When the rains come early to Cusco, consider the Moche Trail alternative

The weather in Cusco has been predictably unpredictable with the rainy season starting a month earlier than usual. Last week there was significant flooding in the town of Urubamba in the Sacred Valley. A recommendation for anyone interested in coming to Peru in the next couple of months: The northern coast.

You would want to take plenty of sunscreen, a hat and insect repellent, since there are mosquitoes — but the summer season has barely begun, so the bugs shouldn’t be too bad.

The pace is less frenetic and much less touristy than Cusco. You can pick and choose any number of destinations, from amazingly beautiful nature reserves to the most active — and arguably the most significant — treasure trove of active archaeological discovery occurring right now in Peru.

There’s Tumbes National Mangrove Sanctuary, the Cerros de Amotape National Park and the Tumbes Reserved Zone, with protected wildlife; to quote our friends at PromPeru, near Piura are the Colan beach resort, the town of Catacaos known for its arts and crafts and gold and silver jewelry, and the town of Chulucanas, famous for its pottery.

A typical itinerary looks something like this:

Peru’s Northern Coast Destinations by rickfrombrooklyn