Sophia’s Top Peru & Bolivia Travel Photographs

I took this photo whilst I was in the Amazon, on our Jungle Lodge trip. We woke up early in the morning to walk down to the clay parrot area in the hope of seeing some there. We had to be really quiet and watch from a distance away. I managed to get this photo about ten minutes in (there were only two parrots when I got there). Our guide told us that the parrots gather here as a lot of their food contains toxins, and eating clay from the clay lick neutralizes the toxins.

This photo was taken on day four of the Inca Trail trek through the mountains of the Andes. I trekked for three days solid and crossed the highest pass at 4200m (it gets a little tough to breathe at these heights). It is certainly not for the fainthearted and is one of the toughest things I have ever done, but nothing is as rewarding as waking up early on the 4th day to walk the final journey and get to your final destination, the incredible ruins of Machu Picchu.

I met this lovely little girl on my trip to Lake Titicaca on the Peru and Bolivia border. She lived on a reed island with basic amenities and I had never seen anything like it. She was very sweet, and kept hugging me and holding my hand. Lake Titicaca is located at 3,820m above sea level (it’s the world’s highest navigable lake) and it is definitely worth a visit whilst in this region.

One of my favourite photos was taken on the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia. This was one of the places that I was most excited about visiting and it did not disappoint. The view all around you of the salt flats is just stunning. Also on the tour you get to visit the Laguna Colorada, the Laguna Verde, the stone tree and see lots of flamingos… amazing!

I took this photo at the Islas Ballestas in Peru. I read about it in my Lonely Planet guide before going and they called it the ‘poor man’s Galapagos.’ I didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but all I can say is that it most certainly did not disappoint. My main reason for coming here was to see all the sea lions, and there were more than I could count. There were also vultures, pelicans and hundreds of birds, the perfect place to go if you love spotting wildlife.