Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [140]
For Lima (S42 to S130, 14 to 16 hours), Cruz del Sur (42-7375), Ormeño (42-3855) and several other companies operate daily buses, mostly leaving in the afternoon. Many Lima-bound buses stop en route at other south coast destinations, including Camaná (S15, three hours), Nazca (S42 to S130, 10 to 12 hours) and Ica (S42 to S130, 13 to 15 hours); Pisco is about 6km west of the Panamericana, and few buses go direct (Click here). Many of the same companies also have overnight buses to Cuzco (S50 to S110, nine to 11 hours), either on a direct, mostly paved road or the asphalted highways via Juliaca.
If you’re heading toward Lake Titicaca, direct buses to Juliaca (S13 to S53, six hours) and Puno (S13 to S53, six hours) leave every half-hour throughout the day from the terminal terrestre. Some continue to Desaguadero (S20, seven to eight hours) on the Bolivian border. Direct services to La Paz, Bolivia, are supposedly offered, but these usually involve a change of buses or at least a stop for a couple of cold predawn hours while you wait for the border posts to open.
Transportes del Carpio (42-7049) has hourly daytime departures for Mollendo (S8, two to 2½ hours). Cruz del Sur has the most comfortable buses to Tacna (S38, six to seven hours) via Moquegua (S28, four hours). These southern destinations are also served by Ormeño, Flores (42-9905, 43-2228) and several smaller bus companies. For Ilo (S25 to S35, 5½ hours), Flores has nine departures per day from either the terminal terrestre or its own Flores terminal (43-1646), diagonally across the roundabout where avenues De Forja and Ibanez intersect, on the north side of the terminal terrestre.
REGIONAL SERVICES
Many buses useful for sightseeing in the canyon country also leave from the terminal terrestre and Terrapuerto. Travel times and costs can vary depending on road conditions. During the wet season (between December and April), expect significant delays.
Heading for the Cañón del Colca, there are only a few daily buses for Chivay (S12, three hours), some of which continue to Cabanaconde (S15, six hours) at the end of the canyon’s main road. It is wise to buy the tickets in advance and know whether you will be expected to switch buses in Chivay. Most buses are run by Andalucía (44-5089), while Reyna (43-0612) and Transportes Colca (42-6357) also provide a few. Try to catch the earliest daylight departure, usually around 5am.
For buses to Corire (S10, three hours) to visit the Toro Muerto petroglyphs, both Transportes del Carpio and Eros Tour run hourly daytime services, from where you can continue on to Aplao in the Valle de Majes (S10, three hours) for river running. Transportes Trebol (42-5936) usually has a service departing around 4pm that continues on to Andagua (S25, 10 to 12 hours) to visit El Valle de los Volcanes. The bus leaves Andagua for the return trip to Arequipa at around 5:30pm.
For the Cañón del Cotahuasi (S30, 12 hours), Reyna has a 4pm departure and Transportes Alex (42-4605) has a 4:30pm departure.
Train
The train station is over 1km south of the Plaza de Armas. Services between Arequipa and Juliaca and Puno on Lake Titicaca have been suspended, although PeruRail (21-5350; www.perurail.com) will run private-charter trains for large tourist groups. The Arequipa–Juliaca part of the route is bleak, but the views of the altiplano (Andean plateau) are appealing and you’ll see vicuñas, alpacas and llamas along the way, plus flamingos if you’re lucky.
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GETTING AROUND
To/From the Airport
There are no airport buses. An official taxi from downtown Arequipa to the airport costs around S15. It is possible to take