Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [460]
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LAND & RIVER
Because no roads bridge the Darien Gap, it is not possible to travel to South America by land from the north (unless you spend a week making your way through swampy, drug-dealer-infested jungle), so bringing your own vehicle from North America is a costly undertaking.
Overland travel from neighboring Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador tends not to be as safe or as straightforward as you might like. Click here for important information on visas, immigration offices and other border-crossing formalities.
Ormeño (01-472-1710; www.grupo-ormeno.com.pe) is the main bus company offering international travel, and goes to Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Argentina. Many other smaller, regional companies do cross-border travel, but on a far more limited basis. The only rail service that crosses the Peru border is the train between Arica, Chile, and Tacna on Peru’s south coast.
Whatever form of transport you choose, keep in mind that while it may be a bit cheaper to buy tickets to the border, cross over and then buy onward tickets on the other side, it’s usually much easier, faster and safer to buy a cross-border through ticket. When traveling by bus, check carefully with the company about what is included in the price of the ticket, and whether the service is direct or involves a transfer, and possibly a long wait, at the border.
Getting to Peru by boat is possible from points on the Amazon River in Brazil and from Leticia, Colombia, as well as to the port cities on Peru’s Pacific coast.
The following sections outline the principal points of entry to and exit from Peru.
Bolivia
Peru is normally reached overland from Bolivia via Lake Titicaca (see boxed text, Click here); the border crossing at Yunguyo is much safer and a lot less chaotic than the one at Desaguadero. There are many transportation options for both of these routes, most of which involve changing buses at the Peru–Bolivia border before reaching Puno. For the adventurous, it is possible to cross into Bolivia along the north shore. It’s also possible, but quite difficult, to cross into Bolivia from Puerto Maldonado (see boxed text, Click here).
Brazil
You can travel overland between Peru and Brazil via Iñapari (see boxed text, Click here). Traveling from Iquitos, it’s more straightforward to go along the Amazon to Tabatinga in Brazil via Leticia, Colombia. For more information on boat trips, see boxed text, Click here.
Chile
Traveling on the Pan-American Hwy, the major crossing point is between Arica, Chile, and Tacna on Peru’s south coast (see boxed text, Click here). Long-distance buses to Tacna depart from Lima, Arequipa and Puno. Colectivo (shared) taxis are the fastest and most reliable way to travel between Tacna and Arica. It’s also possible to make the crossing, albeit much more slowly, by train; border formalities are done at the respective stations. Flights to Tacna from Arequipa are cheap but book up quickly. Alternatively, Ormeño runs through buses from Lima all the way to Santiago, Chile. From Arequipa, Ormeño goes to Santiago, Chile, and Buenos Aires.
Colombia
It is easiest to travel between Peru and Colombia via Ecuador. Ormeño has through buses between Lima and Bogota via Ecuador. This long-haul trip is better done in stages, though.
If you are in the rainforest, it is more straightforward to voyage along