[.ca] Lonely Planet Peru (ISBN 2840702584)

great, but with deficiencies...:
like all travel guides, you can find something that is not there in 'lonely planet peru'... i traveled peru for three months last year and had the advantage of using three different guidebooks along the way... they all have their pros and cons, so a review of any of them must necessarily discuss these: the pros: the maps and city plans are substantially better than in the competitors' guidebooks (where footprint is severely lacking, for example)... lonely planet is one of the few cheap-o style travel guidebooks that gives you information on at least a few hotels that are not youth hostels, dives or other forms of bottom-barrel accommodation; in other words, they at least give you a few mid-range and expensive options if you wish to go that way... all the essentials are there, with great suggestions on places to sleep, eat and visit the cons: as with ALL of the backpacker/youth travel guidebooks (LP, footprint, rough guide, let's go), the information on sights/monuments/museums, etc., is SEVERELY lacking... there is just the most basic of information on the history of the sights that you have gone so far to see... which makes it necessary to buy another book, pay an expensive guide or some such thing... (for instance, you will rarely read detailed descriptions of the artwork to be found in a church and are often left wandering about saying 'this is so beautiful, i wonder what it is...i wish the guidebook would tell me more!') i know this would make the guidebooks huge, but even 50% more information would be wonderful so as to have a little bit more of a grip on what you are looking at after taking a 12-hour bus ride through the andes to get there! which is why, despite its quality, i always felt the need to take another guidebook along, just in case...using my usual technique of tearing out just the pages i would need from each book

great country, good book, watch the altitude:
Peru is a remarkably interesting country. This is a pretty good guidebook. One area where the guide could be improved is advising tourists on itineraries that work up to high altitude gradually. The easiest trips to arrange go straight from Lima at sea level to sleeping in a hotel in Cusco at 11,000' above sea level. At best you won't feel good and at worst you could get acute altitude sickness. A bit of planning, however, and you can either zip straight from the airport at Cusco to Aguas Calientes below Macchu Pichu (about 8000') or work your way up to Cusco from some towns that are at 7000'. Simply by reshuffling your itinerary you can have a trip where you are feeling good and strong all the time rather than a trip where you stagger around breathlessly and suck down aspirin for the pounding headache.

Excellent But Not Perfect:
I have been working and doing some traveling in Peru the past 3 summers and have used Lonely Planet throughout. This year was my 2nd on the new green 4th ed. Although the regions I have visited have been quite out-of-the-way (in Moquegua & Amazonias) for the most part LP has it down OK. There are some things that are just wrong, but they do a good job of paying attention to those of us who write in with corrections and updates so when you buy an edition, it is often the best information available. The greatest advantage to LP is how comprehensive it is plus the concise text with decent maps do help considerably. I can strongly recommend sticking with LP regardless of whether you are sticking to tourist areas or making an attempt to interact with the real spirit of Peru by getting out and meeting people in the less well-traveled regions.

Arequipa Blues!:
I adored the writing style of this particular guidebook. I felt I knew the author after spending so much time reading it. Alas, the Arequipa section is outdated in the following areas: restaurants, cafes and entertainment. Establishments seem to come and go in Arequipa. Also note that Arequipa is a region -- not merely a town. I wish the guidebook had better expressed this reality. Nearly all of the "adventure" tours lie 5-6 hours bus ride away from Arequipa. Mind you, these are Peruvian buses that tend to break down. Allow enough time to travel between Arequipa and your adventures...

lonely planet peru:
My wife and i were pen pals. when i wanted to make the trek to meet her.I was nervous. This book acurately descibed all of the various aspects of the country.This book helped prepare me and also get the right hotel. I LOVE PERU. One day i want to live there. the food is fabulous.the beer especially cuzquena is the best. also drink some inca kola if you get the chance. the churchs in lima are out of this world. A must see. Breath taking.