Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [116]
Eating & Drinking
Restaurant Moraly (46-3084; Lima 398; menús S8.50, mains S10-30; 7:30am-9:30pm Mon-Sat) Near the town center, this classy but affordable Peruvian cafe is perennially full during lunchtime. The dueña (owner) is a real pistol. Try her patience at your own risk!
El Bandido (Moquegua 333; pizzas from S12; 7pm-late) A strange sight in Peru, this cowboy-themed bar seems to fit perfectly with Moquegua’s rough-and-tumble frontier attitude. Wood-fired pizzas are made to order, and the beer just keeps flowing.
For open-air terrace restaurants serving typical regional food with live folklórica (folkloric) music on weekends, catch a taxi to nearby Samegua (S4).
Getting There & Away
Buses leave from several small terminals downhill southwest of the Plaza de Armas. There you’ll also find faster, though less safe and more expensive colectivos that leave when full for Ilo (S12, 1½ hours) and Arequipa (S30, 3½ hours).
Buses to Lima (S50 to S138, 16 to 20 hours) leave with Ormeño (76-1149; Av La Paz 524), which has one luxury-class service daily; Cruz del Sur (46-2005; Av La Paz 296), which has two luxury services; and Flores (46-2647; Av Ejercito s/n), which has two económico services. These buses often make intermediate coastal stops, for example at Nazca and Ica. Other buses to Arequipa (S20 to S40, four hours) leave twice daily with Cruz del Sur and Ormeño and hourly with Flores. These same companies also have buses to Tacna (S10, three hours) and Ilo (S8, 1½ hours); Flores has the cheapest and most frequent departures.
Several smaller companies, including San Martín (95-352-1550; Av La Paz 175), take a mostly paved route to Puno (S25, nine hours) via Desaguadero on the Bolivian border (S18, six hours), usually departing in the evening. This can be a rough, cold overnight journey on económico buses that stop infrequently for bathroom breaks at the side of the road. It’s wiser to backtrack first to Arequipa, then transfer to a more comfortable bus bound for Puno, from where you can easily cross into Bolivia during daylight hours.
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ILO
053 / pop 58,700
Ilo is the ugly departmental port, about 95km southwest of Moquegua, used mainly to ship copper from the mine at Toquepala further south, and wine and avocados from Moquegua. Ilo does offer a pleasant boardwalk and a few beachside luxury hotels that fill with Peruvian vacationers in the summertime, but though the beach is long and curving, the waters are murky and unappealing for swimming.
Sights
About 15km inland at El Algarrobal is the Museo Municipal de Sitio (83-5000; Centro Mallqui; adult S5; 10am-3pm Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun), which hosts a surprisingly noteworthy collection of exhibits on the area’s archaeology and agriculture, including ceramics, textiles, a collection of feather-topped hats and a mummified llama. A round-trip by taxi costs around S30.
Sleeping & Eating
There’s no need to stay overnight, but if you get stuck there are plenty of options.
Hotel San Martín (48-1082; Matará 325; s/d/tr S35/45/55; ) Near the bus companies, this is a good-value hostel with large decent rooms and private hot showers. The staff is extremely eager to rent you a room.
Hostal Plaza (48-1633; 2 de Mayo 514; s/d/tr S40/55/65) Who says there’s no truth in advertising? Just off the plaza, this is a well-kept hotel with good, if bland, rooms with hot showers and cable TV.
Hotel Karina (48-1397; karinahotel@hotmail.com; Abtao 780; s/d/tr incl breakfast S71/92/123; ) This is a well-run hotel with simple decor and amiable service. Some rooms have lovely ocean views, and the bar and restaurant is open to serve all day long.
VIP Hotel (48-1492; www.viphotelilo.com; 2 de Mayo 608; s/d/tr incl breakfast S128/156/188; ) A swish hotel by the plaza, the VIP has a refined restaurant and spacious rooms with all the frills, including cable TV and minibars. The higher the floor, the better the sea views. Rooms