Abancay

Abancay is in the department of Apurimac, Peru in a valley over the Pachachaca river. The population is 58,000, and with an altitude of 2,378 m.

Abancay is part of Peru's Southern Sierra.

Understand
The Tourist Office is next to the Plaza de Armas.

Get in
All buses on the Lima-Nasca-Cusco Interoceánica Sur line pass through Abancay. The road is well paved.

There are daily buses from and to Andahuaylas, one of the closest airports . This journey takes 5 to 6 hours on an unpaved road. The closest airport is in Cusco, a 4½-5 hour drive on a bus or a 3½-4 hour drive in a "colectivo" (taxi car)

Get around
Distances are short, so walking is your best options for getting around. If you need a taxi, don't pay more than S/3 (soles) in the city.

See

 * AMPAY (mountain and tree species) protected area (sanctuary). Get the collectivo 2 (70 centimos) to Sawanay. From there ask for "camino del ampay". You'll reach the park's house. If somebody is at the hut at the entrance the fee would be S/30 to enter, it's better to go because the way begin in this place, and they'll give you informations if you're going by yourself (you can also pay a guide in the municipalidad, S/30 for the day). The way is hard, 3 km for the first laguna, 4 more to the second and you'll see the Nevada Ampay. Possible to make a loop but long (more than 20 km). Better in dry season.

Do

 * Swimming in natural water pool

Eat
Avenida Arenas, which turns into Arequipa, is the main drag through town. You can find all manner of restaurants and bars along this strip. Also a market for picking up fruits and vegetables. There are also a couple of supermarkets along this street. Paralleling this street one block further uphill is another avenue with a fair amount of shops and restaurants, including a vegetarian one.

Sleep

 * El Dorado, Av. Arenas, good and safe, ca. US$5.
 * Hotel Turistas (old hacienda), splurge with hot water and dining-room.
 * Hotel Paraiso, across from the bus terminal. S/30 for a matrimonial with bano privado. Nice place, television, but lacked hot water despite the claims.

Go next
You can visit the Canyon of Apurimac (Cañon de Apurimac) and cross it on a hanging bridge. Take a bus towards Cusco and exit after ca. 1h at the village of Curuahuasi. Then go to Cachora - you can rent mules, horses and guides (canyon depth approx. 1000 m - one of the deepest in the world)

If you have 3 days, you can climb the canyon at the other side and visit the ruins of Choquequirao, an Inca city, which have only been partly excavated. Guides are easily found via the tourist office in Abancay. It is similar in structure and architecture to Machu Picchu.

From Abancay to Puquio the bus costs S/40 and the first one of the day leaves at 12:00 (Palamino). The views and country along this route are great, but it is windy.