Peru campsites

MAP 12 PER

 

1. Camp at family shop edge of jungle
S12.00255 W69.13825
FREE
Parking on a small dirt area in front of the little shop. The family let us have a little hike in the forest.

187 Family tienda in Amzon

 

2. Camp by Nusiniscato river hwy PE30C
S13.19064 W70.61710
FREE
Parking by the river. Plenty of space to choose from. We asked permission from the small shop in the nearby village.

188 Boondocking by river

 

3. Camp by old road by river
S13.57858 W71.00126
FREE
Parking tucked away, next to a river. Very quiet spot. In next the village there’s a bano termales. Great experience (S 2/pers)

189 Boondocking

 

4. Cusco, Quinta Lala campground
S13.50560 W71.98529
S 10/ pers
S 10/ vehicle
S 5 wifi (+ any services you wish to use)
The campsite all overlanders stop for Cusco. Run by a very nice and helpful local couple.
Toilet, shower, wifi, laundry service etc. Parking on a large grassy area. Almost undoubtedly you meet overlanders here -easy to stay longer than you planned.
To get here take the northern outskirt route around Cusco. It might be slightly longer but otherwise the GPS will want you to drive through the centre (not suitable for all size vehicles)

190 Cusco Quinta Lala

 

SACRED VALLEY
We didn’t wish to visit Machu Picchu but there’s a very good alternative option that includes visiting many impressive archaeological sites in the Sacred Valley from Cusco with your vehicle. It is possible to park overnight by the ruins. There are a couple of hot spring on the route too.

5. Sacred Valley , Pisac
S13.40460 W71.83636
FREE
Parked up on the hill road that leads up to the ruin. When we were here there was a fiesta all night in the village bellow and was very noisy, but the view was beautiful.

191 Sacred Valley Pisac

 

6. Sacred Valley, Moray
S13.33008 W72.19416
FREE
They let vehicles park in the large car park overnight. It is busy during the day but all cars, buses disappear after closing hours (6pm-ish) We tipped the night-guard who then let us walk around the ruin when it was free from visitors.
TIP: visit the Salt mine on the way here (or the way out) nearby. It really worth it.
S13.30410 W72.15386

192 Sacred Valley Moray

 

7. Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo -car park
S13.25916 W72.26622
S 3/ 24 hours
Parked up in the large car park of the ruin -right in town. It is a little tricky get around with narrow streets with bottlenecks, but huge tourist buses do it too. There are several other car parks in town (not sure about overnight paring in those, but there are certainly closer to the exit of the town) beautiful ruin, can spend a whole day, walking around it, hike up the top of hills and visit the area. Nice but touristy town with lots of restaurant, cafes etc.

193 Sacred Valley Ollantaytambo

 

8. Aguas calientes (24h)
S13.54294 W72.63858
S 3/ pers for the entry
Toilet (maybe shower), there are water taps. Parking in the car park (approx 3 large vehicles) but there is space further down by the river. There are 3-4 pools but the water isn’t hot (only warm). This is quite low in elevation (1853 m) so nice warm air (+ sandflies). It is a 24h place so some night can be noisy.

194 Aguas Calientes near Abancay

 

SUGGESTION FOR CAMPING
Sito Archaeologico
S13.62065 W73.13768
FREE
A ruin that invites visitors but there are no facilities. Deserted for miles with a beautiful view.

 

9. Sondor ruins near Laguna Pacucha
S13.60496 W73.27162
S 2/ person (Camping free)
There are compost toilets. Lovely ruin with a gorgeous view. Parking on a large grassy area.

195 Sondor ruin

 

10. River boondock
S13.48125 W73.82490 (1974 m)
FREE
Entrance from main road here: S13.48221 W73.82143
Steep, narrow 4×4 dirt road down. Unfortunately the road doesn’t lead down to the river, but there’s a small turn around/parking area down at the end and a 20 m footpath to the river.
We asked if it was OK to park overnight at the nearby house. Quiet, peaceful night.

196 River boondocking P1230070

 

11. Wari ruins near Ayacucho
S13.06142 W74.19836
S 3/ pers for the ruin (camping is free)
Parking at the site’s parking lot by the road but it was peaceful and quiet overnight. There’s a night guard, very friendly -we gave him S 5 and a couple of cold cans of beer. (lovely town to visit Quinua 10 km from here. Great market on Sunday)

197 Wari ruin

 

12. Highland boondocking
S13.13872 W74.87495 (4539 m)
FREE
Found this place after dark -didn’t have a chance to ask anyone for permission (haven’t seen anyone the next morning ether) Parked by a small stream with a stunning view. In the morning there were alpacas all around. Very high level and below freezing overnight.

198 Highland boondocking

 

13. River boondock
S13.35123 W74.95749
FREE
Great find by the paved road. A small dirt road (OK for 2 wheel drives) leads down to the river. Very quiet night.

* no photo collected

 

SUGGESTION FOR CAMPING
Choclococha Lake
Turn off here: S13.15584 W75.07140 (4548 m) then take the RIGHT.
Off the highway a small dirt road (OK for 2 wheel drives) leads through a ghost town (lovely clay church) to the lake with parking opportunities.

 

14. Trout fish farm near Huancavelica
S12.80590 W74.99682
FREE
No facilities. Nice spot over the small village Sacsamarca. Parking up in-between the medieval-looking chapel and the river. We aimed to get to the Mine Santa Barbara (deserted mercury mine) and accidentally got here. Met the family who looks after the small fish farm and asked for permission.

199 Fish farm

 

15. Santuario Bosque de Piedras
S10.95637° W76.31593°
S1/ pers for entrance
Camping is FREE
Parked up on the large parking area of the Bosque. They have a not very clear map for hiking but you can just set off. It was really worth it to visit and hike. We stayed here for 2 nights.

200 Sant Bosque Piedras

 

16. Camp after Mine on a de-route
S9.50527° W77.12309° (4071 m)
Took a diversion route from La Union to Huaraz and drove through an enormous mine. Once we were on the other side of it we found this spot. Still very high but was gorgeous view and very quiet overnight.

201 Camp near mine

 

17. Real Hotel, Huaraz
S9.51321° W77.53109°
S 30/ night
For this price in a car park, ask a key to a room for toilet and shower. There’s wifi at the hotel.

* No photo taken

 

18. Boondock near entrance of Nat Park
S9.10875° W77.68607°
FREE
We found the approx $60 for camping only one night so found ourselves a nice spot with a lovely view just a 100m from the entrance.

202 Boondock at entrance Nat Park

 

19. Beach camp Huanchaco
S8.06980° W79.12123°
FREE
Parking on the beach (large sandy car park for the beach) 24h police patrol -asked permission from them for overnight parking. Walking distance to many cafes, bars, restaurants (with wifi) Try the vegetarian Otra Cosa on the corner -even if you are not vegetarian. Really great value, delicious food, cappuccino, fast wifi, friendly people.

203 Huanchaco

 

20. Camp in Bosque
S6.47267° W79.79332°
S10/ pers for entrance
Good spot. Lovely ambience. A few pyramids around.

*no photo taken

 

21. River boondock
S5.80212° W78.73424°
FREE
No facilities. Parking up on the river bank. We asked permission from the family lives nearby. It was humid and hot here but quiet night.

211 River boondock PER

 

22. Basketball court -San Pablo
S6.04146° W77.92033°
FREE
Toilet can be used at the restaurant or at tourist office. Parked up on the basketball court (they offered the main plaza too) Very lovely village with very friendly people. From here your can hike up to the waterfall (6h round trip) Quiet night and cool.

* no photo taken

 

23. Huancas -view point to the canyon
S6.17439° W77.85999°
FREE camping (2 Soles/ pers to the view point)
Parking at the gate. They let us in to park on the grassy are next to the football pitch. A short walk up to the view point. Breathtaking view at the canyon. Quiet and cool night.

212 Huancas PER

 

24. Kuelap (ONE OF OUR FAVOURITES)
S6.42615° W77.92642°
FREE (15 Soles/ pers to the ruin)
Toilets at the visitor centre (only open during the day)
Parking on the grassy area with a gorgeous view to the valley. Very friendly place with a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere. Hike up to the ruin and spend time takes about 2-3 hours. Very quiet and chilly nights.

213 Kuelap PER

 

25. Revash Tombs
S6.55915° W77.85570°
FREE
Parking on a dirt lot a few hundred meters from the trailhead to the tombs. The road isn’t busy at all. Quiet and cool night. Hiking up to the tombs take 2-3 hours.

214  Ravish Tombs PER

 

26. Leymebamba, near the museum
S6.72774° W77.79907°
FREE
Parking on a dirt lot a couple of hundreds meters up from the museum. The Museum has a nice grassy parking lot but we missed the opening hours so had to find an alternative. Quiet and cool night. Nice little museum (15 Soles/ pers.)

215 Leymebamba near museum PER

 

27. Boondocking by road between Leymebamba and Cajamarca
S6.82258° W77.94990°
FREE
Parking on an elevated dirt lot. Beautiful drive and view. Very quiet and chilly night.

216 Roadside  PER

 

28. Camp near entrance to Cumbe Mayo
S7.19525° W78.56836°
FREE
Approx 100 meters back from the entrance of Cumbe Mayo. At the entrance they wanted money for the overnight stay and weren’t particularly friendly so we parked up here for free and with a great view to the Rock Forest in front of us. Very quiet night. We stayed two nights here.

217 Cajamarca  PER

 

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