Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [206]
Ormeño (26-1704; www.grupo-ormeno.com.pe) offers fares to most South American capitals.
LONG DISTANCE
Buses to major cities leave from the terminal terrestre. Buses for more unusual destinations leave from elsewhere, so check carefully in advance.
Ormeño (26-1704; www.grupo-ormeno.com.pe) and Cruz del Sur (22-1909; www.cruzdelsur.com.pe) have the safest and most comfortable buses across the board. Of the cheaper companies, Wari (22-2694) and especially Tour Peru have the best buses.
There are departures to Juliaca (five to six hours) and Puno (six to seven hours) every hour from 7am to 10pm, and at random hours through the day. Cheap (S20), slow options include Power (22-7777) and Libertad (43-2955); these stop to let passengers on and off along the way, so you can use them to access towns along the route. Littoral (24-8989) and CIAL (in Lima 01-330-4225) are faster and more comfortable (S30 to S40).
The most enjoyable way to get to Puno is with Inka Express (24-7887; www.inkaexpress.com; Av La Paz C32, El Óvalo) or Turismo Mer (24-5171; www.turismomer.com; Av La Paz A3, El Óvalo), which run luxury buses every morning. The service includes lunch and an English-speaking tour guide, who talks about the four sites that are briefly visited along the way: Andahuaylillas, Raqchi, Abra la Raya and Pucará. The trip takes about eight hours and costs US$35 to US$45 if you buy direct, but you may well be able to persuade a travel agency to cut into its commission and sell you a ticket for less.
Departures to Arequipa (S25 to S30, nine hours) cluster around 6am to 7am and 7pm to 9:30pm. Ormeño has a superexpensive (S70), comfortable service at 9am.
Cruz del Sur, CIVA (24-9961; www.civa.com.pe) and Celtur (23-6075) offer relatively painless services to Lima (S80 to S160 – you pay more for a fully reclining seat, 18 hours). Wari (S60, 22 hours) is the best of the cheaper options. Most buses to Lima stop in Nazca (12 hours) and Ica (14 hours). These buses go via Abancay and can suffer holdups in rainy season. Between January and April, it may be worth going via Arequipa (25 to 27 hours) instead.
Buses depart every couple of hours through the day for Abancay (S15, four hours) and Andahuaylas (S30, 10 hours). Celtur has slightly nicer buses than other companies on this route. Change at Andahuaylas to get to Ayacucho via rough roads that get very cold at night. If you’re going to Ayacucho by bus, wear all of your warm clothes and if you have a sleeping bag, bring it onboard the bus.
San Martín (984-61-2520) and Expreso Sagitário (22-9757) offer direct buses to Tacna (S70, 17 hours). Expreso Sagitário also goes to Arequipa and Lima, and may be more open to bargaining than other companies.
Various companies depart for Puerto Maldonado between 3pm and 4:30pm; CIVA (S60, 17 hours, departs 4pm) is probably the best option. Don’t even consider catching the bus to Puerto Maldonado during the rainy season unless you have at least a week to spare. At time of research, the road was being paved as it will be part of the Interoceánica, a highway that will unite the east and west coasts of South America for the first time. Once this is completed, road access to Puerto Maldonado will become much less taxing.
Buses to Quillabamba (S15, six to seven hours) via Santa María leave from the Santiago terminal, a brisk 20-minute walk from the center. Around the corner in Calle Antonio Lorena, many more companies offer air-conditioned, speedy comfort in the form of modern minivans that cost twice as much and cut a couple of hours off the trip. There are departures of both types of service at 8am, 10am, 1pm and 8pm. Change at Santa María to get to Santa Teresa.
Transportes Siwar (23-6691;