In Peru we stayed at a couple of campsites but we mostly rough camped in the wilderness or in parking lots of ruins. We felt safe camping in Peru and greatly enjoyed it.
Although we met enough people along the way, we didn’t stay with them, nor did we use Couchsurfing as we have in other countries.
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Recommended Books on Overlanding
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Overland Camping in Peru
During our first 3 months in Peru we mostly traveled around Lake Titicaca and in the Cusco/Sacred Valley area, and finally did a run via Arequipa to the Chilean border to renew our visa.
Around Lake Titicaca we parked in the plaza of a village/town for the night and in Cusco is the basic but splendid Campsite of Quinta Lala where we met a lot of overlanders. To visit Machu Picchu we found a reliable place to park the Land Cruiser as well: Campsite Cola de Mono Ziplining (book here) in Santa Teresa.
We took the old road from Cusco to Arequipa (recommended) and enjoyed rough camps along the way.
Read More: Ziplining to Machu Picchu?
From Arequipa we drove to Lima, mostly along the coast. It offered a number of stunning campsites, most noticeably in Paracas National Park.
After Lima we returned to the mountains, hit a number of impressive dirt roads and rough camps, and ended up in Chavin, where we stayed in a restaurant’s garden for a bit.
Read More: Travel in Peru – Lima, Mountains, and Ruins
The Cordillera Blanca was impressive to drive and offered good places to camp, but the weather was bad. We were happy to return to the sun, which we found at Huanchaco’s beach so camped there for quite a while. It’s a great place to chill out.
Travel Guides for Peru
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GPS Waypoints of Campgrounds & Overland Camps in Peru
Let there be no misunderstanding: no, you don’t have to go to these places. No, these are not by definition the best spots. After having traveled in South America for so long we realize that it’s no problem here to find your own beautiful spots for overland camping. We decided to continue the page anyway, for travelers who would like some tips about camping spots which we enjoyed or found practical. Please note that this is always our personal experience.
You can also check out iOverlander, where you can see where other overlanders spent the night.
Drinking Water from the Tap
Note that sometimes we write ‘drinking water from the tap’. This means we drank that water because locals told us it was safe and we didn’t get sick from it. Things change, including quality (and safety) of water, so always ask local people if the water is still safe to drink.
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Hello Karin and Coen!
My boyfriend and I are hoping to follow your route along Lake Titicaca next week on our way to La Paz and are very excited to do some camping at Chucuito and Yunguyo, but with one main difference- we will have to hitch or take buses along the way. Do you have any advice for us?
Emma-Jane and Alex 🙂
Hello Emma,
If I remember correctly we encountered a few travellers that were taking public transport, so I guess you would be okay. Ask around at the i-Peru in Puno.
Thanks Coen, will do. 🙂
I’m so jealous you have your own transport. It makes wild camping so much easier. We’ve still found a few great spots through hitchhiking though. Thanks for the advise!
Hi, compliments for the informations wrote on site, are many interesting.
After making Namibia’s trip in camper (4X4), I’d like to do a similar trip in Perù.
I’d like rent a 4×4 pick-up, with 2 beds and kitchen.
Can you answer my questions?
1) are simple to found the campsites (or similar structure), with shower and WC?
2) Are campsites too much expensive?
3) what is the status of the principal roads? (Lima-Pisco-Nasca-Arequipa-Puno-Cusco)?
4) there are dangerous area? (theft, robbery)
5) is simple to found, services areas with diesel, or shops for buy the food?
6) Any other advice is good for me! 🙂
(Sorry for my bad english)
Thanks
Alex
Alex, these are the campsites / camping spots we know. I’m sure there must be others. In Cusco we paid the equivalent of €10 / in Arequipa €15. But in many places you can rough camp or camp in a parking lot free of charge.
Principal roads are asphalted and in good condition. Maybe there will be road work going on in the mountains so you may have to wait.
We didn’t encounter dangerous places or situations. Whether theft, robbery occurs often is a personal situation that can happen for a lot of reasons. While being more alert in big cities – as in any big city on this continent – there is no reason for us to describe Peru as unsafe.
Easy to find diesel, markets, and restaurants everywhere.
A good place to get update information is on https://www.facebook.com/groups/panamtravelers/
Hope that helps.
Hi Alex!
If you deside to start your roadtrip, you are always welcome in Casa Lena, camping and Bed&Breakfast, near the panamericana in Curahuasi (gps:-13.54361,-72.68801)l.Check out our website: casalenaperu.com and don’t hesitate to e-mail us for all your questions consurning Peru! ([email protected]) Greetings, Stefanie (Belgium) and Gilder (Peru)
I just want to make sure. You are allowed to drive to all these spots without a permit? I want to hike, but I don’t want to spend $500-$1600 on a guide and food and hotels and permits. I want to do a little self guided trip with some friends.
How much was it to rent a 4X4 vehicle?
Heya Alex, sure you can drive / hike to all these places. You do not need a guide. You do not need permits. We did not rent a vehicle, as we are driving our own for the last 14 years. You and your friends should be fine by foot, on a horse, bicycle, cheap car, whatever. Go explore and have fun!
Hello, thanks for your blog!! planning my overland to South America. Do you have your camping places, and or routes in one kml file, all together?
Would you mind to share?
Did you go all the way down for South America, do you have similar info for Ecuator, Bolivia, Chile?