On the south edge of town, there was a police checkpoint. Not really a checkpoint as it turned out. The cop, a woman, was warning us and even the locals in their motor vehicles not to stop in Paiján under any circumstances. I didn’t follow everything that was said, but clearly Paiján is being treated as a zona roja (“red zone”). So it’s not just bad for cyclists anymore. The latest specific incident was a carload of tourists passing through at night and getting their tires shot out and then their stuff stolen. (Jeff Kruys)

But since the ‘ladrones’ of this dusty costal desert town have learned about the long line of BikeTravellers that do the Panam route, they have been focused on cyclists specifically. The chances or robbery are high and the danger is real, see below some comments and stories from the Panam-riders:

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On Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 8:11 PM, Pedaling South wrote:

Hi all,

Two questions:

1. Is the Sechero Desert a nice place to ride, like the desert in Baja California, Mexico? If not, is the 1B that goes around (east of) the Sechero a viable cycling route? Any tips welcome. We’re headed toward Trujillo (duh) from the North. Right now in Riobamba, Ecuador.

2. Anyone ridden through Paijan, Peru lately? Is this really the black hole of bike touring, i.e. robbers waiting for cyclists to pass through? Sure we don’t wanna get robbed but people have been saying “you’d be crazy to ride through XXX” since we started out from Anchorage. So, can you ride THROUGH Paijan?

Hope yr all good!
Cheers,
Tor
—
http://Pedalingsouth.com

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On 29 July 2010 21:07, nancy sathre-vogel wrote:

the Sechura is beautiful – extraordinarily sparse and barren, but gorgeous.  You can see our photos starting here: http://familyonbikes.org/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=64&pos=38 Just keep clicking next to see all of them.  You’ll notice that you start out from Piura and there is quite a bit of vegetation, but it just keeps getting less and less until there is not even a blade of grass.  It is gorgeous, but different from anything I had ever seen.  There are small restaurants every 40 or 50 km so you won’t have a problem with food or water.  Expect very strong headwinds.

We went th rough Paijan (with two kids!) and had no trouble at all.  On our way in, we were looking for the police to ask for an escort, but couldn’t find any, so just went in on our own – no trouble.  We got a hotel and stayed the night (not a nice place!).  The next morning I headed down tot he police station and said, “We are cyclists passing through and I wondered…”

“Which way are you headed?” he asked.  “We’ll be ready to escort you in about 10 minutes.”

The police are so used to escorting cyclists it isn’t a problem at all.  I don’t think you really need an escort, but we had been warned by so many people that we went ahead and asked.

Enjoy!

Nancy http://familyonbikes.org

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On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 7:00 AM, anna wittert wrote:

Lucho told us the robbers are still very much active, and still disadvised all cyclists to cycle through Paijan alone as off 4 months ago.

We cycled from near Riobamba south through Loja, Vilcabamba and into Peru, via Cajamarca, Cajabamba. Then down to Trujillo. Probably the most beautiful stretch in the past 2 years riding, but also hard. Mostly dirt and very hilly….The people in northern peru in the mountains are about as friendly as you’ll ever get.

Enjoy!

anna http://thefuegoproject.com

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From: Seth Berling
Sent: zondag 1 augustus 2010 18:27
Subject: Re: [panam-riders] Advice needed: Sechero Desert and Paijan, PERU

I wish I could write to everyone and tell them that our trip through Paijan was uneventful….unfortunately it was not. Upon exiting the town I was keeping a keen watch in my rear view mirror and just like so many other people have described a mototaxi materialized about 200 yard behind us. I called attention to it and we crossed the road so that we had the two lanes separating us and the approaching vehicle. As the mototaxi got closer I saw that there was a young man driving and 3 masked men packed into the back seat. The driver smiled to me and blew me a kiss. He turned around to the other three…unsure about what to do.

The mototaxi sped ahead and then pulled a u turn so that they were headed straight for us. They started flashing their lights and motioning for us to stop our bikes. Obviously there was no fing way we were going to stop. Just before we collided with the taxi they swung out into the roadway and then peeled back so they were headed straight the sides of us. I narrowly avoided having my back wheel clipped out and Parker veered way out onto the shoulder.

At this point the mototaxi sped up along Parker and put two wheels over the side of the road to try and push parker into the ditch below. I was riding along the other side of the taxi to jump to parkers aid, preparing for the inevitable crash. Just when I thought Parker was gone for sure he slammed on his brakes and the mototaxi flew ahead. I was still next to the taxi and both of us were headed into the oncoming traffic. I started to swerve in and out of both lanes in order to slow the traffic going both directions. No one would stop for us and semis narrowly missed us as they came barreling down blasting their air horns. I positioned my bike at a diagonal over both lanes and started enough of a commotion that the mototaxi called it quits and turned off the highway and disappeared into the corn fields.

I am providing this detailed info in hopes of helping anyone who is approached with a similar situation and to urge everyone not to ride through this town.   We narrowly, narrowly avoided being robbed of everything and it left both of us with a sour taste.

Cheers,

Seth and Parker

www.pebblepedalers.com

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—–Original Message—–
From: Byron
Sent: zondag 1 augustus 2010 18:43
Subject: [panam-riders] Re: Advice needed: Sechero Desert and Paijan, PERU

Hola,

I circled Paijan on a small gravel/sand road that went inland from the panamerican about 30km after Pacasmayo and eventually took me to Casa Grande and back to the panamerican about 11km past Paijan at Chocope.

It´s a really soft road but doable..  It´s visible on one zoom level of MultiMaps only, and you can see it in the google satelite views. Make a good map as there are confusing intersections on route and no- one around to ask directions.  It seemed safe enough, and I only saw a handful of mototaxis all day.  If anyone wants to find it, the intersection is where the large straight section ends and the panamerican veers away from the high tension lines.  More info and some photos can be found on my blog.

Cheers,

Byron, http://www.byrongoessouth.com

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(Harry) We took a busride: from Chiclayo you can get good buses. La Linea has a terminal a few blocks from the nice Plaza de Armas (I think it was on Bolognesi street). They are used to transport bikes, fridges and other big things, have clear price lists (though gave a generous discount as well) and are a safe company. They do not even stop in Paijan…

We visited Machu Picchu a few years ago and loved it, though it was raining all day

Below are some questions and answers from the Panam -riders about the subject:

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On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 8:45 PM, Roland and Belinda Hinmueller wrote:

Ok all you cycling buddies,

Who’s got the low-down for Machu Pichu and getting there? We want to know the different options and how other people have done it. We are keen to do it as cheaply as possible without totally destroying our enjoyment of visiting this epic tourist destination.

We probably won’t hike the Inca Trail but are interested in the bus/train/walking options etc.

Cheers in advance, Belinda, Roland, Seth and Parker.
Roland and Belinda Hinmueller
www.cyclingwithsally.com

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On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 11:39 AM, greg mccausland wrote:

hi guys – i went to manchu pichu a few years ago – we did a hiking loop (not the inca royal road) that crossed the inca trail and dropped to a small town beside the tracks out side of aguas calientes – we then jumped the train (literally – word of warning) when it slowed for us and it cost $20 (i think) but then we had to pay for the return fare which was i think $90 for the two of us.Manchu Pichu is gonna cost you no matter what but we did it for about the cheapest i know of.  You can get info on hiking routes thru the mtns at the south american explorers club in cusco (or lima) or pick up the brandt guide (the best). you will need a guide and or maps anyhow to hike on your own thru the mtns though route finding is not impossible there are plenty of wrong turns to take.  some people have mentioned simply hiking the train tracks but i know of no one who has done it . . .  good luck and enjoy it is pricey but incredible. cheers greg

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2010/8/18 nancy sathre-vogel wrote:

My honest opinion is that you skip Macchu Pichu and spend a whole week exploring the Sacred VAlley instead.  MP is spectacular, but equally so as the valley, and the valley is much, much cheaper and more accessible.  Take that for what it’s worth!

http://familyonbikes.org

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From: Ramiro Aramburu
Sent: zondag 22 augustus 2010 10:31
Subject: Re: [panam-riders] Machu Pichu

Hello guys!

How are you doing? We just came back from Machu Pichu! My opinion: don’t miss that incredible Inca City!

There is a way to do it for less than the half of the price that every ‘Gringo’ tourist pay. of course takes more time and is less confortabñle than the train but is cheaper.

So: from cusco start very early in the morning, take a local bus to Santa Maria (6 to 8 hours and 15 to 20 Soles). From Santa Maria take another local bus to Santa Teresa (1 hour and 5 soles). From there take a local taxi or van to Hidroelectrica (30 minutes, very bad road, and 5 soles aprox.) From Hidroelectrica walk at the side od trhe rialway 2 and half hours to Aguas Calientes. Very long day and sleep there (we paid 10 soles each). Wake up 3:30 am and start to walk up to Machu Pichu 1 and half hour, try to be at the entrance of MAchu Pichu before 6 am. The first 400  persons on the line will be admited to trekk the Wayna Pichu. (Mountain at the side of Machu Pichu where you will have and increidible view of all Mchu Pichu) We did it and it really worth it! Amaizing view!

Back to Cusco the same thing on the oposite way! The most expensive thing is the Machu Pichu entrance (126 soles, better to buy in advance in Cusco). Salinas Maras is another place close to Cusco we really liked a lot!

We planned to start tomorrow from Cusco to the Bolivian border but we the laundry hotel lost almost all our clothes! Nice ah!

ENjoy guys!

Ramiro

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From: Roland and Belinda Hinmueller
Sent: dinsdag 14 september 2010 14:40
Subject: [panam-riders] Machu Picchu!

This is our trip to Machu Picchu for anyone interested.  We had a host to stay with in Urubamba so that is where we left our bikes.  We were travelling with Seth and Parker Berling too.

• From Urubamba to Ollantaytambo we caught a Collectivo that took 30 minutes and cost 1.20 sol each.  Our return was at 2am so meant we only had a taxi option and we paid 15 soles for all four of us.
• Book your train tickets with Peru Rail online in advance to get the best choice of ‘backpacker’ times.  We booked it the day before and meant we had to catch the 10.30pm train back to Ollantaytambo which was a very drawn out wait.  The tickets were roughly $30 US one way per person for the ‘backpacker’ class.
• Number One Hostal which is on the same lane as Number Two Hostal (on the otherside of the bridge to the train station, near the Mercado Central) gave us a room with four beds and a bathroom for 12.50 soles each.
• The boys Left Agua Callientes at 4am to walk up the mountain and get their tickets stamped to allow entry into Wayna Picchu which was perfect.  The boys chose the second group to go in which gave them time to look around other parts of Machu Picchu before it got busy and they didn’t have to step aside for people on the descent.
• Be prepared to pay for the toilet at Machu Picchu even though you paid 126 soles to enter the ruins.
• Take your water purification device so you don’t have to pay for water.  I.e. A 500ml bottle of water in Machu Picchu is 8 soles and in Agua Callientes the Phura Peruvian 2L bottle of water is between 3 to 3.50 soles (you can pay 5 to 6 soles for other brands).
• Take food with you.  The cheapest ‘menu’ you’ll find is in the upper floor of the Mercado Central for 7 soles but they do sell a great fruit salad for 6 soles that is well worth it right in the centre of the upper floor.

Why didn’t we go the DYI Santa Teresa way?

• Time (at least 10 hours of travel from Urubamba to Agua Calientes, not including wait times and possibility needing to stay in Santa Teresa if we missed connections)
• Alot of transfers (collectivos, walking/train, taxi etc)
• Potentially only works out to be able $10 cheaper after all is said and done.
• We know this way is very scenic  and has hot baths in Santa Teresa but we were not feeling it!

We also met Sandra (a cyclists going north bound) that cycled the entire Sacred Valley to Santa Teresa and she said it was beautiful.  But they didn’t allow her bike on the train track, even if she walked it.  She was forced to put her bike on the train and then she was allowed to walk along the tracks to Agua Callientes.  Strange but true!

Why didn’t we take our bikes or walk the railway from Ollantaytambo?

• No guarantee we would be allowed on the tracks.
• After going in the train, it didn’t look like there was much space to the side of the tracks, going through the tunnels would be hairy and pretty bumpy terrain too.
• Didn’t fancy a five to seven hour walk.

cheers guys,
from cusco in hostal estrellita

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Roland and Belinda Hinmueller
www.cyclingwithsally.com

Peru-mountain-route-profile-Trujillo-Cusco-2

Additions or comments welcome!

Cheers and keep cycling, Harry