Dude. I am in Peru now. I have been hacking around in the north for the last month and will finally make it to Lima by the weekend. I kind of have to get out of here right now to catch a bus but would be happy to make a few suggestions next time I have internet access. If you want to go by the Inca trail to Machu Picchu you have no choice but to go with a guide. However there are alternate routes available which are just as scenic. You still need a guide but the prices are a lot lower. I have a phone number for a guy who will take you for next to nothing... It is the rainy season here in the mountains though, so visibility is not what it could be. Cold and damp a lot of the time. The coast is great right now, though. Highlights for me so far: Chiclayo, for the pyramids, temples of Sipan and the museum at Lambayeque Chachapoyas, in the mist shrouded mountains of northern Peru for the ancient citadel of Kuelap, as wellas some very cool sarcophagi and the cliff dwellings in the Pueblos de los Muertos Trujillo, the City of Eternal Spring, and the beach town of Huanchaca, for the ruins of the largest adobe city in the world, Chan Chan, as well as the Huaca de la Luna, an awesome temple site. I am currently in Huaraz, in the heart of the Cordillera Blancos mountain range, some of the highest mountains in the world. The 3000 year old ceremonial site of Chavin is here. South of Lima is what draws most people to Peru, though, and I will be touring through there for the month of December before heading on to Bolivia and Argentina. I will happily pass on my thoughts regarding the rest of Peru as I get there. Velvet barely scratched the surface of this country in the short time he had here. Trust me, there is much, much more going on here. I have been keeping a fairly extensive series of photo essays up on the facebook of my South American tour, from Bogota to here so far. Feel free to look me up there if you want to take a look, to get an idea. Or better yet, just go.