road don’t have much movement especially on Sunday’s and especially close to the border. In overall it is not super easy but certainly doable.
The crossing in Desaguadero is not too difficult.
There are few bridges that cross the river, some of them are closed for civilians.
The most northern one is the normal crossing.
If you go by the river people with small boats will offer you to take you the other side for a small payment. Don’t do it if you wish to stay legal.
The immigration office is close to the crossing of the bridge in both sides.
You’ll have to enter the buildings and wait in a line sometimes.
For [[User:SonOfaHitch|SonOfaHitch]] it went really smooth. Few questions like how long you are going to stay,
Do you have Covid Vaccination which they barely checked. And that’s it
No luggage check or anything in both sides.
=== To/From [[Chile]] ===
Buenas rutas! [[User: nachoxsur]]
=== To/From [[Brazil]]===
'''Puerto Maldonado – Assis Brazil'''
Hitchhiking in this area towards Brazil is very easy. Many people offer rides and try to help even if you don’t ask.
Of course there is always the chance to fall on a bad spot where nobody stops. But in general it is easy to hitchhike.
The Peruvian side is a classical jungle. Tends to be hot and humid. Many parts of the road is not shaded so you should be prepared in case of a hot day.
Many people come to work in the mines here, which some times brings shady people that came just for finding gold. The locals warn [[User:SonOfaHitch|SonOfaHitch]] from the town Pampas, which is on the way.
Puerto Maldonado is quite a big city, but once you are close to the exist points of it it is quite easy to get rides, But also inside the city sometimes people offer rides if they see you walking.
On the Brazilian side you should know that there is barely any jungle left next to the road.
It is all flat grass. It is also less populated and there are big distances between villages, with some houses along side the road.
The crossing itself is kind of weird. The two cities Iñapari and Asiss are kind of a buffer zone between Peru and Brazil. You can move between those little towns like you are not really crossing a border. In the entrance to both towns from both sides there is immigration police.
But they are not the official Immigration offices.
They might check you to see if you are legal, but also many times they don’t.
The immigration office in Iñapari is open 24 hours they told me, but I wouldn’t recommend coming really late or early. It is located inside the town (-10.955238,-69.577738 Google Maps).
If you don’t manage to find it ask the mototaxis, most of them know where it is. You will probably won’t notice it if you just walk through the town.
The process is kind of normal. They ask you questions if you want to leave or enter Peru, And if you are vaccinated to which they only want to see some papers but barely check them.
Not very friendly and speaks mainly Spanish but in general not too difficult.
On the Brazilian side the immigration office is on the road towards the rest of Brazil.
It is the first window to your left when you try to walk towards Brazil crossing the big gate.
They are open from 8:00 – 12:00 and from 14:00 – 18:00 but maybe better not coming towards the end or begging of shifts.
Also kind of normal crossing process, They were really kind and gave 90 days like nothing.
They might even give you access to Brazil before you officially left Peru.
So if you don’t want to have a fine when you come back don’t forget to visit the Peruvian office first. They didn’t ask for any Covid papers.
== Cities ==
April 2022
“I spent around 5 months in Peru, Going from Jaen – Tarapoto – Tingo Maria – Lima – Nasca -Cusco – Puerto Maldonado – Brazil and again from Bolivia – Desaguadero – Puno – Sicuani – Cusco – Quillabamba – Arequipa – Chile
In general it was a great experience. Many people offered me help. I stayed in many houses and made many friends. I will divide Peru to 6 regions. Jungle which tends to be very friendly and hot.
Mountains which are super high with slow roads. People are a bit more shy but still friendly.
Coast/Desert Much bigger and faster road. People are a little bit more suspicious about travelers. After short conversation they tend to open up. Big cities, they tend to be more tense and the people are more modern and less innocent, still very friendly. And Plano Alto next to Bolivia.
I found the culture to be a mix between Peru and Bolivia. People come and talk to you, and might gift you some soda, but less invitation to homes and things like that. Talk will also tend to be shorter.
After awhile I decided I don’t want to put my thumb out anymore, and just started to walk instead,
people tend to stop to ask why am I walking and then they usually offer food, shelter and rides even without thumbing” - [[User:SonOfaHitch|SonOfaHitch]]
== Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==
